Harvest Moon Musings (Maggie)

The Full Moon of August is often known as the Harvest Moon. It seems far too early to me, and yet, I can't argue with the evidence. Sweet, sweet, sweet corn is available at roadside stands every few miles along the meandering roads in any direction I care to take, out here where I live. Tomatoes are ripening. And the leaves are even beginning to turn. In Wiccan tradition, the moon marks out cycles, and we can find its phase reflected in every aspect of our lives if we choose to look hard enough. The New moon is the beginning of a whole new cycle. The full moon is when activity within that cycle reaches its peak, and as the moon wanes, as it's doing right now, the cycle is winding down and getting ready to come to an end. Dark moon is the absolute end, and the momentary pause between breaths, likened to the pause between death and rebirth.

The seasons, too, are reflected in our lives. Things begin in spring, grow and peak in summer, wane in the fall, and winter is that time of stasis, between death and rebirth. Same pattern, longer periods of time.

Right now the moon is waning, and so are the seasons. Things are winding down and wrapping up. Things are getting ready to end. Sometimes--almost always, in fact--endings are sad and difficult for we humans. But they're always for the best, and there's always something better waiting in the wings to step in. It's hard to see it when you're in the middle of an ending--I know having been through lots of them. But later, in hindsight, you look back and realize it had to happen, and that a lot of good things you have now, wouldn't have come to be without that ending.

So hold onto that when you're going through the sad kinds of endings, and maybe it'll help.

I'll tell you one ending I won't be sorry to see, though--the ending of all this rebuilding on the house. Or at least this cycle of it. It's not over yet, though. In fact, the fullness of summer seems to be holding on in that aspect of my life. Things have taken off at a rapid pace during this very early stage of fall, and it should be waning right on time with the season.

This is the ceiling in my kitchen. When we tore down the old ceiling, after the fire, we found a sloping ceiling underneath it, and I decided to keep it. It's now nearly covered in knotty pine tongue-and-groove boards, which have had coat after coat of stain and varnish applied until they gleam.

The color of the pine boards is almost identical to the color of my kitchen cabinets (which will be the next thing to go in--yay!) We had trouble finding a color, but when we applied a base coat of one and a second coat of a totally different shade, we got exactly what we were looking for. And by we, I mean the crew of fabulous people working for my contractor on this job. Jason, Keith, Ken, Mark, and Jamey the lone female, have been fun to be around. They're the one part of all this I WILL miss when it's finally done.

Dozer will miss them too. He waits for them every morning, and when he hears them arrive, whines until I let him go out and say hello. They play with him every single morning for a few minutes before getting started, and he loves it. He's going to wonder what happened when they stop coming around.

Another ending.

House stuff never truly ends, though. I've got a ton of projects lined up for next year, (deck, hot tub, pool, garage--though that's probably at least two years worth of projects, huh?) And one big one I just discovered for this year--my roof is leaking and needs tending to. There's a wet spot inside one of the hall closets, and even a bit of mold. That'll have to be dealt with right away. My chimney, too, needs rather immediate attention. Always more to do.

One thing I hope will be ending soon, is the major inconvenience of having my road closed within a stone's throw of my house, which means I have to drive an extra 8 to 9 miles (round trip) just to get to the local gas station, store, or Post Office. What a pain.

I'm going to miss summer! Fortunately, it has a habit of coming back again. And I do love Fall, so all is well.

What cycles do you see in your life that seem to follow the seasons, or the moon? For me, the lunar one involves my energy levels, to a really noticeable extent. I always feel more energized when the moon is waxing, new to full, and then it starts to fade as it goes from full to dark.

Another thing that just ended was work on another novel, BLOODLINE. The waiting time for ANGEL'S PAIN is nearly at an end, as that book goes on sale in just one month, and more likely will begin showing up a week before its October 1 release date. I've been trying to dive into a new novella while the moon wanes, and the energy hasn't been there. Maybe when it's new again in a few short days it will really take off.

Anyone else noticing these patterns? Let me know, we can compare notes.

Maggie