Indian Summer and New Moon as the Wheel Turns

The squirrels are getting fatter every day!

The weather here in Maine has been absolutely glorious!  We have been enjoying unseasonably mild weather with warm temps (although we did have a dusting of snow one day, and each morning we wake up to frost on the car windows and coating the landscape). 

I have been kind of taking my time with my winterizing, probably due to the deceptively lovely weather.  I guess I am being tricked into thinking that the truly cold weather is long months away, however I suspect we have weeks rather than months.  The birds have been so active lately, so we've been trying to put out plenty of food for them as well as for the squirrels.  Where I live, squirrels are not a problem for us, so I like to give them a big bag full of nuts around November, and then another small bag each month of the harsh winter.  Sure, I know that nature provides for these critters, and that some say we shouldn't "coddle" them, but rather allow for survival of the fittest, but I doubt the fate of humanity or the battle of the hardiest squirrel is going to rest in the paws of the inhabitants of our tiny little forest.

I've been drying my herbs from the garden lately to store and enjoy this winter. I have sage, chives and a little basil.  I am wondering about wintering them over in the garden. Here's hoping they make it out there! I'm also planning out my garden for next spring in my head. I hope to go a step further than this year - constantly improving and learning each year with luck!

Thanksgiving will be here in a week. It seems we just had Samhain!  In our house, we do not delude ourselves into thinking that all of the Pilgrims were neccessarily great friends to the natives, but we do like to celebrate the harvest and those who did work together to make the day what we associate it to be.  Since Thanksgiving is the American version of a harvest celebration, we welcome another excuse to break out the nice plates and have a great harvest meal. On the Martha Stewart website (ok, I admit it, I am a fan of the site!) there are some cute ideas for projects for kids as well as ideas for decorating the table for Thanksgiving.

  This Mayflower craft along with the little boat placecards look really cute!

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/thanksgiving-tables-for-kids

There's a how-to on the site, if you're interested.  The little boat placecards would be a fun origami type of activity with the kids, for sure!  p.s. I read some of the comments under this craft. I agree that using dried corn husks for the hull of the big boat would be a better choice than veneer. You could then paint it brown if you want, or paint with thick coffee water and let dry maybe.

Per usual, I have decorated my house for the season. My seasonal space has been updated (not to be confused with my altar, which also changes with the season but yet I do not photograph it very often - maybe it is a superstition, or just that it is sacred space and I like to keep it a more personal thing).  Here are some pics of our seasonal space, which includes fresh veggies, fruit in my cornucopia (which I chop and put into our water glasses for added vitamin C), handmade crafts of the season and flowers beside a Native American bearing an adorable turkey. 

                           

The big picture :)

Closer up

My mom quilted this many years ago

                   

          Handprint turkeys (just paint

the child's hand and smoosh it onto the

paper, then draw in legs and an eye)

               

Ya'all come back now, ya hear?!

- Big sister bonding with her little brother

over Finneas and Ferb 

                                                          -  a  rare quiet moment! LOL!

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Happy New Moon

I also wanted to post about the moon phase. This year I want to give more attention to the moon phases in a more intentional way.  Many women apparently menstruate during the dark of the moon, but I am the absolute opposite! I ovulate during the dark of the moon and menstruate during the full moon.  I have learned to accept this reversal.  Perhaps it is a lesson to me to accept that my "normal" is perfect for me!

New Moon Love Spell / Wish Spell

Items Needed:

Piece of paper

Pen

New Moon

Candle

On the night of a new moon, write your dream/wish on the piece of paper. Light the candle and simply look into the flames as they dance in the darkness of the room you are in. Close your eyes and visualize your wish coming true. Look to the moon and request that the Lady of the Moon grant you your wish. Thank her. Now take the piece of paper and burn it in the candle. Repeat this 12 nights. If you happen to miss a night you will have to start all over - but not during a waning moon.