golden apple, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I got back today from Sirius Rising festival, after a week in the woods with a few hundred of my closest friends. We had a good festival. It was very good to be there, and to get away; it's also good to be home, where I can sleep in my own bed and not on an air mattress in a tent. I must find a better option by next year. My back will thank me for it.

It was hot, but not as hot as it was here in Massachusetts, so I hear. Also, there's no air conditioning when you're camping. Well, unless you have a camper with it, but I don't. The only real relief was the pool, but that was short-lived. Still, it was good to have a pool there. I didn't even mind all the people playing volleyball with big inflatable balls.

I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, because it was just too darned hot to walk around much. I did manage to get a few nice shots, even some of people.

The highlight of the week was a visit from Margot Adler. If you're Pagan and/or a fan of NPR, you probably know who she is. She was there to give a workshop (on Vampires in literature!) and participate in a panel discussion on Paganism, and she stopped by our camp for a drink one afternoon. Here she is getting her pinky nail painted green by our resident goddess, Anomie:



Margot is really nice and down-to-earth, not at all a diva (unlike some other Big Name Pagans I could mention). We had a nice discussion about a variety of topics, and it sounds as if she likes Brushwood enough to come again another time. It is rather a magickal place. I was really happy to be able to tell her in person how much her book meant to me. Drawing Down the Moon is what set me on this path, oh so many years ago.

This was my 20th trip there! Hard to believe all that time has passed. No wonder it feels like home. I've spent 20 weeks there - that's nearly five months!

My plants seem to have survived my absence (although my garden is overrun with weeds). We enjoyed the fruits of my labor the other night, eating my first tomato!



Several of the jelly bean tomatoes were ripe when I got home, so I had them with supper. Yummy!

Early bedtime tonight, I think. And back to work tomorrow. Which is my one-year anniversary at my job!

barn, house, sky, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I'm glad June is over. It wasn't the best of months. Sales were really tough, money became suddenly tight, and the weather was either rainy or stinking hot. I'm ready for July. In two weeks, I will be at Brushwood for Sirius Rising festival, with my other family for a week of fun. I can't wait.

I'm still at war with the woodchucks, who insist on eating my sunflowers even after I sprayed them with critter repellent. I'm on to ammonia-soaked rags and mothballs now. We'll see if this works. I just want pretty flowers!

I do have plenty of baby tomatoes on all my plants. I just hope they don't all ripen while I'm away! Or, wither and die from heatstroke.

I took the above pic on a walk the other night, in between thunderstorms. The sky was so dramatic! And I didn't get rained on. :)

Pan with his pipes, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I went to Tower Hill Botanical Garden with friends today. What a neat place! Lots of wonderful flowers, trees, paths through the woods, gardens, and statuary. It was a nice day for it.

Afterward, we went to see the new Star Trek movie. It was as awesome as I was hoping it would be. As good as my favorite of the old crew movies. The new cast is spot on, Benedict Cumberbatch was of course wonderful, and the action was intense and exciting. Best movie I've seen in ages.

Yesterday, I went to a plant sale and got tomato plants, dill, parsley, and columbine. I planted more flower seeds & bulbs, and the stuff I planted before is coming up. I'm keeping ahead of the Japanese knotweed (not an easy chore!). Gardening makes me happy.

In the afternoon, I went to an author panel on ghosts at Annie's Book Stop in Worcester (p_m_cryan's store) featuring morvenwestfield, jenwrites, and Terri Bruce. It was a lively conversation, very enjoyable. I bought Terri's book, Hereafter, because it sounded really interesting. It's told from a ghost's point of view.

It was a fun weekend. :)

sparkle, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Finally, it's really spring. I spent much of the day digging in the dirt; I went to a local flower supplier this morning and bought a flat of multi-colored violas, and planted them along the drive after digging out the evil weeds that had taken over there. It's that awful stuff that gets really tall, grows about a foot a day, and resembles bamboo. I am a bit sore this evening!

I have some bulbs and seeds to plant, and I need to get some soil to pot my herbs. Yay, gardening! It's been a really long time since I've been able to have one.

Next month I'll get some tomatoes at Plantapalooza in Grafton. Fresh, home-grown tomatoes! Is there anything better?