Moon Diary & Pigeon Falls

I am a compulsive diarist - diaries of all kinds. I kept a moon diary for the entire lunation of last November - December. I drew a picture of the moon's appearance on every day, and logged the daily stats of moonrise, transit time, meridian height, angle, and moonset. A little information on tides and one or two snippets from the daily doings in the troll-hole were thrown in for good measure. Here is a photo of part of it hanging in our stairway drying. Mixed media - monotype, photography, collage, gouache.



On Marriage

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the wind of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver to the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each others' keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.


Concerning Marriage, from The Prophet Kahlil Gibran

Pigeon Falls

This is Pigeon Falls, not far from my house. It's where I take the dogs for their walks, although the little dog doesn't like it much, it is too rough and noisy for her on a day like today following rain, the water running quite fast rushing past the ancient rocks. So I went on my own today with the big dog Bogey. He loves it there, he leaps through the water and over the rocks, but he knows not to go near the very steep bit. I only got pictures of the gentler part of the falls today, as the rocks were very wet, I nearly slipped trying to get pictures near the edge of a steep drop in my wellies, so I came back to the safe bit. One day when I go there with O'Peat I will climb down to the bottom and try and get pictures of the really dramatic bits to show you.

This is a very special place. I would say it was a shinto shrine - it has a feeling of great natural power and gathered spirits. Today the sun came out when I was there, I spread my waterproof on the grass beside a little beach and sat and stared at the pebbles as they warmed in the rays of the sun. Dark spots flashed up on them as if from within - invisible raindrops that you can only see when they darken the surface of the stone. I feel a dark gush of love inside when I come here, and then peace, deep peace. The healing combs of water tumbling, rushing and dropping. The huge sky above my head, the sun on my face, and the quiet trees watching. The mountains avoiding my gaze as I am but a nanosecond to them.

The beauty and variety of the rocks and stones here is staggering. Here are two that I picked out today and laid on a little ledge of mossy rock in a nook beside the gentle part of the falls, beneath sheltering fir.