We never lost control.

Who the hell really knows. I sure don't.

[petaltexturedskies]

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

[hisa-88]

"Ascending Dragon"

This is a picture I took of Namego Valley, deep in the mountains of Nara Prefecture. This place is located in a very remote location and is called one of the most beautiful spots in Japan by those in the know. There are deciduous forests along the dark green coniferous mountain ridges, and during the fall foliage season, the scenery looks like a dragon ascending to the heavens. This view, which appears quietly only during the few days of the best-conditioned fall season every year, is truly a beautiful art created by nature.

[embroiderycrafts]

Baba Yaga’s house embroidery I just finished! by holfwaley666_

[knightowlet]

Do y’all think siblings in medieval times would look at the little beasts in illuminated manuscripts and point at each other like ‘ha! ‘Tis thou!’

[frnkieroismydaddy]

Oh my GOD

[spiced-wine-fic]

The willow woman.

Photo taken by The Henge Shop, Avebury.

[thewoodbetween]

“Good Night “ by Martina Heiduczek.

[psikonauti]

Lynn Boggess (American, b. 1955)

4 February 2022, 2022

Oil on canvas

[hedgehog-moss]

Aside from the wind, this place was cathedral-silent.

[hedgehog-moss]

The sky was so fuzzy and dreamy today while the snowy fields remained sharp and clear, which made for a very neat horizon line… then in the late afternoon the clouds won this argument and the landscape started dissolving in the distance.

[rhubarbes]

Genévrier de phénicie, Ceyreste, France. Crédit photo : Daniel Groux

via Botanique Jardins Paysages

[hedgehog-moss]

Some pics from yesterday of my favourite sight: autumn with just a touch of winter.

[hedgehog-moss]

I’m reading a book on the history of man-made monsters and at one point it casually mentions “the famous Pope Formosus, who was the focus of the terrifying Cadaver Synod.” I can’t believe I went to Catholic school and was never taught about this… what’s the point. It turns out that in the 9th century a Pope decided to sue the previous pope, who had died the year before, and so naturally they dug up his corpse and dressed it in full pope outfit to hold the trial in his “presence”. The dead pope was pronounced guilty and cancelled (his papacy was declared null). Then the next pope held another synod that uncancelled him and forbade future cadaver trials. Then the next-next pope went “no, digging up a corpse to sue it was a good idea” and re-cancelled Formosus. Lesser-known chapter of Catholic Church history. 

What does this have to do with man-made monsters you might say—my book mentions that among other things Formosus was accused of dabbling in alchemy and creating a “frog with huge eyes” who showed “diabolical intelligence.” The brief mention of him ends with

if the pope’s sentient evil frog actually existed rest assured that it was possibly destroyed

[leopardheart-deactivated2023022]

life is so good when you enjoy rain and snow and sunshine and starlight and wind and mornings and twilights and spring and autumn. to pay attention to weather and natural phenomena is to hack the days of the year into bringing you many gifts, predictable, perhaps, yet no less delightful

[despazito]

I think it's so important to have a "nature" calendar in your head, like a way of tracking time that's completely separate from anything work or obligation related, not holidays or anything stressful. For instance I look forward to august because at 8pm every night house finches hang around my window for a few weeks. In spring I love waiting for the magnolias to blossom. Just ways of tracking the time with zero stakes that's completely removed from life's zeitgeist and that you really look forward to

[kowabungadoodles]

The Japanese traditional (old) calendar breaks the year up into 72 micro-seasons or kō each lasting just 3-4 days. 

Each one is a tiny yearly event in the natural world, given its own little slot to be appreciated and celebrated. 

Here’s just a few:

March 6–10   蟄虫啓戸  Hibernating insects surface March 11–15 桃始笑   First peach blossoms

July 12–16   蓮始開   First lotus blossoms July 17–22   鷹乃学習 Hawks learn to fly

October 18–22 蟋蟀在戸 Crickets chirp around the door

October 23–27 霜始降  First frost

I’ve always thought this was lovely, and I’d love to know what the micro seasons would look like for other countries. 

More info here

[hedgehog-moss]

Some pics from a cheese contest that took place at the village yesterday :) The cows responsible for the cheese were invited and had their own contests on the side, with a little podium for cows constructed out of hay bales. When Licorice the cow won a prize, the little girl that was leading her climbed on the makeshift podium proudly but hesitantly (“is that thing stable….?”)—meanwhile Licorice was rushing her, like let me climb up there! I won! It was so cute.

There were buffets where you could blind-taste dozens of different cheeses, a separate contest for cheese pastries, and a mini-street market outside where among other things local farmers were selling their cheeses in little cardboard cones like French fries.

The librarian’s husband told me he had been selected as jury member for one of the cheese pastry competitions and had to taste 24 different pastries over the course of the morning. He got to take the 3rd prize winning pastry home and then gave me a big slice of it (“for your dinner”) as he did not intend to eat cheese again in any configuration for at least a week.

^ I loved that strange little fellow. It’s a toy cheese press!

[hedgehog-moss]

I had a great time this afternoon watching the children graze together because—don’t they look in perfect harmony?

But the dark truth is, every time Pyrgus got too many flies in his eyes or ears (which was often), he turned and just wiped his entire face all over Pampoldine.

(Took me a while to capture the exact moment of the crime)

Poldine’s expressions ranged from polite disgust, to cold seething, to ready-to-snap exhaustion.

[hedgehog-moss]

The feminine urge to shake your head like a dog fifty times a day when you finally go from long hair to a swishy bob