In My Life: outdoors

Showing posts with label outdoors. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A Year of Creativity #63: Spring in the Soo

"Spring in the Soo." Digital Image. March 4, 2013. Original photograph privately held by

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Wordless Wedneday: Winter in Wisconsin Part II

Winter at my grandparents farm I posted last week. As promised, the photo Gram took of the snowman and I ... and the cat.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Celebration of Winter Solstice and the beauty of Maeshowe

Photo: http://www.maeshowe.co.uk

Quirky. In my younger years, "quirky" would describe my delight in the arrival of the shortest day of the year. No one actually celebrates the Winter Solstice. At least not in my recent memory. If you did, you were rather - quirky.

I could never quite understand why December 21st brought a sense of wonder. Being a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, it could have something to do with the fact that December 22nd brought with it one minute more of daylight. But the date always seemed to hold more of an inner rejoicing rather than having 60 seconds additional of daylight.

More likely than not, my celtic ancestors celebrated the arrival of the Winter Solstice with bonfires, bringing in of the greens and music and dancing to celebrate the arrival of the Oak King.

The Holly King and the Oak King were twin gods seen as one entity. Each of the gods rule for half of the year, fight for the favor of a goddess and dies. But the defeated twin is not truly dead but merely withdraws for six months. The belief of some was that the defeated twin retreated to Caer Arianrhod, the Castle of the ever-turning Silver Wheel - the Wheel of Stars. Caer Arianrhod, the Aurora Borealis, is the enchanted realm of the Godess Arianrhod, ruler of the astral skies where she rules as the goddess of reincarnation.

The Oak King, who is the light twin, rules from midwinter to midsummer. The Holly King, the dark twin, rules from midsummer to midwinter.

For centuries we have marveled at the existence of stone circles and henges scattered around the world. The one that immediately comes to mind is Stonehenge located in southern England. June 21st finds Stonehenge invaded by druids and tourists waiting to catch a glimpse of the rising sun aligned perfected among the Bluestones. I had the opportunity to visit Stonehenge when visitors were able to walk among the stones. Dispite the carnival tourist atmosphere it is spectacular. But it is not the Summer Solstice nor Stonehenge but rather the Winter Solstice, the light twin, that my thoughts turn to in the far reaches off the coast of Scotland.

Maeshowe is a neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave located on the mainland of Orkney. Believed to have been constructed over 5,000 years ago it is also the largest of the many tombs located in Orkney. A grass mound hides the complex chambers and passages constructed of flagstones, some of which weigh upwards of 30 tons. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, the Vikings looted Maeshowe, probably taking with them many artifacts but left behind a series of runic inscriptions - basically graffiti - on the stone walls. As our guide pointed out, while Vikings from the north invaded Scotland, not all Norsemen were Vikings.

Viking runes aside, the amazing part of Maeshowe occurs on the shortest day of the year. On December 21st, the setting sun aligns directly over a neighboring stone, called the Barnhouse Stone. The passageway into Maeshowe is aligned so that for a few minutes the setting sun illuminates the passageway and the rear wall of the central chamber.

It is a feat that I cannot begin to fathom has having been constructed 5,000 years ago, before the construction of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, to celebrate the return of the light.

While I may be sitting in my family room in north central Wisconsin my thoughts are thousands of miles away. Thanks to technology I watch the web cam from Maeshowe. At 14:28 GMT the fading light has begun to illuminate the passageway and central chamber. I celebrate by placing a piece of oak on my yule fire.

Blessings of light and life.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Green Chair

The end of summer is ushered in when the evenings turn cool and begun to deepen, taking with it more and more of the daylight. Regardless of the date on the calendar, summer is gone when the Elcho Ice Cream Shoppe closes for the season. As that sad day draws near, our week-end trips north include at least one trip to Elcho. The drive itself is a joy as we wind past small lakes and across bogs on our way to the last of the summer time ice cream treat.

On our last ice cream trip for 2008, we took a side trip following a hand made sign advertising a Yard Sale. Imagine our surprise when we discovered the yard sale was at the former home of my second cousin, Allen. It has been five years since Allen's death, he and his wife Jeanetta were close to my grandparents. Allen was a favorite among my mother's cousins. His children and I have become closer over the years enjoying a bond that comes from an appreciation of our shared family history as well as the love and admiration for our respective parents.

Since his death, Allen's daughter, Karen, has become interested in family history. I know Allen is proud she has become the Keeper Of Everything for the family. Over the years I've been the fortunate recipient of boxes of letters and family memorabilia that Karen has discovered that pertain to my grandparents. Allen kept mountains of letters and notes and made numerous copies of documents and photographs. Sorting through the boxes and file cabinets is going to keep Karen busy now that she and her husband have retired.

The yard sale was the typical jumble of ash trays, souveniors from trips to various state and national parks, fishing rods and well used spinner baits. But it was the sight of a green wooden chair that stopped me in my tracks. I was immediately transported back to a time when I spent my summers with my grandparents.

When the heat of the day had passed and the sky was threatening rain, my grandfather would carry the green wooden chair outside and place it below my grandmother's bedroom window. He'd sit on the chair looking out across the western horizon, watching the darkening sky while I would turn cartwheels or look for toads. It has been many, many years since I have sat in that chair - I don't remember it being that small! - but it is something that has often crossed my mind.

We surmise that the chair made its way from the farm to Allen's when my grandmother had to be moved to a nursing home and my grandfather moved in with my parents. For whatever reason Allen took the chair. Thanks to his thrifty, never throw anything away, the chair has come full circle.

I now sit on the porch of our log home on the same piece of land watching storm clouds make their way across that same horizon and many of the same trees - matured from the time when Grandpa and I first watched the rain fall on them.

The price tag on the chair was $5.00 but none of my cousins would let us pay for the chair. A small price for a memory.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Dog Days of Summer

Photographer: Al Scherwinski

As a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, I look forward to the changing of the seasons. The move from winter to spring to summer to autumn and back again cannot be marked off any one specific day as we do a birthday or a holiday. It is the rhythm of life. The change from summer to fall is more than just a date on the calendar - it begins as a subtle, oh-my-gosh-when-did-that-happen change in the air. The sun makes its appearance a few minutes later each morning, the color of the late afternoon sun sets the stage for spectacular show of light at the end of the day. The sound of a cicada might go unnoticed among the crickets and the nighthawks - all signs of the Dog Days of Summer.

Sirius, the Dog Star, made its appearance, traveled across the sky and set, leading our ancestors to believe the star's heat, together with the sun, was the cause of the hot and muggy temperatures during late summer. The term Dogs Days conjures up images of white hot sunshine beating down on a parched landscape without a breath of wind. Dogs - prone to rabies were considered evil and possessed by devils - appeared irritable on the hot summer days.

But was it really due to the summers heat? Could it be that our ancestors misunderstood the lesson our four legged companions were trying to teach us?

Dog Days - I think the world would be a better place if we looked at our world from the eyes of our cocker spaniel's. To them it does not matter if 'the other side of the door' holds sunshine, rain or snow - the joy of being in just this moment is a lesson we can all learn from. How can you resist their invitation to join them in this wonderful dog day?

If I knew this was my last day on earth ... would I spend it cleaning and worrying about meeting deadlines ... or would I step outside - in the rain, snow, sun or dead of night - and enjoy a Dog Day?

How wonder-full if I could count it a blessing that when the Dog Star is starting its journey across the sky, I find myself utterly exhausted from enjoying a Dog Day ...

Thanks for sharing your day!

At the end of the day ... everyday should be a Dog Day.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Serious Girl Time

Without a doubt, one of the most important things in my life, is family. The term applies to immediate family, extended family, even those people who's company I enjoy as part of my 'biking family' or my 'D.A.R. family' or the chance to spend time with friends families. But nothing can compare to time spent with those family members who hold a very special place in my life and in my heart. Over the past few days I've had the chance to become reacquainted with my nieces, Alissa and Rebecca, who are visiting from their home in Iowa. Having known them from the time before they were born has a tendency to remind me that time flies my much too quickly; something I seem to recall my father telling me but never quite understood - until now. The time between playing dress-up, Strawberry Shortcake and Barbie's, until now seems to have flown by in an instant. They are now young women - beautiful, bright, articulate and funny - which makes up for time spent apart. I am honored that they would want to spend part of their vacation time with Uncle Al and Aunt Cindy. It does not surprise me that part of their request included time spent at 'the cabin.' The place where their grandmother spent so many years of her childhood - where she learned to sew by making clothes for the farm cats and heard the stories that made up her family history - and where later, their mother and I, along with our sisters spent our childhood, is part of their family history. We are blessed this piece of property still held within our family.

Laughter. It is the first word that will come to mind when I think back over the past few days. The laughter that was a result of family stories and memories their grandmother and I shared about our family and the laughter at moments that happened out of my sight. But what I will treasure the most, are the memories of laughter shared with these new memories. A day trip to Minocqua, standing in line at the Island Cafe waiting for a table on the patio, Becca overcoming her aversion to the smell of book stores to humor her aunt, winding our way through the mammouth arcade to locate the world's best ice cream. The laughter of sisters experiencing the freedom of riding 4-wheelers; the sound of their joy rising above the machines and echoing over the field. The memory of putting on jeans and sweatshirts, the smell of Off and wood smoke as we gathered in the twilight to roast marshmallows and wait for the stars to appear. And of course, laughter. The photographs will be treasured memories, capturing the moments that will bring a smile to our faces when we 'remember when' but won't capture the sound of laughter. The kind of laughter that brings tears to your eyes and takes your breath away - a reaction to a moment that reaches down to that place in your heart as only someone you love so completely can touch.