Month: November 2024

Early Winter

~ Ashley ~ 76 Comments 

Early Winter

His breath,
Cloaks every surface;
Father Sky.

For a few days last week, we awoke to fog and mist.  On one of those days after breakfast, standing in the garden, it felt as if the sky had fallen to earth; the air was full of moisture, everything was damp.  Later I took some photos and wrote the verse above.

Today, as I prepared to publish this, I received posts of particular relevance.  Harini in India, writes about a dream and her wish for a bit more rain, and Rosaliene in the USA, introduces her readers to another wonderful poet.  Here are the links:

Snow on the plateau

“Waiting for Rain (Again)” – Poem by Jamaican Poet Tanya Shirley

I have been re-reading some chapters of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s wonderful book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Allegiance to Gratitude.  She writes that like many Native peoples across the world, her own Potawatomi sunrise ceremony is rooted in gratitude. At school they would give thanks to all the waters of the world, for quenching thirst, giving strength and nurturing the life of all beings.

May we all be grateful for Earth’s bounty.

Ashley

Last drawings for October challenge

~ Ashley ~ 71 Comments

With one thing and another, I lost my momentum and the drawings from the last 5 days of October were a struggle!  I tried to recover the flow that I felt I had achieved in the previous weeks, by going back a few steps but it didn’t work out as I’d hoped!

When I was at college in my middle teenage years, my English teacher in trying to encourage us to write creatively used to tell us not to use the holy ghost method of writing:

I have a dog. 🙏🙄 It is black. 🙏🙄 Its name is Rover. 🙏🙄 I take him for walks. 🙏🙄 and so on!

Now, that’s how I ended up thinking about my sketches!  Then, looking up from my desk I saw my reflection in a picture; my own apparition.  So I started drawing and the result is below.

31

If you passed me in the street, I’m certain you wouldn’t recognise me!  I would recognise me although in this drawing I think I appear to be younger than I am, and feel.

So, 31 days of drawing are over; now what for November?  Well, I think I will continue sketching although perhaps not every day.  Recently there has been a flurry of paperwork: banks, solicitor and I still have some carving to do!  More on that later.

For now, have a wonderful new week.

Ashley

Samhain 2024

~ Ashley ~ 38 Comments

samhain 24 original

Winter

Darkness grows;
An ending, a beginning,
And renewal.

Today, we are midway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice and in the Celtic tradition this time is seen as the start of winter.  Known as Samhain (pronounced sow-ein) it is the end and the beginning of the Celtic new year.  As the darkness grows it is believed we are reborn.

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you already know that in my writing I follow the cycle of seasons, echoing the ancient spiritual pathways.  Now that I’ve begun drawing again I hope to follow the same seasonal cycle.

From reading and study, the colours of this seasonal festival are black representing death, ending and the spiritual world, orange suggesting life within death, and purple for wisdom and insight.  Here in the northern hemisphere we feel the effects of the earth’s tilt away from the sun and I hope that my interpretation of this in my sketch echoes the phenomenon.

It is a time to remember ancestors, family and friends who have passed away but also a time to prepare for the winter to come.

Ashley