Winter Solstice

It's the first day of winter which is quite obvious to most of the country digging out of a blanket (comforter. . . featherbed...) of snow. People all over the world celebrate Winter Solstice as a time of rebirth, a new beginning and a chance to marvel at the power of transition from darkness into light. And although winter officially starts on the solstice, it won't last forever (as many of us here in Maine try to remember.) In mere days we will be getting more and more light with each and every revolution of the earth. This is the bright side, starting Tuesday, the days will start getting longer, leading to summer solstice, which will fall on June 21. That day will be the longest with the daytime lasting for about 15 hours compared to 9 short hours today.

It's Fall in New England

There's a chill in the air, yet a warm sun still shines on the early turning golden leaves.

At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. On the autumnal equinox, which in the northern hemisphere is circa September 21 (my birthday), Mabon, one of the eight solar holidays or Sabbats of Neopaganism is celebrated.

Also called Harvest Home, a recognition of the need to share and secure the blessings of the Goddess and God during the winter months. This holiday is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the Earth and is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas and followed by Samhain.

The name Mabon has only been applied to the neopagan festival of the autumn equinox recently; it was not an authentic ancient festival either in name or date. The name Mabon was chosen to impart a more authentic-sounding "Celtic" feel to the event, since all the other festivals either had names deriving from genuine tradition, or had had names grafted on to them. The autumn equinox was not celebrated in Celtic countries and what is known about Anglo-Saxon customs of that time was that September was known as haleg-monath or 'holy month'.

Summer Daze

Skiffs at the Dock Greeting Cards

Been Painting up a storm

Love these new long pads and canvases!
. . . and love those lupines!
These are all scenes within a couple of miles of home.
I truly do live in a beautiful place.

Ah, Spring in Maine

Beautiful day! The lupines are out in full force, but they are mostly deep purple this year. I took a little "artistic liberty" in this Brooksville's Smith's Cove painting. The sailboats were out in the late afternoon breeze.

Flickr Widget try again

Well I Thought I'd try this out in Opera and see if it works here, I've had to stop using FireFox as my old Beige Mac just can't keep up with all the "Fire and Flash."
Tried it out and it only works if you have Opera (No button above to click.) 'Cause it ain't over 'til "the fat lady sings!". . and she hasen't sung yet!

Mother's Day was Great!

Spent the Day with Logan. Neither of us had been down to Bar Harbor in a while. Still pretty quiet there, but they're getting geared up for the "season."

32 Years and Counting!

Yep! 32 years since having a mastectomy.
Can it really be that long?
Certainly glad I'm here to talk about it!. !!!!!!!

Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!

Spring is gradually coming to Maine.

Getting the pots ready for the deck garden. Going to try some of those "upside down" tomatoes!

'Cherish the Earth' Collages

          
       Jeweled Spring                         Jeweled Fall

Two new collages, the framed originals are for sale.

Oh Happy Spring!

The vernal equinox happened this morning at 7:44 a.m. EDT, bringing in the official start of spring.

The vernal equinox occurs when the sun passes directly over the equator, diving night and day into equal lengths. It is one of two equinox events during the year: The autumnal equinox, or fall equinox, happens in September and marks the start of the fall season for the northern hemisphere.

A Greek astronomer and mathematician named Hipparchus (ca. 190-ca.120 BCE) was known for discovering the precession of the equinoxes. He also compiled a star catalogue, but this has been lost. The astronomical Persian calendar begins its New Year on the day when the March equinox occurs.

And here in Blue Hill, the snow is melting!

St. Paddy's Day

Phoebe's guarding the gold!

A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill

This petition is sponsored by A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill, a grassroots group founded by multimedia journalist Steve Lehman on Facebook and Flickr. Everyone is welcome to participate and it is not exclusive to these websites.

Update on Orphan Works Bill

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP
Over 100,000 letters have gone out to Senators and Congressmen from our CapWiz site. Opposition to the Orphan Works Act continues to grow.

Here are some of organizations who oppose it:
http://illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00273

And here are some of the position papers written by some of these groups:

NUJ condemns "free for all" US Orphan Works legislation
http://www.epuk.org/News/863/nuj-opposes-us-orphan-works

The American Association of Independent Music. A2IM Position on the Proposed Orphan Works Legislation in the United States
http://www.a2im.org/newsDetail.aspx?newsID=117

The Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communications Orphan Works Update: The Orphan Works Debate in the US
http://www.capic.org/copyright.html

Advertising Photographers of America APA Position Paper on Orphan Works
http://www.apanational.com/files/public/APA__On_Orphan_Works.pdf

Don't Let Congress Orphan Your Work 2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and fight for your copyright:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/