Mystical Mundane

Well, to me summer begins at Beltaine. In May. I judge it more on hours of daylight. Hitting their peak yesterday, the hours now quietly grow shorter. In places that get very hot in the summer, this is much appreciated. :) So, first full day of High Summer. For the second day in a row we have summer like weather. The Sun King was more gentle than ever in our neck of the woods this year, but it seems like the season is now progressing normally again. I'm outside watching the boys play. It's just about 12:30. Sky is mostly clear. There are some birds nesting in some birdhouses on the support beams of patio, so as I sit here, they fly back and forth, bringing food to the new baby swallows. Demetrio is wearing shorts, and spiderman boots. When you're two and a half, those favourite boots are pretty important. Dante, almost four, is a bit more practical and is content with his sandals. Demetrio has hit a milestone. He has decided he doesn't want to be rocked to sleep in ...

He had been growing in strength gently and with patience. Stretching the days long, so that Brother Robin had only a short rest between singing his farewell at nightfall and emerging from his nest again in the morn to sing us into wakefulness. His gentle warmth had brought the quince flowers to fulness, and with care brought the blossoms to their death so that the fruit could grow. The Earth Mother loved his companionship, but it was now time for the cycle to complete. It was time for self sacrifice. Such had been the way since time eternal. She kissed him then. They danced one final dance. Then, he removed his crown. He removed his robes. Freed from the protective restraints of his garments, he exploded into an abundance of light. He grew brighter and hotter, even as the days grew shorter. The intense heat from his rupture caused the fruits to ripen and the corn to stand tall. The Dying Sun King scorched the land with his last breaths, until exhausted, his last bit of essence ...

But it doesn't feel like it. The days are long however. Its ten pm now and the sky, although dark, still has a tiny hint of light in it. The hint is made even less by the overcast sky. My sixteen year old son is still not at home. He's at his dads now. Not sure if it is permanent or not. Ooh, the wind has started up. I'm sitting out back on the balcony. Listening to too many cars whizzing past. There used to be no road back here. Just a few neighbours yards touching, then a green space leading toward the traintracks and beyond. I could sit out here at night and listen to frogs, crickets, nightbirds and sometimes coyotes. Now its cars. Racing past on this road that spits out onto the highway. A 'super' walmart and a home depot grace the stretch of asphalt also. Thankfully trees block out a good portion of the atrocity. Rather I just see, and hear all the vehicles until they get past the traintracks, then I can no longer see them as the meander round the curve. Can st...