Join me in celebrating the blossoming of spring!
The peak of spring — halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice — brings such a burst of bright greens, blossoms, and fresh energy that it calls for celebration. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the earth seems to be throwing off the rainy gray mantle of winter and dancing with delight. Hanging out in our swinging cabana — with sunshine! — on the shore of the Salish Sea, Thor and I have welcomed the return of the gray whales and a multitude of song birds. (See last week’s blog post for Thor’s photos of our wildlife as we honored Earth Week.)
Flowers are bursting with blossom:
Beltane is the northern European/pagan celebration that honored this fertile time with purification bonfires, flower crowns, and dancing around the phallic Maypole. For several years, I joined a local pagan group to celebrate these rites of spring. We attached long, colored ribbons to the top of the Maypole, then had two groups circling around the pole, one moving clockwise (deosil) and one moving counterclockwise (widdershins), and as we passed each other holding our overlapping ribbons, the colorful strands would intertwine, shortening ever closer to the pole to create a beautiful tapestry of color. I loved making flower crowns to wear, and this one was the year I was chosen as May Queen.
The group disbanded, but I still celebrate the beauty of nature on this special day.
Bright blessings and sweet dreams!
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
