Give a Hoot!

"St. Agnes' Eve ... Ah, bitter chill it was. The owl, for all his feathers,  was     a-cold."

John Keats

There was a blizzard on New Year's Eve. My dad and I had worked hard during the day to give the livestock and poultry extra food, water, and straw bedding and shut the barn and out-buildings tight. Now it was New Year's Day. After the breakfast dishes were done, I had most of the day all to myself, with no school for a couple of days.  It was a foggy day, so I pulled my chair close to the window for additional light. I have always loved poetry and was reading Keats. I had just read the words above when a movement in a tree close to my window attracted my attention.  A great horned owl was settling itself on a branch at about my eye level.  How wonderful, I felt, the way that the words and the bird's arrival coincided!  We stared at and studied each other often during the day.  I came to feel that the two of us, from such different species, had forged a bond. We had shown interest in, and respect for, each other.  As I stood up, reluctantly, to set the supper table, the owl shook itself, gave a loud "hoot", and lifted away into the twilight.

This post will feature owls — real and imaginary — and will show art-work, provide patterns, and hopefully produce a few chuckles with some "improbable" owls.

But there is also another reason for this issue. I listened to a very impressive high school student whose message was: "We can all do SOMETHING for others during these troubling times!"  Then he set about recruiting others to do just that.  As a senior citizen who has been  "sheltering-in-place" for 12 months, dependent on others, that statement really resonated with me!  So J.D. and I made lists of things which might have helped us or others like us, and we will include some of them between the art and craft projects. We ask those of you who read this post to consider something from one of our lists or one that you make for yourself. Thank you!

Here is a little owl I made back in 2014.  The pattern is to make him in cross-

stitch, but the photo is of the same design in needlepoint.

J.D.: If you "give a hoot" about helping out house-bound people this winter, here are some things you might do: 

• Clear snow and ice from sidewalks.
• Walk dogs.
• Rake leaves.
• Roll trashcans to the curb and put them away when empty.
• Run errands.
• If you have a car, provide transportation.
• Just stop by occaisionally, in a safe socially distanced way, to check on their welfare.

In a previous post we started a series on background designs. This owl shows how body parts can be indicated by using background designs similar to those we showed in that post.  Colors need not be realistic.  Make them as vivid or as subtle as you wish.

Owls don't have to be confined to needlework. They can be produced in any number of crafts Here is one done in stained glass, one that is a metal candle lantern, and a sterling silver pin with opal triplets set in.

Owls are one of my favorite animals for making into puppets.

Two variations on the owl puppet pattern

Annake: Here are some more thoughts on "Giving a hoot":

• Women of my generation still like to write letters and send actual greeting cards, not virtual ones.  Donate notepaper, greeting cards, envelopes, pens that really write, or a few stamps.
• Call frequently to see how the person is getting along,  ask how you can help, and take the time to chat for a few minutes.
• Listen carefully to what the person has to say, checking for signs of distress or confusion.
• Prepare a casserole that can be reheated or a dessert that can be refrigerated for several days.
• Keep track of the person's appointments and remind them.
• Make a scrapbook about something the person loves — scenes, flowers, wildlife, sports, etc., from magazines and calendars.
• Offer to care for pets or plants if the person has to be away for a few days.

This is an owl originally done in Spanish black-work on checked gingham.  It can be stitched just as well on a plain even-weave fabric like monks' cloth or Aida or done in needlepoint.  Click on the pattern to download it.

Click here to download the blackwork pattern.

While looking over our black-and-white prints, we found that we had never published a photo of our barn owl print, shown here. Because of their distinctive shapes and upright postures, owls make good subjects for artwork.

       

Those same attributes make them easy to do as readily recognizable cartoons or nature drawings.  It is even possible to do semi-abstract renderings.  Here are a couple of sketches friends made for me which used very different techniques.

Original sketches from Annake's personal collection

Click here to download

Finally, here is a pattern that could be done in a number of techniques of your choice.  Click on the pattern to download it.

The owls we have used are primarily just for fun, but there are two serious ideas here.  One is the idea of helping others because you "give a hoot". The other is that large numbers of our native birds are declining in numbers, including owls.  I used to hear a pair of great horned owls calling to each other on summer nights while they hunted up and down the nearby alleys, but I have not heard them for several years.  We need to do all we can to protect the wild birds, and do it NOW.

Still waiting for Spring,

A gift from J.J., a little owl shelf hanger

 This post by Annake's Garden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Spring Things

Like this crocus, we are Resilient!

Dear Readers,
Well, 2020 was quite a year — and, as far as we are concerned, that is all the comment that it deserves.

As 2021 began, with promise of better things soon to come, we decided NOT to do one of our anniversary issues; instead, we planned something light and upbeat as we waited to see how the new year unfolded.

Unfortunately, the problems of 2020 were not ready to turn loose of us just yet: before we could publish, we were hit with a series of unfortunate events, including climate and weather events, ongoing drought in our area, ongoing economic fallout from the pandemic, unforeseen breakages and repair issues, and health problems that result from our advancing ages — all even more complicated by continued restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic.

We really ARE very much a collaborative effort: when one of our people is out of commission, we can’t publish this blog; and, during the last six weeks, EVERYBODY was out at one time or another. The good news is that WE ARE FINALLY BACK; the better news is that, even when we could not give you a finished product, those who were able were busy stockpiling ideas, research, parts and pieces for new posts which are now in the pipeline ready to finish up and publish over the next several months. We’ve done a lot of jiggling and juggling, changed emphasis or direction on some of our topics, and rearranged almost everything to get a steady flow of new material ready to go.

So, to start us back up, we begin with a little celebration of Spring, and of Spring celebrations. Enjoy, and stay tuned …

J.D., Annake’s Garden Gnome

Here in the United States, Spring 2021 officially begins at 5:30 AM Eastern Standard Time, on March 20th. This is the beginning of the Spring Equinox, the astronomical beginning of Spring.  The word "equinox" is made up of two Latin words meaning "equal" and "night".  The actual clock time for the beginning of spring depends on how far you are above the Equator (an imaginary line which divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere. The word hemisphere refers to the halves of the globe above and below the Equator.  Spring begins when the sun heads north from the Equator into the northern sky. If you were anywhere along the Equator at that time, the sun would pass right over your head on its journey,

Mountain sunrise, photo by J.J.

We use a number of words with the "equ" beginning.  For example, "equals", "equivalent", "equality", "equidistant",  "equilibrium'  and "equity".  The word "equinox" implies that the day and night are exactly the same length on that date. There are small variations, depending on how far you are from the Equator, but this is the date when the day and night at least come the closest to being equal.  The Spring Equinox is also called the Vernal Equinox ("Vernalis", a late Latin word meaning  "of the Spring".)  The Equinoxes are the only times when the sun rises due east and sets due west.

Remember that when it is the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the beginning of Autumn (from a Latin word referring to harvest time) and is called the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, below the Equator. I was born on the Autumnal Equinox in the United States in September. I like to treat myself to a little gift like chocolates or a new straw hat on the Spring Equinox — kind of a half-birthday present.

By mid-March, it is easy to see that the days are getting longer. Some people mistakenly believe that this begins with the Equinox, but it really began in December with the shortest day and longest night of the year — the Winter Solstice. The very next day the days began growing longer, and will do so until the Summer Solstice — the longest day and shortest night of the year— in June,  starting on the way to the Autumnal Equinox.

There are numerous holidays and special occasions in the Spring. This year I expect that most of us will enjoy those virtually or not at all, from Saint Patrick's Day to Arbor Day.  But times will get better and we will participate again. In the meantime, there are things we can do for ourselves and for others and we can learn about spring customs in other places. If you have access to the Travel Channel, you may see pictures or films of some of these.

Saint Patrick was a real person, although he didn't drive the snakes out of Ireland, because there weren't any there to begin with.  Born in England, he was captured by slave traders as a teenager and taken to Ireland, where he served as a shepherd. He escaped and returned to England, where he trained for the priesthood. Then he returned to Ireland, where he was very successful in organizing the early Church.  He is associated with shamrocks and is supposed to have used them to teach people about the Trinity. He may well have done just that. Many people of his time (the 5th Century AD) could neither read nor write and were taught to understand and remember things by association with familiar objects.  (In a previous post, we showed a shamrock embroidery pattern. Look for it here.)

The Golden Serpent of the Sun

One of the most interesting celebrations connected to the Spring Equinox is held at Chichen Itza's Great Pyramid in Mexico, built by the Maya people. The steps of the great pyramid at the Altar of Kukulkan were built in 365 segments representing the days of the year. The Mayan people were very advanced in the science of astronomy.  On the equinox, at dawn and at sundown, a golden serpent appears to slither down the pyramid and eventually into a stone serpent's head at the base. The The Golden Serpent of the Sun is proclaimed to have arrived.  This is a World Heritage site, preserved for all mankind, and has now been elevated to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Cherry blossoms in Senate Park

Many spring celebrations involve flowers, especially fruit tree blossoms. The most dramatic ones are held in Japan, where the cherry blossoms represent a time of renewal and an opportunity for improvement.  People band together over food and music to reunite with old friends and meet new ones.  The trees are illuminated so the celebrations can go on into the night. Similar cherry blossom celebrations occur in South Korea. The cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. are also a great tourist attraction.

I had to chuckle about Baba Marta's Day, celebrated in Belgium at the spring equinox.  According to custom,  Baba (Grandma) Marta was a waspish old lady who was almost always frowning or making faces at her two brothers. But when she DID smile, the sun came out!  People wear red-and-white yarn tassels to express their desire for good health and the coming of spring, then hang the tassels on the fruit trees when they begin to bloom.  Well, I'm not a Grandma, but I will certainly try to smile more often!)

Children celebrate Holi

Another colorful Spring holiday is Holi, celebrated in India and in other places where there are Hindu communities.  The Festival of Color begins with an evening of singing and dancing.  People light bonfires to celebrate the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.  The following day they come together to throw water and perfumed colored powders on one another. Everyone becomes very colorful and the water washes away the residue.

Another "wet" celebration is the Songkran Water Festival in Thailand, which follows closely after the Spring equinox.  This is their traditional New Year's celebration.  It is a time to clean the house, reflect on the past year, and pay your respects to family, neighbors, and the elderly.  People bring food to the Buddhist monks and clean the statues of Buddha.  Young people wash their elders' hands with scented water to achieve good luck and prosperity.  In some places there are massive water fights, now embellished with water balloons and "super soakers". But perhaps the happiest water fighters are the elephants. They are dressed up and have their skins painted in patterns of vivid colors.  They draw water into their trunks and seem to have great fun squirting it on people.

Effigies in bonfire

A colorful parade happens in Valencia, Spain. It started out long ago as a procession honoring St. Joseph, but it has changed mightily. First there is an art contest to make decorated human figures out of papier mache, cloth, wood and wax. The best 350 are placed on floats for the parade.  The idea has become popular to use the parade to protest or satirize things that the float-makers don't like. Today most of the float figures may be caricatures of politicians and celebrities— not necessarily flattering ones. The parade happens on March 18th.  On the following night, the figures from the floats are destroyed in a massive bonfire.  

We hope these "Spring Things" will give you ideas for your own celebrations — snow or not —  and make this a more hopeful and pleasant time for you this year.

Best wishes,  

Daffodil, official flower of March

 This post by Annake's Gardenis licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.