The Gathering

The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit is to be joyless.




Dorothy Sayers

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Hello Linda

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Now it's Autumn. Most people cal it The Fall, I call it The Gathering. "Fall" is too much of a negative word, too close to Fail. Nothing should fall in Autumn except leaves, eventually, after they have blessed us with Nature's miraculous paint job.



But the Gathering is a more appropriate title for the last full season of the year. It's a time to reap and gather in the crops, all kinds of crops. The ideas that were formed last winter, were planted in The Spring and grew into realization are waiting to be gathered up and enjoyed.



Autumn is a time for joy and celebration, a time to look over the accomplishments of the year and rejoice. It's not a time to dread the approaching winter or to regret that more was not accomplished. No, the Autumn attitude should be a joyous one full of gratitude and thanksgiving.



The Gathering is a time for New England clam bakes on the beach, for shucking the ears of corn and boiling them up, a time for pumpkin pies and fresh cranberries.



Autumn is a time to go back to school. a time for concert, opera and ballet seasons to begin and baseball season to wind up and throw it's final World Series pitch.



Autumn is a time for families, for home and for preparation. Winter is my favorite season, but I love The Gathering.



DB - Vagabond Journeys

Never give up.

Winter Wings

Winter comes in on eagles' wings.

Dana Bate
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Hello Jon
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During the past decade I spent one Christmas in sunny southern California, one in frozen northern Vermont and all the rest in unpredictable eastern Pennsylvania. Being an incurable northeasterner I enjoyed the Vermont Christmas the most, I think. The people, the cats, even the snow covered back yard.

I don't know what the reason is for actually looking forward to the winter months. Maybe it's age, experience, the robust challenge of dealing with cold weather: snow, sleet, freezing rain and temperatures below any human comfort.

Winter is a time for learning lessons. How strong am I? How adroit am I at getting over snow banks and down icy sidewalks? How prepared am I at putting up with the slap of brazen winds? And how well, when the end of the year festivities are over and the last lifeless bit of champagne from the New Years Even party has been tilted from the bottom of the glass, will I deal with the dregs of the long winter to follow, it's depressions and it's relentless lack of colors? The shortness of the daylight and the length of the darkness? The emotional temptations of the attacks from the nasty angel on my aloneness?

I do look forward to Winter in spite of all those things because I know how strong I will prove myself to be. And in spite of my cane and my geezerness (geezerality? geezership? geezerosity?) I shall face the flapping, predatory wings of Winter with cheerfulness. And I will do that because I want to.

DB - The Vagabond
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Look here.

This is an invitation for anyone and everyone to post a entry of their own on my journal, Vagabond Journeys http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/.

The end of the year holidays are soon upon us and since it is a time for celebrations, remembrances, resolutions and plans for the future I know that people have a lot to say.

Not to take away from the postings on your journals, but to add to the joy of my own celebrations is why I invite you to write for mine.

I want to read what your thoughts are about this magical time of the year. This invitation is open to everyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Agnostics, Atheists and the Uncertain.

Tell me your thoughts on Chanukah, Christmas, Ashura, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, New Years Eve. or any subject you wish or associate with this holiday season.

There are no limits in regard to length. The only limitation is that, for reasons so far unexplained to me, my blog does not take photographs, animations, videos or pictures of any kind. I deal in words.

Please accept my invitation. Send your entry to my email address dbdacoba@aol.com I will copy and paste it into my journal and it will be displayed promptly. You may sign your name or not as you wish, and you may leave a link to your blog or your email or not, as you wish. I will do NO editing or censoring. Eloquence is not necessary, mind or heart or both is all.

I have 8 Guest Authors so far. Check them out. Can i hear from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America? All are welcome. Admission is free.

DB
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October Snow

The world is a strange affair.

Moliere
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Hello Diane
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Yesterday was October 29, a nice warm Autumn day with pretty leaves and cool gentle breezes, birds cheerily chirping around the bird bath. Right? Wrong. It dropped to below freezing here and it snowed. A classic Winter day. Folks here in the northeast were in a state of shock. The car isn't winterized yet, the snow tires are still in the garage and there's ice on the roads. The boots and parkas are in the back of the closet and you can't find the mittens. Where's the snow shovel? You had an appointment to have the furnace checked but the man couldn't get to you because he was snowed in.

Trees came down, power lines came down, you can't watch the football game or hear the weather forecast. What's for dinner? Cold cuts. What's the loud scraping sound? It's the snow plow going down your street.

Will there be a snow man on the village green? Will you get hit by a snow ball? Will you throw one? Will they run the New York City Marathon in snow shoes this year.

It is impossible to be prepared for every eventuality in life, particularly when it comes to the shenanigans that Mother Nature pulls, but it does make sense to refrain from undue shock. Anything is possible. We might as well get used to it.

Trick or treat.

DB - The Original Vagabond
Never Give Up
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 5 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
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A Winter Song

Spring comes to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest.

William Shakespeare
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Hello Baffin Island
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Yesterday was a cold, wet, windy day here in eastern Pennsylvania. As I walked the two blocks back to my apartment house, huddled in my jacket which was not quite warm enough, I thought how much it resembled a winter day.

That made me reflect on how things were with me during the Winter. No matter what the weather is life goes on, and winter weather is the kind that prompts indoor activities, taking stock of personal things and some introspection. As I walked along against the wind I thought about where I was in January, How much did I gain, of self awareness and strength of purpose. How much did I lose, of negativity, arrogance and futile dreams.

The Winter was a time of rebuked pride, weakening of body but raising of standards, a time of chastisement for past errors, healing strokes for recent rebukes and recognition of personal worth. It was a time for weeding out thoughts that were contributing to confusion, planting new ideas and gathering up lessons learned.

As Spring came with its tearful buckets of bad national and international news I knew I could retreat into the safety and warmth of my own barn surrounded by the accomplishments of another year. I can peer out with hope for the well being of the world, know that the music is still being played, the paintings are still on display and the curtains are still going up, and even though I'm not there I can be grateful for the fact that my life is still a life being lived.

When the last Christmas decoration has been taken down, the last piece of pumpkin pie has been eaten, the last thank you card has been sent and the New Year has been welcomed in, then is the time to tend the inner crops, the rich fields of experience, aspiration and love. And then, when you are ripe and ready, gather up the harvest of your Winter and welcome the Spring.

DB - The Vagabond
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This Week's Contest - Answers

You were ordered to take a famous remark, a cliche or otherwise and restate it in the most verbose manner possible. Example:

Night is an inappropriate time for the manufacture of animal feed.
(Make hay while the sun shines.)

There were 6 excellent replies;
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a lump of old coal on the far reaches of the golf course
Sue
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Not for all the herbs in Asia

Avians of similar plumage congregate amongst themselves

A lupine in ovine's garb

The chirography instrument is more invincible than the foil

Janice Slack
jamcs605@aol.com
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One is wiser not to place their heavy, opened, two-wheeled vehicle, used for the conveyance of their goods, drawn by their large, solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped, in front of its mouth, but to place it behind its hindquarters (a.k.a its arse).
Val
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It was a difficult choice but the judge is awarding the first place prize to Val for the sheer verbosity of the cart before the horse.

Second place is tough, but it's going to Sue for the diamond in the rough.

And third prize to Janice for the pen being mightier than the sword.

Thank you all. Excellent work.
There may be another puzzle this week, if I have the stamina for it.
DB
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.

Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

4 answers so far

I eagerly await your answer.

DB,
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A Winter Song

In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.

Albert Camus
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It allows the trees to sleep and dream of leaves, squirrels and birds.

It gives the squirrels an unblocked sight to help them remember where they buried their provisions.

It gives the tiny birds of the north a season away from the bitter Arctic winds.

It wraps the twigs and wires in bright and glistening rain drops.

It holds up the branches of evergreens to boldly catch the strong whiteness.

It brings out the heavy gear to push and stomp.

It allows the child to slide and sled.

It pastes the fallen leaves into the Spring's mosaic.

It makes the kitchen an even more welcome place.

It stores up its history in icicles.

It records the commerce of the beasts in foot prints.

It touches the cheek with cool kisses.

It brightens the moon and beclouds the sun.

It redefines the landscape.

It brings people together.

DB
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WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?

dbdacoba@aol.com

Only 3 responses so far

I await your answer.
DB
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Here's a quick one, if you read this far.
Something happened on August 28, 888 that didn't happen again until February 2, 2000. What was it?

In My World

You don't have to save the world, but you can be in the world - that's where the beauty comes from.

Daphne Zuniga
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I went for a walk today. It was cold. Very cold. No snow, no wind, just cold. Classic winter type cold, dead leaves on the sidewalk, bare branches, even the sunlight seemed cold.

It was a day of promise. Winter is coming, snow is coming, Ashura is coming, Christmas is coming, Hanukah is coming, end of the year festivities are coming, a new year is coming.

I live in the Northeast. I have always lived in the Northeast, much of the time in New England, most of it in New York City, now I live in Pennsylvania. In the Northeast the winters can be brutal but beautiful. The snow piles up into barricades. The snow is a gentle miracle. Ice makes traveling treacherous. Ice covers the branches with jewels. The wind is fierce and biting. The wind makes music through the trees.

Winter in the Northeast is hard. Winter in the Northeast is beautiful.

I am grateful to be in my world.

DB - The Vagabond
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Weekend Puzzle

Okay weekend puzzlers. I'm back.

Identify the following.

1. In black face.

2. With pips.

3. Three with jazz.

4. Still with no band.

5. With blue eyes.

6. With a megaphone.

Good luck.
DB
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Cheerful Creation 3/12/09

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.

Albert Camus
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Greetings invisible friend.
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I used to live in the up country of northern New England. The summers there were hot and filled with foliage of all kinds. The mountains.were wrapped in green forests and up above the bright sun would light up the summits. Down below the grass, the bushes, wild things, fields of vegetables and fruits, back yards of flowers were all, humbly or grandly reaching for the sky.

But the winter is an entirely different matter. People who live there know that in the summer and autumn they have to prepare for the winter. Have you got the wood in and the hay, is your furnace working properly, are the car and truck in good shape, is there a shovel in the back just in case, do you have the proper coats, boots, scarves, hats and mittens for your kids? Because when the winter comes, it comes in fierce and it doesn't go away. The snow piles up. Driving is treacherous. Everything freezes. Low lying unoccupied buildings simply disappear. Every day is cold. The evergreen branches are embraced by ice. It seems like the grand forests, the singing fields of corn and the joyous gardens were never there. As though it was all a dream.

But the people know it will be back and that you have to prepare for summer also. Leon Bibb has a song: "one day another spring." It sings about ancient fingers poking seeds into the earth. The "invincible summer" is coming, because it's always there in the hearts of us. The time always comes when the fields are once again filled with life.

There are winters everywhere. They may not last half a year as they do in some places, They may not be outside the door. They may be in the cold of grief and despair, poverty, confusion, disappointment, failure, fear, gloom and doubt. Those are winter winds that blow an angry message to the heart, ice storms we weren't prepared for.

I know what I'm writing about. And as impossible as it may seem, in the midst of winter, "in the depth of winter," caught in a storm of sorrow. is the time to start preparing for joy. Get the seeds ready because "one day another spring" and then "invincible summer," with forests of green, rivers fast and robust with the melting mountain snow, brave, small green things taking the place of the fields of ice, the reappearing happiness that was buried for a while and rejoicing, rejoicing, because that is what we are supposed to do.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
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Now repeat after me:
Happy Birthday Vagabond