Tickling My Fancy

I've been running amok in the spring weather that we have been gifted here in the west. I've spent the last few weeks planting cold-hardy veggies and watching the perennials wake from their winter sleep.  There is a good lot of magic happening in the gardens right now and I can barely stand to be inside.  There is still office work, and there has been much spring cleaning, but I get outside as often as I can to breathe in the scent of the earth stirring.

There are many tales to be told of spring and new life, but for now I'm just leaving a few notes on some things that are tickling my fancy this week.

~ We are on the verge of a full moon and a lunar eclipse.  Tomorrow night and early into Tuesday morning, I'll be out watching the moon turn red.  For those of you in the west running on Pacific time with me, that means we'll see the partial eclipse by about 11pm, the full eclipse around midnight on Monday, and the maximum eclipse hitting about 12:45am on Tuesday.  Adjust for your time zone, and happy eclipse viewing (if you decide to stay up to see it!)

~ As the sister of a cellar master at a local vineyard, I'm always intrigued by a well-run winery. The April issue of Chatelaine magazine mentioned Southbrook Vineyards in Ontario, which is not only organic, but employs biodynamics on their land.

...Bill is also fond of tea.  He even puts it on his vines in lieu of pesticide. "It sounds weird, but it works," he says. "And it's so safe that you can wear a bathing suit while spraying it."  Southbrook was the first organic, biodynamic winery in Canada; sheep graze in the vineyard to fertilize the vines, and the phases of the moon determine when it's time to plant and harvest.  (Chatelaine, April 2014 pg. 174)

~ Today I drove by a Sikh temple and noticed that they were having their celebration of Vaisakhi.  They replace the saffron-coloured fabric of the flagpole that holds their holy flag, the Nishan Sahib.  It's a gloriously happy and colourful celebration, and although there is obviously no connection between the two observations, it always reminds me that May Day is just around the corner.    

*cough*  Very large pole.  *cough*

~ The Easter candy has been out on the store shelves since February 15th and I've been avoiding it valiantly - until today, when I found "bunny money."  Think Hanukkah coins, but in pastel colors, with rabbits and carrots embossed on them.  I'm not sure how they taste, but I'm devising a few different ways to use them in prosperity work.  Coins...mulitplying bunnies...carrots (carats?)  At the very least, I'll get chocolate out of the deal.

~  I'm reading "Blackberry Cove Herbal - Traditional Appalachian Herbalism" by Linda Ours Rago, which I ordered after hearing the recording of the Appalachian Folk Traditions panel from the Sacred Space conference.  It's a beautiful book to hold and to read, and I'm savouring it like a letter from an old friend.

"Also regarding the foxglove plant (digitalis) - bury a foxglove flower in Moon-light, and the foxes will give you 'the second sight'. Bury one at noon, and they will send you gold."


See you under the moon!

The Storm, The Snakes and Dionysus

A storm has come upon the Valley.  The air has been thick all day.  By four o'clock the thunder started, echoing from far off.  Just after five the lightening began, and still it built and built until finally the rains burst forth.  The relief of the earth is palpable.  We've all sighed in ecstasy over the moisture.

Life in the southern end of the Valley is a strange mix of lush lakes and desert.  The settlers here used the lakes to keep their crops alive in the hot summer months when rainfall was (and still is) practically non-existent.  Crops quickly turned to orchards, which are now falling to acres of vine-land to feed the growing winery population.  One cannot help but think that Dionysus has had a hand in the re-commitment of the land.

The grape harvest is still a while off, but the wineries are doing a bustling business with the summer tourists and getting ready for the local fall wine festivals.  At the winery where my brother creates amazing things in oak barrels, they have been on rattlesnake watch for the last month after an employee was bit while out in the vines.  I have heard that the snakes climb the vines (and sometimes small trees) and wait for birds, but I can't say if that is factual.  All I know is, in the summer months, you look where you step and where your reach your hand.

I only have a passing interest in Dionysus and so have only heard the most loose connection between him and snakes. It is said that the wild women or maenads that followed him were often depicted carrying snakes or wearing snakes in their hair.  Another connection is made by the simple way that the grape vines grow, snake-like along whatever is holding them up.  The snake seems to be a fitting symbol for Dionysus.  The skin-shedding "rebirth" of a snake fits in with Dionysus' lore of being twice-born.  The snake is chthonic in several myths, which also works with the tale of Dionysus' journey to the underworld to fetch his mother.

Also of interest to me today, is the folk connection between snakes and storms.  In North American folklore, some believed that if you hung a rattlesnake (presumably dead) with its belly toward the sun, it would bring a storm.  In Indian folklore, Nagas were considered snakes or serpent-like beings often living in the ocean.  Varuna, the king of the Nagas, is the Vedic god of storms.  Slavic folklore has several stories about beings who influence the weather and appear in myriad shapes, of which a snake is almost always one.

Gary R. Varner states: "Snakes have also contributed to weather folklore around the world associated with rain. Nineteenth century folklorist Richard Inwards noted, “the chief characteristic of the serpents throughout the East in all ages seems to have been their power over the wind and rain, which they gave or withheld, according to their good or ill will towards man."

Whether tonight's storm has been caused by the unfortunate hanging of a snake, a pissed-off sea spirit, or the mad, whirling debauchery of Dionysus' maenads and their snake-accessories, I couldn't tell you.  All I know is that the garden and I are breathing a bit easier, and the wine in my glass, for some reason, tastes much sweeter.

Cheers!

Where I've Been This Week - In Body & Mind

The wheels are starting to turn for our Annual Chicks Wine Tour.  The first year (two years ago) we did a haunted winery tour, visiting such vinters as: Blasted Church Winery and Black Widow Winery, not to mention getting a first-hand account of ghostly happenings at another local winery.  Last year, we hit a wine festival, where 50 wineries from around the Valley were represented (and who were giving very generous tastes!)  Our destinations this year are not yet set in stone, but I'll be sure to give you a run down and post pics when we finish our tour (and sober up.)

Yesterday I got my hands on my very first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season.  I don't often go into Starbucks, but you'll find me there often while this limited edition flavour is on the menu!

In Halloween news, Martha has her annual Halloween magazine out on the newstands.  It's a bit notorious for recycling articles/pictures from previous years, but I'm a sucker for the pretty pics and cool ideas, so I pick it up each year.

Also, over on Facebook, Judika Illes noted that Target has it's Halloween items out already.  Our local big box store has Halloween items in the card section, but hasn't emptied it's seasonal aisles of the back-to-school supplies yet.  Here's hoping those pencils disappear soon in favour of pumpkins!

In world news, we are all praying for rain clouds to fill the skies over Texas.  Over at his Inciting A Riot blog, Fire Lyte is organizing Project Texas Rain Magic.  Wherever you are, this Saturday September 10th, please send prayers, thoughts of rain and direct any rain spells toward Texas and the wildfires devastating that state. 

I hope this first week of September is treating you all remarkably well!