Happy New Year!

'Auld Lang Syne' ('Times Long Gone')
By Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

Chorus
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stoup
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl't in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

It's going to be a tough year

How we got here.

Liminal Time

During liminal times boundaries and limits become vague. An infinite number of new possibilities occur. Liminal times occur around the equinoxes and solstices. The time between the winter solstice and the New Year is a prime liminal time. This is when many people make resolutions for change and express new possibilities for the coming year. Of course the problem becomes the follow through.
On a personal level, we are considering some major changes for the New Year. We need a smaller footprint with less maintenance, so we are considering our first move in more than 30 years. So far we are approaching this very deliberately since it will be a major change for us.

Happy Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice. The Solstices and Equinoxes mark the seasons of the year.They highlight the longest day, longest night and the days of equal night and day. Most ancient peoples planned festivals and ceremonies at or around the Solstices and Equinoxes to celebrate the changing seasons.
In the modern era, we have abandoned our biological roots and tried to insulate ourselves from the natural world. We have artificially constructed calendars around religious, political and economic considerations without regard to the actual lunar or solar cycles. In some instances we have usurped ancient holidays under other guises. In fact, today, many people consider observance of solstices and equinoxes in lieu of their usurped holiday to be heretical. Regardless of how you view our world, none can deny its annual journey around the sun nor the seasons that ensue from the 23.5 degree axial tilt. Thus I celebrate another trip around the sun.
Happy Winter Solstice!

Blogging or Barking?

Often its hard to tell the difference.

Winter Trees

Evergreens are always pretty in the winter when everything is so dull and gray, but my favorite deciduous tree in the winter is a sycamore. Their speckled bark makes them stand out in contrast to all the drab. Below is photo of my last sycamore tree all the other mature ones that I had have died. I heard a quote from an Indiana Jones movie the other day which I think may apply. "We're[I'm] at the age where life stops giving us[me] things and starts taking them away."
--Jim Broadbent, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Crafty Holidays

Here are a couple of pomanders that we made for the holidays. I have one hanging by the heat register in the "man cave". They really make the house smell seasonal.
Below are ornaments hanging on the holiday tree on the deck. The top one is a fortune-nut which my daughter thought was really neat and took some to her coworkers. The Bottom one is a pinecone birdfeeder that has peanut butter and birdseeds. The birds think these are neat.

Holiday Tree

Because of allergies in the family, we are not allowed to have a live tree in the house. I am not very fond of artificial trees even though some are quite pretty. So I decided this year I was going to have a live tree out on the deck. The cedar tree that I had my eye on turned out to be double trunked and wouldn't work, so I took this one in lieu. While I'm pleased with holiday appearance of the tree, the side benefit is that the birds love it (see bluebird below). I have added some pine cones with peanut butter and birdseed as ornaments. Now I can look out my patio door and not only see my "live" holiday tree, but also watch the birds fly in and out. Only two weeks until the Winter Solstice.

Solstice Wreath

One of the things that I always make for the winter solstice ceremony is a wreath from things that grew in my little corner of the world over the past seasons. The base is made from grapevine prunings which are garnished with cedar, spruce, holly, honeysuckle,and berries. Also, at the bottom are a couple of bird nests that I found after the windstorm in August. The wreath is burned on the solstice fire as an offering for all that the earth gave us this year. It should dry out and burn pretty good in a couple of weeks.