I've often used this website to write observances about nature but in recent years, it's become a journal of sorts. This is one of those posts. More and more I witness people bewildered by the length of the month January. "How is it still January?" they say. "This day has felt like a week." "I…
And so the old year died... There are certainly man year-end posts after Christmas in late December but I feel they aren't as frequent in the first week of January. I prefer to make my hopes and dreams for the new year known in the new year, it feels more possible once you have the…
Continue reading ➞ Bidding the Old Goodbye and Crafting Goals for the Future
And so the snow began to fall and drift to the brown grass, covering it in a winter's blanket. We have been lucky to have a few good snows during the last few months and plenty of cold weather, but it still has remained relatively mild compared to previous winters. Now it is March and…
It is a typical gray November day. The air is bitter and heavy with woodsmoke, the ground having just melted away the last of the heavy frost, and sweaters are now the normal every day wardrobe. In the past few weeks, I have found myself with holiday burnout before the holidays have even truly begun.…
Technically, winter doesn't begin until the end of December, but in the Finger Lakes it's hard to deny that there's a certain chill to the air that is very reminiscent to winter. And so, for the last three years I've found myself humming Christmas songs* and joyfully walking in snowfall in November. *It should be…
Summer, oh summer. I'm writing this in mid-October. The fact that we are well into autumn is not lost on me, but that memo has been missed by Mother Nature. It took over two weeks of diving head on into October for the weather to finally, finally become autumnal. Cool, crisp, woodsmoke in the air.…
The last I wrote was in April and per usual, the warmer weather drew me outdoors and away from indoor focuses. Gone were journals, left behind were crochet projects, and forgotten were embroideries. We finished the last of our jarred goods from last year's harvest and the snow finally melted. Environmentally, this year is something…
Continue reading ➞ Wild & Precious Life – Mid-Spring to Early Summer 2021
January descended upon the Finger Lakes with heavy snow. One snowstorm followed another, although we truthfully didn't get many. The temperatures remained low, and the snow remained on the ground. Too high for play, we stayed indoors. When I look at the past few months, I find myself at a loss for words. How do…
Continue reading ➞ Wild & Precious Life – End of Winter/Start of Spring 2021
In Pagan traditions, August 1st is the celebration of the start of the harvest. It’s a time to remember that Autumn isn’t far off, even if you’re in the height of summer weather. This seems most appropriate in the Finger Lakes, as August seems to be all of that. We have the most inconsistent weather…
Continue reading ➞ Wild & Precious Life – End of Summer/Start of Autumn 2020
It is odd to consider my previous post about the start of our social isolation and how, even with the world falling to pieces, I had such hope that we would return to normalcy by summer (even though I did not verbalize it to that extent in that post). I think, even back then, I…
Continue reading ➞ Wild & Precious Life – Summer Quarantine 2020
The Swedish tourism site describes Midsummer (Midsommar) as: The successful midsummer never-ending lunch party formula involves flowers in your hair, dancing around a pole, singing songs while drinking unsweetened, flavoured schnapps. And downing a whole load of pickled herring served with delightful new potatoes, chives and sour cream. All in all, a grand day out.Visit…
In this age of the world wide web being at the fingertips of nearly all, I have found that everyone has an opinion they wish to share about every event in our lives whether personal or global. It's that understanding that left me hesitant to write an update for these last few months. What have…
Erica Rose Eberhart 