time of wonder

 I was reading in chapter fourteen of Revelation; there are angels overseeing the elements - it spoke of one who has authority over fire. It would be handy to remember that, in case of a fire! I find this kind of information very interesting. Which brings me to a book I got for Christmas, Living in Wonder, by Rod Dreher. He speaks of how and why we’ve come to a point of being totally unaware, or even ignorant of anything beyond what we can apprehend with our senses. It’s a big interest of mine. You know I love fairy tales and such.

"We... are proud of our mastery of the material world, but it has made us miserable, because we no longer feel at home here." 

There was snow on the ground, and then we got a little more on Christmas Eve morning. Everyone seemed pleased about it. We went to our cousins at the shore on Christmas Day, and they had none, but it was still here when we came back home. :)  Now, it's gone; we are going to be in the fifties for three days. A varied closet is a must around here. 

It's the fourth day of Christmas. I've got to find the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on the BBC, since I was working when it was live. I never want to miss it! 

I was thinking the other day about the garlands of popcorn and cranberries some people make in the winter, but it seems so tedious. And I've never known anyone who actually did it, so I don't know if the creatures actually like it. So I popped some corn, and stirred it around with peanut butter, then threw it out on the snow on a cold day. It was after the squirrels had been dining, and nobody seemed to notice it. I'm not sure they want it. 

Rod Dreher's book has many examples of different individuals which he hopes will illustrate his point. Marshall McLuhan (if you're my age, you'll know the name):

"I never came into the church as a person who was being taught. I came in on my knees. That is the only way in. When people start praying, they need truths, that's all. You don't come into the church by ideas and concepts, and you cannot leave by mere disagreement. It has to be a loss of faith, a loss of participation. We can tell when people leave the church: they have quit praying."

                                                                     -  from Living in Wonder

early morning fancy

It's funny that the atmosphere of peace which abides in early mornings, is not disturbed or hindered in any way by loud and joyful birdsong. 

 One can really imagine fairies moving about at such an hour, too. 

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain lake,

With frogs for their watchdogs,

All night awake.

-  from "The Fairies" by William Allingham

"The woods and groves around her, that had seemed so friendly... were strangers now. There were no homelights anywhere. Would she ever get home? All Judy's stories, enjoyed and disbelieved at home, became fearfully true here. Those strange little shadows, dark amid the darkness, under the ferns...suppose they were fairies. Judy said if you met a fairy you were never the same again."

                                                  -  from Pat of Silver Bush, by L.M. Montgomery

Halloween count

When we go outside, Daisy will often go near the door, and it's difficult to come back in. I was dreading tonight, with all the kids coming by trick-or-treating, afraid she might try to run out. Well, she practically slept through the whole thing. I fed them as much as they wanted for supper, and she also had a vaccine today - whatever the reason, she was quiet and kept to herself. Even when she awoke, she had little interest. Whew!  Annie, on the other hand, growled at certain ones - we think it was the masks she didn't like; she seemed to like the princesses. There were many of those, with flowing hair in an assortment of colors - that seemed the main theme this year.

It was a very nice night to be out, mild with only a short spell of light raindrops. We bought plenty of candy, anticipating more kids than last time, since it seems to go up each year - except 2020 - but we had 139. About fifty less than last Halloween. 

wonder and possibility

 "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."*

                                                - from Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies, by Sara Lewis

*Shunryu Suzuki

July magic

 I finished washing the dishes rather late - it was almost dark. Almost, but you could still see shapes of trees and other things. And fireflies were twinkling across the brook. In past years I've watched them out my north window, flashing along the forsythia hedge where the catbirds sleep. Or a little farther off, in front of a big clump of tall things growing there forever, whatever they are. Big weeds. They show up well in front of dark bushes. But this summer they seem to mostly appear out my east window, in the back yard across the brook. This evening I followed them.

The twinkling! It's indescribable. Either you've seen it a thousand times (which means you need to read some fairy tales before it's too late for you), or it doesn't matter how often you see it - magic is still magic. It's always new. 

"borrowed" from the internet

our dearest girl

 Last week Dolly's doctor told us she has a tumor on her bladder, most likely cancerous. He gave her a pain med, which is frankly doing wonders - she seems very comfortable with it. But she might not last more than a year.

So she's not immortal, after all.    I'm sure I thought she was.

the little folk and the embattled flaming multitude

 Well, it's a new year, and there's a new reading challenge I'm embarking on. The very first thing is to read eleven poems by a poet who's been highlighted on the Well-Read Poem podcast - I chose William Butler Yeats. 

I've never been much of a poetry person, but I think the influence of Gretchen, for one thing, has encouraged me; also, the two poetry podcasts I subscribe to - it does seem to grow on you. So I opened the poetry book of Yeats' work, and the very first one grabbed me. 

To Some I Have Talked with by the Fire

While I wrought out these fitful Danaan rhymes,
My heart would brim with dreams about the times
When we bent down above the fading coals;
And talked of the dark folk, who live in souls
Of passionate men, like bats in the dead trees;
And of the wayward twilight companies,
Who sigh with mingled sorrow and content,
Because their blossoming dreams have never bent
Under the fruit of evil and of good;
And of the embattled flaming multitude
Who rise, wing above wing, flame above flame,
And, like a storm, cry the Ineffable Name;
And with the clashing of their sword blades make
A rapturous music, till the morning break,
And the white hush end all, but the loud beat
Of their long wings, the flash of their white feet. 

Fantastic! Then I went to youtube, hoping to hear some recited by actors. Here's Sam Neill (why did I think he was American?). 

Yeats was really into the world of the little folk - well, I like the fairy folk myself. Except that after a while I wondered if he ever came back to earth. But I don't know anything about the man.