Farewell 2017!!!
Happy Hogmanay, Silvester and New Year!
What a beast 2017 was! Of course we tried to make as many beautiful memories as we could and in those moments it helped lift our hearts above the state of the nation and the unmasked bigotry.
I made a list (in random order) to remind myself of the many beautiful things that happened in spite of the darkness:
1. We hiked the falls on the first day of 2017 with our dear friends the Mann family.
2. I went to the Women's March in DC with a new friend.
3. I took Social Justice Training to help be a better ally and advocate.
4. We took a road trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and were completely ensorcelled.
5. The man rode his first upside down rollercoaster, and my beloved niece came to join us at the park.
6. We visited Animal Kingdom with our dear friends the Smith family.
7. We went to two owl releases at sundown.
8. I made a lovely new friend and walking partner.
9. I graduated the Master Naturalists program.
10. I took a basic wildlife rehabilitation course.
11. We climbed Stony Man Summit several times.
12. We spent Easter on the Chesapeake looking for fossilized shark teeth.
13. I made my own almond milk.
14. We drove to SC to watch the solar eclipse and flew a giant octopus kite on the beach.
15. The Bolasci tribe came for visit and sleepover
16. We learned real life potions with dear friend, Erin Fairlight.
17. We went to a fabulous DakhaBrakha concert.
18. We had many sunset picnics at the lake.
19. We went apple picking with our friends the Heinold family and picnicked in the orchard.
20. We had several celebratory bonfires with friends and neighbors.
21. We had our 10th annual winter solstice party and lantern walk with beloved friends.
22. We flew a kite at sunset on a mountain top.
23. We watched the super moon rise from a hill in the middle of a golf course.
24. I finally got around to making shibori cloth napkins.
25. The man cub was certified in CPR and First Aid.
26. We took a road trip to Lewis Ginter Bontanical Garden, saw breathtaking butterflies and climbed a 100 yo Mulberry tree
27. My niece came to visit and we went to the Abstract Landscapes exhibit in DC and Stonyman Summit.
28. We grew some food.
29. I facilitated another two seasons of Mighty Girl Art and presented at Maker Faire.
30. I held space for a girl who transitioning to an angel.
31. We expanded our hummingbird feeders and with it our feathered guests.
32. We toured the historic Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary and it was magical.
33. We visited 30 acres of sunflowers at McKee-Beshers.
34. We spent a day wandering Harpers Ferry with our friends, the Mann family.
35. We took a day trip to visit the set of my favorite childhood tv show Hodgepodge Lodge
36. We had a visit from a Clymeme Moth and a Leopard Moth.
37. I went to my first interfaith Iftar.
38. We had two seasonal block parties.
39. The man cub won another fishing derby
41. We went to the Owl Moon Raptor Festival.
42. My dear friends Melissa performed fire poy at our pink moon bonfire and mystified the littles.
43. I spent time with the magical Erin Darcy and Ophelia at the airport during their layover to Ireland.
44. I finally learned to knit a cat bed, but none of our cats will use it so I donated it the cat clinic.
45. I fell in love with the works of some new to me writers.
46. The man cub made his first stop motion film.
47. I finally learned how to play Backgammon.
48. I spent time with a dear lifelong friend Debi at her bayside cottage and watched the sunset from her treehouse. She lifted my heart from the sadness of my visit which was the memorial service for a friend and mentor. And there I also visited my longtime friend Di, shared dinner, hugs and laughter.
49. I created and printed 2 years worth of photos into 2 hardback memory books.
50. We spent an evening at a local water park with our dear friends the Mann family.
51. The man cub decided that he now enjoys sleepovers and has had many to make up for lost time.
On New Years Day, we took advantage of a noteworthy cold snap to make ice lanterns. Instead of the traditional Hoppin' John, I decided to lean toward my Italian roots and make Pasta Fagioli which I like to think of as the Italian version of Hoppin' John. I think this shall remain my New Years tradition from now on.
Lastly, here is a poem that I wish to carry forth in to the new year...
Wild Compliance by Ben Weaver
I’ve got maps spread out
all over the kitchen floor
headwaters splintering into deltas
whose braids are hollowing
my spirit of its untruths
the snow blowing down my collar
the rain leaking in through my boots
the river depositing silt into my hair
whittled down to sap
I’m letting the light in
however it wants to get in
Out in the darkness of the frozen lake
there are fish suspended
in the top six inches of ice
who will hold the dreams
of last summer’s water
through the winter,
and then pass them along
in the spring when the ice melts
and water again begins to flow
The part of me that is Watercress
Wolverine, Lark Sparrow and Bluestem
has been waking
in the middle of the night
near the fork of a creek
at the foot of a hill
and cannot return to sleep without asking,
how far away are we
and what must we do
to collectively imagine
a liberated future;
where the way we live
does not compromise life
where watersheds are not choked
where human beings
are not wage slaves
and our value system
is based in generosity
not accumulation?
These questions howl through me
like rivers and runaway witches
my life the voice to ask them with
my heart the tool shaping
the resilience and renewal they reveal
As the tamarack bogs never refuse a Moose
my resistance is an act of love
and my questions come not in judgment
but in service of life, as an invitation
to hear all that is silent in the river
all that clings with the burrs and sunset
to the Coyote’s tail
that does not require one to
comply with an economy
willing to sacrifice the braids of our ecosystem
Red Fox, Monarch, Hawk,
White Bark Pine, Salmon,
Bears Ears, Lake Superior,
Kawishiwi, Menomonee, or Yellow Dog
for a deluded version of wealth
that enriches supremacy,
fear, complacency, and disconnect,
but instead complies with
the entangled lives of
Box Turtles and thunderstorms
ancient forests and the joy of
Earths’ wild reciprocity.
And I must remember this
“...throw roses into the abyss and say: 'here is my thanks to the monster who didn't succeed in swallowing me alive.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Labels: ice lanterns, new years day
