Summer Solstice 2

Well, this evening when I stepped outside to light a fire in homage to the Solstice....it was raining.  Actually starting to storm...thunder, etc..... So, I created a small altar in honor of this significant day.  The fire of course is symbolic of protection and literally warmth and light as we begin our journey into the darkness of winter.  The Holly King has won the battle against the Oak King...as he always does.  And now begins the darkening of the days...... I put some silk autumn leaves on the altar as a symbol that the next season - the Autumnal Equinox - is headed our way......

The angel in the first picture represents divine and unseen protection...the angels, faeries, elves, elementals.....

Light from the candles....flowers to symbolize the lushness and growth during this part of the year.

 

Of course the autumn flowers/leaves remind me of the ever-turning wheel of the year...that before I know it, the cool evenings and crisp days of Autumn will be here.

Ornamental Oregano

I want to grow some of this....it's gorgeous!

Summer Solstice

Merry Meet....tomorrow is the Summer Solstice and I thought I'd put a little holiday cheer on my blog in recognition of this ancient tradition!  I feel connected to the earth based practices and that 's how I live my life pretty much.  So tomorrow in honor of the longest day of the year, I'll light a fire outside as a symbol of the light and warmth that I hope will continue into the depths of winter.

So the Solstice marks the beginning of the end, in essence....the days will grow shorter and the promise of harvest time and cooler evenings to come!  So we should 'make hay while the sun shines' for the wheel turns so quickly....but that, to me, is also the hopefulness of the changing seasons.  Just like our lives, everything changes........

Blessed Be!

Treasures

Two sheep that would be heavy enough to be door stops....one for me and one for my mom!  Got them at a neighborhood church garage sale in which everything you could fit into a bag costs 5 dollars!

 

Learning to Blog....

I cannot believe how difficult it is to learn how to put together a blog....I have spent so much time just reading about my options and trouble shooting layout problems.....arrrrrggggg!  Anyway, had an eventful day full of kids and friends of kids!!!!  Below is an example of what I saw today at the splash park I took Gabe and Alex and 2 of Alex's friends to:

Giant Mastiff and his owner liked the cool water, too!

Young Amish girls playing in the water, long dresses and all!  They seemed to have a great time....and as you can see in the last pic....loved the Mastiff, too! (OK, you can't see the dog, but he's there!)

                              Alex waving to momma (Holly - friend - is behind her in black swimsuit)

                                        Allie filling a milk jug with water to throw on Gabe.....

                             Holly with an empty Folger's 'can'....looking for Gabe to throw water on....

Gabe having fun at the splash park....I have no idea why he wore a long sleeved shirt!!! Knuckle head.

It's not easy being green.....

Yep, it's NOT....I'm all about recycling, upcycling and reusing things....SO, when it came time to fix the old orange wheelbarrow that I've had for years and years, there was no question that I'd just by new handles and continue to use it!  
Oh, easier said than done.  Yep, needed the hubs to help....OK, he did pretty much everything (that's why I love him so much...not one complaint or cuss word out of him).  He had to first chisel the wood from the handles from around the bolts because the nuts were so rusted on they wouldn't budge.  THEN, we had to hack saw the bolts in half to salvage the metal pieces we still needed to put Big Bertha back together again.  (yes, her name is Big Bertha)!  Ok, so 5 hours later, which included a trip to Lowe's to acquire more bolts, nuts and a drill bit to make holes in the handles....................arrrrrgggggg, she was done and good as new.  Yep, I'm pretty proud of being 'green'!  (and I'm very proud of my patient, smart, and handy husband!  Thanks, Peter!)

Contemplation

WOW....guess blogging last year was a 'fail'...

OK....so it's been ten months and I haven't written anything else!  Why?  Well, I mostly forgot I started it and when I did think about it I forgot the name of my blog....geesh!
What's happened?  Well, I've decided to restart because a lot of things I post on FaceBook, are bloggy-type things, so thought I'd find my blog and see what happens! 
Also, I'd like to post some drawing here for people who want to use my images in their own crafts/artwork.....
And lastly, I've come to admit I'm ADD....very easily distracted, poor follow through (duh) and always losing things....hmmmm. I've decided to see my doctor to talk about medication.
Well, hope to be back before next summer!