Ye Olde Beltane

 Sharing with Saturday's Critters!

Very small critters, ants are needed for peonies to bloom healthily.

Anthropomorphized May Pole Dancers

Maypole dancing in 2008 after I retired and moved to Black Mountain NC.

From The Crones Grove FaceBook page

Whisper in the Wind (circa 2018) by British textile artist Fiona Gill

A day late, my rabbit to wish good luck to everyone on the first of the month.

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May pole dance Sunday at 5 in Asheville NC sponsored by Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS)

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Since few of my blog friends commented yesterday, I'll just add a couple of shots showing the results of the rallies in support of the laborers in our lives.

Raleigh NC had thousands of teachers march for better pay (they are at the bottom of the 50 states) and for the NC legislature to finally agree upon a budget...since they are the only state not to have done so yet.

Protesters gathered in Asheville below.

World wide efforts to have people over billionaires.

My attempt to capture the full moon the night of April 30/May 1...

At dusk...

At 1 am.

Red orange and a good doctor's visit

 An appointment at the doctor's in Asheville, where some trees (at 4pm new time) still show nice color with the brilliant North Carolina blue sky.

The sun still hit the top of this golden orange tree's last leaves.

Golden orange hair in tightly woven braids greeted me as my nurse led me back to the exam room. I asked her if I could take a photo of her hair, and she was willing.

She said it had been pulled tightly while the braids were being made. It shows!

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Twilight struck around 5:25 pm in Asheville. As I left the cardiologist's office to go home, and I followed that almost full moon going east on I-40 all the way home. That was Mon. Nov. 3, when I was still getting used to no more Daylight Savings Time. Gag. Sunset at 5:30 now!

Anything new from the cardiologist? Heart had been examined in Sept by ultrasound when I was hospitalized with pneumonia which left me very short of breath when walking anywhere. So we knew my heart worked, but the lungs were not doing so well.

I had had one episode which might be heart related in early October, when nitroglycerin worked to relieve the pain in 5 minutes. Doc talked about how I need to get my lungs in better condition before we can have a stress test of my heart (not on a treadmill, but with MRI and contrast.) So it's scheduled early next year.

So I'm also interested in my risk factors for a stroke. I take all the proper meds to keep my blood pressure at a good level. I am not a good candidate for exercise until the lungs are better...there's constant coughing and little wheezes there.

We had a few laughing moments when I couldn't remember a word, and basically gave the hint in Charades game fashion...one word, 3 or 4 syllables, means...etc. I don't mind at all that my mental score was 27 out of 30 (normal range!) ...memory and word finding continue to be a laugh! 

I do like my cardiologist.

I am looking into improving my diet somewhat, since the lunch program just gives me lots of carbs. I'll load up on fruits and veggies for breakfast and dinner at least. (I went to the grocery store a few days later, and only got one kind of bread - 4 croissants). Not even the chocolate kind. 

Full moon

The Strawberry Moon, June 4, 2023

Today's quote:

I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.

 -Edith Sitwell, poet (1887-1964)

A last something for 2020

 A bit of a spooky last full moon on Dec. 29, 2020.

Tonight's quote:

We have a responsibility to hold to the power of love that we know to be true,
and to not allow the world around us to deaden that in ourselves.

LUCAS JOHNSON

August moon

(Or maybe July...)

This was about to become a full moon, and I really had mood and sleep problems that I attributed to its force upon my "mostly water" being. A lot of friends reported the same.

Today's quote:
People don't alter history any more than birds alter the sky, they just make brief patterns in it.

 -Terry Pratchett, novelist (Apr 28 1948-2015) 

Happy Full Moon...late again

Since this actually happened, we had a line of strong thunderstorms come through the day after a total cloudy sky that didn't do anything. But it finally cleared up Sunday with sunshine and 60 degrees. In January? Poor old earth.

When the moon eclipses, it doesn't matter how cold...

We seldom see full moons here in the mountains, because there are frequent clouds whenever they happen.
So I started peeping at it around 7:45, and there were stars visible too...but of course I can't quite get my little Nikon to see them.

 Isn't this one neat, with 2 orbs that came to visit?

The camera sends out some kind of infared signal to focus on things, and it really had trouble with the moon.  I think the lens might have gotten a bit of condensation on it as well.

I found myself sneaking outside every hour, and I didn't even bother taking photos that didn't show a thing...which of course meant bundling up since it was in the teens by then, and sometimes blustery too.

 Around 10 there was a shadow cast on the lower edge, and a camera which wasn't held exactly still gave it a nice mellon look.

I went to bed around 10:45, and loved that it was starting to have that reddish tint, but it was too cold for my old bones to come out again later.  I'm so glad some others did!

Here's Jim Polling's capture (had a better zoom, but still hand held!) of the full eclipse.

And here's my new favorite by Martha Fabre Hale on Facebook...

Oh the moon is full and it's cold outside!

So I've made my little newly transplanted violets, and the orchid, a kind of "green house" where I'll leave a light on all night to keep them warm.  They are near a window, and with such low temps, (forecast is 10 degrees fahrenheit.) I dare saw the area inside the window will not be any 65 degrees.  Maybe this will give them a bit of tropical temperatures (as they like best.)

 The rosemary is hardy enough to stay in the windowsill.  The heating unit is directly to the left on the wall, so it will keep the room somewhat warm tonight.   The management has asked us to keep some water running so pipes don't freeze.  Good idea.

So I'll put new batteries in the Nikon and wake up around 11:30 to see whatever eclipse I might see.  Actually I hope to see the moon itself earlier.  I'll show you my efforts tomorrow!

Super Moon enjoyed

 I confess...these are pictures of July's super moon.  For August, too many clouds for the whole weekend long.  But actually the sun is shining right now, so perhaps there will be moonlight tonight...a day after full.