Witch Ass Brae

Where Womyn Gather was held this month in our usual place in PA. As usual it was a wonderful experience but this year it felt especially wonderful to me. For all the years I’ve been going I’ve participated in the many terrific workshops and many of the rituals but really only got to bond with a few of the womyn one on one. This year was different.

I was honored to be asked to lead the Crone’s Council this year. For those of you that don’t know who the crones are I will tell you: they are the Elders; the Wise Womyn of the Gathering. I think I did an ok job of it because I got a lot of positives from them with many asking me if I am going to do it again next year. If they so desire; I will do it. I priestessed the Croning Ritual of the Maiden Crones making sure to include the Maidens, Mothers and Crone in the ritual. I also got to meet with the woman who led the Maiden council and helped her develop the Maiden Ritual which included participatory roles for the Mothers and Crones as well. And, for the first time ever, because of the need and request, I created a ritual to bring wommin from the Maiden stage to the Mother stage. Now keep in mind when I say I created I don’t mean it was ME. What I mean is we gathered together and created these rituals. I may have priestessed them but without all the other womyn they would not have happened.

Last but not least the thing that happened that meant the most to me on a very personal level was I got to really sit and talk with some of the Crones who I have admired and respected for years. WHAT A GROUP!!! If anyone ever asks me again who my hero is I will be able to name any of those wonderful Crones. They are so real, so human, so wise, so vulnerable and yet so strong. I’ve never really had elders in my life. These womyn have now come into my life in a way I would not have ever expected and boy oh boy are they terrific!!!

Oh, and did I mention, a young girl (at the Maiden ritual) picked me to be her Grandmother Crone. It is nice to have young people in my life. My own grandchildren live so far away and I seldom get to see them or talk with them. So now I have 3 ‘adopted’ grandchildren: Ivy (from PA), Johnnie and Frankie (from NY). Three very different children from different parts of my life. All three offering me a special place in their lives. What more could a Crone want )

Well a lot has happened since last June.  We went to Niagra Falls last July and had the most terrific time.  I had seen the falls before but never really stopped and explored the area.  We stayed in a small bed and breakfast in Canada which was really quite nice.  The owners/operators lived right there and were able to tell us tales of growing up during WWII in Germany and German occupied Poland.  We saw a dinner show called “Eh Canada” and we saw it on Canada’s Independence Day, July 1st.  A few days later we celebrated July 4th looking at the fireworks on the American side of the Falls.  Bill, Lisa and the kids joined us for a few days so we had a bunch of fun with them as well.  I’m not doing it now, because I am on a lunch break at work, but I will try to figure out how to post photos and do that.  When I get it done, I will let you all know. 

In August we spent 9 days at the Cobleskill Fair!  Of course Pepper and Max did really well,  i did get trampled by a gang of EMT’s going to help someone else.  Once rescued by my barn friends I ended up going to the emergency room (the next day).  Thankfully nothing was broken but one knee was banged up pretty bad and I sprained the other ankle.  All in all we had so much fun (except for that) spending time with our animals and our barn friends.  Pepper and Max won lots of ribbons.  Pepper was Best in Show (Mammoth) and max was next in line.  People come to the fair each year specifically to see our donkeys.  They are wonderful, affectionate, smart and talented animals. 

We also started building equine trails at the Landis Arboretum in the early summer and fall.  More on that in my next  posting.

MAMA was living with a large flock of other hens, being gang raped by the woman’s 4 roosters every day. The feathers on her back were all gone from their claws. So she moved into our barn, leaving us with an egg every day. Then one day she stopped leaving the barn and started sitting on eggs. To make a long story short we asked our neighbor Pat to build a little coop for her, which he gladly did. He’s is like the BEST neighbor EVER!!!!!
Before we had a chance to move her, she hatched out one egg and stopped sitting on the others. So we moved Mama and Betty to their new home in our back yard about a month ago. Mama has started laying her one egg a day and we are keeping our fingers crossed that Betty is not really a Bob. Here are some photos of Mama.

Well I thought I wrote about this but I guess I didn’t. My sister Rita was graduated from college this year. It took her a long, long time to accomplish this what with being a widowed working mom, for many, many years, & then all the goings on that make up life including a new marriage, work, grandkids…and then over the last couple of years having a lung collapse twice. We didn’t really know if she’d still be here after the first collapse…then the second…but she is a real fighter (in the very best sense of the word). She’s not someone who just lays down and gives up! Rita is still struggling with her health but has not let that stop her from accomplishing her lifelong goal of a college degree. She has her BA degree now. I hope she takes the time to sit back, relax and truly realize all that she has accomplished thus far in her life. She’s MY sister, and I do love her.

I think I forgot to tell everyone who Mama & Betty are. Mama adopted us when she was tired of being gang raped by a flock of roosters, then she hatched out little Betty. Here’s some photos of their new home and of our little Betty.
I also wrote about going to my sister Rita’s graduation. Here’s a pic of my sisters Rita & Diane, Me and my brother Robert.

Wow, what a few months of business it has been around here. Work is extremely busy – lots and lots and lots of people are needing more help than ever. Partly it is due to the economy but for PSA it’s a matter of more people recognizing that we exist and accepting our help. It’s a good thing, a very good thing.

We (Debra, Susan & I) went to Spirit of Womongathering this year. The slight name change is because there was a change in leadership. This was, by far, the best one I’ve been to in years. The air had cleared and the focus way on center or spirit. The 3 of us developed a new Gateway – and it was open for the entire time we were there. Womyn and their daughters (or mothers) could pass through, to breathe and center, to rest, to focus…and to enjoy. It was beautiful.

I was asked to Priestess the cronettes prior to their being croned. It was a very spiritual, humbling process that I feel very honored to have been a part of. Our new crones are a very special group of womyn.

I also was the witch that led the community group ritual on Saturday night. Out of the 300 womyn attending SWG, I’d say 200 of them were at ritual. We had SO much fun – we laughed, cried, danced, drummed, sang and rejoiced in all that embodied the Goddess. It was a life event for me and for many, many of the other womyn that participated.

Last but not least we had a small ritual in our cabin for our young maidens. There were 4 crones, 1 mother and 3 maidens. It was intimate and sacred and bonded us together in a way ‘outsiders’ would not even think possible. We will all bunk together again next year. So mote it be.

Of course on our way there and on our way back we stopped at our favorite ice cream place just this side of Deposit NY, on Rte. 8 where we indulged in deep fried hot dogs, seriously fresh, real french fries, and ice cream made-to-order. It’s a cute little place with great comfort food.

Speaking of food, at SWG we had a new chef in the kitchen. There was singing and joyful sounds coming out of the kitchen this year and the very best vegetarian food any of us had ever tasted. Even Susan liked it and she doesn’t eat vegetables.

I will try to upload some photos of SWG later.

Ta-ta for now.

Hmmm, how could I..but I did, I forgot to include this photo of the toilet…can’t very well leave that out of the bathroom photos!

OK, so maybe we had a bit of flooding for a few days. We didn’t get wet – if it had come up another 2′ it would have been in the house…but it didn’t so all’s well that end’s well – well as long as the good lawd’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise too high!

Ok, so these might not be the very best bathroom photos you’ve ever seen, and they don’t do the bathroom justice, but for those of you who have seen the bathroom before, this gives you a very basic idea of the difference now.

Spring is coming…in fact it will be here this weekend…The Spring Equinox. We’re are celebrating with a coven weekend. This gathering will take place at Witch Ass Brae. There will be ritual (of course) music, laughter, tears, dancing, quiet times, creative times and the celebration of Spring! It will be, as always, a wonderful celebration of spirit. We are all looking forward to it very much.

On a seperate topic, our bathroom is finished. It no longer looks like a camp bathroom, it looks like it belongs in House Beautiful. It’s difficult to take good pictures of it as it is long and narrow, but I will do my best to put some photos up within the next few days. In fact, I will attempt to put up photos of the bathroom and the kitchen. Be patient. I’m slow )
I will send out a message when I get them up.

The vet came for the donkeys yearly check-up. They are both in good health. They got their rabies shot, their Coggins test, another shot (I can’t remember what it is) and had their teeth floated (for non equine people, they had their teeth checked and filed down without anesthesia – almost all equines have to be anesthesized but my donkeys are just so special and sweet they don’t need to be). They will see the vet again in June for their West Nile Virus vaccine.

I was able to clear out a section of the barn so now we can drive the tractor right in. I was also able to start the yearly donkey yard clean up (YUK) A friend took a truckful of poop for his father’s garden. I’ll tell ya, our tractor was a great investment. We use it for the donkey yard, for clearing the snow, and for cutting and clearing trails on our other property.

Well, that’s it for now. I am doing my monthly posting like I said I would try to do. 3 months into the year and 3 postings…not bad!

Talk with you all soon.

The Spirit of Womongathering Festival (formerly Womongathering) is a spiritual retreat I’ve been going to for about 16 years now. This 4 day celebration of the feminine; a celebration of the Triple Goddess, is for womon & girls only. We have experiential workshops, a sweat lodge, a sacred fire, rituals, drumming, dancing, vegetarian meals & the companionship of wonderful womon. If you’d like to know more, please either e-mail me privately or go to http://womongathering.com/
The cost is reasonable (includes lodging, meals, and all activities) and there are work exchanges available for those that can’t afford to pay.

Can it possibly be true that it’s almost the end of January 2010 & I haven’t written anything on here since August?!?!? I guess time does fly when you are having fun. The past 6 months or so have been good ones for me. Our little home is coming together bit by bit – we have found someone that can help us do the work we can’t and he works at a reasonable rate. Fall was beautiful and stretched into mid-December. My kids and their families came to surprise me for almost a week long visit for my 60th birthday. We’ve gotten the opportunity to have some nice long visits with my family in Massachusetts. I’m incredibly busy at work but not under the negative stressors I was under my first few years in this particular position. Our cat Buzz Man did get very sick and had to be put down, but he didn’t seem to be suffering and actually became very lovey dovey the last year he was with us. Our other animals/family members are all doing good. I’ve read so many books, and exchanged them with other book lovers, I can’t remember the names of all of them. So, like I said it’s been a busy, busy 6 months but overall a good, happy & productive 6 months.

Hi All…I know it’s been quite awhile since I wrote anything on here…and now I’m feeling confused because the place to write is so different than it was when I last wrote.

Anyhow we were only going to spend a few days at the Fair this year but ended up being there the whole 9 days due to a foot injury (mine). We had a great time anyway visiting with our ‘barn friends’ .& talking to lots and lots of people about our donkeys.
Of course we participated in the Donkey & Mule Show. There weren’t quite as many entrants as last year (probably because of the economy) but there was still a very good turnout. Max won overall and was named Mammoth Grand Champion Donkey; Pepper won Reserve Mammoth Grand Champion.

Well for those of you who don’t know what PBR stands for I’ll tell ya right now: Professional Bull Riding. Yup, that’s right, and yours truely is an officially registered PBR fan.

Susan & I have watched it on the TV, and when the show came to Albany this year, we went to see it. It was really fun and exciting….NO, the bulls do not get hurt…but sometimes the riders do. Riding the bulls really is a sport pitting one man (maybe there are women doing it but I haven’t seen any) and one bull that weights 20x as much as the man. Most of the riders are actually pretty small guys. Thankfully they all wear impact vests now but only a handful wear helmets.

Anyhow the 2008 Ford Built Tough Semi-Finals of the PBR were held in the arena at the Mohigan Sun in CT. Wow, that is some fancy/pretty casino. Even though we had paid an ungodly sum to see the show the seats were so close together Susan couldn’t get it leg to straighten out between her seat and the row in front of her. After speaking with one of the Arena Supervisors, they moved us to the handicapped seating section. She was then able to hold her leg correctly and enjoy the show….and WHAT a show it was!!! If you aren’t into bull riding it probably doesn’t sound all that great…but for those of you who do know…

We were sitting right above the chute area and could see the goings on behind the chutes, the action in the chutes, and had a perfect view of what happened when the bull left the chute. They had some tuff riding bulls and some riders that were just as athletic as the bulls…and then there were the ones that got tossed like a sack of potatoes. Nobody that I know of got seriously hurt; some did get pretty banged up. It’s not about that tho, it’s about the skill, the fitness, and the tenacity of both the bull and the rider that make it such an exciting sport to watch both on the TV and in person (of course in person is best).

The finals were just held in Las Vegas so the new year will be starting soon….hmmm, I’ll have to see if they’ve got the schedule posted yet, hopefully we will get to a couple of live shows again this year. (more…)

Susan & I had a terrific time in P-Town despite her inability to walk without assistance. For the most part the weather was really nice…only the last day there was cold and windy. We managed to do some holiday shopping at some of the ‘end of season’ sales…oh yes, maybe a personal purchase or two for ourselves as well.

For some reason a lot of focus was placed on women writers this year so many of the book & gift stores had female authors there to sign their books…we bought three books by three different authors:

Mistress of the Runes by Andrews & Austin
As Far as Far Enough by Claire Rooney
Anticipation by Terri Breneman

I just finished Mistress of the Runes – a thoroughly good read. Not too heavy and not too light…just right!

As soon as we arrived we went to the box office to get our tickets for the play at the P-Town Theater. In July we had seen Tick Tick Boom…which was very entertaining and very well done. This time we went to see The Siegels of Montauk. It was so very, very well done we could have watched it again.

We also went to a Tea & Crumpet Cabaret with Zoe Lewis at the Mews. Zoe is a very talented singer, songwriter and musician with just so much positive energy it simply radiates from her pores. The tea and crumpets were quite yummy too.

Lea Delaria was so funny, in a very crude sort of way, we laughed our asses off. She was at the P-Town Art House. We also saw Tret Fure, another singer, songwriter, and musician a few days before at the same venue. Tret has been around for a long time and it shows in her performances…she is earthy, talented (unbelievably talented on the guitar) and just plain likable..

We went to the Vixen and saw the Atomic Bombshells, an old-time vaudeville burlesque show. It was very much done in the old style that was considered outrageous in the 50s. The women were pretty and friendly and very approachable; the costumes just as pretty as the girls. It was a just a fun evening.

Of course we went to the Mayflower for our big, sit down kind of meals. They have good food and, are down to earth, and provide pretty good service. Since Susan was using her walker and couldn’t put weight on her foot, they sat us right near the door, but out of the draft, and offered to bring another chair over for her to put her foot up on. That’s not the kind of service you get everywhere. Did I mention the food is good and reasonably priced?!? There were still a few walk-up places open where we had our lunches that were also good. Our breakfasts? We had them in our room at the B&B. Of course the B&B doesn’t do breakfasts in October but that didn’t matter. We had milk and cereal and fruit (and maybe some snacks) so we were good to go.

There was a drastic difference in the number of tourists/visitors to P-Town this year. I’m sure it’s because the economy has been so bad, and gas prices were so sky high. It’s really a shame so many people missed out on such a good time. That particular week in October is geared towards women so the acts are almost all made up of female talent, both local and national. Yes there were a few ‘BIG NAMES’ there but we didn’t think Paula Poundstone was worth a $50 ticket….on the other hand…the PBR was but I’ll tell you about that in my PBR post.

Hi Everyone and Thanks! for all of your wishes for wellness and recovery. I’m managing okay but certainly could not without all of the tlc I’m getting from Bonnie.
Return to the surgeon’s office on Thurs. 9/4 to have dressings removed, stitches removed, etc. If all is as it’s expected to be, he will then apply a cast for another four weeks. Yuk.
This, too, shall pass.
Much, much Love to all,
Susan

Now I don’t know if I spelled that right or not, but the point is she had a portion of her left tendon removed yesterday.  The surgeon said it was just a mess!  He took a part of one of her big toe tendons and replace almost 50% of her left a. tendon with it.  She is not to bear any weight on it for 4 – 6 weeks or will ruin the surgery she just had done.  For a woman who is experiencing quite a bit of pain she’s being pretty good about it.  The doctor gave her percocet but she can’t take more than 8 a day, and they said to make sure she takes them through the nigh so we are spacing them out the best we can to make her as comfortable as possible.

Since we met in 2000 she has had a number of surgeries including a previous tendon surgery (on her right leg) and two knee replacements.  Susan works very hard to recover to the fullest extent possible with as little complaining as possible.  I’m exhausted just from being at the surgery center yesterday and the worrying about her; I don’t know how she is able to deal with all this as well as she does.  Right now she is sleeping on the couch with her leg as far up in the air as I can comfortably put it.

I’m only working a half day for the next 2 days, then go back full time next week.  I just think it’s important I’m here for her as much as possible for this first week.  Well I’ve got a load of laundry drying, another to put in the wash, a dog to walk,  and a couple of donkeys that need some food.  Talk with you all soon.

As usual we had a wonderful time at the Fair. We spent the weekend setting up the barn and moving our donkeys and the trailer out there.  On Tuesday (the 1st day of the Fair) Pepper took 1st and Max 2nd in the Draft Horse Show, Donkey & Mule Class.  Susan was again accepted as a candidate for the Idol contest and did a terrific job, but was beat out this year so didn’t make it to the finals.  She is already planning for next year; not that she’s competitive or anything…..

The weather varied between mild and quite windy, to mild and very, very wet.  The good thing was, it was never so hot that you couldn’t stand it.  I’d much rather have it a bit cooler.  The cooler weather also meant easier sleeping at night although you can hear the carnies working on their equipment most of the night, every night. Then just when all those noises stop and you think, AHHHHHHH, over the loud speakers come the announcement of the first horse show of the day. By Wednesday I wasn’t feeling too good; I think my sinus were blocked with sawdust and dirt from all the blowing it had been doing.
The Donkey & Mule Show took place on the last Saturday- by then I was feeling quite a bit worse for the wear- but focused on what we were there for.  The Show was again, a huge success.  Some friends of ours from VT came over, Kris and John.  Kris was riding/showing Zak, a 16 y/o gelding who I think is just one of the best donkeys around.  John was riding/showing Pete, a 26 y/o mule.  It was great to see them again although we really didn’t get a chance to sit and gab.  My boss, Cathy and her husband Steve, spent most of Saturday watching the Show as well.  Steve had his elderly dad with him who also seemed to really enjoy themselves.  I took each of them for a short cart ride just for the fun of it.  I was kinda worried about Pepper in the morning because we just can’t seem to go to a Fair without her going into heat aka she gets just a bit emotional.  In the morning she just was too emotional to even hold her head up but in the afternoon she just went all out to do her very best.  Pepper and Mac ended the day with 14 ribbons between them!  Pete earned the title of Grand Champion; Pepper was Reserve Grand Champion.  I was very very proud of my beautiful girl.

Another friend of ours was driving to the Fair on Sunday morning and became seriously ill.  They had to rush him to the closest hospital, then ambulanced him to a bigger one.  They are still not sure what happened to him exactly but he spent the next couple of days in intensive care, was finally released home, but still needs to have some addl tests done.  We are still worried about him,  but are just happy that he is home and doing well right now.

I can’t close this message without talking about a very important friend of ours named Johnny.  He’s 10 years old and one of the best kids I’ve ever known in my life.  ‘course he’s a kid and can be just an all around kid, but when he’s needed to take responsibility or has tasks that he is supposed to do (like taking care of 5 enormous draft horses) he does it all.  He’s polite and well respected by the adults that know him.  Not to worry, he’s got plenty of time to just be a kid, but his ability to be responsible for his own actions is just a joy to see.   If I ever need to give our donkeys to someone to care for because Susan and I are no longer able, I would give them to Johnny.  He’s a gem.

Oh, and that cold I was getting, well I’ve had it for 2 weeks now but it’s much better than it was.  I will be glad when it’s gone completely.

Susan & I went to Cape Cod for our anniversary. We stayed at a very reasonable bed & breakfast place that has it’s own little beach. Just going away for those few days and spending time together without worrying about work, or the house or the animals was great. We had time to sit on the beach, swim in the ocean, read, eat lobster every day (that was mwah!), eat mud slide ice-cream every day from the Lewis Brother’s Ice Cream Store (hmmm, that was me too), saw ‘Tick, Tick, Boom’ at the Provincetown Playhouse (highly recommended by both of us), went on a sunset sailboat ride, talked and laughed a lot, had dinner with our friends Debra & Steve one night, had dinner with our friends Karen & Carol the next night, laughed so hard we almost peed our pants when we went to see a terrific comedian named Maggie Cassella (maggiecassella.com), had a reading done by a psychic (I do believe that was me again), did some shopping (you cannot go to the Cape without doing some shopping) and had a decadent afternoon at the Spa (expensive but we were worth it) that even included cucumber slices on the eyes. An anniversary not to be missed!!! It was a wonderful, wonderful time. )