May 25th, 2012

What an exciting couple of days it has been! Yesterday, my chemistry class tie-dyed our clothing articles (most people had shirts, but some used pants, and one boy did his socks). I had a tank-top, which I colored in a green and blue spiral pattern. It's in the wash as I type this, and it looks like it came out great! Also, because the weather was so fantastic yesterday, I went and sat out in the yard. We have a trellis with wisteria growing over it, and the plant has gotten so huge it casts a wealth of shade around said trellis. Therefore, I sat in the shade, enjoying the wind (which was strong), when I happened to look up. And there, lo and behold, in the crook of a lily and a leg of the trellis, was a little skull. Yes, a skull. It was just over a centimeter long, fully intact, although without the lower jaw, and clearly that of some rodent - it had large buckteeth. I called Nick, the resident animal expert, over, and he was able to confirm my suspicion, telling me that the skull was definitely that of a rodent, and that judging by the large eye sockets, the creature was nocturnal. His best guess, therefore, was that it belonged to a rather unfortunate rat. On some level, I wanted to keep the skull, and yet, as fascinating as it was, I decided that not only was keeping it a bit unhygienic, but the skull also belonged outside, where I found it. I put it back, and left it to guard the property. Today, I went back out to try and get some pictures, but the skull had disappeared! (I suspect Nick may have had a hand in this) However, I still went and poked around a bit, and, to my surprise, I found not the skull, but half of the missing jaw, and another piece of anatomy I couldn't identify. There was also some fur buried under the wood chips which may have belonged to the creature. Most mysterious...

May 21st, 2012

What with all that planting yesterday, the first sunburn of the summer is setting in... My shoulders have been a little too warm for comfort all day. Ah well. In any event, some interesting developments today. I woke up and looked through the window to see a great big opossum trundling thorough the back yard. Now, not everyone likes opossums, but personally I think they're alright, and seeing one always seems to have positive connotations. Indeed, other than the sunburn, today was actually the best weekday I've had in a while. The opossum is also said to represent emotional and mental stability, which I will take as a good omen. Recently, I've been a little too stressed for comfort, and if the opossum represents a reprieve from that, I'll certainly take what I can get! Plus, my video that I had to make for English actually played on the old school computers, which was an untold relief (those things are seriously ancient).

With all said and done, I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet evening with the family tonight. Mom says we're having chef salad for dinner: various greens, cheese, peppers, ham or turkey, tomatoes, carrots, and croutons. A salad makes a great meal or side dish this time of year - so many veggies are just coming into season! Buy locally if you can, and make sure to rinse everything before you eat it to get rid of any pesticides or dirt. Try eating greens with dark leaves, like spinach (which, by the way, goes very well with some feta cheese and strawberries). Vegetables not your thing? Fruit salads taste equally awesome. Any combination of tropical fruits (bananas, mango, pineapple, papaya, star fruit, etc.) and more temperate fruits (grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc.), plus a sweet, unifying dressing contains valuable nutrients as well as citric acid and a great summer flavor. One could even make a refreshing snack, if one were to blend together some ice, orange juice, bananas, and mangoes. Are fruit smoothies awesome? I think so. The moral of the story? Enjoy the turn of the Wheel to the summer months by enjoying the fresh produce of the season!

May 20th, 2012

You remember how I thought that after finishing with the musical I'd have a little more free time to write posts and whatnot? HA! I had no idea at the time that I would be getting a 740 point English project and a 400 point marketing project, along with the AP World History test and finals all in the last three weeks of school. Oh, plus the math project I'll be getting after the final. So suffice it to say, this is literally the first bit of free time I have had since my previous post.

~~~~~~~~~~

In spite of all the craziness, I've been up to some interesting things this month. The first weekend of May (the 5th, I believe), I went to Hazelnut's house. It was her year and a day, so after spending some time outside, going to an awesome drum circle, and making s'mores around a bonfire, we did her dedication ceremony. Congratulations to Hazelnut, an official member of the Craft! 

- While we were outside, Hazelnut spotted a curious little butterfly who was more than happy to crawl onto our fingers. Here it is with me:

And with Hazelnut:

 

Certainly not a camera-shy butterfly:

The bonfire grate. I love how pretty it is with the bright green foliage around it.

A wee wild violet growing in Hazelnut's yard:

For Mother's Day, my family went to the Morton Arboretum. Here was one of the trees: 

In the children's garden, there were fairy statues hidden in some of the trees. Well, you know how I am with fairies!

I believe these were some kind of a Japanese Cyprus, but I could be misremembering. 

The trunk on this one is wicked:

Cute little pansies:

There was a huge mess of peonies. And they were so fragrant:

The whole family spent today and yesterday expanding and planting the vegetable garden. We have chives, tomatoes, various salads, corn, watermelon, carrots, cucumber, and onions. I made the fence myself. :)

May 13th, 2012

Today is the first day of the Celtic Hawthorn Tree Month! Huzzah! Ironically, we picked today to go to the local Arboretum, since it was also Mother's Day. Now, the Hawthorn, also called the Thornapple, or Huath, to the Celts, is a part of the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. Hawthorns grow as shrubs and small trees, averaging five to fifteen meters in height, and they bear a kind of pome fruit, with typically thorny branches. The fruit, sometimes known as a "haw" contains a small pit, and the flowers that precede them are important to many nectar-eating insects.
In mythology, the Hawthorn is a symbol of hope; the Greeks used it in wedding procession, and those branches that are in bloom by May 1st may be used in Beltane rituals. Even in Christian lore it is rumored that Jesus' "crown of thorns" came from the Hawthorn tree. In Croatian lore, it is the wood of the Hawthorn, sharpened into a stake, that can kill the vampire, and the tree has an exceptionally strong tie to the Fey. Don't hurt the tree, or they will find you!
In magick, the tree has many uses. The Celts used Hawthorn wood for rune inscriptions, and a piece of cloth tied to the tree branch as an offering will bring healing. Also, since the tree is in flower at Beltane, it is tied to the raw masculine side of fertility, and the element fire. One hoping to conceive will find the Hawthorn month profitable, and using the wood in a fertility rite will help usher forth results. Since the tree has such a strong connection to the Fey, using it with other woods sharing that energy, Apple and Oak in particular, can call the faeries into circle.
The fruits of the Hawthorn are indeed edible, and are made into a host of spreads: jaws, jellies, etc. They can also be made into wine; however, the berries are rarely eaten raw. The flower petals are likewise edible, and early in the year, the leaves are tender enough to make a salad.

May 4th, 2012

We've had a drastic change in weather over the last few days! It went from being down in the 40s up to 70 or 80 degrees just over the weekend! It was less muggy today, but yesterday was ridiculously humid. As such, we had a thunderstorm building all day, which broke in the evening. We got very little rain here, but I guess surrounding areas were hit with tennis ball-sized hail! However, the clouds did put on a fantastic light display, with lighting going off every few seconds. Since it wasn't raining, I videoed a good seven minutes of the storm while waiting to pick my dad up from work. Since the camera on my phone is pretty terrible, I won't subject you to the entire video, but here are some screen-shots of particularly intense lightning flashes:

In other news, I'll be sleeping over at Hazelnut's house tomorrow. We're going to do a dedication ceremony for her (it's been a year and a day!), and we also plan to have a bonfire and go hiking.

April 29th, 2012

Hard to believe that it's almost May! There's been a whole lot of nothing going on here the past couple days, but that's alright. It's given me a chance to catch up with my friends, and spend some time with my family. I've been staring at my screen for a good 10 minutes and have no idea what else of value I can add, so have a picture of Pan instead:

April 26th, 2012

Spring cleaning: not everyone likes it, and some people (including my brother) seem to have no idea what the word "clean" even entails. However, it is truly important to clean the house now and then, as dust naturally harbors negative energy. Further, cluttered, dark rooms provide a hiding place for exactly the kind of astral nasties that we all want to avoid. Cleaning can be as simple as simple as putting away the accumulated clutter of the past week, or as intense as vacuuming and scrubbing down every surface in sight. Frequently, it tends to be a combination of the two. I have been trying to clean up my reading corner, because no matter what I do, it always seems messy. I've been receiving college mail (it's only the beginning), and that too is beginning to pile up. Opening the windows can be cleaning just by itself - raising the blinds lets in the sun and helps negate any negativity that happens to be hanging around. However, spring cleaning doesn't have to be limited to cleaning the house. One can use this time to cleanse oneself spiritually, also. Do something a little extra for yourself: splurge on that new book, meditate on how you can open yourself to opportunities, release the old, take a cleansing bath or shower.

Interested in eco-friendly cleaning options? If you have distilled white vinegar around the house (and you probably do), as well as some baking soda, you've got yourself the makings of a powerful cleaner without harsh chemicals.

• To shine chrome sink fixtures that have a lime buildup, use a paste made of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar.
• Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.
• Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odors will disappear. Wipe clean.
• To clean a grease splattered oven door window, saturate it with full-strength white distilled vinegar. Keep the door open for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping with a sponge.
• Remove mineral deposits from coffee makers with white distilled vinegar. Fill the water reservoir with 1 cup or more of white distilled vinegar and run it through a whole cycle. Run it once or twice more with plain water to rinse clean. (Check the owners’ manual first.)
• To make cleaning the grill easier, spray a solution of half water and half white distilled vinegar on the cooking surface.
  
   

April 25th, 2012

I finished the final book of a quartet that I've been rereading today, one that I feel may be of interest to the Pagan community. As my preferred genre, the books are, of course, fantasy, but I feel that they touch on that Pagan spirit that is so entrancing about good literature. Book one is called The Naming, by Allison Croggon. It is the story of Maerad, a slave girl who is rescued from her misery by Cadvan, a mysterious Bard, possessing magical powers. He realizes that she too is a Bard, and may, indeed, be even more. Book two is The Riddle, book three is The Crow, and book four is The Singing. The books talk about the importance of balance, the magic of music, elemental powers, and more. I found them beautiful works with an entrancing plot, even if the ending was, perhaps, a touch predictable.

April 24th, 2012

The weather was nice again today. It has been fluctuating so much outside recently that it's hard to say for sure, but perhaps spring will decide to stick around now permanently. I have the window open, and, as Nick so eloquently put it, "it smells like wind". I found a poem today that I should like to share. It's called "Thank a Tree", by Michael Mack.

When
you are
sitting in
your wooden house
relaxing comfortably
protected from the elements
outside
thank a
t
r
e
e

When
you place logs
upon the fireplace
shutting out what cold may be
as the shadows of the flames dance on the
ceiling,
thank a
t
r
e
e

When
you pour
syrup on your
pancakes or hear robins
sing outside, then thank a tree
for everything it's able to provide

And
when you
look out at
the landscape through
the early morning mist, you
will see a sight that proves beyond
a doubt that God exists...warm sunlight falling
through the branches making diamonds out of dew
If all the things I've mentioned here mean something dear to you

Then
take the
time to come to
my retreat. Share my
serenity and, as the peacefulness
you've searched for, fills you....thank a
t
r
e
e

April 23rd, 2012

It is, in today's modern age, sometimes difficult to adhere to concept of nature worship. Of course we recycle, we tend a garden, we try to use nature-friendly cleaning products, and all that is wonderful. However, as a student, I am constantly besieged by commitments to homework, family, friends, and the omnipresent television shows, apps, and Facebook. Today, I realized that it has been ages since I was outside for more than a few minutes, walking to the car or back from the bus stop. Some of this is due to the weather; it is only just now spring, and after the recent rainstorms, it has been cold. However, it is nevertheless a personal duty and joy to be outdoors, something I'd rather forgotten. So, after an initial argument, Nick talked me into biking to a nearby business district, rather overrun with trash that had blown off the garbage truck. We took some bags, headed over, and picked up as much of the junk as we could shove into our bags. And here's the funny thing, the thing daily life has made me forget: being outside feels good. It's good for everything. The sun causes your skin to produce Vitamin D, your brain releases endorphins (a natural mood booster), and the natural world helps strip us of some of the toxins that comes from being inside all the time. The body feels refreshed, revitalized. When I got home from school today, my backpack had made my shoulders ache horribly. Now I hardly notice. I think if we all got outside a little more, people might find themselves to be happier more often. On that note, I'll leave a song for you to consider...