Supporting the Standing Rock Sioux

I was so sad when the Dakota Pipeline protesters left their campsite in flames on February 22. I wanted to do something to show my support. I wanted to bring some river water home to connect with them. The Hudson river flows into the ocean where all the rivers mingle eventually. The city has limited the access to its rivers over the years.

A friend who lives further north told me that the river was easy to get to near the Riverdale station. So off I went. We clambered over the mossy rocks and I got some water. 

I have a lakshmi in my living room. I bring her gifts from the garden; an old blue bottle and a pine cone that a nearby tree tossed to me. I set up a little dish with a stone from the garden that has a lot of mica, like the rocks near the river and poured some river water over it.

Every day the water in the dish evaporates and I refill it. There are mineral traces in the dish, remains of the river's presence.

I wanted to march in support of the water protectors yesterday, but I had a class. My spirit is with them.

Last Week's Snow

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

                                                          Wu-Men

I am not usually the person who posts poetry, but I really liked this one. The first snow of the year was a week ago. It was delicate and charming, a welcome arrival for the beginning of the year.

 

These weedy little daisy flowers were still hanging on. My friend at the community garden said they bloom when everything else is brown, and here is the proof.
 

The garden looked seasonally appropriate.
 

The milkweed pods still had their seeds. I guess they disperse in the spring.
 

I gathered pots of snow which I melted down to water the houseplants with. They always enjoy rain showers in the summer, so I thought the snow would be beneficial. They seemed to like it. This was also the last day of the tree, seen in the corner.
 

The next day it snowed again, and what was forecast as a dusting quickly got out of hand.
 

It was Saturday, running the usual weekend errands soon became an ordeal.
 

The daylight drained away and everything got quiet.
 

The next day, the weather got warm, the snow started to melt, now it feels like spring.

Summer, Some Strange Eyes

Midsummer

The Solstice was hot and moody. I suggested burning a small bonfire, but before we could, it started to rain. 

It was a big cooling storm with lots of wind.

The sun made brief appearances lighting up the raindrops on the screens.

Today is midsummer's eve and another storm blew through, this time with some excellent thunder and lightning. Still no bonfires.

Pictures From The Equinox

I was having a busy day last Thursday, the first day of spring. I caught a few pictures of the morning light.

The light sparkled, but I had only time for one picture on the subway platform. 

Equinox was a little before 1pm, by then the sky was clouded over. I was at my sister's house and we went down to her garden. The plants were poised to start budding.

More snow is predicted for tonight, probably the sloppy spring variety. 

Update: Nope, the storm just missed us, only cold and wind for nyc.

Equinox: Missing the Point of the Sun Triangle

For years, I have wanted to visit the Sun Triangle sculpture on the equinox. It was designed by a geophysicist named Athelstan Spilhaus and it is supposed to line up with the sun at noon. The sculpture is an the Avenue of the Americas right across from Rockefeller Center. It is in front of one of those brutal skyscrapers that loom along the avenue. I have never managed to get there at noon, or the equinox was cloudy. This year everything fell into place.

Equinox light is usually pretty harsh and midday is blindingly bright. On Sunday, though, the light was actually quite pretty.

The stained glass panels at the Myrtle Avenue station were illuminated which is rare. Most of the time they are inky black as there is very little direct sun on the station.

I probably should have done a little google search before rushing off. I was not sure what would line up with the sun. I thought I would figure it out when I got there. But it was not obvious. I was misled by the oval maps of the northern and southern hemisphere near the sculpture. I figured that the triangular shadow would line up with the southern hemisphere in the fall and the norther hemisphere in the spring representing the sun passing the equator. 

I was wrong. In fact the longest side points to the sun at the spring and fall equinoxes, the steepest side points to the sun at the summer solstice and the shortest side points to the sun at the winter solstice. The maps are a red herring. I would not have been able to enjoy the moment in any case as the sunken plaza was closed off for Sunday.

I could go back at the solstice, but I am not sure I will. It is not as exciting as Manhattanhenge, unfortunately.

Summer Solstice

I finally managed to properly celebrate a solstice with a bonfire. I had old branches from the Christmas tree that I had used to protect the plants in the winter. They made the fire leap up and dance.

It was a jolly bonfire.

The needles from the old tree branches mad a little confetti along the edge of the flames.

Vernal Equinox

Happy Spring!

The equinox was at 7.02am. I went outside to greet the new season.

Delayed Solstice, New Year

I was really enjoying the weeks leading to solstice this year. It was surprisingly stress-free, mostly because I left too many Christmas chores to the last minute.

Solstice morning was rainy, but a break in the clouds brought a flash of sunlight through the raindrops. The storm soon passed, I had plans to burn an offering of evergreen boughs in honor of the shortest day. However, after an overly enthusiastic holiday celebration, I decided it was best not to play with fire. Then things were hectic for a few days.

The light changes so quickly around the winter solstice. The days leading up to it seem darker than a few days after. The sun comes from a different angle. Here is the morning light of the young sun in my kitchen. I could celebrate the returning light as well.

Then the weather got weird; promised snow turning into cold nasty rain, gale force winds the next day.

Finally on New Year's Eve, things dried out, the winds calmed down and we got to the burning. The branches went quickly. Solstice went to the new year hopefully bringing joy and good things.

Equinox

Some moss with crazy hairs sprouting on top...

I had great plans for an equinox bonfire, with Guy Fawkes watching while draped in ivy, but they were foiled by the departure of my daughter.  On Tuesday, she moved to San Francisco leaving a trail of Febreeze scented dust bunnies. So I celebrated the vernal equinox with a round of spring cleaning.
 

The cats instantly took possession of the space, no doubt thinking that I set it up for them.
 

The neighbor's apricot tree is in bloom.

Its petals drift softly down like the snow we never got this winter.
 

My bulbs are coming up.
 

My rose bush has sent out healthy red leaves.
 

Voltaire has been lording it over the garden, often sitting on the compost can like a throne.
 

Coco is more cautious. While her pose is somewhat ordinary here, I like how she has tucked all of her fat away.

Solstice Light in the Kitchen

As I have mentioned before, the light that comes around the winter solstice is my favorite. Here it is spilling out over my kitchen. Unfortunately, I am usually too crazy with the holiday preparations to take advantage of it.

Coco has been doing her best to help although she seems to think that trimming the tree involves nesting on the decorations.

At least the tree is finished! I am not so sure how much posting I will be doing before the end of the year as there is to this holiday than a pretty tree.

How Guy Fawkes Escaped the Pyre

My original plan was to make a bonfire on Guy Fawkes day and link it to its pagan origins. I wanted to make my effigy or "Guy" look like the masks that the Occupy Wall Street protesters have been wearing. I would add leaves and branches from the garden to refer back to the pagan traditions. They would also burn the bones of slaughtered livestock, but obviously I was not going that route.

A problem arose with my effigy. I did not really make an armature first, I couldn't think of good flammable material to use. So my guy looked a bit misshapen. His head was much bigger than his legs. He reminded me of a toddler mummy in a hospital gown. My beloved felt that the fallas effigy looked like a teenage girl. I could only imagine what my guy would inspire on the flames. I decided to keep him, with his missing arm and twisted leg and burn plants instead.

I skipped Guy Fawkes day altogether and planned the fire for Sunday which was the first day in winter time. I worked in the garden, preparing it for winter and raked up the leaves for the garden composter I bought. It is just visible behind the hydrangea.

I collected some amaranth, a few flowers and leaves, branches which fell during the hurricane.

The night came early and we lit the flame.

Although the plants were fresh, they caught on fire quickly.

The amaranth popped and sent sparks into the air.

The Guy watched from a safe distance.

The flames rose up high,

and then died down.

We sat in the heat of the flames and nursed our drinks (more of a Guy Fawkes day tradition, but a good one).