WISHING YOU A MAGICAL SUMMER SOLSTICE

Litha is upon us, Alban Hefin. The summer solstice.

The longest day of the year. 

     Keeping track of the seasons can get confusing because nearly every week on TV there is a season finale of one program or another and I keep wondering exactly what season they are talking about. But there is no mistaking the longest day of the year, June 21st.

     The summer solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun. Although the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs. Except in the polar regions (where daylight is continuous for many months during the spring and summer), the day on which the summer solstice occurs is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. Thus the seasonal significance of the Summer solstice is in the reversal of the gradual shortening of nights and lengthening of days. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere and in December in the Southern Hemisphere.

This magical day has been celebrated since time began from Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in England to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. 

            It is also celebrated in literature, most notably in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream".

     So take a moment on June 21st and revel in the sun and know that the days will begin to grow shorter until the Autumnal Equinox when they will be equal and soon to begin to wane. A Celtic quarter day, as opposed to a cross-quarter day, is a direct barometer of what the future weather will hold. 

Should you be so inclined, here is a short ceremony of celebration.

  

From the East comes the Spirit of the Air.  Warm and gentle you carry the fragrance of the roses and other midsummer flowers.  Hot and full of fury you usher in the storms.  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Air.

From the South comes the Spirit of Fire:  Seen in the lightening the forks across the summer sky.  Seen in the power of the Sun King who now reaches his Zenith:  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Fire:

From the West comes the spirit of Water:  You nourish our crops, quench the thirst of the parched earth, and remind us of Aphrodite and Yameya Goddesses of the Sea.  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Water.

From the North comes the spirit of the Earth:  The mother of all of us in whose womb grows the seeds we have planted.  You are the ship upon which we travel the universe.  Welcome to our circle spirit of Earth.

At Midsummer, it is by wedding you, Mother Goddess, that the Sun King indeed becomes King.   Mother Nature, you are at your finest for it is your most passionate and abundant time.  Tonight your consort is at his Zenith of power and the lust you shared at Beltane becomes mature love and though the Oak King becomes the Holly King light will continue to rule until the Equinox.

We honor St. John the Baptist and the horned spirit of the forest, we ask protection from unfriendly spirits as we acknowledge and hope for a glimpse of the Tuatha De Danaan.

If we jump the fire will the crops grow up higher?  We ask blessings on our land and the animals that abide here.  Purify us and see to our health in body and soul. 

It is a time of joy though we miss and grieve for our loved ones departed.  Remember those who have gone before us and cradle them in your compassionate hand.

To the family and friends still with us on this plane we thank them for their strength, friendship, and encouragement.  Tonight we forget the cold dark days of Winter, we are languid in the heat of the day and energized by the coolness of the evenings.  Yet we remember that the fullness of Summer is transitory and we are thankful for what this season brings as the wheel of the years ever turns.

AFTER 40 YEARS, STILL TRYING TO SAVE THE DOLPHINS

                                           

    The cruelty human's can manifest breaks my heart. After fighting to save the whales and dolphins for nearly 40 years I am disheartened that Mankind cannot seem to leave these beautiful creatures to live in peace. Please take a moment to read about this latest injustice and vote to save them.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/?vl

     25 wild dolphins are facing a tormented life of captivity because Resorts World Sentosa wants a new attraction. But our global outcry can make the whole project a public relations disaster, and secure their freedom. Sign the petition to free the saddest dolphins, and fight the wild-captured dolphin trade:

      The pod was swimming peacefully in Samoa when nets closed in from behind -- trapping 25 wild dolphins for a luxury resort's latest exhibit. They are now locked in tiny pens, starved of food -- but we can free them.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/?cl=1107707882&v=9354

      For wild dolphins captivity is torture, their powerful sonar bounces off the walls back at them -- as if they are trapped in an endless house of mirrors. Most die young from stress induced illness, but some even commit suicide. If the wealthy Resorts World Sentosa succeeds in keeping them captive then half the dolphins will die in the first 2 years -- and it will legitimise the widely banned  practice of capturing dolphins in the wild. We can’t let that happen -- let's use our voices to set them free.

     Resorts World was forced to abandon plans for a whale shark exhibit two years ago because of the huge outcry that threatened their reputation. Let’s build a massive call now to free these intelligent, beautiful creatures -- and make this a turning point in the fight to end the global wild-dolphin trade. When we reach 500,000 our petition will be delivered to Resorts World and the media. Sign now and forward this to everyone:

     The appallingly cruel wild-dolphin industry has been banned in nations from the UK to Costa Rica. The terrifying capture process involves driving the dolphins to shallow water, where up to half drown or die of their injuries before they are even caught. If we force Resorts World to free these wild dolphins now it will send a powerful message to all other resorts, and help break the back of the capture industry. We can also give these dolphins a second chance in life -- renowned dolphin expert Ric O’Barry has offered to rehabilitate them back into the wild.

     Resorts World argues that their “interactive spa program” will help heal sick and disabled children – but there is no scientific evidence to support this technique, which sees desperate parents pay thousands in pursuit of an imaginary cure. They also claim their programs aid conservation – but dolphin capture drives are also hunting expeditions. The “display-worthy” dolphins are spared, while the others are butchered. By ordering wild-caught dolphins, Resorts World is driving up demand for these barbaric hunts.

     The trade of wild-captured dolphins must end. The world is moving slowly but surely in this direction, and our intervention could set a valuable precedent. Resorts World has buckled under pressure before, and it can’t afford another hit to its image. Let’s join our voices urgently to free the world’s saddest dolphins, and win a crucial battle in the fight to save all wild dolphins from short, miserable lives in captivity. Sign now and send this to family and friends:

     Wild dolphins are incredibly playful, social and caring, as well as extremely intelligent -- they are utterly captivating creatures. In the world we all wish for, dolphins are not hunted, trapped and broken -- they are treated with the respect that all life deserves. Today, as we work for their freedom, we are taking a small but important step towards making that world a reality. 

With hope,

Ricken, Ben, Morgan, Alice, Shibayan and the whole Avaaz team.

SOURCES

Wild caught dolphins for Resorts World Sentosa - SPCA says 'NO' to dolphins in captivity

http://www.spca.org.sg/captivedolphins.html

The International Dolphin Dealers

http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/rtm/ch4p1.htm

Save the Saddest Dolphins campaign by local Singaporean group

http://www.saddestdolphins.com/

Dolphin Therapy

http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/whales-and-dolphins/freedom-for-dolphins/dolphin-therapy/

In Opposition to Dolphin Captivity

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/blood-dolphins/dolphins/opposition-dolphins-captivity.html

Dolphins in captivity may commit suicide

http://www.thescavenger.net/animals/dolphins-in-captivity-may-commit-suicide.html

Is it cool to see dolphins at the zoo?

http://www.inkokomo.com/dolphin/captivity.html

THIRD BOOK SIGNING GOES WELL!

                                                                   

      Book signings are so exciting and a little nerve-wracking.

    I'm basically very shy and meeting people face to face and chatting doesn't come easily for me. Also it is ironically harder than one might think to come up with witty and personal one-liners to add along with one's name when signing. At least it is for me.

    I sold 6 books and having read somewhere that if you sell 8 books at a signing that's considered good, I felt fairly happy with the way things went. It was a very fun day, Gena Feldman the owner of INDIDO SKY TRADING CO. hosted the event. What a gracious and kind person she is. In her shop she sells a myriad of antiques and collectables. Also dragon and fearie statues. My wish list grows longer every time I step into her shop.

                                                   

       It seems to be a rather long and wearisome road to fame and fortune. Yes, fame and fortune. Does that sound avaricious, greedy, cocky or all three? Well I can think of a lot of good things I could do with more money. And as far as fame, well I might be shy but I guess I'm darn proud of my books and wouldn't mind a few accolades now and again. Here's an excerpt from The Dragon and The Rose......

             

THE DRAGON AND THE ROSE:

                         A very romantic medieval adventure

                        set during the last days of true magic.

     He was the Dragon of Normandy. She was the Rose of Flanders. They met in the North of England and together they changed the course of hearts and history.

     Sir Branoc Valtaigne, ordered to Northumbria By King William II, fights to keep peace along the Scottish border. He is a formidable battle-tested warrior, but as he honors his vows to God, king, and country, a young woman’s smile proves to be his undoing.

     Martanzia Verheire, tricked into standing as good faith hostage for Flanders, seeks freedom from castle Bamburgh and love from Sir Branoc. As she clings to the Celtic dragon statue given to her by her mother, she leads them all to the brink of an era where true magic will be gone forever but where dreams can still come true.

Excerpt:

        God above how he wanted to taste all the sweetness she offered.

        But Martanzia was a young lady of breeding, and destined for a nunnery. Surely she did not know what heathen longings she kindled in his belly and what pagan thoughts she inspired in his mind.

     They intertwined so perfectly, and although layers of fabric separated their bodies and true desires, the softness of her breasts was remarkably evident, and he remembered laying his hand upon her there. That mind altering experience had nearly been both their undoing.

    Last night it had taken all of the resolve he possessed to keep from picking her up and

carrying her away to his room to satisfy her curiosity and his need.

     At the recollection, the embers of need flamed anew and he transferred his weight to one leg trying to alleviate the hurtful pleasure that laid low his ability to think clearly. The maneuver drew Martanzia closer, transporting him to a new plateau of desire. She sighed and the tremulous sound reverberated against his mouth. Did Martanzia want him as much as he wanted her?

       Yes. He could feel it in her touch. That bit of knowledge pleased him beyond measure, even as it brought him to his senses. He pried her arms loose from around his

neck, eased her away from his body, and held her at bay. There was a hunger in Martanzia’s eyes and a quickening of her breath and she leaned forward as if to recapture his mouth. Reluctantly he released his hold on her and took a step back.

      “Would it disturb you overmuch,” she asked, “if I were not here to vex you and disrupt your camp?”

    The question took him by surprise. “More than you might know, lady,” he admitted under his breath. “More than you might know.”

www.ginirifkin.com

http://ginirifkin.blogspot.com

 

PREPARE TO SIZZLE

THE ROMANCE ROOM

 is sponsoring a Sizzling Summer Reads contest.

Check out my book IRON HEART
and oh so many other hot offerings.

Over $5,000 prizes up for grabs!

Total of 8 pairs of tickets to RomCon 2011 to be won!!!

(each pair worth $490)

Sizzling Summer Reads (Romance)

From June 1 to 28, 2011

at http://www.theromancereviews.com

(Look for the Sizzling Summer Reads event button)

Play the games. Explore new books.

Chat with authors. Rack up your points!

                    CAN YOU UNLOCK THE PUZZLE?

Visit everyday to increase your chances to win awesome prizes!

PLANTING BY THE PHASES OF THE MOON

  

      Mourning doves are calling, the world is greening up. It almost looks like a wee bit of Ireland.  Don’t mind the dandelions they are nice and friendly compared to the Canada and Goat-head thistles that menaced our other place.

      I haven’t had a “lawn” for over 15 years and I don’t know when I’m suppose to mow it, water it, feed it etc. I keep peeking out the windows watching what the neighbors are doing. Their lawns look super. I’ll do what they do only a day later!

       This year I’m going with container gardening, too tired to plant a “real” garden. And if the weather turns bad, I can hall all the containers onto the back porch rather than just stand there and watch them be washed away by rain or torn to shreds by hail. Here is a bit of information regarding planting by the phase of the moon.

New moon to full moon/Increasing Light 

Examples of garden chores to do by the Light of the moon:

Repot and groom houseplants.

Sow seeds of plants that grow

above ground. Fertilize and graft fruit trees.  

Plant evergreen and deciduous trees.

 

 Full moon to dark of the moon/Decreasing Light 

The decreasing or waning phases are when the moon "shrinks" from the full moon down to the new moon (darkness).  

Plant bulbs

Plant crops that grow below the ground,

such as potatoes, carrots.                               

Plant biennials and perennials

because they need strong roots.

Eliminate slugs, Prune shrubs.

     How is sowing, transplanting and harvesting linked to phases of the moon? One theory is that during the light (waxing) of the Moon, sap is thought to flow more strongly, filling plants with vitality and energy, favoring the planting and harvesting of crops that mature above the ground.

     The decreasing or waning phases are when the moon "shrinks" from the full moon down to the new moon (darkness). As the moon wanes during the 3rd and 4th quarters, this is a good time to prune plants, as the water table is diminishing and so less sap will flow out of the cut ends. The plants are said to orient themselves toward their roots, making this a favorable time for planting, transplanting and harvesting root crops in general. The 4th quarter is the most dormant period and is good for chores like weeding.

     Happy planting and may your labors now

reap many delicious rewards all summer long.

This blog in memory of Uncle Al and Aunt Linda. Aunt Linda always made me feel pretty and Uncle Al was a heck of a gardener, who did wage and win several terrtorial battles with the squirrels.

Stetson®: THE BOSS OF THE PLAINS

THE HAT THAT WON THE WEST



A cowboy without his hat is just a man on a horse.

       The concept of a broad-brimmed hat with a high crown worn by a rider on horseback can be seen as far back as the Mongolian horsemen of the 13th century. A tall crown provided insulation, the wide brim, shade. In hot, sunny climates, hats evolved to have wide brims, such as the sombrero of Mexico.

     Before John Batterson Stetson created the “The Boss of the Plains”, men who drove cattle and worked the range sported any number of hat styles. They generally wore whatever headgear was required at their previous profession so it wasn’t unusual to see them in a sailor hat, a barret, derbies, Civil War paraphernalia, and even top hats. None of these were very useful out on the prairie. And luckily this was soon to change and a legend was about to be born.   

      John Batterson Stetson started his life in East Orange, New Jersey in 1830. His father, Stephen Stetson, was a successful hatter and taught his children the hatting trade. Having developed tuberculosis as a young man, a doctor advised John B. to move west and in 1859 he struck out for St. Joseph, Missouri.

      While there, he tried to join the Union Army in the early 1860’s but was rejected do to his poor health. Undefeated he worked as a bricklayer which went fairly well until the river flooded and washed his business away. At loose ends, he joined a group heading west to the gold fields of Colorado.

      This didn’t “pan” out but during his stay in the mountains, he fashioned a head covering from beaver hides. After a mule driver paid him a $5 gold piece for the hat right off his head, Mr. Stetson, being no fool, decided to refine, manufacture and sell this type of product.

       By 1865 he was back in Philadelphia working in the hat manufacturing trade. A year later the “Boss of the Plains” came into being, and after that came the front creased Carlsbad, destined to become “the” cowboy style. The Stetson®  hat has captured the essence of the west, has become an American icon, and is now an indelible part of western history.  

                                                
      The rugged individualism of the West was perfectly represented by a Hat that could be shaped differently by each wearer -- a punched-in crown, a bent brim, a braided leather band were all different ways to make a Stetson®  one’s own.

     By 1886, Stetson owned the world’s biggest Hat factory in Philadelphia and employed nearly 4,000 workers. And by 1906, the factory was putting out about 2 million hats a year. John B. transformed hat making from a manual to a mechanized industry. He introduced iron cutting and shaping machines, improving quality control. He was also among the first U.S. tycoons to offer benefits to reward workers for hard work. He dispensed free health care to employees and gave shares in his company to valued workers. As a philanthropist, he founded Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and built a Philadelphia hospital.

       Inside the cowboy hat is a memorial bow to past hatters, who developed brain damage from treating felt with toxic mercury (which gave rise to the expression "Mad as a Hatter"). The bow on the inside hatband at the rear of the hat resembles a Skull and crossbones.[19] "Early hatters used mercury in the making of their felt. Their bodies absorbed mercury, and after several years of making hats, the hatters developed violent and uncontrollable muscle twitching. The ignorance of the times caused people to attribute these strange gyrations to madness, not mercury.”

SINGING COWBOYS IN TEN GALLON HATS

In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, a hat was an indispensable item in every man’s wardrobe. Stetson focused on expensive, high-quality hats that represented both a real investment for the working cowboy and statement of success for the city dweller.

 Early on, Stetson®  hats became associated with legends of the West, including “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Calamity Jane, Will Rogers, and Annie Oakley. It is said that George Custer rode into the Battle of Little Big Horn wearing a Stetson® . Later on, Western movie cowboys were quick to adopt the Stetson® ; many were drawn to the largest most flamboyant styles available. Tom Mix, an early-20th century movie star, wore a ten gallon hat (my Mom rode in his car).

     Texans were known for their preference for the "Ten Gallon," model, possibly so named for its enormous crown which at least appeared to be able to hold ten gallons were it to be dipped into a stream and used as a pail. An early Stetson®  advertising image, a painting of a cowboy dipping his hat into a stream to provide water for his horse symbolized the Cowboy hat as an essential part of a stockman’s gear.

    According to Win Blevins' Dictionary of the American West (p388), the term "ten-gallon" has nothing to do with the hat's liquid capacity, but derives from the Spanish word galón (braid), ten indicating the number of braids used as a hat band.

   
   The first American law-enforcement agency to adopt Stetson’s western hat as part of their uniform was the Texas Rangers. In the Second Boer War, the flat brimmed Stetson®  became the standard issue of the second Canadian Contingent, becoming recognized throughout the British Empire as a symbol of Canada. Canadian police, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) Red Serge dress uniform includes a Stetson®  with a flat brim.

 Tonight I'll be dreaming of Stetsons®  and the men who wear them! 

                          I know, the Quigly hat isn't a Stetson® .

 It should have been.

CHAMBER POTS: A peek behind the bathroom door.

                                                      

                         Ahh the good old days,

                 well maybe if you were part of the upper class.

    As romantic as the Victorian era may sound, I have a feeling it was pretty rough in the trenches….especially the trenches running through town filled with the byproducts of the Industrial Revolution.

    By the mid-1800s, the consequence of 3 million people crowded into London was flowering, mixing, and foaming merrily along. All sewers led to the Thames, pouring through bulkheads along the shores. (I always thought punting on the Thames sounded so nice, probably not.)

    The abominable odors of the Fleet river, complained the monks of the White Friars, "have overcome the frankincense burnt at the altar". They claimed the fumes caused the deaths of several brethren. And for a number of sultry days in 1859, the Thames seethed, seeped, and nearly boiled under the burning sun of an unusually hot season. Parliament was suspended as window blinds saturated with lime chloride and other disinfectants failed to subdue the odor and revulsion. It was so revolting that one foreign newspaper bannered twin headlines to catch the calamities of the day: "India Is In Revolt, and The Thames Stinks."

                                              

   The cess-pit which existed in London for many centuries, from medieval times onwards was a chamber in which sewage from each individual house was 'stored' until it was emptied. This dubious task was assigned to the 'night-soil men'. And nothing was sacred not even privy privacy. Saltpetre men extracted nitrates from excrement, so it could be used to make gunpowder. Saltpetre men also had a license from the king to enter into anyone's house at any time and remove the sewage-ridden earth from the cess-pit.

    By 1858, George Jennings had popularized public lavatories. He first introduced the novelties by installing them in the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851; over 827,000 people paid to use the "necessary convenience."

 

                                                                    

     Still the chamber pot, our topic of today, remained in demand for many years due to the fact that converting one’s home was expensive and on occasion not logistically sound. Chamber pots are known by a variety of names including: •Po •Pot •Pot de chambre •John •Jordan •Potty •Thunder pot •Thunder mug •Bourdalous

                                                                       

      The chamber pots of the working class were usually made of copper, although later ones might be of crockery. The chamber pots for the rich and royalty were solid silver, the kings' very ornate and pretentious. James I had a portable "potty," which he used for traveling. During the 1500s, poor families would urinate in a pot and at the end of the day this urine would be sold at the local tannery to tan animal hides. Some families were so poor they "didn't have a pot to piss in" thus the term.

                               

      Going even further back in history, injuries caused by the far-flung contents of the chamber pots, or "missiles of mirth" as one ancient Greek dramatist called them, persisted through the ages. Early Roman law included the Dejecti Effusive Act, which fined a person who threw or poured anything out of an open window and hit someone. The law awarded damages to the injured party. Strangely, the statute applied only during daytime hours. King Richard II followed suit with his writ of Statuto quo nut ject dung "A writ that no one is to dump dung."

      Proper manners would prescribe warning unwary pedestrians that a shower was on its way. Thus the cry of "Garden l'eau" (pronounced Gardy-loo, and meaning "Watch out for the water!") would echo up and down the streets. Over time it evolved into English slang for the toilet or loo.

        If you were a family of means, you had a chamber maid to empty the chamber pot. With some variation, the hierarchy of maids in large households ran thusly. Housekeeper, Lady’s Maid, House Maids divided into Parlour Maid, Chamber Maid, Laundry Maid, and servants.

  The Chamber Maid was responsible for taking care of the 'chambers' in the home. Normally this meant the bedrooms and dressing rooms. They would make the beds, dust, clean up the clothes and floors. They would also take care of the 'facilities' such as chamber pots or bathrooms.

      There are still occasions when chamber pots seem practical, envision a two story house with only a main floor bathroom, primitive camping trips and long car rides.

                                                                                                                                                                 

       Anyway, the next time you use your lovely nice smelling facility gleaming with porcelain, chrome, and travertine tile, do offer a moment of gratitude for the advancements we’ve made.

     For which modern day convenience or invention are you most thankful?