The Dawn Chorus
We slip into the night, my dog and I.
The city is quiet, the neighbourhood is sleeping. Gone are the city sounds of traffic and blaring TVs. I can hear the crickets chirp and the wind in the trees. I can hear the river as it passes over scoured stone.
The street is lit by street lights, garden lights and the waning moonlight. I can see the stars tonight.
Our street is cooled by the night breeze and a rain storm that passed by hours before.
Surrounded by people, we are alone.
Crash takes off for her favourite corner, where the big rose bush blooms and the weedy mustard whispers of wilder places. I gently stroke the pink roses and a few petals are given up to me. I murmur my thanks. Crash gives her water to the shrubbery and weeds.
We turn and head for the river. As we get closer, the old dog’s ears prick. She wiggles with excitement. She loves the river. She races ahead, through the green park, under maple trees and to the promenade. The poor old thing is too short to see over the concrete banister that blocks her… Continue reading
Meanwhile, at Misty Acres
Mom is teaching the horses how to levitate.
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Meet Sir Kinght
Say hello to sir knight. He is a suit of armour, in miniature. He stands a little under knee high. Sir knight was won by Brendan at a Bardic competition at some point. Even Bren agrees that somebody lives in sir knight. I dunno exactly what he is … just some random little brownie or something. *shrug* He seemed nice enough.
He hangs out in the entryway, the hub of the apartment, keeping an eye on everything.
He gets knocked over sometimes.
At some point I started calling him sir knight. He gets a beer to himself now and then, and the odd heel of bread or bit of cheese, usually when we’re having the good stuff. I pat his head, especially as we come and go, this is something I’ve seen a few different people to do. He’s also gotten time spent with a view out the window (once also with a nice microbrew local beer).
One day Bren brought home a fake Hawaiian lei from work and I put it on sir knight as a joke. He loved it and didn’t want me to take it off. He got a new one for Imbolg. If you’re throwing… Continue reading
Dyeing for Midsummer
I don’t have a lot of experience with spinning or dyeing yarn and such. But every now and then I get the chance to spend time with a friend who does. My stitching group headed out to a member’s homestead this weekend and we got to play with both natural and not-so natural dyes.
I brought some yarn I spun myself, one was organic merino wool and the other angora and lambs wool (which was terribly over spun out of fear of sucking at spinning).
I also brought the skein of the very first yarn I spun with my drop spindle, which is made of organic bamboo. I have been using the bamboo mostly for offerings, first of fruits and all that. I intended to dye it, packed it and brought it along and everything, but somehow it didn’t come out of the bag.
I also brought some roving (un-spun fibres) and a piece of cloth. The cloth is linen and it was cut into strips and then woven together, it’s very cool. I had originally bought it years ago for the purpose of building a Horned God effigy in my grove. It was going to be His… Continue reading
To Answer a Question
Perform bird-y funeral as best as you can. Blessings, smoke, offerings etc.
Receive permission from the animal’s spirit before you cut.
Cut at the joint. I used a combo of quality wire cutters and good scissors.
You will want to purchase mite/flea spray and use it.
Once dry from the mite spray, you will want to cut open the fleshy parts at the joint. Turn it onto it’s back and make a slit from behind. This makes the flesh dry quicker and better. You might have to do a little trimming
Make sure there is no rot or maggots!
Place in a tupperware in the position you want the wing to stay in.
Gently bury in a mixture of one part sea salt, one part baking soda and two parts borax (just straight cornmeal is also traditional but it takes longer). Have a bit of the mixture at the bottom as well. And place in a safe, dry not too bright or warm place.
Make appropriate offerings to the spirit of the bird while you wait. I like to pop open the container now and then so the air in there doesn’t get stagnate but that might just be my… Continue reading
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