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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F
ULL 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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OUT OF THE DOG DAYS. August 11 is the official last day of what is known as the “Dog Days,” those 40 days that began July 3 and coincide with the ancient rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. We call them the dog days for that reason, though these are also the days in which there is the year’s least rainfall. The term “Dog Days” was used by the Greeks as well as the ancient Romans, who called these days caniculares dies (translated as days of the dogs), again after the rise of Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. How do I know? I’m the writer of The Naturalist’s Datebook on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 and XM 157. Listen up. (And that’s my best friend, Otter, above, shot by his best friend, my daughter.)
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THE OLD DAYS: In Grandma's garden.
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.
