DANCE! DANCE! CELEBRATE!

I've always been behind the curve of what is popular. That said, the fact that I'm just hearing about The Witch Dance does not surprise me.

Maybe you've seen this German trend of a dance troupe (they may or may not all be witches) 'shaking their bacon' to the tune with the same name by German Pop artist Peter Fox.

Current or not, I see this as a great way to get some exercise. The routine reminds me of line dancing and may be why the dance gained popularity in the United States.

There are several videos on YouTube. You can also find some HERE on the official site.

In the mean time, here's one video. Get up and Dance!

Blessings

~Rain

SAMHAIN

Because I have some new folks on the path, I'll be sharing 'educational' videos from Hearth Witch as well as my own thoughts.

Since Samhain is the turning of the wheel, I want to talk about Celebrating this pivotal point on the path.

HearthWitch gives some great information in a way anyone can come away with.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you incorporate your Samhain celebration into your everyday life?

Blessings

~Rain

SAMHAIN IS UPON US!

With only a couple days til Samhain, I am more than ready to begin a new year. I've already begun making changes in my everyday life/ activities and I'm excited for the new path...

Maybe getting back on path is a better term.

For the past couple of years I've been way off track. While taking on too many things is something I've always done, I have learned from the practice.

While it isn't taking on too many things, I've been taking on projects that require way more time than I have available. This lets the other things, things I love, get buried under the junk tht isn't really important in the grand scheme of things.

Samhain is the perfect time for a deep cleansing. 

I have a couple of brooms by my altar. This year, I decided I want to begin the preparations for making my own. In December I will thank the Birch in my yard then begin trimming away branches to cure. In the mean time, I want to deconstruct a few cinnamon brooms and fashion them into one besom.

While searching for broom-making videos, I found this informative video from HearthWitch.  Please let me know in the comments below if you have anything to add or feel she has missed the mark on.

FALL HAS ARRIVED!

My garden shows the cooler temperatures. Last night, Bob and I picked what will probably be the last of the ripe tomatoes. I'm putting them in the freezer this morning.  I'm hoping the forecasted frost for Friday night doesn't hurt the green tomatoes as I want to get some of them into jars but I will be gone to a writer's conference until Monday of next week.

There's something about Fall that brings me back to this blog. For one, this is my favorite time of year.... my season of renewal if you will.

I'm hoping to get here more often. I've found a system I've been putting into place to be everywhere I want to be. Some things are working, some not so much.

I know I won't be here much until after the 22nd. That's when Bob goes back out on the boat and I can bust in.

In the mean time, what advise would you give to someone new on the Path. Your input is appreciated.

Blessings
~Rain

THE PLANETS ALIGN

Merry Meet, everyone!

Been a little crazy here this summer. We had the grandgirls for 2 whole months!  I spent 2 months prior trying to find the house and make room for their beds/ stuff.

Needless to say, I haven't done any blogging and very little creating that didn't involve the girls. Mostly 'pour painting'. They love that technique.

They've gone back to Alabama and their normal routine. I'm trying to find mine. For now, while I have the house to myself, I'm trying to deep clean/ organize.

In the mean time, I wanted to share this little piece of astronomy with you.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/august-2019-3-things-stargazers-wont-want-to-miss-in-the-night-sky/70008950


Step Out - Look Up - Feel the Blessings

Blessed Be

SUMMER SOLSTICE & Merry Meet!

10,000 visitors were expected to view the sunrise at Stonehenge for Summer Solstice. What a glorious site to see the sun through those magnificent pillars. Were you there? If not, was there someplace in your area that you visited to mark the beginning of the Solstice?

For me, the Solstice arrived quietly. We have the grandgirls and I knew Bob had to leave early this morning for a work physical. Here, the day began as a normal day.

While researching for this post, I found THIS post VOX with an interesting graphic from NOAA:

According to this map, I should have 14.5-15 hours of daylight today. 

With the grandgirls here, we are having a weenie roast in the back yard where we can get away from the devices and enjoy the beauty of the Lord and Lady. 

Today has started out very muggy but I'm hoping with the sun going down the air will lighten up a bit and we can enjoy being outside together. 

Are you headed to an event today? Where ever you are headed, whatever your plans, be safe and enjoy the beauty that is our Earth.

Blessings

~Rain

ANIMAL ATTRACTION!

My husband calls me Mrs. Doolittle... and for good reason. Animals are drawn to me and most do not fear me.

I show the white mouse today because my husbands favorite story to tell is one one of our trips to walmart, he watched in amazement at the antics of a little white mouse.

We had come out of the store and were walking to our truck when Bob saw a little white mouse running our direction for all he was worth.. from about two lanes over.  We stopped to watch him, curious as to what the furry little guy would do.

To more Bob's surprise than mine, the mouse ran right up to me, hopped onto the toe of my shoe and looked up at me. We watched each other for a couple of seconds, then he hopped off and went back the way he'd come. Bob still shakes his head at that one.

One of my favorites is the day I had the opportunity to see the 'cattle drive' at the Fort Worth Stockyard.

Photo courtesy of: www.texaslonghorn.com

I'd gone on a sightseeing tour as part of a group from the Romance Readers conference. We spent most of the day at the stockyards. I looked forward to the day because I promote a lot of shows in the Ft. Worth area and I wanted to sit at the infamous bar of Walker, Texas Ranger series. The White Elephant Saloon was the location for CD's Bar. I promote a lot of shows there as well.

As our group stood amongst other tourists for the afternoon drive, one very large longhorn ambled his way over to me. Mind you, he wasn't stampeding but more of a coming over to say hi. One of the cowboys got him back in line before we could have a conversation but man I really wanted to pet him!

Wildlife is abundant here on our 26 acres. I have a turtle that has been visiting us every year for the 13 years we've been here. A large family of black snakes have grown every year. We started out with King. The next year Queen moved in and we've seen multiple smaller ones every year since.

Do you have an animal story to share? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Blessings
~Rain

A VISIT FROM THE ICE QUEEN

For the past two days we've been blessed with nature's artistry. As I walked down to the mailbox on Saturday I was amazed at how the grass had been coated in a frozen cloak. Not like a carpet, but each individual blade of grass encased in its own crystal piece of beauty. 

This afternoon, as the temperature hovered around 35* F, the sun began its descent. While ice icicles dripped, most everything still clung to the icy covering. I especially loved this picture. The small pine in the foreground reminds me of an English Sheep dog standing on its hind legs while the more mature tree watches on, its own boughs heavy with the frozen weight. 

As we look ahead to the Full Moon tonight, I see that the day is forecast to repeat, then more wintry mix moving in on Tuesday. I'm hoping that some point, we will get a glimpse of the moon. Won't seeing that glorious orb reflect off the frozen limbs a sight of pure awe?  

Here are a few more pictures of last weekends storm. 

Blessed Be

~ Rain

IMBOLC - Out with the Old In with the New

I should have posted this last week. Instead, I was out enjoying the gorgeous afternoon. If you're to believe the ground hog, spring is on the horizon. I'm pretty sure no one was gathering kindling with the warmth of the day in the forecast, in spite of the overcast morning sky.

I've been in deep clean mode around the house all weekend. Today we were at 70*! Unbelievable, as we were in deep freeze just a week ago. I opened the big picture window in the living room to let fresh air in. I should be able to repeat tomorrow while I'm scrubbing the kitchen floor and trying to find the work table in my studio.

What did you do to acknowledge and celebrate the this  turn of the wheel?

I'm slowly getting in my groove of posting. I'm researching for both my cookbook and Book 2 in my Hallmark-style romance. Plenty to keep me busy.

I have another project in mind I'll be sharing with you soon. Also, I'm already behind in my Over The Moon Academy planner book. I hope to dive into that at some point this month.

Blessings!
~Rain 

ITCHING TO CREATE!

Bob is finally back to work and I can move through the house, doing my own thing on my time line. I still haven't found a groove (he's only been gone 5 days) but today begins my first OFFICIAL work day of 2019. Of course, I'm also still trying to catch up on projects, organize the studio disaster and there is a book needing to be written.

I usually spend my mornings watching YouTube videos. Over the past few days I've developed a  routine of focusing on metaphysical/ witch type videos. One I really enjoy is Molly Roberts  Her voice has almost an ethereal quality I find enjoyable while I'm trying to wake up and center myself for the day. HerSpeaks videos are thought-provoking and enlightening.

While I get the rest of my thoughts in order and a blog schedule in place, I invite you to check out the video below as well as others on her channel.

Blessings!

~ Rain

WELCOME 2019!

I can't believe we are saying 2019! I have great plans to get back to be more productive and on time this year and I hope you'll come along for the journey.

I had planned to start the blog posts tomorrow but Bob is still home and he is trying to get some medical appointments taken care of before he goes back out. Those trips require near full days with travel/ appointment/ lunch. Ugh. One even has required an overnight to the big city.  That means I'm not getting the creating done ahead of a writing retreat I have the 3-6.  So my plan now is to spend the week following the retreat to get posts scheduled on the blog beginning Monday January 14th.

In the mean time, take a look at Over The Moon Academy. If you use your Tarot cards or want to look for patterns in the world around you and their meaning for you, please check out Miss Kristen's site. I have joined her community and am looking forward to working in my #magicalplaybookplanner this year, and in years to come. We do a lot of sharing on Instagram. I hope you'll join us!

LUNAR Eclipse appears with our Wolf Moon on January 20th... exactly 1 month after Yule! I am so looking forward to this. Bob bought me a day/ night vision monocular for Christmas and I can't wait to use it for this spectacular event.  I will be posting more on the moon prior to that night. 

Blessings

Rain