A live version of Loreena McKennitt's Huron "Beltane" Fire Dance from her Parallel Dreams album. In the liner notes she says: In the “Huron ‘Beltane’ Fire Dance”, I have tried to recall the reverence for dreams of the North American first peoples and the early Celts. If there is a recurrent thread that runs through these dreams, it is one of yearning toward love, liberty and integration. Of all the variations of dreams we may have, these surely are our parallel dreams.”
Happy May!
Today could not have been more beautifully glorious! So much sun and growing/blooming things....
The grapes are leafing and budding.
The Sweet Cicely, in all its sweet, anise-y glory, is blooming profusely.
As are the bleeding hearts.
The lilacs are full out - filling the air with their delicious fragrance.
Here is a clump of
Lady's Mantle - particularly apropos for May Day. Medieval herblore provides 'recipes' for youth or true love or seeing fairies that include dew drops collected from the leaves of Lady's Mantle (especially on the morning of May 1st, or by the light of the mid-summer's full moon).
The celadon is growing and blooming profusely.
The fig tree is fruiting and leafing out.
Lungwort, Johny-jump-ups, Sweet Angelica and lamb's ear...
The large, graceful quince blossoms.
Violets growing amidst the parsley.
And Toby-the-terror, begging for yet another game of fetch.
Happy May Day!
In Hawai'i, children and sweethearts are also referred to as "lei." (photo: Makena G.)
Wow. Seems like I just wished you a "Happy Lei Day," and now the month of May is coming to an end.
Just in case you're cruising by on this long weekend, thought I'd serve up a little snack. Here are several pics from this year's Lei Day Festival in Hawai'i. They had their usual lei making contest at Kapiolani Park on Oahu, and I must say how impressed I am with the high level of artistry and creativity displayed in the entries.
I may be just a tad biased, but I do think Hawai'i has the best lei artisans in the world, when you consider the variety of materials used (flowers, seeds, leaves, pods, vines, shells, fronds), and the various techniques employed (weaving, tying, sewing, twisting, knotting). The result -- a blend of color, texture and composition that is simply breathtaking!
photo: U Jay.
Lei Hat Division Winner photo by colleeninhawaii.
Above five photos from My PHOTOlulu's photostream.
Mayor's Grand Prize Lei Winner photo by colleeninhawaii.
When I was little, I remember we were asked to bring a simple plumeria lei to school for Memorial Day. These were collected and taken to Punchbowl or other cemeteries to adorn plaques and headstones. Today, whenever a large quantity of leis is made for either Lei Day or Aloha Week, etc., they are often taken to the cemeteries after the event is over -- a perfect way to "recycle" them.
I also wanted to share this short video with you about Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole English). I've blogged a little about it before, but this will give you a better idea of what it sounds like, how it originated, and why it's the "glue" that binds all the different ethnic groups together. It's pretty cool when you think about it -- a unique language that evolved out of sheer necessity, used right alongside standard English in the Islands.
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Spent a nice (albeit a bit damp and chilly) afternoon with the awesome
Rebecca at
Camlann, medieval village to celebrate May Day.
We had a fabulous lunch, listened to live music, did some people sketching, did more people watching, and ended the day by seeing the May Queen crowned (see the tiny 'Queen' chosen this year - and being thoroughly delighted with that choice! :-) -
- and finally the May Pole being danced around. :-)
Happy May Day to you - hope yours was lovely.
White petals are falling from this spring's early blossoms and the lawns and sidewalks are covered with scented confetti, as if festive for the May King and Queen.
On this beautiful first weekend of May I set out with friends to mark the turn of the season with a long walk in the woods. There were trilliums, may apple about to flower, and masses of trout lilies; yellow ones, such I have seen before,
and translucent white ones, which are new to me.
On every walk up in these woods I hope to see the deer, but once again only small wildlife showed themselves, like this bright-eyed garter snake beside the path.
"Yellow and black, you're all right Jack,
Red and yellow, a dangerous fellow"
Following fresh deer tracks in the mud we found another small field dweller. He was in a hurry and in one hop he was out of the picture frame and away.
Friday, May 1, was sunny and warm. Sunday, May 3, was fairly pleasant as well. On Saturday, May 2, the day of May Faire and the May Pole dances, it rained for almost the entire day. It takes a lot to rain out a Waldorf school event, so everything went on as planned. We made garlands in the morning: Then, each grade did their May dances. Here is a video screen capture of Lucia dancing:I presented
Got to watch sheep shearing -
-and black
smithing-
-and May Day garlands made by hand with natural materials-
-Archery contests-
- and dancing around the May Pole.
There were many festive spectators...
-who couldn't be cuter. :-)
There were various aspects of "Village Life" being demonstrated or out for viewing -
The sheep awaiting shearing -
The resulting wool hanks ready for dying (all with natural, 14
th century materials of course)-
And the end-results of of dying.
The new, in-process blacksmith's building, now wattled, but awaiting daubing -
And the
Bors Hede Inne (restaurant) where we ended up at the end of the day...
I got to go today with
Catherine Somerlot - lovely, young, photo and graphic artist, relatively new to Seattle, (whom I've become
acquainted with via
Twitter of all things.)
We had a fabulous time talking about all things medieval - and chatting with the various in-character villagers.
When the festivities of the day came to an end, and the rains once again began to pour, we headed for the
Bors Hede and stayed for the
May Feast -
(I especially enjoyed the
QUALYS ROSTYD with
SWETE MUSTARD and the JACK-O-THE-GREEN CAKES - which were cardamon cookies decorated like Green Men.)
'Lovely way to spend an afternoon.
I've got some big things in the wings, so I'm excited for that. I survived BEDA and completed my 30 challenge! I deserve something...or do YOU deserve something... hmmmm... Let me think and get back to you...:)
Today we offer a short excerpt from Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings of Daniil Kharms, edited and translated by Matvei Yankelevich. Long heralded as one of the most iconoclastic writers of the Soviet era, Daniil Kharms (1905-1942) was born in St. Petersburg and grew up amidst the Bolshevick revolution. As a young man, he became well known, along with other writers in the OBERIU movement that he founded, as an eccentric poet and performer of the early Soviet literary scene. He died of starvation while incarcerated by the state on suspicion of anti-Soviet activities. Today I Wrote Nothing, just published by The Overlook Press, is the first comprehensive collection of prose and poetry by Daniil Kharms in the English language.
EVENTS
One day Orlov stuffed himself with mashed peas and died. Krylov, having heard the news, also died. And Spiridonov died regardless. And Spiridonov's wife fell from the cupboard and also died. And the Spiridonov children drowned in a pond. Spiridonov's grandmother took to the bottle and wandered the highways. And Mikhailov stopped combing his hair and came with mange. And Kruglov sketched a lady holding a whip and went mad. And Perekhryostov received four hundred rubles wired over the telegraph and was so uppity about it that he was forced to leave his job.
All good people but they don't know how to hold their ground.
Worlds Apart, an extraordinary new collection of Russian fantasy and science fiction is now available in bookstores. Edited by
Alexander Levitsky, this anthology includes selections that represent the works of Russia's best authors and the dominant themes of her history: Myth and the Fairy Tale, Utopianism and Dystopianism, Mechanization and Modernization, Space Flight, and more. The authors range from familiar figures - Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Bulgakov - to writers practically unknown outside the Slavic world such as Derzhavin, Bulgarin, Kuprin, and Pilniak. For the fantasy enthusiast and to anyone with an abiding interest in Russian history and culture,
Worlds Apart is an indispensable volume.
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It was great fun to visit 14th century England right in our own backyard! A perfect way to spend a relaxing day.
Lovely sketchies.
Sunny and quiet here, the weather, not the grandkids, they were blustery mostly cloudy with gusts of temper! I took them out to the garden to pull weeds and get some fresh air on 'em. All in all, I think you had the better day! :)))
What fun, Tara. Wonderful sketches too.
love the may day celebration! what a nice idea.