First Monday of the Merry Month of May

Then came fair May, the fairest maid on ground,
Deck'd all with dainties of the season's pride,
And throwing flowers out of her lap around. 

--Edmund Spenster--

Happy May to everyone.  Hoping your weekend went well.  Mine was wonderful. Actually went out to Coney Island yesterday afternoon and sat for awhile watching the waves.  I couldn't take any pictures because I don't have my camera.  My son went on vacation to visit a friend in Michigan, and I lent it to him.  (Just didn't have the heart to say 'no'.) Came home, found the house empty, put on some of my Celtic music, lit a few candles and danced about the room.  Now, mind you, I've never been much of a dancer, but who cared?  No one was home to see me.  Of course, the dance was over almost as quickly as it started because the old body is not used to that much exercise. 

Later, we had a dinner of roasted chicken, yams, and string beans...followed by a dessert of the sweetest strawberries I've had in a long time with a dollop of cream on top.  It would have been all the more perfect had it been the long weekend I had planned, but things don't always work out as we want them to.  I realized after I requested the day that we were scheduled for another of those boring trainings.  Now, because they are mandatory, I would have had to take it in the future....and that involved traveling up to the Bronx and taking the course with strangers....so I decided to do it and get it over with.  I'll have tomorrow off instead.  

I was surprised to hear this morning that they killed Bin Laden.  Wasn't expecting to hear something like that.  They were dancing in the streets here in the city.  My only hope would be that some kind of peace will follow, but I know that will not be.   There will be someone to take his place...and then to take his place, and on it will go.  Until we learn love, forgiveness, and tolerance of each other, I fear there will always be hate, war, and unnecessary killings in this world. 

Traditionally May, the fifth month of the year, is the Merry Month.  It may have been named after Maia, the Roman goddess of spring and growth.  There was also a Greek goddess, Maia, who, along with her six sisters, the gods transformed into stars called the Pleiades. The Anglo Saxons who settled in Britain called May Thrimilce which means three times milking.  This is because the cows feasting on the rich, green grass can be milked up to three times a day in May.

The flower of May is the Lily of the Valley. In Ireland, this flower was called a fairy ladder because the people believed that the fairies climbed up and down in the stalks of these plants. Emerald is the birthstone for May. The flowers are blooming and  many birds have built their nests, and mother birds are sitting on the eggs, which will soon hatch. I've been doing a lot of bird watching as well. Not only have I been entranced with the baby Eagles, but I also found a hummingbird nest to watch. 

Sadly, when mama flew off in search of food, the second egg, which was hatching, was somehow attached to her leg. The little one fell to the ground and was thought to be lost, but after an hour, the host saw that it was still moving and placed it back in the nest. Lots of energy and movement from the little one, but mama just could not get it to eat. So yesterday, the host took it from the nest and placed it in the hands of what they call a Rehabber, someone who cares for abandoned or injured birds. Gosh, I am learning so much from these Ustreams. It just amazes me how truly tiny and delicate these little hummingbirds are. This nest is in a rose bush; the thorns were bigger than the babes when they were born.  Anyone interested can check it out at.  Go full screen and it's one of the most beautiful screensavers I have seen.

Hummingbird Nest Cam

This is the month of the house of Taurus ( April 21 - May 21) and the house of Gemini (22 May - June 21).  Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, symbolized by the ‘Sacred Bull’ or ‘Heavenly bull’, and in ancient Egypt Taurus represented fertility and development or growth; it was linked closely with the success of the land to produce. Taurus reflects the second phase of the journey of the sun, and of the child relating to the early teen years.

Gemini, the third sign of the zodiac, is  symbolized by the ‘Celestial Twins’. The word Gemini is Latin meaning ‘twin’.  It has often been suggested that this symbolism indicates the need for the Gemini to find a partner, someone close or to feel needed, an important part of something.  In ancient Greek mythology the twins of ‘Castor’ (mortal) and ‘Pollux’ (immortal) were associated with the sign, being the sons of ‘Zeus’ and ‘Leda’. Zeus gave immortality to both upon the killing of Castor. Gemini reflects the third phase of the journey of the sun, and of the child developing from the teen years through adolescence to young adulthood.

"The wind is tossing the lilacs,
The new leaves laugh in the sun,
And the petals fall on the orchard wall,
But for me the spring is done.

Beneath the apple blossoms
I go a wintry way,
For love that smiled in April
Is false to me in May."

-  Sara Teasdale-