harvest festival

Yet another year of our lovely Harvest Festival.  A story in pictures...

The Harvest Feast (brought indoors for fear of rain).

Come said the wind to the leaves one day

Come o'er the meadows and we will play

Put on your dresses of scarlet and gold

For summer is gone and the days grow cold

Blessings on your pumpkins dear friends.  May Autumn find you all well.

solstice celebration

You know, the thing about having a strong rhythm in one's life is that, when it comes to blogging, one keeps rhythmically blogging about the same things each year, each season and each day.  Forgive the constant repetition friends.  We've just, you know, got this rhythm going...

Once again we gathered for a small Summer Solstice celebration with some of our dear Waldorf friends.  The day was overcast but still festive and, as always, a gentle and enriching commemoration for this seasonal quarter turn.

Mostly these festivals are about the getting together and, for the children, the play!  We adults hold the inner meaning in our hearts and plan a few games and crafty crafts for the kiddos but they just enjoy the fun of it all.  So, we set the stage for joy and frolicking and also put out some Fimo oven fire clay.  (I know... it looks like cheese.  All the kids thought so too.)  The children crafted little clay suns (and various other objects) that we later turned into refrigerator magnets for them to take home and display.

Then they were out in the grass, jumping on the trampouline and fishing for shells in the pool with their toes.

While they were distracted, Green Man crept into the yard...

He spoke his now traditional verse:

"I am the Sun -

And I bear with my might

The earth by day, the earth by night.

I hold her fast, and my gifts I bestow

To everything on her, so that it may grow;

Man and stone, flower and bee

All receive their light from me.

Open thy heart, dear child, to me,

That we together one light may be."

                                                           (by Ch Morgenstern from Summer by Wynstones Press)

"With these crowns and gifts of the earth, I knight you all princes and princesses of the Summer.  Together we'll hold the sun in our hearts to light the world all year long..."

The little ones loved their shells and gorgeously warm and sunny stone orbs.

Some wore their crowns and a few sat with we grown-ups to weave some flowers into the ivy wreaths.

Of course there was a fire and a delicious pot luck feast.

And, as the season turned, we embraced the new summer rhythm of long days and warm nights, free time and unscheduled outings. 

Welcome all (at least in the northern hemisphere) to afternoons lazing in the shade and enjoying bare feet on the grass.  May the goodness and fullness of Summer fill your days.

may day

They're back!  Just as in years past, the fairies have chosen today to return in full force and our back yard Queen left Naiya a beautiful bouquet and a sweet gift on the step.

Let us take our baskets early
   To the meadows green,
While the wild-flowers still are pearly
   With the dewdrops' sheen. 
Fill them full of blossoms rosy,
   Violets sweet and gay
Cowslips, every pretty posy
   Welcoming the May. 
Then our lovely loads we'll carry
   Down the village street,
On each door, with laughter merry,
   Hang a basket sweet. 
Hey-a-day-day! It is spring now,
   Lazy folks, awake!
See the pretty things we bring now
   For the May-day's sake!

                                                                                                                    -Evaleen Stein 

A most merry May Day to all!

daily verses

Since Naiya started in Parent/Child classes at her Waldorf school, we've been collecting all manner of fingerplays and verses.  Sometimes I share those I find in various collections with her and sometimes she brings home those she hears and sings in her classes each day to share with me.  (If you're interested in this sort of thing, you can view those we've gathered in the Verses and Fingerplays tabs above.)  Today she brought this one home.  It was accompanied by a sweet little tune that I'm not able to offer here, but I thought some of you home-schoolers (or those who live in a constant winter battle with mud and debris) would appreciate for content nonetheless.

When I come in from outside play

I take my shoes off right away

I put them in my cubby so

This is where they always go...

This is where they rest just so.

festivals of winter

It's Mid-Winter!  Today marks the half-way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and is celebrated around the world as Imbolc, Candlemas, St. Brigid's Day and Groundhog Day.  (It's also Auntie Erika's and Kate's birthday.  Happy birthday girls!)
I've talked in past years about this day and our celebrations here and here, so I'll not say much this time around except to share this lovely piece of writing from the book series I'm currently reading...

May all enjoy and embrace the returning of the light.

The Winter Feast by Hendrik van the Elder Balen

"Winterfest is as much a celebration of the darkest part of the year as a festival of the returning light.  For the first three days of Winterfest, we pay homage to the darkness.  The tales told and puppet shows presented are those that tell of resting times and happy endings.  The foods are salt fish and smoked flesh, harvested roots and fruit from last summer.  Then, on the midday of the festival, there is a hunt.  New blood is shed to celebrate the breaking point of the year, and new meat is brought fresh to the table, to be eaten with grain harvested from the year before.  The next three days are days that look toward the coming summer.  The looms are threaded with gayer thread, and the weavers take over an end of the Great Hall to vie among themselves for the brightest patterns and lightest weave.  The tales told are ones that tell of beginnings of things, and of how things came to be..."
                              
                                                                    from Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

the third week of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at the door

The third week of Advent

Is the light of beasts

Who all await the coming

In the greatest and the least

As I mentioned last week, I was frantically making an animal a night to fill Naiya's Advent treasure bag in the mornings for this, the week of animals. We aren't able to place the animals on our Advent wreath for fear that some actual animal (read crazy savage cats) will rip the critters to shreds.  Instead they make their way to the manger on our mantel and await the arrival of the shepherds, wise men and holy family.

I think I could use some instruction in animal anatomy.  (This is supposed to be a camel.  There were camels right?  "The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum....  The camel hummed a tune, pa rum pum pum pum...")

When I looked up ox on the internet I found a lot of pictures of something that looked a lot more like a buffalo than a cow.  I was going for the draft animals with the yokes.  You know, with the big shoulders and horns?  Hmm...

All these fellows are built with an armature of floral wire wrapped in many layers of wool roving.   They're needle felted into shape and were sculpted while I sat looking at a number of actual photographs of real animals. 

I have a lot of un-carded, un-dyed wool which worked really well to create realistic coloration, especially in the sheep (which are, you know, made from sheep).



Tomorrow the shepherds should arrive to watch over the flock...

the second light of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at my door

The second light of Advent 
Is the light of plants
Plants that reach up to the sun
And in the breezes dance

   We moved the stones to the wreath's perimeter and this week welcomed a eucalyptus branch and pods, star anise, a tillandsia from a local nursery, a sprig of lavender and some aralia from our yard, nutmeg nuts and a felted poinsettia flower...which Naiya wouldn't allow on the wreath because "it wasn't real".  The juniper berries and pine cones are permanently attached.
   I had hoped to felt little animals for next week and add them to last year's Nativity Scene of felted people.  I'm still working on the first sheep.  We shall see...

the first light of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at my door

 The first Light of Advent

Is the Light of Stones

Stones that live in crystals

In seashells and in bones

Each morning Naiya finds a special treasure in her Advent bags and places them on our wreath.  We lit one candle this week and sang our Advent song as she marveled at all the beautiful colors and textures of crystals, shells, geodes and fossils.

harvest festival

The Autumn Harvest has long been a time to celebrate the plenty and hard work of the seasons just past. Traditionally ample food was available at this time of year and farming folk began to be freed up from long, hard working days.  In our lives, the bustle of the start of the school year, the backyard gardening and the girl-child's birthday have passed and we have a moment of pause before the holiday season begins.  

The weather is changing and the light is beginning to fade even as we hold on to the last days of sunshine and short sleeves.  It's the time of year when gratitude comes easily and many seem to feel genuinely thankful for all the goodness in our lives. 

We celebrate these internal and external changes with our Waldorf school community at the annual Harvest Festival.  It's a day of family fun that includes singing, square dancing, a puppet show, music, crafts and a community potluck.

Families bring the fruits and seeds of their home harvests for exchange and the children enjoy the simple activities and rambunctious outdoor play on the beautiful grounds.

We picked up a copy of the new community cookbook, carved our Halloween Jack-o-Lantern, made corn dolls and pumpkin necklaces and even got in a bit of square dancing after lunch.

Another lovely festival and traditional gathering to carry us into the coming season.

Golden light is turning grey,
Mists begin to rule the day.
Bare the trees, their branches lift;
Clouds of dead leaves earthward drift.
Through the field the farmer goes,
Seeds of ripened corn he sows
Trusts the earth will hold it warm,
Shelter it from cold and harm.
For he knows that warmth and light
Live there, hidden from our sight;
And beneath a sheltering wing,
Deep below, new life will spring!

summer solstice

The Solstice is upon us.  The sun has reached its highest point and we feel drawn out into its heat after weeks of warm one day, cold and rainy the next, northwest weather.  Nature is finally flourishing and our senses are receiving quite the treat.   We gathered once more with friends this quarter turn to celebrate a gorgeous change of season.

We began our Midsummer celebration with a few hours spent dying play silks on camp stoves in the garden.  (Sadly I have no photos of the actual process since my camera battery died just as we began our festivities and I had to wait a few hours for it to recharge.)  The dying was surprisingly simple.  We had purchased acid dyes but decided we wanted the children to be a part of the process so switched to the artificial drink option some of us had read about online.

We pre-soaked in a vinegar and hot water bath then swirled the silks for 10 minutes in heated pots of KoolAid and hot water (about 3 packets per silk).  We were all somewhat repulsed by the sticky sweet odor emanating from the concoctions but happily surprised at the simplicity of the process and the soft beauty of the end products.

With the silks waving in the afternoon breeze, the children just frolicked happily in the yard until a surprise visitor emerged from the shrubbery!  Green Man crept out from the bushes to gather the young ones around him.  He held their rapt attention as he spoke a beautiful poem and gifted each child with a crown and wand.

"I am the Sun -

And I bear with my might

The earth by day, the earth by night.

I hold her fast, and my gifts I bestow

To everything on her, so that it may grow;

Man and stone, flower and bee

All receive their light from me.

Open thy heart, dear child, to me,

That we together one light may be."

                                                           (by Ch Morgenstern from Summer by Wynstones Press)

"With these crowns and wands, I knight you all princes and princesses of the Summer.  Together we'll hold the sun in our hearts to light the world all year long..."

Wearing their felt coronets the children dipped their decorative copper bubble wands into the bubble jar...

Woosh, swish... bubble magic ensued...

We painted a few faces, jumped on the trampoline, relaxed in the hammock and played in the tepee...

After enjoying a delicious community pot luck dinner we partook of the glorious sun cake (dairy and gluten free!)

Such an extraordinary afternoon with all the wonders of the season received as gifts from the earth.

Before we parted we each took a stone to the fire.  Holding it to our hearts, we made a wish and walked around the burning wood three times before tossing the pebble into the flames.

It was a simple but perfect afternoon organized with loving detail by an amazing village of adults for the imaginative, wonder-filled world of our children.  Actually, I believe the wonder was enjoyed by all.

Many thanks to our gracious hosts and to all who joined us to make this such a meaningful and memorable festival.