Super Moon August 2014

On Sunday 10th August we had what is known as a super moon.  It had been a strange day what with the aftermath of hurricane Bertha.  It didn't affect as too greatly but we had torrential downpours and then it turned very windy for a short while.  By nightfall all was calm and the moon gave me a reassuring constant knowing it will always be there during my lifetime.

Hare and Moon

The hare and the moon dancing in the moonlight.  A moonstone hugged by harebell shaped flowers.

'Oh powerful Moon

 you push me and pull me

and play with my emotions

but how you enthral me'

Simone Whipp 2013

I Blog Therefore I Am

In March 2013 I have been blogging for five years.  Blogging means a great deal to me.  It gives me a voice, a way of expression, a connection to other like-minded people, a purpose for living and the attention that I secretly desire.  Blogging has become part of who I am. 

As well as writing for my own blog, I love to read other people's blogs too and regularly comment on my favourite ones. Just recently a few of my favourite writers have decided to stop blogging. I am always sad when this happens.  It is like a favourite author giving up writing books.  I really hope that they don't give up for good.  I think I will always be a writer as I feel compelled to do so.  I write therefore I am.

Have you wondered what the picture of a cabbage is doing at the top of the post?  Well, I didn't fancy putting up a picture of the snowy scenery all around as the novelty has worn off!  Anyway, the reason for the cabbage photo is to illustrate a great quote accompanying an article in the Telegraph Magazine today:

'If it's a full moon the cabbages

keep on growing through

the night, so you have to keep

an eye on them'

The article was about growing cabbages and the many virtues they have.  I can now imagine cabbages all around the country swelling to gigantic proportions on the night of a full moon!

November Moon

The moon looked so huge in the misty, murky darkness tonight.  Tomorrow it will reach its fullness and then start to wane again. 

On my 'slow walk' to Christmas, I cleared out a cupboard today to make room for stocking up on Christmas snacks and treats.  It feels good to tick a job off my imaginary 'to do' list.

At the moment I feel as though I am in limbo.  I want to take things slowly but I want November to hurry up and be over!  I think the lack of sunlight has really taken its toll on me this year especially not having been away on holiday or even to the beach in the UK for a couple of years.  I think I must make the effort to get away next year otherwise I may just become a hermit!

Have you got a minute or two to spare?  If so; just close your eyes, take a couple of slow deep breaths and imagine the feeling of warm sunshine on your skin.  You can taste the salty sea air on your lips and hear the waves just gently lapping along the beach.  You feel calm and contented and at peace.  Feel better?  This rotten weather we are experiencing will not last even though it feels as though it has gone on forever.  The blue skies and sunny days WILL return.  Have faith. x

Setting Intentions

We are coming up to the new moon on Sunday.  This is a time for planting and planning ideas and sowing intentions so that they may come to fruition over the coming month.  I don't know how much truth there is in doing things by the cycle of the moon but it has been useful to me in organising things in my life.

It was dry and bright this morning.  A perfect time to sow my cottage garden seeds that have been sitting in their packet since March, waiting for the optimum time to be sown.  Today was that day.  The earth was raked over, the seeds scattered and then watered in to start the magic.

Later today I will write down my intentions for the coming month.  What do I want to achieve?  How do I see my Etsy shop developing?  What ideas do I have?

I think it is a good idea to write these thoughts down as it helps me to keep on track and focus on things to do in the coming month.

It has clouded over now.  The sun has disappeared.  It is a time for quiet reflection.  A time to nurture ideas.   A time to sow seeds - either in the gardening sense of the word or metaphorically speaking.

A New Hobby

Thanks to Clare I have taken up another hobby!  I have never attempted patchwork before but have been inspired and encouraged by Clare's enthusiasm, tutorials and wonderful patchwork that she produces.

Most of the crafts that I do, require quite a bit of money to be spent on them but I see that patchwork can be quite frugal if you want it to be as all you need is fabric, a needle, some cotton for tacking and sewing, cardboard for a template and scraps of paper to make the hexagons.  I think I will want to spend money on beautiful fabrics though, so maybe it's not quite frugal as I first thought!

I was supposed to be doing housework but got distracted making my first lot of hexagons.  Fabric hexagons are wrapped around papers and tacked together.  The next fun bit will be sewing the shapes together.  I can see this becoming an addiction!

Thank you for all the comments regarding the moon in my last post.  Today in the Northern hemisphere the moon is waning and ascending.   According to a guide that I have, if you are going to be planting onions or shallots, it is best to plant them when the moon is descending  on the 20 - 22nd March in the morning.  March is the last chance to prune apple trees, when the moon is descending from 13-24th March.  I have taken this information from a book called 'in tune with the moon 2011'.  I have no idea if the advice works but if you haven't had much success in growing things maybe it is worth giving it a try!

The Moon and Me

The teeny tiny crescent shaped moon in the photo above is a waxing moon.  Today and until this Friday the moon is waning and the crescent will be the other way around.  On Friday we will have a new moon.  For those not familiar with the moons cycle; from the full moon to the new moon the moon is waning, and from the new moon to the full moon the moon is waxing.  I am new to all this and just recently became aware of how heavily I am influenced by the moon.

I have been tired and lethargic over the past week and feel this could be due to the waning moon.  It is a time for decreased activity and increased rest.  I have read that the waning moon is a time to send away negative things such as relationships or financial worries and to clear out closets and suchlike and to start a cleansing diet.

In addition to the waxing, full, waning and new moon, the moon is either ascending or descending.  All these different factors are considered when deciding the optimum time to plant seeds, mow lawns, water and feed plants etc. 

Armed with my new information about the moon I am going to try to live more closely to it.  I will use the waning moon as a time for clearing things away from my life and the waxing moon to bring things into my life.

Are you influenced by the moon?

April Full Moon

I have had a fascination with the moon recently. Each month I look forward to seeing the full moon. I took these moon photos at around 10.00pm last night. They were taken through a window with my digital camera and the man in the house opposite watching me from a downstairs window probably wondering what I was taking photos of!

I would love to own a professional camera one day and capture the true beauty of what I saw rather than a snapshot.

The moon was soft and beautiful last night with a golden glow. The clouds that formed around it gave an air of mystique. Sadly no foxes were to be seen last night but the water I had put out for them had disappeared and plenty of pots had been knocked over so I guess they came out whilst I was in slumber.

Around 6.00pm this evening this little cub came to see what I was doing. He then sat and scratched his ear with his back leg, hence his back leg being up in the air! I will try to see if I can photo the cubs at night again. I may be up all night!

Fox Cub Update

Yesterday afternoon there were two little foxy faces peering out at me from under the junk pile. Luckily my husband and son were around to witness them.

Later that evening, just outside my dining room window I had the pleasure of seeing not one, or two, or three or four or five but SIX fox cubs playing out in my garden! It really was a wonderful sight.

Why did this event have to happen just as we get chickens again? Anyway, there is no way that my hens will be free ranging for a very long while to come. I just can't risk it. I won't disturb the cubs, or feed them but I have left some water nearby. I hope that they quickly grow into adulthood and move on. Then I will clear my recycling pile so that foxes won't be able to set up home again.

I tried to get some night time pictures of the cubs but they didn't come out clearly. I will try again tonight by the light of the full moon. Did you know that this moon is called the 'egg' moon? How very appropriate now that one of my hens has started to lay!

Simulated Simnel and the Moon!

A typical simnel cake has a layer of marzipan in the middle of the cake as well as on the top of the cake. It is traditionally decorated with 11 marzipan balls to represent the apostles of Jesus.

I have made my own version of a simnel cake using an Irish boiled fruit cake recipe and covering the top with a layer of apricot jam and golden marzipan when the cake was cold.

I decorated with marzipan eggs and grilled the top of the cake to brown.

The cake is lovely and moist and improves with keeping getting stickier and more succulent!

It is very easy to make and very easy to eat!

Did you see the beautiful full moon last week at the end of March? It was a beautiful clear orb in the sky and the limitations of my camera doesn't do it justice. Did you know that the March full moon is also known as the full worm, full crow, full crust, full sap, Lenten moon, seed moon and chaste moon. I found this information from the moon calender that can be found here and here.

Welcome February

I woke up to a cold and frosty February 1st. The moon was a huge irregular looking orb this morning and I quickly captured it on camera just before the sun began to rise.