Marion Roach Smith’s alternate sisterly reality, with Margaret Roach.
ON THIS DAY in 1934 is the birth of one of the goddesses of conservation, Jane Goodall. She was 26 years old in the summer of 1960, when she arrived on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa to study the area’s chimpanzee population. We are grateful every day that she stuck with it, and designate her a sister we admire. You know we do this on occasion, yes? No? Either way, please read on. [click to continue…]
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On this, the Vernal Equinox, the Sun rises exactly in the east, travels through the sky for 12 hours and sets exactly in the west. On the Equinox this is the motion of the Sun through the sky for everyone on earth, with all of us together experiencing the same 12 hours of sunlight. A lovely thing to ponder, maybe we should all consider how nature provides for us strong indicators of our sameness. We’ve just left winter, of course, as marked when the sun was its lowest path in the sky on the Winter Solstice. After that day the sun has been following a higher and higher path through the sky each day until it is in the sky, as it is today, for exactly 12 hours. After the Spring Equinox, the Sun continues a higher path through the sky, and days grow longer, until the Summer Solstice on June 21st. Here in the northern hemisphere, let’s enjoy this first — and every day — of spring.
How do I know this? I write and record the daily almanac piece entitled The Naturalist’s Datebook, heard exclusively on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157. Listen up. And see my other TSP almanac pieces here, including a piece on how I change my diet each month at the full moon, as well as at the new moon.
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March 19, 2011 is the full moon, this month known as the Full Worm Moon. We take our full moon names from our Native American traditions, though the full moon of march has many other names as well as this one. Want to learn more? [click to continue…]
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THE FIRST WOMAN to set foot on Antarctica did so today in 1935. Granted she was not the first person to set foot there — a man had stepped onto the continent more than a hundred years earlier, beginning what is known as the “heroic era” of Antarctic exploration — but we celebrate Caroline Mikkelson, who was accompanying her husband, Captain Klarius Mikkelsen, a whaling captain, on an expedition. And why not?
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FULL SNOW MOON. That is the name of February’s full moon. We take our names for the full moon from the Native American tradition, and this one seems obvious, especially this year, when there has been so much snow, including in places that rarely sees such events as snowstorms. But this moon has also been known as the Full Hunger Moon, which addresses the tragic circumstances when something occurs to affect what food was put up for the winter, and supplies have run out, resulting in widespread hunger in the villages. And while the name of this month’s moon may need no explanation, maybe the moon’s position could use a little. Have you noticed that the moon’s position in the sky seems to change with the seasons? The path changes as one month leads to the next having to do with the sun and the tilt of the earth. That being the case, full moons are very high in the sky at midnight between November and February and low from May to July.
How do I know this? I write and record the daily almanac piece entitled The Naturalist’s Datebook, heard exclusively on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157. Listen up. And see my other TSP almanac pieces here, including a piece on how I change my diet each month at the full moon, as well as at the new moon.
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MARCH’S FULL MOON is on the 29th of the month. It is known as the Full Worm Moon. Why? [click to continue…]
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THE LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY will bring the Full Snow Moon, rising at the eleventh hour and 38th minute of the day. As with all full moons, the name comes from the Native American tradition. This name is fairly self-explanatory, though among some Native American people, February’s full moon was known as the Full Hunger Moon since winter conditions can make hunting very difficult. How do I know this? I write and record the daily almanac piece entitled The Naturalist’s Datebook, heard exclusively on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157. Listen up. And see my other TSP almanac pieces here, including a recent piece on how I change my diet at the full moon, as well as at the new moon, each month.
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THE NEW MOON was February 13th, and as I do at each new moon, I changed diets. Why? Because it seems to control my otherwise crazy hormone-related mood swings. And twinges. And joint pain, and any former inflammation-related flare-ups. And I do this whether or not anyone else believes in this. I do it for me. My best friend gives me a lot of grief about this. He swears it can’t work. He swears it’s crazy, but he’s not a woman, so he doesn’t know what a little moon shine can do for a woman. And when will I change to my other diet? On the Full Snow Moon, of course, the full moon of February, which this year occurs on February 28. Want to know more? It’s all right here.
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DANCING ON TABLETOPS? And why not? On February 5, 1959 Marilyn Monroe, Karen Blixen, and Carson McCullers had lunch. Oh yeah, Arthur Miller was there, too. Taking place in Nyack, New York, the event was hosted by McCullers in honor of the great Karen Blixen, whose pen name, of course, is Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa). The menu consisted of soufflé, oysters, grapes and champagne. After lunch there was dancing. On the table top. On the solid marble table top, to be specific. Or so I’ve read. And I love every word.
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AT THE SECOND HOUR and the 30th minute of today, the moon was officially full. December’s full moon is known as the Full Cold Moon, a name we have taken from the Native American tradition. It is also known as the Full Long Nights Moon, because during the month of December, when winter cold fastens its grip, the midwinter night is indeed long, and the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun. Yet another name for this moon is the Moon before Yule, which makes perfect sense, of course. This December we actually have two full moons, this one, and one on December 31, which this year will officially be called the Full Long Nights Moon. How do I know this? I write and record the daily almanac piece entitled The Naturalist’s Datebook, heard exclusively on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157. Listen up. And see my other TSP almanac pieces here, including a recent piece on how I change my diet at the full moon, as well as at the new moon, each month.
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BIKING WITH MOM: Nowhere is our story more two-sided than on the topic of our mother.
First time here? Here's the idea: The Sister Project is a network of blogs about the many facets of the word sister, and the concept of sisterhood. A sisterhood of sister blogs, you could say. Whatever sister means to you, from identical twin to sister-in-law (or in friendship or in feminism), we’ll make room to listen in about it or express it on TSP. Like the slogan up top on our homepage says, “Don’t you have something to say to your sister?” We've got galleries of art and literature by and about sisters, and a Sisterpedia of sisterly trivia...but now we're getting ahead of ourselves. The quick study: Learn more about TSP, and how to find your way around. And oh—a giant, sisterly welcome.
