Ordinary days

by Rain Trueax

Trying to cut down the photos to a few for this blog is proving very difficult-- and that just for the ones from May-- a very colorful season for the Tucson area. Cacti are in bloom along with the ironwood and palo verde trees. It's a sea of pink and yellow all around our home.

Ironwood are particularly interesting as they don't grow everywhere in the Santa Cruz valley. Generally they are on ridges and maybe have soil requirements that I know nothing about. It is one of the blessings of this property that it's in one of their zones; so we have quite a few. They drop tiny slivers, which definitely are no fun to get one in your hands or feet. I have suspected the cats have gotten a few in their paws as they'll be licking and biting at it to get it out. 

When we bought the place we had three big ones right near the house, which provide shade and shelter for the birds. We lost one of them and couldn't do anything to save it even by giving it a waterer. Maybe it had lived its life. I will hate it if we lose either of the others even though smaller ones are coming up.

Imbolc

by Rain Trueax

For those of us who celebrate a Celtic year, Imbolc (in the Northern Hemisphere from February 1-to the evening of Feb. 2) is the true beginning of spring (It didn't occur to me until last year that it would be celebrated August 1st or 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere as it is a seasonal holiday). It is midway between the Winter Solstice and spring equinox. 

Where I live, it marks the beginning of lambing season although our son, who looks after the livestock while we are in Arizona, had the first lambs weeks ago. Imbolc (you do not pronounce the b) means ewe's milk. Whether on a farm or not, this is the time of stirrings of new life, what might be called the quickening when life comes back from where it's been dormant.

Ever as Before

by Rain Trueax

Looking for a new read that is a kind of magical realism just in time for Imbolc? How about throwing in a threat of the living dead? A particularly determined demon? Natural born witches, gnomes, warlocks, shamans-- this is, after all the 7th in the Mystic Shadows series of books that move beyond what we consider reality to something else. Might that something else be quantum physics? What if there is an alchemist aspect to how evil can be fought and contained? Imbolc is a good time for a story that is a mix of physical reality and romantic fantasy.

Heading to 2020

by Rain Trueax

sunrise December 18th from Casa Espiritu

The time between Christmas and New Years is a special time for me. Yes, the calendar is a manmade tool, but it can be used. The idea of moving into a new year, especially a new decade, feels important-- even more when it has such a neat sound to it-- 2020. 

This week used to be when I would write goals for the coming year. I did that for years. I was pretty much always having the same goals. I got more organized with them as I'd put them in three categories-- spirit, body, mind. I would think what did I want to do to move myself forward in each area.