Friday, May 1, 2020

May Day is for celebrating spring and laborer's rights

Happy May Day to all! Or Happy Beltaine to all my pagan friends!

Just look who has returned! The Lilies of the Valley!
These photos were taken Sat. April 25, just before a lot of rain. I'm so glad these plants came up through the mulch which had been spread lavishly around.






The laborers used to parade down the streets on May Day...here are a few photos of New York parades.



These laborers in mills, factories, and food processing plants would take the day to display that they were doing the work that kept our world going.  They might just do it again today...


 I didn't even notice the hairy dead thing there, but I wonder if it will regenerate.

The flame azaleas are blooming, but don't seem very prolific anywhere.

Today's Quote:
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it
go,
to let it go.
Mary Oliver
In Blackwater Woods

12 comments:

  1. ...I'm afraid that few think about labor on May Day anymore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve gone the other way and enjoy memories of Celtic pagan rituals!

      Delete
  2. I am afraid Tom comment above is right on. Love the beautiful lilies, beautiful photos. Happy month of May to you! Take care and stay safe! Enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once the Soviet Union used May Day to celebrate themselves, and their military prowess, the May Day celebrations of our labor forces kind of faded away, apparently. Thanks for the comment.

      Delete
  3. Brings back memories of my dad planting Lily of the Valley in our backyard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I've never grown them, nor my parents. So these were the first I've ever had available to watch in the spring.

      Delete
  4. Happy Beltane! Truly the first day of summer. Lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THanks Robin, happy Beltain to you as well. Keep safe!

      Delete
  5. Beltane Blessings to you and yours!
    Lily of the Valley sometimes look unreal..almost as if made of wax

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lily of the Valley flowers are very pretty. Beautiful photos and a happy May to you.
    Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A lovely post, Barb! The lilies of the valley are traditional for May Day in France. And I LOVE the Mory OLiver poem.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like lilies of the valley. My mom had a nice patch of them.

    There is a fence linkup here: https://gosiablogs.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

There is today, more than ever, the need for a compassionate regenerative world civilization.