March In Like a Lamb,Out Like a Lion:Does Ancient Rhyme Predict More Climate Crises or Solutions?
MARCH IN LIKE A LAMB, OUT LIKE A LION:DOES ANCIENT RHYME PREDICT MORE CLIMATE CRISES OR SOLUTIONS?
CAUTIOUS EXIT from SUBTERRANEAN/TELOSIAN MOUNTAIN WRITERS’ WO/MAN CAVE to TREAD LIGHTLY, GUIDED BY ANGELS & NATURE SPIRIT DEVAS INTO SPRING
March May have ‘Come in like LAMB’ but her Gentle Fleece Quickly Trailed in SNOW & 100mph Gales on Donner Pass & CA I-80 2Reno
Hours after fickle month of Spring, Lady March came in on our Leap Year calendar, the young Maiden of Nature chose to reclad herself in Winter woolies, as California’s notorious 7,056ft-high Donner Pass on I-80 to Reno, Nevada was pounded with snow.
Sierra Snow Lab at Donner Pass, operated by the University of California at Berkeley, reported 23.8 inches of new snow between Saturday and Sunday morning, March 2-3, bringing total snowfall for the season to five feet. New snowfall was accompanied by 100mph gale force winds, gusting to 116mph.
“California Highway Patrol in Truckee on CA’s I-80 infamous transmontane route for rail & highway between San Francisco & Reno, NV was monitoring traffic & advised drivers that travel was “highly discouraged”.
Donner Pass reputed inspiration4 Overlook Hotel in Jack Nicholson/Stephen King 1975 movie ‘The Shining’, is popular destination.
Meanwhile in Britain—while the Northern Isles [Orkney & Shetland] & exposed areas of Sutherland like Cape Wrath were battered by gales normal for this time of year—most of the country-including Eastern shores of Scotland, Eastern Northumberland, Yorkshire & the notorious Pennines-were, like the English capital, enjoying garden birdsong, appearance of snowdrops, above mid-l., first buds of cherry & wild cherry (gean), top l. & rt., with even a sighting in downtown Aberdeen of an urban fox making himself comfortable on warm granite ‘cassie setts’ [paving slabs] in the mild weather.
It seems natural, therefore, that our thoughts should spring forward like clocks [daylight saving time U.S. springs forward March 10th; Britain March 28th] to working in the garden to cultivate favourites like the sweet pea, top rt., and dream of the scent of summer roses. Below mid l. Rosa Charles de Mills.
Ramadan, Lent & Easter Dominate March, all ‘late’ in Calendar this Year
Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting and prayer, begins March 10th and will last until April 8th.
Similarly this year, Easter falls ‘late’ i.e. on last Sunday in March: 31st. Because such festivals are still calculated by us earthlings according to moon cycles—mentioned in my previous blog on Carnival here—Good Friday & end of Lent will not happen until after Spring Equinox, March 23rd. March Full “Worm” Moon occurs March 24th. See Lenten origins for blindfolding children & Piñata frolics below*.
Full Moons this quarter: March Worm Moon April Full Pink Moon; & May Full Flower Moon
First come Candlemas
Syne the New Meen
The niest Tiseday efter ‘at
Is aye Festern’s E’en.
That Meen oot
An’ anither at its hicht
The niest Sunday efter ‘at
Is aye Pasche richt.’
Ancient Scots Easter calculation, Anon
And watch out for penumbral lunar eclipse visible in Americas, Europe & W.Africa from 1a.m.-5:30a.m. EDT-March 25; 10p.m. PDT March 24-2:30a.m.March 25th; followed by April 8th solar eclipse visible N.hemisphere
Traditions dominate every culture, whether we know it or not. So it’s worth looking at a favourite child’s game—being blindfolded, spun 3 times (2lose sense of direction) & then trying to smash open a Piñata.
Bright rainbow-paper toy mule Piñata hung up at children’s parties for them to smash open & grab candy & other treasures that burst out from inside wasn’t just for kids originally. In medieval Italy, on 1st Sunday in Lent, Kings of Naples & Sicily distributed gifts to peasants as a Lenten almsgiving. It came in simple earthenware pignatta, Ital. cooking pot, fr.Lat. pinea, pine cone shape.
This tradition spread to Spain, called Piñata like a pineapple Sp. piña, & when Armada came to the New World, they found a similar tradition in Mexico [of Aztec origin] which they embodied/converted in R.C. Xtian Lent.
Spanish Friars saw these as an opportunity 2convert pagan Aztecs & created seasonal piñatas filled with fruits & seeds for Lent, Easter & Christmas.
Being blindfolded was used to represent faith, that is, believing without seeing. Many other traditions from Europe were transmitted via the early [Catholic] Church as a means to convert pagan followers.
Ancients’ Knowledge of Seasons & Growth used at Sacred Sites/ Wells
The Ancient Britons aka Brittonic/Weish Druidic priests of Anglesey/Inys Mons have much to teach us 21st Century A.I.- & politically-dominated experts in garden cultivation, reforestation and agriculture. In our excitement over the phenomenon of spring bloom in deciduous plants, we may forget how heavily we rely on that mysterious range of evergreens quietly holding down roots through harshest winters, only to burst with new foliage and exuberance in warmer months. Below top l.rt Cotswolds’ iconic yews
Conifers like ancient Caledonian pine (pinus sylvestrus or Caledoniensis) come first to mind, along with cousins Monterey pine (pinus radiata, above, bottom rt.) & Pac.NW’s statuesque Douglas Fir (bottom l., pseudotsuga Menziesii)-q.v. last year’s June blog for its stature c.f. Giant Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum, including my young plantation of Caledonian pine in my personal effort to bring rewilding & regrowth to Scots pine forests burned in 1308 by ravages of Robert Bruce’s Herschip o’ Buchan.
Yew—Guardian of Brittonic & pre-Celtic Sacred Mounds—reused in Christian Churches Symbolic of Reincarnation & to Ward off Evil
Less celebrated for its longevity and overwintering prowess, more for its poison, the evergreen Yew, above 1-3, has long been churchyard sentinel in all counties & four British ‘countries’—Scotland (& N.isles) Scotland, England, Wales/Kernow (Cornwall) N.& S.Ireland; relatively less visible in churches in U.S. or E. Europe, but prevalent in cross-channel (Brittonic) Brittany, coastal France & Portugal.
Doorway of St.Edwards church, l. above, Stow-on-the-Wold, English Cotswolds, has ancient yew ‘feet’.
Greek goddess Hecate was famed for her knowledge of herbs, poisonous plants & sorcery; Roman counterpart Hekate/sometimes moon goddess Silene linked to huntress Diana was bearer of the keys to the Underworld, protector of World’s Soul [Anima Mundi]. As she held the keys to unlock the gates between worlds and gain access to both realms, she was equally powerful in ‘Heaven & Hell’ & seen as early-Medieval Tree of Life. While early-Christian monastics advised against putting “devilish charms at springs or trees or crossroads”, legendary Celtic Druids planted yew close to their temples for use in death ritual & regeneration. Because of its association with immortality, early Brittonic/Celtic kings had the wood cut for staffs & emblems of royal regalia, to associate with its immortality & God-given power.
Until they departed Britannia c. A.D.420, Roman legions stormed ancient Brittonic strongholds including York, [called Roman Eboracum, fr. Brythonic Eburākon=place of the Yew trees]. Pre-Celtic yew=eburos.
Reputedly oldest tree in Europe, Perthshire Fortingall Yew is 5000-yrs old & stands at the gates to the kirk [pre-Xtian Pictish well] in what Ancient Brythonic Picts saw as the centre of the landmass of Scotland [Cape Wrath/John o’Groats to Whithorn, Galloway lying a stone’s throw from Glen Lyon Loch Tay Cailleach/Bodach stone shelter, oldest continuously-observed sacred pagan site in Britain maintained by (anon) guardians.
While red Yew berries contain alkaloid poison taxine, from 13thC on its strong, flexible wood was used to cut 6ft longbows, strung with hemp/flax to create powerful weapons with a range of 230 yds/m, which could shoot arrows capable of piercing chain mail. Bows & arrows were in use until rapid fire guns & cannon took over mid 16thC.
An avenue of yews at Painswick, nr. Stroud, Glos., top, rt. reaches full-height 60ft/20m.
Its poisonous berries, 2nd l. above, keep cattle and wildlife away from graveyards, so sacred burials remain intact. Its longevity is second only to Giant Redwoods, and, because of its continuous use from Ancient pagan times, it is traditionally seen as symbolic of reincarnation and life everlasting.
Nature’s Woodland Helpers Inspire us to Dive Back into our Writers‘ Den to Connect with our Inner Soul
Guided through this maelstrom of 21stC catastrophic existence by angelic forces, we are reminded by the angel/deva of the sweet pea, top,rt. that Dorothy Maclean, a Canadian gardener, communicated with the Devas, and spoke with sweet peas and the pea fairy while she worked.
Dorothy was co-founder alongside her Brit friend Eileen Caddy of Findhorn Foundation in NE Scotland. They meditated in their ‘fifties blue caravan, with Eileen’s ex-RAF husband Peter Caddy, a WWII vet. They shared a dream of international peace. And growing their own vegetables.
Among early Foundation residents was Joy Drake, who also gardened, spoke w/angels & created now internationally-celebrated set of Angel Cards rt. used daily by millions similar to drawing from a Tarot deck.
Findhorn’s Eco-village and Buckminster Fuller-inspired geodesic dome ‘Universal Hall’ meeting venue on shores of the Moray Firth drew followers from all over the world. Recent fire burned its Community Centre & so FF meditation Sanctuary/guest program has been discontinued. Interim spiritual ad- vice, provided by FF leader Granville Stone, is supported by a worldwide network of RP ‘Resource Persons’, of which I am one. Thus, any direction or assistance i can give in helping a fellow seeker along Nature’s path to Universal enlightenment-with the help of the angelic brigade is offered via this blog-comments are welcome.
A long-time gardener myself, associated with the RP Network since 1988, [169 people in 36 countries], I have moved from NE Scotland—where I was RP for Aberdeenshire—to being RP for Eureka, CA [2012- 2018]—currently RP for Hilo, Hawai’i/working in the Network with Elisha Southworth, RP Kailua-Kona.
Such is the way of the Universe & Great Spirit. If you are a believer, all things will come; all dreams be fulfilled.
Now. as I dive back down into my Muse-Angel-guided Writerly Cavern, I urge my fellow travellers in the Light to stay cool, & believe that Peace, and those beautiful Devas within the sweet pea [and your own faves] in the Spirit Realm are keeping us on track. ThankU Universe. ©2024MarianC.Youngblood
Stepping Ahead into 1st Quarter of 21stCentury While Looking Back to the Goode Olde Days
STEPPING AHEAD INTO 1ST QUARTER OF 21ST CENTURY WHILE LOOKING BACK TO THE GOODE OLDE DAYS
BOOM! JAPAN EARTHQUAKE WAKES us CREATIVE-& not so INSECURE WRITERS as we EMERGE JANUARY 1st WEDNESDAY FROM our SUBTERRANEAN WRITERS‘ CAVE
Early 2024 Wake-up Call from Honshu Japan Mag.7.5 Earthquake
Western Hemisphere revellers had barely laid their weary firework-filled heads to rest in the early hours of New Year’s Day, (pix bottom rt. above) when BOOM! a mighty Mag.7.5 earthquake awoke the Pacific from Hawai’i &points West [over International Dateline] 2Honshu, Japan, heralding a New Year series of tsunami warnings unheard since Fukushima.
Another 21 quakes & aftershocks followed during subsequent 24 hours.
Almost 23 years to the date of Fukushima, March 11, 2011 nuclear plant explosion on Honshu’s Eastern shore 100mi N of capital Tokyo, at an equivalent distance W, the Shika nuclear power plant on the Noto peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture (maps l. above) had received Pacific-wide quake warnings & shut the power off before first earthquake hit at 4:20. While fires broke out in nearby townships, thankfully no abnormalities were recorded on monitors. Water had spilled from a cooling pool for spent fuel rods, but officials had disconnected pumps used for cooling pools after the initial quake alarm, and power was restored less than an hour later, by 4:49 p.m. Japan is nine hours ahead of UHT/GMT.
While the Old World recovers from Hogmanay Antics…
New Year’s Eve, December 31st is celebrated everywhere round the world, but is especially marked in Scotland from ancient times: EVERYTHING allowed; anything goes—similar to Roman Saturnalia—with drinking, street parties & free-for-all visits between neighbors’ houses, especially in open countryside.
Hogmanay, aka Scots night before bringing in the New Year w/whisky, music & dance, is a festival celebrated December 31st from English Border thru ‘Central Belt’- towns of Glasgow & Edinburgh, to Stonehaven & ABD [#Fireballs swinging ceremony, left] to the Moray Coast [Burghead Burning Clavie on Jan.11th-11days later w/Julian calendar].
It even stretches to parts north, including Viking Orkney & polar Shetland [Ptolemy’s Ultima Thule].
Stonehaven pyrotechnics l. Hogmanay swinging fire-balls w/local Pipe Band & resident song/dance troupe
Celebrations throughout the North American continent encourage near-continuous feasting & festive events from Christmas Eve onward; through the (traditional) “Twelve Days of Christmas” of early Christian tradition—including multi-cultural events like Diwali, Hawai’ian Lantern-Lighting Ceremony—itself a Japanese spin-off subculture event in the Pacific Island chain; and including multiple strictly controlled city fireworks displays. But now there are legal limits.
Personal fireworks night parties are encouraged, but U.S. regulations have come down heavily on private firecracker & rocket-launch fun, with strict fines imposed on (often teenage) offenders; e.g. New Year’s Eve “celebrations” are only legal 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to 1 a.m. New Year’s Day!
Olde World ancestors are swinging while swilling chilled eggnogs in their waterlogged graves!
The Caledonian Connection to Olde Times
Many are familiar with Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”, but fewer may be aware of its etymology.
The early Christian calendar-with focus on Christmas [birth of the Messiah] was Man’s ultimate aim for blessing from above in the ancient world. It came exactly 9 months after Annunciation March 25th/i.e. Mary’s pregnancy, aligned with [Julian calendar] Spring Equinox. December 25th in Roman calendar translates to winter solstice. 12 days thereafter calculates to Biblical “Epiphany”, January 6th [Gregorian].
A Puritan-led English Parliament in 1647 banned all celebration, pantomime, carol singing & feasting considering it “a popish festival with no biblical justification” and replaced it with a day of fasting. This ban was, e.g. Boston, Mass. 1659 to 1681, not recognized as a federal holiday again until reinstated 1870.
Pix rt. Caledonian festival in Moray, ABD Burning of the Clavie Jan.11th Pictish hillfort of Burghead where gifts of charred embers distributed to local dignitaries en route.
So it was not unusual on Hogmanay Olde World Scotland for neighbors to bravely tread through miles of snow to reach a friendly party upslope. I recall one year where my local GP, unphazed by Hogmanay snowdrifts, trudged five miles between his country town & my isolated hilltop abode to join the party!
First-footing & New Year Resolutions Get in Gear
As we step-“boldly go” courtesy Star Trek-into a year which will see us through one quarter of the 21st Century, we still make New Year Resolutions to try to keep ourselves true to our own nature—not under the influence of what society expects of us. Thus harkening back to Mediaeval festive rhymes still has a place in our hearts, if only to remind us that we were all once children & kids always have the most fun!
On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave 2me: 12 pipers piping; 11 drummers drumming; 10 lords a-leaping; 9 ladies dancing; 8 maids a-milking; 7 swans a- swimming; 6 geese a-laying; 5g0-ld rings; 4 calling birds; 3 French hens, two turtle doves & a partridge in a pear tree
Alternatively, see Bulbasaur version here
January Lantern-floating ceremony prelude to Chinese Year of Dragon February 2024, l.
Looking Forward to 2024:Tall Ships Race, Wildlife/Forest & Nature Regeneration
Highlight of summer 2024 in Northern Europe will be the Baltic Tall Ships Race starting from Klaipeda, Lithuania June 27th, & racing via Helsinki, Finland[July], thru Baltic nations to Tallinn, Estonia, to Åland Is. port of Mariehamn, & end at Szczecin [Stetin] Poland on August 5th, 2024-total 1500 nautical miles.
Keeping Our Word & Heading Back Down to our Subterranean Writing Enclave, Clutching our Climate Change Notebook
Midsummer 2024’s Tall Ships Race is a legend in northern European nations since its beginnings 200 years ago in the quiet Northumbrian port of Blyth, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. From its unassuming N.England base, some of the world’s most famous wooden Baltic Trader vessels were built, sailing to deliver coal to Baltic ports, including Russian trade with St. Petersburg.
The wooden schooner Williams, out of Blyth discovered the continent of Antarctica.
Its replica, 100-year old Baltic trader ‘Williams II’, above top l., is used as a training ship to school young people in oceangoing crafts including, rigging, sailing, navigation, hawser work, knitwork & stitchcraft. Its history is integral part of 2024 Tall Ships race which will sail to traditional Baltic ports this summer; pix above l. middle:Tall Ships 2024 route; top l. prow; rt. Rival Aberdeen-built Tall Ship Thermopylae, among others [including Cutty Sark & Cleopas] also navigated the fierce Baltic run.
Happy New Year, all! With them in spirit, we continue to press this New Year for the Paris Agreement goal of limiting increase in global average temperature to -2°C above pre-industrial levels.
We also wish to send congratulations to other youth organizations which are this New Year following through on Climate Change goals of replanting, rewilding & regenerating inner city—and ancient former-wild spaces: WWF, Trees for Life, Rewilding Scotland; Rewilding Europe & Rewilding Britain; not to mention similar Pacific NW & SoCal rewilding initiatives following the lead of COP26.
New Year resolution? Let’s grow our own veggies & plant more trees together in 2024. @siderealview ©2024MarianC.Youngblood
November Remembered for ‘Gunpowder, Treason & Plot’:420yrs Later Have We Learned Anything?
NOVEMBER REMEMBERED for GUNPOWDER, TREASON & PLOT—420 YEARS LATER HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING?
November’s First Wednesday Emergence from Writers’ Subterranean Wo/Man Cave 2Greet Same-old Same-old—or Heavens2-Betsy Are We Creatives Starting 2 Get it?
Hallowe’en 2023’s Full Hunters’ Moon— [Native American: ‘Falling Leaves Moon’]& Samhainn [ancient Celtic New Year], mark transition to Autumn: ‘clocks #fall back’ to EST/GMT closest to Guy Fawkes Day
Remember remember the 5th of November Gunpowder,Treason & Plot; I see no reason why Gunpowder Season shuld everB forgot
1875 & 1926 British Nursery Rhyme
Guy Fawkes was discovered midnight Nov.4/5 1605 lurking in cellar underLondon Houses of Parliament building with a fuse, box of matches & 36 barrels of gunpowder as Catholic sympathizers tried to blow up Protestant govt led by King Jas.VI & I
Warlords, Political Peacemakers? Do Leaders Inspire or Conspire?
This has never been a political blog—my work here has always been to find the best in human nature and share it with writers [insecure or otherwise, screenwriters & creative talent always included]. But there are times…with constant news focus on violence, war on Mediterranean shores, and challenging video footage of human conflict, when it is vital to try to see the #BiggerPicture, a greater perspective.
Guy Fawkes/Brit ‘Bonfire Night’ Combines Hallowe’en & ‘Guising‘- 17thC Equivalent of Nevada Desert Burning Man’s Flaming Effigy
Whatever the weather—amid storm, rain clouds or bright moonlight, British teens [& many traditional adults, too] still show up at their local park or town centre on Bonfire Night aka Guy Fawkes, Nov.5th, to watch [and participate in] a large bonfire—wood & scrapheap incendiaries collected by local Council volunteer groups beforehand. The event, contrary to strictly monitored U.S. equivalent, is accompanied by a Council-funded fireworks display. With adult supervision, toddlers & small children are allowed to set off their own “squibs”/firecrackers.
With the exception of iconic U.S. music festivals like Newport/Monterey Jazz, Woodstock, Altamont, CA & Reggae-on-the-River, Humboldt, CA, many recent community [music and other genre] events have been distinguished by an extreme police presence, yellow tape, restricted parking and other controlling measures which often undermine the ethic invested in the event to begin with.
Last year’s Burning Man at Black Rock, Nevada Desert is a fine example of human resourcefulness in face of deluge & extreme flooding, to extract thousands of powerless individuals from a soaking sand wasteland. Police were on standby, but their vehicles were unable to accomplish what kindhearted humans did for one another—saving many from certain demise.
Human Kindness Factor in Hawai’ian Rescue of Làhainà, Maui
Maui’s 150-year old Banyan tree [Ficus Benghalensis, relative of edible fig], pix l. upper, before & lower, after 8/8 Lionsgate fires which demolished its surroundings, along with adjacent neighborhood marina filled with boat owners & vessels unable to flee the burning harbor. Nobody drowned, but so many vehicles were destroyed that road traffic was impossible.
Arborists have sunk water pipe network of tree ‘food’ near re-plugged aerial roots to help re-anchor her system to regenerate.
Benches under canopy were unharmed, & caustic burned earth has been removed.
Red Cross & volunteer agencies still there.
Three months on from Hawai’i’s “most horrific disaster since WWII”, the brave residents of LàHainà community on Maui’s western shore, have chosen collectively this week to welcome tourists/visitors back to their [partially-rebuilt] town and marina resort—with the proviso that visitors maintain respect for those 115 lives lost in the fires on 8/8 which burned 22,000acres of town & woodland, including a marina filled with boats, surfboards and small craft.
While outside agencies have tried to provoke long-time residents into taking Hawai’ian Electric to court, many have declined, knowing that fire itself was the ultimate criminal in burning down both power lines and island-wide emergency siren towers, used in event of tsunami emergencies. Telephone, electric and siren poles were first casualties, giving citizens sole option of fending for themselves and helping their neighbours—which they did in spades!
LàHainà’s emergency will go down in history as one of great Human Kindness. Maui Humane Society is still on site, and has been returning rescued cats, dogs & other pet animals to their long-lost owners. The banyan tree is only one of several local tree replanting projects to restore Nature’s bounty to Maui.
Samhainn pre-Celtic New Year:Six Months from Bealtainn/MayDay
The ancient calendar began November 1st, one of four ‘cross-quarter days’, to distinguish them from the solstices [June/December 21st ‘quarter days’] & equinoxes [March&September 22nd].
In N.E. Scotland, where rewilding is restoring rich Caledonian pine forests which used to stretch from Abedeenshire to Morayshire coast before being burned by Robert Brus in his personal vendetta against rival Comyn, Forbes, Keith estates in 1308 Herschip o’Buchan /harrying/burning of Buchan, exciting restoration work is being done by private individuals, as well as foundations such as the family trust of Viscount Cowdray descendants of Cowdray Polo Park, W.Sussex & Dunecht House ABD, below.
Viscount Cowdray’s Heirs Continue his Legacy in Aberdeenshire
Weetman Pearson, (1856-1927) 1st Viscount Cowdray was an industrialist invited by Mexican President to build the Tehuantepec railroad between Atlantic & Pacific coasts. During stopover in Texas where he missed his connection, he noticed oil bubbling from a local puddle; called his technicians to investigate (thinking any resource found could fuel his Mexican enterprise!). When the well produced big time, he not only completed his Mexican deal, but created the early stages of what became Royal Dutch Shell. His family Coat of Arms above pix bottom l. pays tribute to his Mexican past.
When he died at Dunecht House aged 70, his £400million [$24billion by today’s standard] fortune was split 10 ways among his children. Grandson, Weetman John (Churchill) Pearson [1910-1995] 3rd Lord Cowdray was interested in following in paternal footsteps after fighting [& losing an arm] in WWII. He & his children all continued to support his Aberdeenshire Dunecht Estate-still do.
When Craigenlow, l.&rt. top above reopened granite operations 1945 after the war, Cowdray liked to attend a “blast”. My father, RCKelman, chairman Craigenlow Quarries Ltd enjoyed inviting Aberdeen dignitaries & VIPs to watch strictly-supervised gelignite explosions along the 100ft high 100yd-long granite quarry face, felling approx.150,000tons granite at a time. He & Lord Cowdray had much in common: my father, a childhood polio victim, had a ‘gammy’ leg which agreed well with Lord Cowdray’s missing arm.
Today Dunecht Estate is run by his second son Hon. Charles Pearson & family, with several properties in trust, including fishing on River Dee, forestry, farming, field sports [Raemoir, Forest of Birse, Durris & Edinglassie] and including, pix middle 2 above, Dunnottar Castle Kincardineshire coast, now Aberdeen. This ancient Keith-Earls Marischal stronghold is run as a visitor attraction and is a focus for the family’s continued ethos of using sustainable farming and growing practices to support local communities.
Before Heading Back Underground to Our Muse Den…
With so many telltale warnings from Mother Earth in her quiet way trying to tell us to slow down & go easy on our little planet—the only one we got until Mars or Space-X prove otherwise—it’s a good time to keep an eye on the heavens. At top of this blog there appears strange looking black celestial object which isn’t just there to scare the Hallowe’en crowd. Part of a recent scan by the Jas.Webb telescope, and NASA’s Hubble, it shows ancient Arabic-named supergiant star Betelgeuse [pron.Beetle-juice! hence the joke movie] situated high above constellation Orion—very visible in winter skies. Its pre-Christian legend is of one-armed or one-legged god swinging a club/or dragon at an invisible force for an eternity. But this supergiant [in Orion’s outstretched arm] may be dimming at such a rate that it may become a supernova, i.e. explode.
Betelgeuse is only 725 light years away—meaning if it has already gone supernova, it happened c.1300 A.D. and we are about to witness what happens. If it continues to dim & throw great chunks of carbon-filled fire & dust into its immediate orbit, it could end in blowing itself into oblivion. Hubble astronomers say:”No one knows what a star does right before it goes supernova, because it’s never been observed”.
So keep your eye on Orion through the winter—he might just throw us a treat!
And p.s. Don’t forget—Brit music fans, particularly in Stroud/Gloucestershire/Salisbury area: Saturday, November 4th at the #SubRooms [mid pic above l.] Tiger Split Outfit playing your fave music. Enjoy. ©2023MarianC.Youngblood
Warmest Year on Record: 2023 “October—All Over”? No Chance as Angels Are With Us
WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD: 2023 “OCTOBER—ALL OVER”?-NO CHANCE AS ANGELS ARE WITH US
Bahamian Hurricane Rhyme Stirs Us Creative [sometimes Insecure] Writers from Our Subterranean Slumber, Shoots us like Goddess Pele’s Lava Fountains into Real World
“June—too soon; July—stand by; August—come it must; September—remember; October—all over”
Traditional Bahamian hurricane rhyme, now weirdly outdated by 2023 temperatures & solar activity
Coronal Mass Ejections [CMEs] Still Corrupting Earth’s Weather
If we thought the month of October would bring cooler weather—technically a month after official “fall”—autumn equinox, September 23rd—we earthlings have been proved wrong, again.
Northern hemisphere temperatures continue to blast hot days [& not-so-cool nights], even though some areas of New England and northern Scotland are experiencing the beauty of falling leaves and changing colours in coastal woodland and montane forests.
CMEs which began last month-9/11-with a direct hit on Earth September 19th, have been plaguing distraught scientists who issued warnings to stay indoors.
But magnificent #AuroraBorealis, top, has tempted viewers outside from Arctic circle [Reykyavik, Iceland] thru the British Isles, & as far as Michigan-Keweenaw Peninsula,MI above top rt. Photo l. courtesy NASA
U.S.-wide memorials to those lost 22 years ago in New York’s 9/11 attacks on World Trade Towers, 2001, were accompanied by earth-wide explosions [Marrakech prefecture Morocco where earthquakes rendered 2100 people dead, but spared the local Mosque] & floods in Greece & Turkey caused by unusual weather swings. Some southern U.S. states [Nevada, Texas & parts of CA border w/Mexico near Tijuana] also suffered, but first responders—geared up after last month’s flooding at Burning Man, at Black Rock, NV quickly restored order. Turkish/Moroccan authorities are still at work clearing rubble.
Historical Examples of Celestial Intercession bring Peace to Many
Following Hawai’i’s tragic loss of life in the August 8/8 Làhainà fires on the island of Maui—sparing the local church building—and last month’s Marrakech earthquake where the local mosque was untouched, many have compared such unusual anomalies within destruction with the horrendous bombing in WWII by the Allies of Germany’s Kölner Dom—Cologne Cathedral on the River Rhein/Rhine—below, which remained standing while all around was bombed to bits.
Begun in 13thC on a sacred site of previous Roman worship, the Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus,[Cathedral Church of St.Peter] is the highest twin-spired church in the world at 515ft/157m.
Construction began in 1248 on an edifice which was to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and also to be majestic enough for a Holy Roman Emperor. But work stopped and it was left unfinished c.1560. Attempts to complete construction began again in 1814 and a protestant Prussian overlord injected major funding in 1840s. The façade was completed to the original medieval plan in 1880.
In 1996 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Significantly, its original medieval name, the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, has ties to other northern nations like Anglian Northumbria, Celtic Brittany and Kernow/Cornwall-with influence in Anglesey, Wales and Ireland. Its Prussian overlords not only injected much-needed funding to complete the building, but effectively re-translated its medieval [Roman] catholicism to protestant worship; thus keeping it more in line with original 8thC non-partisan [though aligned with Rome] Pictish kingdom of Peterkirk monarch Nechtan, who pulled his nation out of heathen darkness into Christian light with his stone “Fite” kirks.
In Ortelius’ revealing map of Scotland [Britannia Minor]! 1595-1612, mention is made of tribes Caledonii, Attacotti, Maetae and Venicones-viz. Tacitus.
By making the Grampian Mountains [Graupius mons] stretch from Firth of Tay as far N as Ross & Cromarty, however, he may have misled many historians to think Calgacus‘ battle of Mons Graupius happened in Morayshire! Some still do!
N.Britain—Roman ‘Ultima Thule’ Beyond the Wall—Back of Beyond
Historically Scotland—Ortelius’ ‘Britannia Minor’, above, and Hadrian’s Legions’ ‘Ultima Thule’ is a prime example of map-makers’ guesswork, in the absence of real on-the-ground discovery/exploration.
Tacitus, writing A.D.98 on the life and character of his father-in-law, Roman General/Governor of Britain Julius Gnaeus Agricola A.D. 77/78–83/84, described the tribes of North Britain—Caledonians—as heathen tribes of warriors in a country few of his contemporaries knew existed. At the time Caledonia was split into two divisions: Dicaledonii ruled by Pictish kings, in Moravia [Moray] and Veniconi & Taexali in Mar & Buchan [Aberdeenshire].
Solitudinem faciunt Pacem appellant
Calgacus exhorting his Caledonians before Battle of Mons Graupius AD83
They create a Wilderness and call it Peace—
Roman Walls of Hadrian & Antonine built to Control ‘Warlike’ Picts
Roman legions—with their military god Mithras leading them north into unknown territory—were quick to destroy any signs of Pictish bull-worship which conflicted with their own pagan god Mithras’ birth— Hellenic pagan Mithra born under the sacred tree of life already bearing arms, able to ride (and kill) the mythic life-giving cosmic bull whose blood fertilized all vegetation. Pictish Class-I carved bull stones, viz. Burghead‘s 32 iconic guardian stones, were automatic casualties. One remains in British Museum. Others—thrown in the harbor—are still “missing”.
One intriguing reference from Roman authors following legions’ forays into Britannia Minor was that the Pictish citadel of present-day Edinburgh Castle, Braun Hogenberg 1581-8 map above, lower l. was the Castrum Puellarum, ‘Citadel of the Virgins’ or ‘Maidens’ Castle’ c.f. Maiden Castle, Dorset, ABD Maiden Stone. While the Aberdeenshire & Dorset icons refer to P-Celtic/Brittonic Mai-duinn=morning [ABD Maiden Stone casts no shadow at noon, but acts as sundial both a.m. & p.m.], the Castle in Edenbvrg was actually used by Picts to board up their young virgins while they went into battle, because the fortress was impregnable/safe.
It was a safe stronghold for other princesses. King Malcolm III [Canmore]‘s widow, Queen [later St.] Margaret of Scotland used it for her refuge after his death, A.D. 1093.
Other notable features of the capital city are: ‘High Street’, top, now the ‘Royal Mile’- its exact length; the town gate, bottom, near ruined Abbey of Holyrood; whose guesthouse was later transformed as official residence of the monarch in Scotland—the Palace of Holyrood House.
Also of note in Mercator 1595 maps, above top l.+rt. inset, Loch Ness is clearly marked with an opening to the North Sea on Moray Firth—today only accessible to boat traffic via man-made Caledonian Canal.
With Angels & Saints in our Corner, How Can We Lose?
Even in this 21stC age of materialism where the ‘Almighty’ is the dollar on the ground, rather than a spiritual presence from ‘Above’, thankfully there are moments of personal Revelation when a door—or a new path—opens up, where we thought there was no way forward.
But we gotta believe ❤ for it to happen.
Prime example of human belief in a higher power & fortitude when all light seemed dim, three pioneers stepped into a void on a beach on the Moray Firth [now considered part of Aberdeenshire, Scotland] in 1962 to follow their dream, and the spiritual community/ecovillage of the Findhorn Foundation began.
Dorothy Maclean, 1920-2020, pic.4 Canadian gardener communicated with the Devas, spoke to sweet peas and the pea fairy while she worked, was co-founder alongside her Brit friends Eileen Caddy who meditated while on the toilet in her ‘fifties blue caravan, far rt. above, with her ex-RAF husband Peter Caddy, a WWII vet. They all shared a dream of international peace. And growing their own veggies.
When their first year’s garden produced cabbages of such enormity that they could feed an army, all three realized they’d touched base with the ‘Great Spirit’—the Angels [FF member Joy Drake’s angel cards above 2nd l.]—and Universal Consciousness.
The Universal Hall was built [lower l.above]. Dorothy returned to die there, March 2020.
And the rest is history.
Findhorn Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, 2022. Winding down its workshop syllabus was chosen by team residents after the Sanctuary burned 2021.
Resource People Around the World
While it is tragic that Findhorn’s spiritual workshop initiative & on-site teaching seminars have come to an end—its last hands-on event was September 22, 2023—the Foundation continues with help from its RPs-[Resource persons] who have spent long periods at its Ecovillage on the Moray Coast.
My first RP Gathering in 1988 as one of their worldwide network [am current RP for U.S.A.Hawai’i-Hilo] was the first where they were proud to be represented by spiritual practitioners in over 40 nations in the world. At that time I was resident in [& RP for] nearby Aberdeenshire-not too onerous a task. ❤
While this news of the Foundation’s last workshops may disappoint many, to me it seems only natural—in a 21stC milieu of extremes [poverty & riches; poisonous & organic; death & life miracles] that on one level they’re returning to the simple life in the blue caravan on the beach overlooking Findhorn Bay.
More sad news:last week iconic 300-yr old ‘Robin Hood’ sycamore featured 1991 Kevin Costner movie at Hadrian’s Wall National Trust Northumbrian WorldHeritage site was chainsawed/vandalized.
Police have held & released two suspects & continue to investigate reason for such vandalism on a special tree, beloved & visited by thousands.
One thing amid uncertainty: Nature always survives, Of that we are certain: Angels are still with us all—Creative Writers/Artists; first responders; ditch-diggers; television & movie strikers & production teams. Thank you, @SGA Hollywood for recognizing screen-writing talent; & thank you, Universe & Angels & Great Nature Spirit-we’re all still here. And we believe. @AAM @cleopasbe11 @siderealview ©2023MarianC.Youngblood
Oriental Year of Water Wabbit aka March Hare Brings False Spring, Ice Balls, Massive Snowfall in Unexpected Places
ORIENTAL YEAR OF WATER WABBIT aka MARCH HARE BRINGS FALSE SPRING, ICE BALLS, MASSIVE SNOWFALL in UNEXPECTED PLACES
FIRST WEDNESDAY TUNE-IN FROM DEEP INSIDE MOUNTAIN WRITERS’ CAVE for[?INSECURE] CREATIVE, SCRIBBLERS to WITNESS UNUSUALLY HIGH TEMPS & SUNSHINE in SOUTHERN PARTS of ‘REAL WORLD’
GOLF BUFFS CELEBRATE @PGA HONDA CLASSIC PALM SPRINGS, FLA in 80ºF, w/BAHAMAS, PUERTO RICO, CARIBBEAN vs. SAN FRANCISCO, LAS VEGAS, SHASTA’s SNOW & ICE BALLS
HONDA Classic golf tournament just ended at the hugely complicated PGA golf course in Palm Springs, Fla, with a final playoff between champion Chris Kirk & challenger Eric Cole, Kirk winning by a triumphant birdie on water/bunker-enclosed 18th green.
Rubber Duckies Join the Throng Aboard new s.s. Scarlet Lady
More than a decade ago, ocean studies conducted by major New England ocean research state-funded institutions discovered that “rubber duckies“, below rt. were being unwittingly transported around the globe, following natural current fluctuations & boosted by tropical and Arctic storms. While a concentration of these tiny plastic toys gathered naturally in Central Pacific’s Great ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’, others found their way to Alaska, Pennsylvania, Trinidad, CA & even the Magellan Straits & Chile’s Cape Horn.
Virgin Cruise ship, top rt. s.s. Scarlet Lady has joined Richard Branson’s family of human transportation to unusual places-space, airline jets & deep sea adventures with ocean voyages to Caribbean, Florida Keys, Bahamian Cays, and Leeward Islands, & soon Puerto Rico in essentially British style cruises: the Scarlet Lady takes only adult passengers; although a little bird succeeded in hiding mini “rubber-duckies” under passengers’ dining room chairs & in cabins (for charity) before they sailed on last adventure.
During Mardi Gras Carnival in NOLA, the ‘Big Easy’, and Brazil last month, there were all versions of duckies, although it took return to semi-normalcy for our fave creatures to feature—Valentine’s Day duckies, rt, 2nd top & middle rt. reigning supreme.
Ocean-fishing begins to surge now, with the waxing March moon encouraging fishermen—particularly Pacific islanders-to join their fellows in catch-to-eat swordfish & Ahi-(popular member of tuna family), while Ocean tourism by local Hawai’ian Tourist Board yachts is bringing in early whale-spotters. Humpbacks, monk seal pups, even shark babies are being born in seasonal balmy waters—Hilo Bay, Big Island, HI air temp 80ºF; water temp 76ºF.
Even if no mythical hippocampus sea monsters have been seen drawing god Poseidon/Neptune’s chariot—as in Fishbourne Roman Palace mosaic floor, above bottom rt., indeed gentle giant Mama humpbacks have been spotted giving birth to babies in balmy waters off Kailua-Kona on Hawai’i’s leeward coast. Right now volunteer preservationists are diligent in removing all discarded fish-netting gear & plastic debris from these waters. Even sharks, stranded in unusually high spring tides have been carefully assisted by the volunteers (wearing protective dive suits) back into the Bay. Baby monk seals caressed in sand by Mama are also being monitored,
Thankfully, we are seeing the last of February’s month of high winds and rainfall—two feet in places, up to 7inches per day Hilo coast, associated with high surf & wintry showers over Mauna Kea mountain top, 29,000ft from ocean floor—which coated the telescope array (ELT, extra large telescope) with a dusting of white snow. It had a surreal edge to it, particularly on Virgo full moon night February 19th.
March full “Worm” moon next Tuesday March 7th, will be followed by new moon March 21st, coinciding with Spring Equinox and the beginning of Ramadan. In the old pre-Xtian calendar Equinox falls precisely six weeks after Feast of Bridei/Brigid, aka Candlemas, February 2nd.
Clocks spring forward on March 12th, 2023 (Daylight Saving time in U.S.A.), while British clocks change later month 3/26/23.
Ancient pre-Celtic Deities Based on Babylonian/Greek/Carthaginian Model copied into Roman Pantheon
In the ancient pre-Xtian Calendar, based on Roman/Greek/Babylonian mythology, we [Europeans] still calculate Palm Sunday, Easter & even Islamic Ramadan/ Jewish Rosh Hashanah around solstices & equinoxes. e.g. Candlemas, Feb.2nd, Feast of Bride/ ancient Brigantia falls precisely six weeks after winter solstice; six weeks before Spring Equinox; with one exception—Easter in R.C, Anglican & Presbyterian Churches varies from Orthodox Church by one week.
This clearly wasn’t an issue to the pantheon aka atheist gods of myth; as theirs was a realm “above”/beyond the human sphere, where “God was killable”. Pantheon=place where gods dwell. So, when Zeus/Helios at first reigned within the pantheon [below 3rd l.] he drove his chariot drawn by horses of his creation around the sky in the day, resting at night in the arms of Nyx, Nut in Egyptian pantheon. When Zeus took on the rôle of sole sun god & Hades [the place/underworld] became incarnate as god of night, he delegated the job of ocean protector and father of (sea)horses to Poseidon/Neptune, pic below bottom l. & top rt. who not only birthed equine offspring, but was in charge of earthquakes-[earth-shaker] Sculpture below rt. Poseidon stands at Melenara harbour entrance Gran Canaria; Canary Islands, on Atlantic Ocean side of entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
His trident symbolizes triple rôle as god/protector of ocean-and ocean-going vessels, sailors and fishermen-earthquakes and horses.
Nymph Scylla, above rt, (in myth sister of Carybdis, the whirlpool), because she was hated by Zeus’ wife Hera-putative reason:her ex-marital lover preferred Scylla to her-was forever doomed to cause the death of fishermen/sailors, therefore the antithesis of a protector, in contrast to Poseidon/Neptune, their guardian god, (adjacent pic w/sea bubbles) whom she loved.
Before Hades was given dominion over the underworld, Poseidon was seen as its ruler: logical, as Ocean and (underground) Earth Shaker. At that time he was married to Demeter, with Persephone as their daughter. When Zeus took over that godhead, in Bronze Age Mycenaean Greek pantheon, Hera, his wife who hated Scylla, bottom r. above, changed her from delicate inspirational nymph -Muse to forever land-bound beauty, so that passing sailors and fishing craft would be inspired/transfixed by her earth-bound loveliness and not see their ship being drawn into the whirlpool of her sister Carybdis in the waters ahead of them.
Homer’s Odyssey describes her fatal attraction in some detail, as a warning to sailors and fishermen throughout the ages.
Traditional belief that planet Earth goes through a transformation in spring, summer and fall/winter, personified in female form by Greek, Babylonian & Roman triad of goddesses Persephone, Demeter, Hecate/Ceres. Earlier Babylonian/Greek goddesses seem to fit the classical image of that female triad: maiden, mother & crone better than their Roman counterparts Artemis/Diana & Selene/ Luna.
Muse-nymph Scylla, above rt. however, never ages, never experiences winter, never becomes the crone.
Archaeologists in 2000 discovered the tomb of Babylonian GILGAMESH aka Nimrod, rt. the first anti-Christ of the Bible (Old Testament).
The U.S, under excuse of going to war, collected the body, looted the museum, stealing 5000-year old Babylonian tablets describing how to ‘raise a god from the dead’.
Cold war antics do not go away. They are just superceded by modern politics.
RAF Nimrod, jet aircraft pictured here on take-off from R.A.F. Lossiemouth airbase—still operational—on Moray Firth coast, near mouth of River Spey.
It lies adjacent to Gordonstoun School, (private), and 7thC Pictish stronghold Duffus Castle & estate.
Neighbours to W: Findhorn intentional spiritual community, Burghead Scotland’s largest Pictish stronghold
Duffus House, previously leased boys’ boarding house attached to G House on school grounds, has returned to private ownership, now operates as a holiday venue entertainment centre for visitors to Morayshire’s North Coast, ABD Scotland.
Enter the Slippery Slope of Politics as Humans Decipher Code from the Stars—or from Rival Regimes
Hacking isn’t anything new. I became a victim of the dreaded hack in late autumn last year, making it impossible to continue writing this, my beloved blog—a fave occupation next to novel-writing; tree-planting—necessitating a three-month hiatus [+deep self-questioning & doubt of my abilities as a writer—guess you could call that truly Insecure], partly rescued by “reality”, a period of enforced confinement in hospital for a hereditary diabetes-related condition, and addressing the ‘real’ prospects of recovery in a [Telosian eternal, I know, I know] body which was in ‘real world’ terms past its sell-by date! i.e. fledgling octogenarian.
Fave trees of ancient vintage-top of page 2nd row: sacred ash, last remaining one of four planted 1752 as church boundary marker Bourtie kirkyard, ABD to delineate division between kirk burial ground (full of Pictish remnant stones) & ‘outsiders’/non-believers who had to settle for burial in ‘annexe’! And companion in age—though worlds apart—Prairie Creek State Park, N of Orick, CA off Old State Hwy & present Hwy-1 UCal/Arcata/Eureka: ‘Corkscrew’ Redwood [Sequoia sempervirens] first-growth i.e. 2000yr old with twisting trunk in characteristic counter-clockwise motion.
It became clear to me that the world of hackers—now being adopted en masse by powerful regimes around the world as a political ruse to familiarize themselves with the prospect of world domination by bot [as opposed to domination by tank, military force, or clever television manipulation of innocent masses] operates with cleverness at the most innocent level, [my persuasive lady who wanted my site/personal info was a mid-life crisean from Lancashire, N.England, working hard to support a family after a lifetime of poverty]. It is also being commandeered by top officials in hugely powerful regimes in both hemispheres of the globe, neither admitting their stealth or outright theft to one another.
‘Cold War’ was a term used c. 1990-2000 to describe an uneasy agreement among war-capable nations not to use their weapons. The expression has raised its head again, as political heads in U.S. imply unconfirmed reports of certain nuclear-capable countries in the Eastern bloc readying their arsenals for ‘potential’ deployment. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has backed his Chinese allies in promising aid—nuclear-capable implied—along with military force if needed. While neighbour (U.S. Ally) S. Korea, Seoul press releases have emphasized both neighbor countries’ poverty-stricken masses’ need to return to traditional (organic, hand-tooled) farming. Food scarcity has become a shared world issue.
American teens-proficient in body-camera/portable phone culture-have taken up the litany to help poor nations—especially crucial right now with thousands of earthquake fatalities & lucky survivors/refugees from recent Turkish disaster—to donate free food.
This younger generation has been storming the White House environs & midtown New York with signs & blocking traffic.
As a footnote to the recent mid-February 2023 President Biden (much-televised, but unofficial) visit to Warsaw, Poland, combined w/Ukrainian leader & Euro NATO member nations’ meetings, U.S. White House supremo promised $500million in (military) ‘aid’ to Kyiv. Teens/children supporting nursing & hospital staff on strike in U.S. mainland agree this sum would pay for rescue food & care packages for the poor, aged care-home residents and homeless within mainland U.S. for the next three years.
39th President Jimmy Carter, 95, recently committed to receiving care treatment at home, would certainly agree.
In order to add weight to White House speculations, U.S. political spokespersons in the D.C. capital have allowed television cameras to reproduce their claim that a variant of the pandemic Covid virus was caused by an accidental leak from a medical laboratory in China. Absolutely no evidence of the validity of this so-called ‘received information’ has been given.
It adds to the nuance of lying by a White House official to an already festering issue of anti-China sentiment.
Oblivious to Needy Millions within Continental U.S.A, White House Focuses on 2024 Election
Meanwhile, as of yesterday, Feb.28th, 2023, the White House has given all Federal Agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned video-snippet sharing app TikTok, pic above (on millions of private phones) from all U.S.Government-issued devices, setting a deadline to comply with a ban ordered by U.S. Congress—ordered end-January by Texas governor/Austin agents & removed the app. The ban does not apply to businesses within the U.S. (that have no association with the government) or to private individuals.
With my fairly poor excuse that I never quite got the hang of Tiktok anyway—or SnapChat for that matter; I’m a traditionalist & Tweet-person at heart—Elon Musk eat yours out! ❤ with occasional fanciful flights into Instagram—when I’m not being hacked!
Great Britain has not issued any statement on the subject.
Meanwhile Biden seems more concerned with his own image vis-à-vis rivals to his status in 2024 election, as both D.Trump & newcomer Marianne Williamson, who believes in politics of ‘Love inspired by Spirituality’ through ‘Eyes of the Heart’, have a lot of support & promise fairness & equality in federal spending. We wait to see if that might downplay any nuclear arms race.
Writing—and Nature-Watching—a Healthier & Happier Solution to All Ills
Farmers—in particular Organic agri-buffs who use natural companion planting to foster good relationship between plant offspring—remembering Findhorn founder & Angel-chat lady Dorothy Maclean who chatted her sweet peas (below) into producing a more abundant crop—her 1960s’ residence blue caravan at the Park, rt—have always had the edge over those who mow their lawns into oblivion or plant in weed-free rows as means to a quick harvest. Weed killer a no-no!
I have always been one of the former, with addition of hundreds of free-range henny-pukes 2add free manure to an already abundant pasture. See jungle fowl below.
Tree-related p.s.Trees-for-Life started @ Findhorn as a woodland charity, creating its own forest-environment ethos, now centred in Glenfeshie. INV, Scotland
Dorothy, caravan above, in the first garden she planted at the ‘Park’, Findhorn’s perennially thriving growing plot, now peopled with other structures, spoke daily to the sweet pea fairy, left. She was told by the entity’s non-corporeal essence that its cousin, the gloriously edible pea loved humans so much it wanted to thrive.
Peas have always been my fave veg. As a child growing up (in Aberdeenshire) within a hugely productive [organic] garden available to me, I used to pick & stuff my apron with them, climb up the tower of our Victorian granite house & munch [& meditate] overlooking vast-undeveloped-green rolling fields.
As an adult in my own (also granite) house, there was an 18thC walled garden. It welcomed my simple ways, making horticulture a delight. I grew both sweet peas & peas on trellises—wouldn’t you guess, they thrived.
Where I live now-a mid-Pacific ex-pat with gratitude for Hawai’ian warm temperatures to caress my bones-most people grow their own food aka organic. Gardens & woodland [+supermarket parking lots & harbour entrances] are domain of ‘jungle fowl’ who roam freely. You’re lucky to find a nest, as eggs are clearly organic. Go Jungle Fowl!
It is good to hear that Chinese and Polish, Russian and Pakistani agencies are encouraging the innate ability of their country’s poor to grow their own food as a partial solution to modern-day crises—political or otherwise. Poor people, imho, have always known how to make their backyards productive.
So, with the sound of local Hawai’ian froggy-croaks by green shiny tiny Coqui amphibian babes in my earphone-enhanced ears, & the blatant ego-preening swish of cockerel feathers & crowing to his hareem as he gloriously struts outside my hospital window, may I add greetings & good luck to all gardeners, writers young & old. Keep flying the flag of truth, cos lying never wins. We have places to go [in our heart & minds], ppl to influence [truth & light, joy & laughter aka Telosian delight]. And keep that pen and/or Computah working like a Fire-the-Grid expert that you are; and noli illegitimati carborundum don’t let the b–tards grind Udown. ©2023 Marian C. Youngblood
Full Moon-Inspired Catchup to Fill in 3-Months’ Post-Hacking Silence & Recuperation
ONE WRITER’S [CREATIVE, INSECURE or JUST PLAIN ORNERY] RESPONSE to ENFORCED LITERARY–& LITERAL—SILENCE
ONE WRITER’S [CREATIVE, INSECURE or JUST PLAIN ORNERY] RESPONSE TO ENFORCED LITERARY—& LITERAL—SILENCE
Cat-lovers versus Dogophiles
I admit it. I’ve always been a cat-lover, with only a passing interest in (certain types of) dogs. My father had a golden Labrador—Timmy—labs are okay; they fall in the category of ‘beloved of ancient memory’. Collies—because they work for their keep; my sister’s very large & out-of-control Doberman. But pugs, dachshunds or small snivelling types of hyper-interbred terrier fluffiness leave me cold. And—with apologies to my dear-departed Monarch, H.M.QEII—so do Corgis.
Cats in literature can be inspiring, as for instance T.S. Eliot’s Macavity the Mystery Cat aka the Hidden Paw aka the Napoleon of Cat Crime, the all-singing-dancing master criminal villain of his collection of starstruck poems with its popular Andrew Lloyd Weber musical adaptation. Based on Sherlock Holmes’ arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty, the ginger tabby’s nefarious deeds include cheating at cards, kidnapping, and exhibiting a general disregard for the laws of Jellicle society.
Macavity is a star.
Similarly, Lewis Carroll’s friend of Alice (in-Wonderland) who grins from tree branches or appears magically at her side, below right, brings an other-worldly take on what Americans loosely call “pets”.
Similarly, Lewis Carroll’s friend of Alice (in-Wonderland) who grins from tree branches or appears magically at her side, below right, brings an other-worldly take on what Americans loosely call “pets”.
I could go on, but then that would be straying from the subject—something my dear writing professor, pic below, would never do.
Feline-Canine Opposites: Everyday Revelation—Apart from the Obvious
One afterthought which hadn’t escaped me, but needed an Earthly anchor to make it relevant: just such a circumstance is currently happening—the recurrence after a gap of two centuries of inactivity (historic eruption 1984 after silence since 1881) of Moana Loa volcano (supposedly dormant) which threatens the ELT [extra-large telescope array internationally owned] at its peak.
Moana Loa is the world’s highest volcano, dominating Hawai’i Big Island’s northern horizon, affectionately known to locals as home of goddess Pele, calculated from the central Pacific Ocean floor at 13,678 feet. The 1984 eruption flattened the large housing community of Leilani Estates, pictured below left, which has never recovered.
Lava sputtered and shook the ELT just before Christmas 2022.
International vulcanologists are closely watching current lava flows alongside neighbour Mauna Kea that simultaneously joined the lava lake concerto with a crater lake of its own at Kilauea’s Halema’uma’u. A fresh crater lake popped a few corks last week—a fine beginning to 2023.
Feline Connection? or Just Another Random Writerly Aphorism
People can suffer the tragic loss of pets, should fate dictate the awful circumstance of accidental fire to their home—happens all the time in the U.S. of A. This is particularly relevant right now in Western states, given the unusual weather conditions of recent months, where houses are usually made of wood. [Eastern U.S., much of Europe, Great Britain and Eire favour stone buildings—e.g. Marischal College’s Rubislaw granite, top].
It is a sad but well-established fact known to American fire-fighters that, even if homeowners are not out dining or visiting neighbors when the event happens, owners have difficulty finding and rounding up (particularly little) dogs within the depth of a blaze—without being overcome by smoke and toxic fumes—therefore having to get out themselves. This is because dogs run towards the burning inferno, bark—bark—barking at the intruder as if to guard their space; resulting in intoxication and death.
Cats hate noise, [fireworks] disturbance of their comfort zone [Mewgi in situ among his sweet peas on his personal trolley, pic above bottom l., and, as a kitten, pic top of page under Bast-et far right kitty].
In a smoke-filled situation, they’ve got a particularly feline/sneaky means of finding an exit—even through rubble, chaos, disorientation, toxic fumes.
They use it as quickly as possible to get out of that alien environment. Hence, they’re survivors.
Steven King‘s marvellous Pet Sematary pic l., 1983 [deliberate misspelling as felines aren’t quite as masterful as human scribes in the spellcheck department] draws on the underlying theme of accidental disturbance of an ancient Native American burial ground, causing untold havoc to owners of puss (‘Church’-how typical of S.K. is that name)-a doctor & his family who just moved into their new house in Ludlow, Maine.
Mayhem ensues.
Puss/Church survives, of course, but the doc & his family ?
S.K.’s 1983 feline masterpiece [book cover, l.], has been adapted as a movie, with the camera bringing extra blood & gore to the screen for theatergoers.
Afterword to the Word-Wise
I love survivors.
With apologies to my fellow creative scribblers, journalists, insecure IWSGers, NanNoWriMo-ers and all who put pen to paper in their spare moments, because a writer never has one of those, unless cooking, cleaning or something else domestic needs attention: like cat crunchie treat time.
I know you understand! I couldn’t do a First Wednesday Blog in my generally chaotic but sortof regular style for circumstances alluded to above. Hoping you’ll forgive me, cos you’re all so good at wot you do.
This one—out of synch, out of rhythm, but hopefully not out of whack—will have to do.
Peace. And, until the next round, as they say in the gentle tones of Hawai’ian, while waving a [heavily-Brit-colonial-influenced flag, above bottom right]: Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year.
©2023 Marian C. Youngblood