Just Another Day in January

It has long been said that January is the longest month in the year. In reality, it ties for the longest month with March, May, July, August, October and December. My thoughts on this are that January is one of the coldest months in most places in the northern hemisphere. When you combine cold with dark and often wet, windy or snowy, you get a LONG month.

Weather update here. We have climbed out of the freezing temperatures and will be quite balmy during the daylight hours for the next five days or so, hitting the mid sixties a couple days. Now we will still have two of the three elements for a long month...the dark and wet. Yep, our nice days come with some showers, again. It would appear that January will not duplicate this scene, but there are still eight days left, so we'll see.

Until next time, take care and stay safe.

A Walk in the Park

With Christmas just around the corner, let's take a step back in time and drive down a peaceful country road and enjoy the fall leaves as they near their peak.

We had taken a day trip to Hanging Rock Park in Danbury to have lunch at the River Rock Cafe (their French Dips are definitely a treat) and do a little walking. 

After lunch, we headed to the park. It was a spectacularly nice day for the third week in October with barely a cloud in the sky, and the leaves were gorgeous. We walked out onto the fishing dock where a guy was fishing and another couple was strolling around and taking pictures.

Next, we made our way to the huge shelter just above the lake. There was a cool breeze coming through the large "windows" which are just openings in the wall. We sat in large Adirondack chairs and chatted with another couple who chose rocking chairs.

Eventually we excused ourselves to go walking before it got too late. We chose a short loop walk, relishing the chance to be outdoors and back to nature even for a short while. I got the video clip on the way out of the park. It's not great quality, but it is a nice reminder of a fun afternoon.

Always remember to make some time for the fun things...it's all about balance.

A Pleasant Fall

This picture was taken a few weeks ago at the Old Homeplace Vineyard. It is a lovely setting and a great place to sit and relax with a nice glass of wine and enjoying the amazing view.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and for the most part it's still T-shirt weather in my part of the country. It is also very dry. Hubby cleaned the yard of leaves the other day, and the dust cloud was enormous. He said we should probably offer the neighbors gift cards to the car wash. I used the leaf blower to get enough dust off of him so he could come inside. He went to the basement to finish cleaning off with the vacuum cleaner...shoes, socks, jeans, etc. At that point, he could take a shower.

Yes, it was that dusty. We are hoping for a little rain early next week.

This is pizza night! What that means here, to anyone, not familiar with our tradition, is that every other Friday night I make homemade pizza. So, at this point, the dough is rising and we eagerly await the deliciousness.

Some of the men of our church are putting on a short play during the men's breakfast tomorrow. I've seen them run through it five times during rehearsals and it is good and funny, although not a comedy. The guy who plays the director asked me if I was a glutton for punishment. Eh, why not.

If this seems a bit on the rambling side, it's not your imagination. It is exactly that. I'm just trying (again) to revive this blog of mine. Please drop a note in the comment section if you stumble across this. 

Welcome Spring!

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke 

This quote really sums up spring in my neck of the woods, and I assume it to be true in many other places as well. Often we have "spring days" in February. Tomorrow is the first official day of spring 2021.

A lot has changed over the past year all around the world. For months we have lived with the "new normal". Now things, it seem, may be slowly returning to the normal we have always known, albeit with some remnants of the recent past, such as curbside pickup. That is not something we ever did prior to covid, but we will likely continue for at least some of our shopping. 

We have not been in Walmart in over a year, and only last week did we actually "dine in" at a restaurant since March 9, 2020. Baby steps! Our church has been streaming services (as of Sunday) for a full year now. They are planning to return to in-person church on Palm Sunday.While things may normalize through the summer, the world, overall, has changed. I do not know what the future holds, but what I do know is that we should stay positive and live life fully. 

 How are things in your area?

The Ides of March

The Ides of March are upon us! 

Lest you think I am spreading bad vibes here with the Ides of March theme, it is actually NOT a time of doom and gloom as you read in books or see in the movies. Ides, as well as Kalends and Nones were really ancient markers used to reference different lunar phases. The Ides of March used to represent the beginning of spring, thus bringing with it rejoicing and celebrations. So let us rejoice the Ides of March and the coming of spring.

Source: Ides of March

Winter Cheer

It is feeling much like winter today, without the snow. We had freezing rain earlier, but now it is just cold, having apparently reached the high today of 36, and we are headed down to 28 degrees tonight. I would have much preferred to look out the window this morning to something akin to the scene below. Alas, the 10-day forecast is for dry and mild-ish days and cold nights so it seems there will be no white Christmas for us. 

Mild and cold are relative terms, of course. What is weather like where you are this year?

 

It's Pumpkin Season

Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has it's own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin...We anxiously anticipate it every year.  - Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer

I must confess, I am not the biggest fan of pumpkin. My favorite has to be the pumpkin roll, but I think that has more to do with the yummy cream cheese filling than anything pumpkin related.

It seems, though, that pumpkin-fever is here to stay for a while and everyone one is jumping on the pumpkin train. I wrote a post last year for the October writing challenge I was participating in called "Everything Is Coming Up Pumpkins". There you can read all about pumpkin products and trivia.

Now that fall is well underway, I'm hope I can find one of those delicious pumpkin rolls for an upcoming event next weekend. 😋 

Happy Pumpkin-ing y'all!


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Fall Is Upon Us

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. 

― L.M. Montgomery

There is as much beauty in one simple leaf as on a whole mountainside.

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Happy May Day!

What is May Day?

A celebration of Spring

A day of political protest

A neopagan festival

A Saint's feast day

A day for organized labor

In medieval England, people would go a-maying, or gathering fresh greenery and flowers from the woods and fields. This was also known as 'bringing in the May'.  This was described in "The Court of Love" written in 1561.

And furth goth all the Court, both most and lest,
To feche the floures fressh, and braunche and blome;
And namly, hawthorn brought both page and grome.
With fressh garlandes, partie blewe and whyte,
And thaim rejoysen in their greet delyt.


Edited to add that you may place your mouse pointer over the strange words to see the translation.


Are there any May Day celebrations in your area?

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Autumn's Glory

Their fiery colors

Set the afternoon ablaze

Nature's off her meds

The Colors of Fall

Each season has its own special beauty.  Here are some of the colors and textures of Fall.

Caught on a spider web, this leaf is swinging in the breeze.

A friend of his landed on this old stump.

 These two are sharing a little leaf love.

 Red

 Gold and Green

Colors explode in the late evening sun.

An early Fall sunset paints the sky.

Fall Is In The Air

Photo Blogging Challenge for October:  Fall

Hey, is that Pac-Man?

Excuse me, have you seen Linus?

Sometimes Fall colors come in small packages.

I'll huff and I'll puff...Nah, I'll just use the leaf blower.

Nothing says Fall quite like the Fair!

Be sure and drop by our host at a 'lil hoohaa for more Fall treasures.

Running Behind?

It would seem Mother Nature is running a bit behind everywhere this year.  In many areas it is still snowing.

It appears to be a late Spring here too.  While it was a relatively mild winter with only a dusting of snow and a couple 5-minute snow showers, we had a cool March - or so I thought.  The first picture was taken today, and the dogwoods have been out for a few days.

As you can see by the second picture, they were in full bloom by the end of March last year, so that makes them about 3 weeks later this year.  

However, March 2012 was warmer than usual, with temperatures overall about 20 degrees above average.  In retrospect, that makes this year about average.

How is your Spring compared to last year?  

Average, warmer, colder, snowy?

The Hyacinth and Greek Mythology

These beautiful and fragrant flowers are native to the Eastern Mediterranean from Turkey to Israel and Northeastern Iran.  As pretty as they are, their bulbs are poisonous, containing oxalic acid which can irritate the skin.

The Hyacinth also has history in Greek Mythology.  It was said that Hyacinth was a young boy loved by both Apollo and Zephyrus, the wind god.  Hyacinth was throwing the discus with Apollo when he missed Apollo's throw and was struck by the discus and died.  This was not accidental, though, for Zephyrus, being jealous of Apollo, caused a shift in the wind which forced Apollo's discus off course, thus causing Hyacinth's death.  Apollo did not allow Hades to take Hyacinth, instead making him a flower.*

The hyacinth is sometimes associated with rebirth; maybe this is why.

*information source:  Wikipedia

Spring has Sprung: The Vernal Equinox

Spring, otherwise known as the Vernal Equinox, arrived today at 7:02 a.m. EDT.  Every year, I post in honor of the arrival of Spring, and every year I learn something new.  

The word Equinox comes from the Latin words "aequus" meaning equal and "nox" meaning night. This means that the day and night are of equal length everywhere, and that the sun rises due East and sets due West.

There is a bit of folklore that says that on the Equinox you can set a raw egg on its end and it will stay upright.  Some folks performed experiment, and they were successful, but when they repeated it 3 days later, the results were the same.  Perhaps the days immediately surrounding the Equinox work equally as well.  So, having a dozen eggs in the fridge, I decided to give it a try.  Well guess what?  All my eggs fell over onto their little white faces.  Not one would stand up and salute Spring.

What are some of the signs that Spring has sprung, well besides the daffodils and tiny red buds on the maple trees, that is?  This is when the worms come forth from the ground, and ladybugs are seen on the fresh new sprouts.  The birds are gathering bits of straw, string and whatever looks like good nest building materials to create homes for their new families.

Yes, Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal of life.  Although depending on your location, Nature and the calendar may not always be in agreement.

Tis the Season

Today

They are all 

Blown away

More will fall

Tomorrow

Shades of Green

I love the way the

trees caress the summer sky

shades of green on blue

Written for dVerse poetry.

Signs of the Season

This little leaf caught on the remnants of a spider web, danced for me in the breeze.

The Tulip Poplar is the first to release her leaves.

Pretty red Dogwood seeds will feed the birds this winter.

 Sunlight plays on these bushes turning them golden.

 Mother Nature highlighted these leaves on an otherwise green tree.

Written for Friday Flash 55.