By Earth, and Air, and Fire and Water

During my morning meditation, guided by Frigga's handmaiden, Snotra, this is what came out...

Aspirations, fleet,
Flutter around the edges
of awareness.
Newly forming, as yet
unbirthed
they await New Moon.
First Harvest fruits
and revelations
gathering with the tide.
A rich bounty of blessings
as the season turns.

I'm looking for my old bread recipe,
the one with wheat and oats and corn,
the Staff of Life
to toast this Harvest Season.
A bit of blueberry jam will
be nice too.

Starwalker
July 31, 2007

Wishing one and all blessings and abundance at this First Harvest of the year. May your needs be met and exceeded with bounty to share.

My solstice has begun quite magically. Part of my daily routine/ritual is to greet the Directions/Elements, Friggs and her Handmaidens from a place in the side yard to the East. I do this at some time in the morning, after I have checked on the Hearthfire candle, made an offering for Abundance in the penny dance cornucopia and lit the candle on that altar and fed the fish, but (obviously) before I hop on the scooter for my commute. Usually my ritual accompanies the dog's morning ritual (which I will leave to your imagination ). This morning, just as I began my greeting to the Directions/Elements, the Sun rose over the tree/bush line, in the gap between the houses and the firehouse, bathing me in it's Solstice light.

I completed my usual greetings and invocations and then turned from the North to the NNE and greeted the Sun as well, with thanks for the abundance of this Harvest year.

The Earth was washed sparking clean last night in "locally heavy thundershowers" which actually materialized (surprisingly, for here) as widespread thunderstorms with lots of rain! The puddles had not yet completely dried this morning, the rain/dew was heavy on the land and the temperature was once again blisfully COOL as I rode into the gym. 

The cake has been baked and the berries combined and "sugared" (however there will be little juice, I fear, as the freezer container in which I mixed and refrigerated them apparenly has a small leak and the bottom of the fridge was covered in juice this morning.). When I get back this evening, tomatoes and lettuce will be harvested. K has been assigned to visit our local fisherman to secure shrimp.

and all is well in my world

The spirit moved me today to do some more on the cleaning of my Craft room, so that at least the windows would be washed. In the end I decided the WALLS needed help too... a failed attempt at making vigil candles and votives had caused the room to soot up badly. Washing with Spic and Span didn't really do much but move the filth around so I decided to try the slumlord solution and just paint over. I dunno how THEY do it 'cause my "el-cheapo" 5 gal white paint (which is what is on the walls) didn't really help that much. So I decided to bite the bullet, go against my ethics (these are desparate times) and buy some TSP to attack the soot. 

Well my ethics are intact because these days, even TSP does not contain TriSodiumPhospate!  LOL  And it's all my doing, since I am the one who did the original research pointing out the the phosphate loads of most common laundry products, back in the early 70s (Mother Earth News, in response to concern that detergent phospates were responsible for alge blooms in lakes that ate up the O2 and caused fish dieoff.) I am here to report that the NON-TSP TSP works just fine.

However while washing the walls that I had exposed (CEILINGS.. those darn rough blown things!) are another matter for another day!) I was thinking about the lessons in this sequence of events. First off, it has caused me to have to wash EVERYTHING in my craft room, every rock, candle, book, tool... and because I had to handle each, I got to reflect on it... and decide that this should be a pruning time.  Even though I still don't have my home to myself, I can still start to move toward lightening the load. This is the year for completing things, I decided at the onset... and so I am "completing" preparations for my relocation.

I am going to Ebay my serger (which I haven't used much at all and none in the last few years) and I'm going to ebay a slew of "witch's ball" t-shirts I ended up with after an event long ago in TX.  And maybe a few books, but I will post them here first, for postage or trade if anyone I know would like them. I also have a bag of "wild-caught" pine cones and a passle of pheasant feathers that need a new home. Thus far. There will be more... but it took most of the day to do what I did including washing drying and returning stuff to the areas that got cleaned. ONE major corner to go, plus my file cabinet... but that will wait until after the art walk the next two weekends.

I'll post a pic of the shirts here as well, and anyone who wants one (I have ALL sizes!) can have it for $5 which will cover the priority mail and my gas to the PO. 

The recliner I posted to freecycle is gone though the rocker remains. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll put it on the curb with a "I need a home" sign and if no one "steals" it by nightfall, off to Salvation Army it goes. 

Tomorrow is mail run and lawn mowing and planting a bit. The compost pile got  moved (had to.. it was in front of the window that needed washing!) and I am going to plant Small Sugar pumpkins where it was, in hopes of pie.

Well, now there are hexen to paint and a bath to take (I've already had pain pills and wine.. getting old SUCKS when cleaning day comes around... I've been up and down and in and out so much I don't think there is a part of me that doesn't hurt! and I will be SO GLAD when I loose enough more weight that i can once again get in the close quarters that happen when I shuffle stuff around for cleaning! 5#, only, down so far but dammit I am going to beat this on exercise and eating less and low carbs no matter what!) and I am praying for RAIN tomorrow, not 'cause I want an excuse not to mow, but 'cause we NEED the moisture!!!

If money were no object, which five luxury items would you rush right out and buy? 
Submitted by lorilyn.

a "gently used" hybrid car
20 acres with water and a "cabin", electrcitiy optional, in Maine
on demand propane water heater
solar panels
batteries

What websites do you visit every day?
Submitted by Chez Michelle.

Yahoo - for the news, comics and to update my 360 blog
LiveJournal - blog
www.witchvox.com for Wren's nest news
ABC news Good Morning American recipe board
www.weatherunderground.com
Vox
www.userfriendly.com comic
http://horoscopes.astrology.com/astronet/cosmiccal.html cosmic calendar
and a selection of my clients sites.. which varies...
www.whisperingsands.com
www.placeatthebeach.com
www.beachvacationproperty.com
www.wholehealthnetwork.com
www.flaviushall.com
www.totalcomfortnc.com
www.coresound.com
www.downeasttour.com
www.harveyandsons.com
www.downeastfolkarts.org
www.designsbyernest.com
www.waterbugtours.com
www.outerbankshouseboats.com
www.outerbanksferry.com
www.bluemoonbistro.biz

and sometimes even my OWN sites
www.visionipd.com
www.dutchhexsign.com

Have you been affected by the pet food recall?  Has it changed the way you feed your pets?

No, we have not been affected and no it has not affected our feeding. With 6 cats a dog and a birds we feed standard Purina products to the furries... Cat Chow for the kitties (indoor formula for the 6 that live inside that I count and regular for the "under the house dwellers" aka ferals that we have had neutered and sort of watch over.) and Beneful for the pup.

They also get people-food leftovers as appropriate. 

I -- like many who write of this time -- prefer to view and celebrate it as a tide... culminating May 5.

As long as I can remember I have celebrated May Day. With my mom, as a youngster, making May baskets from crepe paper and ribbon and something waterproof -- sometimes we used waxed paper cups, some times we planned ahead and cut down waxed milk cartons. We would make lavish little baskets with ruffles of hand-gathered crepe paper and such, in a myriad of spring colors. And then I would scour the yard for spring flowers and leaves to make arrangements in the baskets, which were hung on neighbors' doornobs, then I'd ring the bell and run away to hide and watch -- from behind a tree or beneath a bush -- their discovery of the gift.

I don't do that now... though I did with the kids when we lived in a real neighborhood. However I will stop by the florist on the way home to pick up a few new flowers for the altar, which will get revamping this evening after work.

I was feeling really disconcerted this morning, when I got up. My 9:00 meeting had been moved out to 9:45 so I slept a bit later, which caused me to get up AFTER the sun. It was barely above the horizon, but BLAZING in the kitchen window as I poured my coffee. I was thinking "we're supposed to be celebrating the fertility of an abundant Spring and all I can see -- all I can think about -- is that it's already summer. That piercing sun HURTS me."

Getting dressed for my meeting, though, I found a sleeveless (summer) dress that I bought this past winter. It's covered with blue crescent moons and stars and I had intended, when I bought it, to reserve it to wear at work on "pagan days." How appropriate, was my first thought. New turn on the wheel, moon-day coming tomorrow too... then I wondered WHO ELSE would have a BLACK dress for Beltane. LOL But it still feels right. I had to quickly shorten it and am wearing it with a black jacket and a bright blue scarf and sandals, and it really DOES feel right... witchey and spring-y (especially on the Island for my meeting this morning... where the wind always blows and my scarf was flapping as a strode across the parking lot to the Park Service building) and professional. I feel very much the Crone and very much alive and strong and comfortable in my own skin.

My thus-far successful (for a whole 2 weeks! LOL) weight loss regime probably has something to do with that, though...

So I will continue to hold the reins of my life, set the cart on the path and tomorrow I will slap the horse on the rump and hold on tight. In keeping with the work I am doing, I had a conversation with K this morning, while I was hemming, reinforcing my need to live alone, his need to find alternative means. I hope that once this has happened we can eventually find a meeting ground -- a level one -- and relate as equals and friends.

For now, those reins my hands are holding are made up of many strands... design projects and hopes, garden hopes and plans, a growing art focus, and house and home hope and plans that span from here to -- eventually -- the Northeast. That is the direction my energy is flowing. And this Beltane Tide will be filled with intentioned busy-ness as I work the threads.

from the Morehead City (NC) Sesquicentennial celebration cookbook.

It was scrumptions and disappeared in no time! But it was NOT a good choice to make, based on the environmental impact statement. I still highly recommend the cookbook (order yours now, they WILL NOT last once the celebration starts next month!)