The Cottage Wytch

2012-02-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises

2012-02-15T17:37:00.002-05:00

"Come, gentle Spring! Ethereal Mildness! Come."
- James Thomson

love...

2012-02-14T12:58:00.000-05:00

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~Buddha

2012-02-11T17:45:00.001-05:00

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than
the journey-work of the stars.

Walt Whitman

2012-02-05T05:50:00.001-05:00

the earth is bursting with new life...

2012-02-04T14:14:00.003-05:00

The Fairy Woods by Henry Meynell Rheam

"When I sound the fairy call,
Gather here in silent meeting,
Chin to knee on the orchard wall,
Cooled with dew and cherries eating.
Merry, merry, Take a cherry
Mine are sounder, Mine are rounder
Mine are sweeter, For the eater
When the dews fall. And you'll be fairies all."

- Robert Graves, Fairies and Fusiliers, 1918

2012-02-03T19:30:00.002-05:00

"So with the stretch of the white road before me,
Shining snow crystals rainbowed by the sun,
Fields that are white, stained with long, cool, blue shadows,
Strong with the strength of my horse as we run.
Joy in the touch of the wind and the sunlight!
Joy! With the vigorous earth I am one."
- Amy Lowell, A Winter Ride

2012-02-02T01:02:00.001-05:00

"Away in a meadow all covered with snow

The little old groundhog looks for his shadow

The clouds in the sky determine our fate

If winter will leave us all early or late."

Don Halley

Hail and Welcome Great Goddess Brigit

2012-02-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

Triple Goddess Brigit, whose breath gave life to the dead.

Imbolc Blessings

2012-02-01T14:40:00.000-05:00

Mother Earth stirs from her long slumber.

The fields and forests hear Her whisper to awake.

The creatures of Her realms answer Her summons.

Everything awaits in anticipation for Spring.

2012-01-31T18:34:00.001-05:00

2012-01-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

"May You enjoy peace, may You enjoy good health, and abundance of love."

http://www.thelovefoundation.com

2012-01-28T08:41:00.000-05:00

"I stood beside a hill

Smooth with new-laid snow,

A single star looked out

From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature

That saw what I could see--

I stood and watched the evening star

As long as it watched me."

- Sara Teasdale, February Twilight

2012-01-23T19:19:00.000-05:00

"No one but Night, with tears on her dark face,
Watches beside me in this windy place."
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

2012-01-22T10:15:00.001-05:00

"Then sleep the seasons, full of might;
While slowly swells the pod,
And rounds the peach, and in the night
The mushroom bursts the sod.

The winter comes: the frozen rut
Is bound with silver bars;
the white drift heaps against the hut;
and night is pierced with stars."
- Coventry Patmore, 1823-1896, The Seasons

snow day...

2012-01-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

"Little January
Tapped at my door today.
And said, "Put on your winter wraps,
And come outdoors to play."
Little January
Is always full of fun;
Until the set of sun.
Little January
Will stay a month with me
And we will have such jolly times -
Just come along and see."

- Winifred C. Marshall, January

2012-01-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."
- Anne Bradstreet

Glastonbury Tor in Winter

2012-01-15T13:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/15529866

Blessed be your path OR7...

2012-01-14T15:56:00.000-05:00

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

At this time, there is only one documented gray wolf living in the wild in California. On Dec. 28, 2011 a 2 ½-year-old, male gray wolf entered California after traveling from northeast Oregon. Designated OR7, his behavior, called dispersal, is not atypical of a wolf his age. Historically, wolves inhabited California, but were extirpated. Before OR7, the last confirmed wolf in California was here in 1924 and since then, investigated “sightings” have turned out to be coyotes, dogs, wolf-dog hybrids, etc. DFG wildlife managers anticipated that wolves would eventually enter California, and have been preparing for it.

The State of California is not intentionally reintroducing wolves.
Gray wolves pose little direct risk to humans.
Any wolf that enters California is protected as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/

Snowy Owls in Ohio...

2012-01-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

A rare treat for Ohio residents is to see a snowy owl, also known as the Arctic, great white, and ghost owl. A shortage of lemmings and voles in the owl’s arctic home can drive these nomad hunters as far south as Ohio in search of food. Snowy owls can be seen in the dead of winter mostly along the Lake Erie shorelines such as Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Bayshore Power Plant near Toledo (Lucas County), and Headlands State Park (Cuyahoga County). http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/

2012-01-13T19:10:00.000-05:00

"January is here, with eyes that keenly glow,
A frost-mailed warrior
striding a shadowy steed of snow."
- Edgar Fawcett

2012-01-11T18:18:00.001-05:00

2012-01-09T19:04:00.001-05:00

2012-01-08T09:33:00.004-05:00

http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Diana-Shaw.html

“A healthy woman is much like a wolf:
robust, chock-full, strong life force, life-giving,
territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving.”

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés

2012-01-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

"One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves."

- Wallace Stevens, The Snow Man, 1923

2011-12-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines."
- Henry David Thoreau

2011-12-29T07:43:00.001-05:00

2011-12-28T07:43:00.000-05:00

2011-12-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

Believe...

2011-12-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/

2011-12-24T01:16:00.001-05:00

Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.

~Epicurus

2011-12-23T13:12:00.003-05:00

We are all primary numbers divisible only by ourselves.
~Jean Guitton

2011-12-22T07:38:00.001-05:00

Teach me to listen to the song of the Earth.

Yuletide Blessings

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

May all the Seasons of your life
be filled with Peace and Happiness.

Blessed be your Path!

2011-12-21T06:51:00.000-05:00

"Solstice Sun, Shining Bright!
Shortest Day & Longest Night.
Solstice Wish of Hope & Cheer:
Peace on Earth, throughout the Year!"

Selena Fox

2011-12-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

"In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Long ago."

2011-12-18T10:53:00.002-05:00

2011-12-16T18:39:00.001-05:00

2011-12-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

Woodland Santa by Scott Gustafson

"Love awoke one winter's night
And wander'd through the snowbound land,
And calling to beasts and birds
Bid them his message understand.

And from the forest all wild things
That crept or flew obeyed love's call,
And learned from him the golden words
Of brotherhood for one and all."

- Author Unknown

2011-12-12T17:43:00.013-05:00

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."

- Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

2011-11-24T09:13:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year;
to the honest man it comes as frequently
as the heart of gratitude will allow.

~Edward Sandford Martin

2011-11-05T19:17:00.001-04:00

Samhain Blessings

2011-10-31T05:14:00.006-04:00

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

~Mary Frye

2011-10-29T06:01:00.003-04:00

Set Sail by Starhawk and Mara June Quicklightning

2011-10-28T19:56:00.000-04:00

Set sail, set sail
Over the waves where the spray blows white
Into the night, into the night

Set sail, set sail
Turn your face where the veil grows thin
Beyond the rim, beyond the rim

Set sail, set sail
Follow the twilight to the West
Where you may rest, where you may rest

Set sail, set sail
Make of your heart a burning fire
Build it higher, build it higher

Set sail, set sailPass in an instant through the open gate
It will not wait, it will not wait
Set sail, set sail
One thing gives way to another
In the Mother, in the Mother

Set sail, set sail
Back through the deep where life comes undone
And is begun, and is begun

Set sail, set sail
Over the dark of the sunless sea
You are free, you are free

Set sail, set sail
To the shining isle where your heart is led
We meet the dead, we meet the dead

Set sail, set sail

http://reclaimingspiraldance.org/chants/set-sail/

2011-10-26T18:29:00.000-04:00

"How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow."

- Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

2011-10-25T18:10:00.002-04:00

"There is a world in which we dwell,
And yet a world invisible.
And do not think that naught can be
Save only what with eyes ye see:
I tell ye that, this very hour,
Had but your sight a spirit's power,
Ye would be looking, eye to eye,
At a terrific company."

--COXE: Hallowe'en.

;)

2011-10-23T08:45:00.001-04:00

http://paige_halliwell.tripod.com/id15.html

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

2011-10-21T17:42:00.001-04:00

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

William Shakespeare
Hamlet, from a letter read by Polonius, scene ii

2011-10-19T18:47:00.002-04:00

the owl by alfred lord tennyson

2011-10-16T07:48:00.005-04:00

When cats run home and light is come,
And dew is cold upon the ground,
And the far-off stream is dumb,
And the whirring sail goes round,
And the whirring sail goes round;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

When merry milkmaids click the latch,
And rarely smells the new-mown hay,
And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch
Twice or thrice his roundelay,
Twice or thrice his roundelay;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

2011-10-15T18:08:00.001-04:00

2011-10-12T21:47:00.000-04:00

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods."
- William Allingham

sanguine moon...

2011-10-11T14:02:00.000-04:00

The Veil is Getting Thinner...

2011-10-06T19:32:00.001-04:00

"As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a whisper whispering.
I heard a whisper whispering,
Upon this fine fall day...

As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a laugh a' laughing.
I heard a laugh a' laughing,
Upon this fine fall day...

I heard this whisper and I wondered,
I heard this laugh and then I knew.
The time is getting near my friends,
The time that I hold dear my friends,
The veil is getting thin my friends,
And strange things will pass through."

- The Veil is Getting Thinner

2011-10-05T19:25:00.001-04:00

2011-10-04T07:22:00.000-04:00

"The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
to see the frosty asters like smoke
upon the hills."

- William Bliss Carman

2011-10-03T05:32:00.002-04:00

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots

may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on
the feelings, as now in October."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

2011-10-02T06:22:00.002-04:00

"I have come to a still, but not a deep center,
A point outside the glittering current;
My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,
At the irregular stones, iridescent sandgrains,
My mind moves in more than one place,
In a country half-land, half-water.
I am renewed by death, thought of my death,
The dry scent of a dying garden in September,
The wind fanning the ash of a low fire.
What I love is near at hand,
Always, in earth and air."
- Theodore Roethke, The Far Field

2011-10-01T08:20:00.001-04:00

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening
To Silence."
- Thomas Hood

2011-09-29T18:34:00.002-04:00

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too."
Samuel Butler

2011-09-26T18:58:00.001-04:00

2011-09-24T14:08:00.011-04:00

"Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields,
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring
Come to us, Lord of Harvest
Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us ..."

Autumn Equinox Ritual

2011-09-23T14:12:00.001-04:00

"Equal dark, equal light
Flow in Circle, deep insight
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!
So it flows, out it goes
Three-fold back it shall be
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!"

- Night An'Fey, Transformation of Energy

2011-09-22T18:21:00.000-04:00

"Alone with myself
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart"

- Candy Polgar

2011-09-21T18:23:00.001-04:00

2011-09-18T09:37:00.001-04:00

"Lo! sweeten’d with the summer light,
The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow,
Drops in a silent autumn night.
All its allotted length of days
The flower ripens in its place,
Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil,
Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil."
- Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lotus-Eaters

Harvest Full Moon

2011-09-15T19:41:00.001-04:00

http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Laurent-Laveder-110913_5897_1315961299.jpg

2011-09-11T01:21:00.004-04:00

2011-09-10T08:06:00.000-04:00

"Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me."

- Robert Frost

2011-09-09T08:16:00.002-04:00

"A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible."

Welsh proverb

2011-09-07T19:52:00.002-04:00

2011-09-04T18:55:00.000-04:00

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2011-09-01T02:00:00.003-04:00

"The goldenrod is yellow
The corn is turning brown
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down."
- Childrens song

land, sea & sky...

2011-08-29T18:12:00.002-04:00

2011-08-27T18:38:00.004-04:00

"Our fear of death is like our fear that summer will be short, but when we have had our swing of pleasure, our fill of fruit,
and our swelter of heat, we say we have had our day."
- John Donne, 1620

There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods by Lord George Gordon Byron

2011-08-21T17:07:00.005-04:00

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

2011-08-13T14:03:00.001-04:00

Cernunnos

2011-08-10T18:51:00.000-04:00

"There an old tale goes, that Herne the Hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;"

http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythfolk/deer.html

"Stray Cat"

2011-08-06T19:36:00.004-04:00

Oh, what unhappy twist of fate

Has brought you, homeless to my gate?

The gate where once another stood

To beg for shelter, warmth and food.

For from that day I ceased to be

The master of my destiny.

While he, with purr and velvet paw

Became within my house, The Law.

He scratched the furniture and shed

And claimed the middle of my bed.

He ruled in arrogance and pride

And broke my heart the day he died.

So if you really think, oh cat,

I'd willingly relive all that

Because you come, forlorn and thin

Well...don't just stand there...come on in!

by Fanic Witham

2011-08-06T18:57:00.000-04:00

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain."- Henry David Thoreau

Harvest Festival by Jules Breton

2011-08-05T19:23:00.003-04:00

http://www.mheu.org/en/fire/bonfire.aspx

Harvest Blessings

2011-08-01T20:55:00.002-04:00

2011-07-30T07:22:00.000-04:00

Always do your best.

What you plant now,

you will harvest later.

Og Mandino

2011-07-25T19:40:00.000-04:00

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.

It is always the same step, but you have to take it.

~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939,

translated from French by Lewis Galantière

2011-07-21T17:47:00.001-04:00

2011-07-20T20:03:00.000-04:00

"Oh, the summer night,
Has a smile of light,
And She sits on a sapphire throne."
- Barry Cornwall

Heat Wave Alert: Prevent Heat Stroke in Pets

2011-07-19T18:24:00.004-04:00

The dog days of summer are no joke. The deadly heat wave currently hitting the South and Midwest has already resulted in heat warnings or advisories in many states—and taken the lives of more than a dozen people. The record high temperatures are now spreading to the East Coast.

Pet parents, it’s vital to remember that our companions, like people, can suffer from heat stroke. Please take these simple precautions to help prevent your pet from overheating.

Avoid dehydration by always having fresh, clean water available and lots of shady places where pets can cool off. When the weather’s extremely hot, keep your pets indoors.
Limit exercise to either early in the morning or late in the evening. Before starting your walk, give the sidewalk a test with the palm of your hand. If it’s too hot to touch, it can burn your pet’s footpads and should be avoided.
Bring outdoor pets inside, and give them access to air-conditioned areas of your home. For animals who must remain outside, provide a shady, sheltered place to rest and lots of fresh water in stable containers.
Never leave an animal alone in a parked vehicle. On a hot day, a parked car can become a furnace in no time—even with the windows open—leading to fatal heat stroke within minutes.
Watch out for the following symptoms of overheating: excessive panting or difficulty breathing, drooling, mild weakness, stupor, seizures, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Contact a veterinarian right away if you suspect your pet is suffering from heat stroke.

Please visit our complete list of hot weather safety tips!

http://www.aspca.org/Blog/heat-wave-alert.aspx

2011-07-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

2011-07-17T08:35:00.001-04:00

True Path Walkers

2011-07-15T16:09:00.001-04:00

Obligations of the True Path Walkers

To bring back the natural harmony that humans once enjoyed.
To save the planet from present practices of destruction.
To find and re-employ real truth.
To promote true balance between both genders.
To share and be less materialistic.
To become rid of prejudice.
To learn to be related.

To be kind to animals and take no more than we need.
To play with one's children and love each equally and fairly.
To be brave and courageous, enough so,
to take a stand and make a commitment.
To understand what Generations Unborn really means.
To accept the Great Mystery
in order to end foolish argument over religion.

http://www.firstpeople.us/html/True_Path_Walkers.html

I sought the wood in summer by willa cather

2011-07-11T01:11:00.001-04:00

I sought the wood in summer
When every twig was green;
The rudest boughs were tender,
And buds were pink between.
Light-fingered aspens trembled
In fitful sun and shade,
And daffodils were golden
In every starry glade.
The brook sang like a robin—
My hand could check him where
The lissome maiden willows
Shook out their yellow hair.

"How frail a thing is Beauty,"
I Said, "when ever breath
She gives the vagrant summer
But swifter woos her death.
For this the star dust troubles,
For this have ages rolled:
To deck the wood for bridal
And slay her with the cold.

I sought the wood in winter
When every leaf was dead;
Behind the wind-whipped branches
The winter sun set red.
The coldest star was rising
To greet that bitter air,
The oaks were writhen giants;
Nor bud nor bloom was there.
The birches, white and slender,
In deathless marble stood,
The brook, a white immortal,
Slept silent in the wood.

"How sure a thing is beauty,"
I cried. "No bolt can slay,
No wave nor shock despoil her,
No ravishers dismay.
Her warriors are the angels
That cherish from afar,
Her warders people Heaven
And watch from every star.
The granite hills are slighter,
The sea more like to fail'
Behind the rose the planet,
The Law behind the veil."

2011-07-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

Halcyon Days By Walt Whitman

2011-07-09T08:26:00.002-04:00

Not from successful love alone,
Nor wealth, nor honor'd middle age, nor victories of politics or war;
But as life wanes, and all the turbulent passions calm,
As gorgeous, vapory, silent hues cover the evening sky,
As softness, fulness, rest, suffuse the frame, like freshier, balmier air,
As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs
really finish'd and indolent-ripe on the tree,
Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!
The brooding and blissful halcyon days!

2011-07-05T21:26:00.000-04:00

2011-06-25T15:11:00.001-04:00

Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.

Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around.

Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays,

I'll send 'em howling,

I don't care, I got ways.

No one's gonna hurt you,

No one's gonna dare.

Others can desert you,

Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there.

Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,

But in time...

Nothing can harm you

Not while I'm around...

Not to worry, not to worry

I may not be smart but I ain't dumb

I can do it, put me to it

Show me something I can overcome

Not to worry, Mum

Being close and being clever

Ain't like being true

I don't need to,

I would never hide a thing from you,

Like some...

No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare

Others can desert you,

Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there!

Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while

But in time...

Nothing can harm you

Not while I'm around...

Stephen Sondheim

2011-06-24T19:47:00.001-04:00

"Rest is not idleness,
and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day

listening to the murmur of water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky,

is hardly a waste of time."
- John Lubbock

2011-06-22T19:43:00.000-04:00

Solstice Blessings

2011-06-21T07:30:00.001-04:00

As the Sun spirals its longest dance,
Cleanse us!
As nature shows bounty and fertility
Bless us!
Let all things live with loving intent
And to fulfill their truest destiny

http://www.zimbio.com/Alban+Hefin/articles/3/Litha+and+Solstice+Blessings

2011-06-19T14:29:00.001-04:00