Government Shutdown Avoided

 For the time being.

How I loathe the Republicans.

Here are some poems I love:

Then  

Muriel Rukeyser

When I am dead, even then,
I will still love you, I will wait in these poems,
When I am dead, even then
I am still listening to you.
I will still be making poems for you
out of silence;
silence will be falling into that silence,
it is building music.

Yes

by William Stafford

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That’s why we wake
and look out – no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.

Still positive

 Positive for COVID, that is.  It's twelve days, and I've finished all the medicine, but the virus has morphed into a cold and runny nose.  I am so sick of being sick!!!

On top of that, I am sick of listening to all the drama around TRuMP and the  Republicans.

So, here goes with some lovely photos.

Mabon: Autumn Equinox - September 21st-23rd

from; thewhitegoddess.co.uk

Art by Wendy Andrew

Gwyl canol Hydref or Mabon: (Also known as Harvest Home, Harvest Tide, Fall Equinox, Autumn Equinox etc.), September 21-24.

Actual Date and Time of Autumnal Equinox: 20.44 22nd Sept 2013

Technically, an equinox is an astronomical point and, due to the fact that the earth wobbles on its axis slightly, the date may vary by a few days depending on the year. The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the equator on its apparent journey southward, and we experience a day and a night that are of equal duration. Up until Mabon, the hours of daylight have been greater than the hours from dusk to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds true.

Mabon marks the middle of harvest, it is a time of equal day and equal night, and for the moment nature is in balance. It is a time to reap what you have sown, of giving thanks for the harvest and the bounty the Earth provides. For finishing up old projects and plans and planting the seeds for new enterprises or a change in lifestyle. Mabon is a time of celebration and balance.

This is the time to look back not just on the past year, but also your life, and to plan for the future. In the rhythm of the year, Mabon is a time of rest and celebration, after the hard work of gathering the crops. Warm autumn days are followed by chill nights, as the Old Sun God returns to the embrace of the Goddess.

The passing of Mabon is inevitable and The Sun God should be mourned. We too, must remember that all things must come to an end. So the Sun God journeys into the lands of winter and into the Goddess' loving arms, but endings are a good time to celebrate our successes, thank our selves and those who helped us, and take part in the balance of life!

"Leaves turn to red, the nights are getting colder,

Seasons will change, the clock ticks on..."

~ Candice Night

More Deaths

 Actor Michael Gambon, who played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, died yesterday at age 82.

Today, Senator Dianne Feinstein died at age 90

The Mount - Fall 2023

So many deaths of the stars

 Today, Facebook shared the news of the death of Brooks Robinson, 86, a well-loved Baltimore Oriole. Even I, not a sports fan, remember him. People are mourning all over Baltimore tonight.

Yesterday, Facebook shared the news of the death of David McCullum, a longtime TV star of NCIS  and, before that , THE MAN FROM UNCLE.  I was a fervent NCIS watcher for many years.

That's just the latest: so many men and women musicians and stars have died in their 80s and 90s this year.  I don't feel like listing them all. But many of them live on in song and memory.

The one that comes to mind, though, for me, is Gordon Lightfoot.

So it goes.

Here I am, on the eighth day of COVID, still testing positive, and still feeling under the weather.

Not to mention that the weather continues to rain and rain and rain.

At the Autumn Equinox

 Aaah,  I just figured out how to return the screen to the "compose" view instead of the "html" view... a matter of pushing the right button.

Today, Tropical Storm  Ophelia has hit the east coast of the US. We're getting heavy rain here in Maryland, not as bad as our neighbors in North Carolina.  I am praying for the welfare of Cape May, too.

I myself have been hit with COVID, after having avoided it for three years.  Myself and five out of the ten of my Saint Joseph College classmates got it after last weekend together in Mother Seton's White House, and the semi-annual Board Meeting at the Mount.   I'm taking Pavlovid and some other meds and am feeling much better at this writing.  The protocol is five days isolation from everyone and lockdown.  I'm on Day 5, but will continue isolating until Monday, when I can get re-tested and am sure I'm no longer contagious.  I live with some very medically vulnerable sisters.

Connecticut Warbler in Fall plumage    Rick Carlson

So I've been sleeping and praying and listening to audiobooks and marking student homework. I've also found a new addiction on BritBox tv:  "Silent Witness", another coroner/ police team procedural that I really like.  I'm happy that there are at least seven seasons of it, and I'm only on Season 2.

Otherwise, I am following the continuing drama of Donald Trump's lying life on MSNBC.  I hope he gets arrested, jailed, and rendered ineligible to run for president next year.

We've been getting wonderful fresh fruit at Pryor's Orchard all summer.  Now we have the apples!

Here are some photos and artworks I've saved from Facebook this month:

sunset meadow at Longwood Gardens  Sept. 22.

I am yearning to walk the Nature Trail at Cape May State Park.  I'll be up there for retreat in the middle of October.

Welcome September

just some more saved pictures and sayings

Mountaintop, PA: once I knew someone who lived there...

Jonathan Roumie and friends at the beach