A Celebration of May

It's May! Wow! One of my absolutely favorite months is now here. It started with rain - lots of it. I'm not hearing water now, so maybe it's finished pouring for the time being. I wouldn't mind a few less drops for my day.

The flower associated with May are the darling Lilly of the Valley bells.
I adore these and DH has planted them for me at each house we've lived in.
They are always one of the first blooms in late April/early May, so it's a
very appropriate flower for the month. 

DH and I spent yesterday playing Lord of the Rings Online - each on our computers, almost side-by-side. We actually played together through one particularly nasty incident that had me stagnated. Although we can make a seamless team at times, we usually end up at cross-purposes when we play on-line together in the same instance. Although we accomplished my goal, it was a bit more stumbly than I wanted.

Do you recall that wonderful quotation about how an artist has
a duty to stand tall and reflect the times through art? That
is one side of the coin. The other side is that art will
also reflect the times in which it is created - through media
and subject matter. 

Still and all, it's a lot of fun. Writing has taken a serious back seat, however. I really need to get myself in gear and get my story for SWG written. I think I'll devote Tuesday and Wednesday to that, get it pounded out, and hope that my usual multi-editing doesn't eat up too much time. The quotation that Dawn assigned to me is a pure delight and I don't want to waste such a lovely gift.

In this art piece, the farmer has put his acres up for sale - land that
has been in his family since 1890. This is one form of art reflecting the
times. It illustrates the current reality, yet also makes a protest
statement in its format and the words on the sign. 

My closest cousin's birthday was yesterday, so I sent off effusive Facebook birthday wishes to her. She doesn't do much with the internet, but does do FB. She's my horse person - she has owned and worked with horses for most of her life. She's also my Aspen, Colorado buddy - we grew up together out there and she moved there full-time in her teenage years. I really missed her a lot then; she had been like my little sister - a confidant, a friend, and someone who was always there. Until she wasn't. Having her move away was one of the hardest things for me when I was growing up.

Missy is the sister I never had, but in a way that I always had.
We grew up living across the street from each other, and we were
a constant in each other's lives. She stood up for me at my
wedding, and I returned the favor at hers. We celebrated the
good times and wept at the bad. Isn't that what a sister is
all about? 

Still, we survived years of separation, different families and life goals, and I still count her as the sister that I never had. We're now growing old together/apart and somehow that thought makes the journey into this unknown a bit easier.

Happy Monday to all. Remember to continue spreading kindness, those gentle actions can help more than you think.

Good Beltane and a Look Back at April

Good Beltane to you and a joyous May Day. I always look at Beltane as the true start of spring here in the northlands. Even though many plantings shouldn't happen for another week or two, the snow is (mostly) gone, the trees have their first leaves, and flowering bushes and early ground flowers are in bloom, giving us some needed color after the neutrals and dirt of winter.

Good Beltane to all. I love this Beltane Pentagram. 

All told, it was a mild, although extremely cold, winter for us here. My friends out east got hit, though, with more snow than they would normally see in more than a single winter. Storm after storm went east and hit the coast, Boston especially. I hope they too have recovered by now and are enjoying the spring weather and pushing last winter away into their memory boxes.

This photo is Sandal missiles from the 1961 May Day parade in Red
Square. These images were meant to intimidate, and considering we were
all learning to drop and tuck under our school desks, the intimidation
probably worked pretty well on my six-year-old mind. 

I am old enough to remember so many different ways to celebrate the first of May I remember the lines upon lines of Soviet troops parading in Red Square in front of whatever "leader" was in charge of the Soviet Union at the time. All those men, tanks, missiles and other frightening things and, high above them, the fearless leader with his arm outstretched saluting them. It never seemed quite real to me, and of course since the breakup of the Soviet Union, I don't think they do that 'celebration' any more.

I do love me a May Pole with streamers ready to weave. This one is
so large and colorful. with an intricate dance (and enough dancers) the
pole will be covered with interwoven ribbons by the end of the music. 

I remember May Poles with streaming ribbons, and the quaint custom of my very young days of filling a small basket with the first flowers of the season and hanging it on a doorknob for your mother to find. I think later that expanded to be hung on the door of a sweetheart, and then died out completely. I can just imagine my own darling DH opening the bedroom door and scratching his head about what a basket is doing there, if he noticed it at all. He doesn't wake up alert and ready for the day - that usually takes a few hours and a cup of coffee.

Here's a portion of a really well woven May Pole. The streamers are interlocked
and the tree is covered with a layer of brightly-colored ribbons. 

As for April, when I look back, I'm quite pleased. Total weight loss for the month was nine pounds and I made it to the gym twenty-four days. Taking away the four Sundays and my two Chiropractor visits, that's just about right. I'm happy.

Have a wonderful May Day. 

So here's to Spring being officially here. There might still be a snowflake or two in the high north, but we're pretty much into rain now. It's time to put the snow blower away and grab the lawn mower. It's time to look forward to Bead & Button Show in a month. ACK! Only a month!!!! Happy Friday to all!

A New Month Means New Opportunities - Thoughts of May

Today is the beginning of a new month and what better time to look at your own agenda and to-do lists and do some prioritizing? May is a month of changes for us up here in the northern Midwestern states. Spring finally moves in, winter finally leaves, and summer begins knocking at the door. We are starting the month with temps that will be in the 40's and 50's but by the end of the month we can have 80's and sometimes even a stray 90! So May is all over the place.

I got a good laugh out of this card and thought
I'd share it with all of you. 

The astrological signs of May are firmly Taurus for most of the month, moving to Gemini on the 22nd. The most common gemstone associated with the month is the emerald and the flower is the beautiful and almost shy Lily-of-the-Valley. May is my month and I'm crazy happy about it - it's a special month of creativity and celebration.

I love these small little bell-shaped flowers and have them planted around
my house to welcome spring and May each year. 

May is a month for mothers - in the United States we celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May - the 11th this year. May will be a time of celebration for me - a landmark birthday, and at the end of the month, the Bead & Button Show will begin. I'll see the first flowers, the flowering trees of our short but stunning spring, and my egrets will return to my small area ponds.

These flowering crabapple trees are typical of the
flowering trees we get every spring.

I'll have the opportunity to see wonderful art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, as well as wander and play with dinosaurs at the Science Museum with an internet friend. I'll listen to fine music (because that's a daily must for me), I'll read lots of books (because that's a mandatory thing in my life) and I'll hopefully get a chance to play with more than just mentally envisioning my next jewelry and art projects.

Go Wild! What a game it was! Every time we were behind, we
scored to tie it, and finally we won in overtime. Exciting! 

DH and I will close on his father's house this month, and we'll wrap up a family tragedy later this month as well - one of those strange things that crop up to allow closure. The Minnesota Wild will CONTINUE in their quest for Lord Stanley's Cup, progressing in an overtime game last night. We'll meet the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday for the first game of the next stage.

For the first time in eleven years, we're moving on to the
second stage in our quest for Lord Stanley's Cup. I love
the Blackhawks team too, so this should be a good
series of games to actually watch. 

And I'll continue to write, of course, as well as continue my weekly conversations with Aearwen. So, May is looking like it will be a great month. I hope it will be wonderful for each of you as well. As we move into this month, look around you to see what might be possible to improve. Can you help someone out? Can you plant a new plant, groom a pet, or bring a meal to someone to brighten their day? Gifts that lighten the heart don't have to be major, they just need to be heartfelt and given without strings attached.

Celebrate May Day in your own manner. These old-fashioned Scottish
dancers with their braided May Pole in the background might be
inspiration for your own celebration. 

Happy May, Happy Thursday.