Solstice

solstice

“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller

As equal days and nights embrace each other  in a dance of the highly mystical, the winter solstice appears at a time of great change when the earth readies herself for the harsh winter that enables the spring by way of the autumnal season when the harvest is reaped . And as the hay is in the barn, the first frost has settled on the roof of houses everywhere as the smell of sweet wood resonates from the hearth. The pumpkin lay in the patch waiting for Halloween and the sheep have returned from the highland. Everything is as it should be or is it ever really? 

Solstice literally means ‘stand’ and the whole of humankind seems to obey as the sun keeps a watchful eye on the frozen north for the river run is deep and wide as it is long even when frozen. All is as it should be when the gatekeeper to the Land of Nod holds you to the sacred task… riddle me this… how do you keep the one you love? Love is not kept nor can it be as a flag of selfishness  flying over its castle walls. Love is patient, love is kind, love is good, love is all.

…copyright by jc, 2020-9, image by pixabay…

 

October

“All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to the field, hollow and the lone voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.” -Thomas Wolfe

Looking back over my life, it appears October has been a singular event for me in many ways as the first frost, covers like a blanket of crushed ice across the top of lawns and the roof of houses and barns. And what are some of the things that remind me of October? The end of the harvest… the harvest moon… the music of Bach… sleeping with the windows open… old dogs warming their chilled bones by the fire… geese flying in formation… blackbirds sing in the dead of night… bats waking from the rafters of an old barn heading toward an ageless nocturnal ritual…

The sweet fragrance of gardenias… the delicate colors of pansies… freshly brewed coffee… the season’s first hot chocolate… days of contemplation and wonder. The reflected light from the setting sun… clear and cool nights… the cat sleeps longer… dogs bark louder…hobbits drinking beer in the post-dawn sun… bats returning from a hard day’s night as squirrels gather nuts and acorns for their winter stores… the month of my diagnoses…. red-tailed hawks… walking man singing frost is on the pumpkin and hay is in the barn… my daughters birth… owls… and you are on my mind.

*Copyright-2019-9-JC

Solstice

“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” -Helen Keller  

As equal days and nights embrace each other again in a dance of mystical qualities, the winter solstice arrives at a time of ritual and celebration on the shortest day of the year beginging an upward spiral to usher in the light of the newborn day. The harvest is reaped under the watchful eye of the harvest moon, the first frost of the season settles on the roofs of houses as the sweet smoke of the hearth surrounds everyone and everything. The pumpkin lay in wait for All shaming Eve while the hay is in the barn, and the sheep return from the highland. Everything is as it should be.

The word Solstice literally means ‘stand still’ and the whole of humankind seems to obey as the sun keeps a watchful eye on the frozen north for the river run is deep and wide as it is long even when frozen. All is as it should be when’s the gatekeeper to the Land of Nod holds you to the sacred task… riddle me this… How do you keep the one you love? “Love is not kept nor can it be a flag of selfishness as is seen flying over its castle walls. Love is patient, kind, and good, love is all.”

©jc2020-9.