As it is, every 4th of July, I would like to offer you all a prayer, a wish, a blessing, a hope for a Peaceful Life and Community of Spirit. We are literally all one Hue-Man Family of Rainbow Light! We must remember this, it is fundamental to our continued existence. We are the Universe Looking at Itself, and we better learn to love what we see.

I write this, because right now, in the mountains of New Mexico, a vast community of humans is celebrating this at the Annual Rainbow Gathering.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Home-for-the-gathering

I met my wife a the Gathering, many years ago, found myself, and got grounded, hard. So I try to remember what is really important on the 4th, an perfect time to remember these principals.

This is a paragraph from my entry last year: http://wildwose.livejournal.com/28157.html

"So the Gatherings are this vast panoply of the human experience. Certainly they have there seedy underbellies, as all of human culture does. But above it all, floats this higher ideal of equality and spirit. Much like the American Dream that the Nationals celebrate on the 4th, the Gathering has a standard that ultimately each participant must strive towards. When Thomas Jefferson wrote these famous lines, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.", I believe he understood his own and his culture of the times, hypocrisy. Yet, the lines speak so eloquently to the future ideals that appeal to all humankind. I find it a wonder that this simple letter, this Declaration of Independence, intended to be only between the signers and King George of England, has come to represent the American soul and to be used as proof of our higher goals. Those rights aren't given to us by our government. They are our birthright as humans. It is our governments responsibility to protect them for us and through this ideal, the rest of the the planet. Despite our prejudice, our addictions, our bad habits, and misunderstandings, each time we are challenged to live up to these ideals, sometimes with much back sliding and abuse, we ultimately do the right thing, as a people and perhaps a family. It is a wonderful fact that in the spirit of new equality that the early Americans referred to each other as Brother and Sister. Perhaps again one day."

Well, one more May festival to go. I am so far behind on catching up, I might be going backwards. However, I like to post a festival report for every event we do, and it has been a busy season. This one is the last of our Month of May festival, and we have actually just come home from another one, but that will come later.

Like the previous festival, the Maryland Faerie Festival was celebrating it's 5th year in 2009. The show had a set back last year, with a scheduling conflict for the site it using resulting in it being held in June. That weekend turned out to be one of the record breaking dangerously hot periods in MD last year and there were severe complications due to it. I wrote about it Here. The show survived and thrived, and as is often the case, will need a couple of years to reset and reboot. But they sure made a great start of it this year and excelled despite the rough weather, because, well, it has been a wet spring.



( Following the bouncing bubble.... )

The 5th Annual Greenbelt Green Man Festival was on May 8th-10th. Excellent little show. Happens in historic Greenbelt, Maryland at the Art Deco Roosevelt Center. We have attended 3 of the last 4 shows there, only missing a year due to car trouble and stress from our move. It's a great show, other than some logistic difficulties, and the last of our small community shows we do. Everything else is large events drawing thousands, but due to that wonderful theme, celebrating the Green Man and Ecology, and the fact that we have an excellent collector base that makes it profitable, and it being run by several friends, and getting to stay with our dear Sister/Friend Heather and her family..well, we keep coming back.



( Come along to see lots more pictures... )

But I will giving it a try over the next few days. We have just come off a a string of shows, three weekends in a row. Which is a nothing compared to the the nine weekends in a row we do at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, except....at MDRF we are in a permanent booth, the same location, a easy 2.5 hour drive, and have a nice trailer to stay in. Spring shows are an entirely different matter, each event in a different location, and a booth and campsite to set up and tear down, sometimes repetitively. The three weekends in May the weather has been spotty, and at times, down right nasty, as those who live in the Mid-Atlantic well know. Add to that, we, as in the entire family, have been fighting colds and coughs for much of it, then we have had a rough month. However, that is the facts of what we do and it could be worse...it could be raining...oh wait...it did.

However, the 18th Spoutwood Farm Fairie Festival was wonderful all the same, the 9th year for Mythical Masks, Spoutwood being our first every mask show.

You can't have any rainbows without the rain, and there are always little yellow raincoats, wellington boots, and umbrellas, and faerie friends to make up for any weather...



This is VERY picture heavy post, with lots of large format pics behind the cut.

( Lots of pictures and a few stories after the cut... )

Created by the Blessed Order of the Greenman (B.O.G) to support the Order and share our mission with the public.



Available for purchase at the Maryland Faerie Festival May 16-17. For only $3 you will not only support the Order, you receive an excellent little Journal of the Mythic Arts.

Each issue features a biography of a man who we feel represents the ethics and tradition that B.O.G supports. This issue features an extended biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, exploring his life, stories, and inspirations that helped create the epic saga, The Lord of the Rings. This issue also features a full history of the beginnings of the Blessed Order of the Greenman and the remarkable series of events that helped sprout from us a seed of an idea to a growing Fraternal Order. And we offer you a series of short bios showing the diversity of membership with n B.O.G. All of this, plus, essays, quotes, poems and more, on the Nature of the Green Man.

Please stop by the Mythical Masks booth to pick up a copy or find us at any of our festivals this year. Show Your Support For Your Local Boggie!

"Hoof and Horn, Hoof and Horn, All that Dies Shall be Reborn, Corn and Grain, Corn and Grain, All That Falls Shall Rise Again!"


Edited to Offer the Issue for Sale!:

If you can't find me or a Bogie who is carrying the Green Word, then I have created a PayPal option. I am new at creating PayPal options, so if there are any problems, please let me know immediately. Click the button below, and I will get one in the mail to you ASAP. The issue is $3.00 and shipping is $1.00. Make sure to include your address! Thanks to all for your support. Bog needs it and I hope we can live up to it! Green Blessings and Roots! Kubiando!

Just missed it by a minute, but here is a Happy Mother's Day video that we made in 2007 going out to all the Mom's reading this. A Mother's Day Bubble For you...

I get this way EVERY Earth Day, it's complicated and hard to get across.

I'll start with something happy. My video I made last year for Earth Day, of my flower photography and a John Denver song. That Colorado cowboy always makes smile.



There, don't you feel better. I don't...
( Let me explain...no, it's too complicated...let me sum up... )

I am usually the first one up in our household. Since we are self-employed and both kids are home schooled, we have the privilege and gift of not having to set an alarm clock. I am a natural early riser, often getting up by 6:30 AM no matter the bedtime. I enjoy the morning quiet and use it for writing and email. I wake the family up at 8 AM, with music and I take a cup of coffee up to Leah. I have a variety of morning mixes, songs about waking up and sunny days. Today, grey, overcast with a steady rain fall, I started with my rainy day blend.

Here are the songs in it.

"Looks Like Rain",The Grateful Dead-1976-08-02 - Colt Park
"Fire And Rain",James Taylor-One Man Band
"Rainy Day People", Gordon Lightfoot-Songbook [Box Set] (Disc 3)
"After It Rains", Laurie Berkner-Under A Shady Tree
"Rain" The Beatles
"Just Like Rain", Kathy Kallick with Laurie Lewis-O Sister! The Women's Bluegrass Collection
"Looking At The Rain", Gordon Lightfoot-Don Quixote
"A Day Without Rain", Enya A Day Without Rain
"Naked In The Rain" Crosby & Nash-Voyage: Essential, Vol. 1 [Disc 1]
"Let It Rain", Eric Clapton [Deluxe Edition] Disc 1 Eric Clapton
"Early Morning Rain" Gordon Lightfoot-Songbook [Box Set] (Disc 1)
"No Rain", Blind Melon

Any suggestions?.....

I am been VERY busy with writing an article about the life and influence of the good professor Tolkien for the annual Green Word Newsletter, the newsletter for the Blessed Order of the Greenman (B.O.G) It is leading me to a Tolkien revival and I am living, eating, and dreaming the stories of Middle Earth right now. So here is the best and most beautiful rendition of Namárië, or Galadriel's Parting Song. The singer, a French musician, gives the Mp3 away on her website, Here. A little bit of pure beauty for you today.



Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
long years numberless as the wings of trees!
Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier
The long years have passed like swift draughts
mi oromardi lissë-miruvóreva
of the sweet mead in lofty halls
Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar
beyond the West, beneath the blue vaults of Varda
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
wherein the stars tremble
ómaryo airetári-lírinen.
in the song of her voice, holy and queenly.

Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
Who now shall refill the cup for me?

An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo
For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the stars,
ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds
ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;
ar sindanóriello caita mornië
and out of a grey country darkness lies
i falmalinnar imbë met,
on the foaming waves between us,
ar hísië untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë.
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.
Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!
Now lost, lost to those of the East is Valimar!

Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar!
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar!
Nai elyë hiruva! Namárië!
Maybe even thou shalt find it! Farewell!

I would like to take a moment to observe the passing of Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, with Gary Gygax. I never met or knew Dave, however his work was so influential to me and a vast horde of my generation, that it can hardly be expressed. I would remind you that it is a "Geek" world we live in today and whether you play D&D or not, if you use tech, like the computer your reading this on, chances are that a D&D gamer has his hand in it at some point.Gary Gygax passed away last year. His death was a surprising period of reflection for me, which I tred to bring some clarity to with a memorial journal entry to Gary Gygax. If you interested in such things as culture and how it got that way, take a moment to see what I have to say about D&D and it's influence.

In some ways Dave Arneson's death is even more poignant to me. Dave was the creator of the Blackmoor Campaign Setting for D&D. This later evolved into the world of Mystara. For over eight years of my life, almost weekly, I ran a campaign in Mystara. We altered the rules, twisted the stories, and changed the continents with our games. It was, without a doubt, some of the best times in my life. I owe so much of the fun and fantasy of that time period to Mr. Arneson's imagination. The meaning of the word "Inspiration" is to breathe life into, fill with spirit. It was those days that did so, setting me ultimately on the path that lead me to my successful career in the Mythic Arts today. So thank you, Dave. You changed my Life.

RIP: Dave Arneson: October 1, 1947-April 9, 2009

Watch this video. No words can describe it. Awesome talent of crafty Welsh Shepards.

Neil Gaiman, well known author and friend of many in the Mythic Arts community, wrote this poem for the coming birth of the first child for his friend, singer songwriter, Tori Amos. The poem has been illustrated by his friend and mine, Charles Vess, and is being released next month. Charles was sharing the illustration proofs at FaerieCon last year. I knew about the poem, but hadn't read it or seen the drawings. Naturally, as a father of a well loved daughter, when I read it in Charles's booth there, I got pretty choked up with feelings. It Is A Great Poem. Thanks to Neil and Charles for giving this gift to every Blueberry Girl and the people who love them.

Charles will be at the Spoutwood Farm May Day Fairie Festival, May 1-3 signing copies in the Faerie Magazinebooth.



Prayer for a Blueberry Girl

Ladies of Light & Ladies of Darkness, & Ladies of Never-You-Mind,
this is a prayer for a Blueberry Girl.
First, May you ladies be kind.

Keep her from spindles and sleeps at sixteen;
Let her stay waking and wise.
Nightmares at three, or bad husbands at thirty;
These will not trouble her eyes.

Dull days at forty, false friends at fifteen;
Let her have brave days and truth.
Let her go places that we've never been;
Trust and delight in her youth.

Ladies of Grace, and Ladies of Favour,
and Ladies of Merciful Night,
this is a prayer for a Blueberry Girl,
Grant her your clearness of sight.

Words can be worrisome, people complex;
Motives and manners unclear.
Grant her the wisdom to choose her path right,
Free from unkindness and fear.

Let her tell stories, and dance in the rain,
Somersault, tumble, and run;
Her joys must be high as her sorrows are deep,
Let her grow like a weed in the sun.

Ladies of Paradox, Ladies of Measure,
Ladies of Shadows-That-Fall;
this is a prayer for a Blueberry Girl,
Words written clear on a wall.

Help her to help herself, help her to stand,
Help her to lose, and to find.
Teach her we're only as big as our dreams,
show her that fortune is blind.

Truth is a thing she must find for herself,
precious, and rare as a pearl;
Give her all these, and a little bit more,
Gifts for a Blueberry Girl.


Neil explains the background of the poem best himself, at Mouse Circus, his online store:

"Hello. You're probably wondering what kind of book this is.

This is the kind of book that comes about when a friend phones you and says, "I'll be having a baby in a month. Would you write her a poem? A sort of prayer, maybe? We call her the Blueberry. . . ." And you think, Yes, actually. I would.

I wrote the poem. When the baby was born, they stopped calling her the Blueberry and started calling her Natashya, but they pinned up the handwritten Blueberry girl poem beside her bed.

I kept a copy at my house, taped to a filing cabinet. And when friends read it, they said things like "Please, can I have a copy for my friend who is going to be giving birth to a daughter?" and I wound up copying it out for people, over and over. I wasn't going to let it be published, not ever. It was private, and written for one person, even if I did seem to be spending more and more of my time handwriting or printing out nice copies for mothers-to-be and for babies.

Then artist Charles Vess (whom I had collaborated with on Stardust) read it. And somehow, it all became simple. I made a few phone calls. We decided to make some donations to some charities. And Charles began to draw, and then to paint, taking the poem as a starting point and then making something universal and beautiful.

On his blog he said,

"Taking Neil's lovely poetic meditation on the inherent joys of a mother-daughter relationship and developing a compelling narrative impulse without robbing the poem of its highly symbolic nature was an interesting conceptual journey."

Which I think is Charles for "It wasn't easy to make that poem into a picture book.” He did an astonishing job, but I still worried. I stopped worrying the day the assistant editor at HarperChildrens, who was herself pregnant, called me to let me know that she'd got the artwork in, and read it, and then started crying in the office.

It's a book for mothers and for mothers-to-be. It's a book for anyone who has, or is, a daughter. It's a prayer and a poem, and now it's a beautiful book.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm really proud of it. And I hope this means I don't have to copy it out any longer….

Neil"

Of my feed abilities from LJ to FB. Please go about your business as usual.

We have a group of friends, some of whom are reading this..HI!...who get together every year and visit Mardi Gras in New Orleans each year. They tend to theme their costumes for the days. It seems this year, one of the themes is The Island of Dr. Moreau with a Wild West flavor. So we were honored to create two mask for folks who will be going, and here are some Wild Woses wearing them.

( Behind a cut for pictures... )

This Blogger is a small time, (like really small...like barely any...) share holder in OMEX. That is, Odyessey Marine Exploration.



I know, you expected a juicy tidbit or some skeleton from my closet. None here. But I do have a reason for bringing this up. It seems that they will be announcing tomorrow officially that they have discovered and begun excavating the wreck of the H.M.S Victory.

Nope, not THAT H.M.S Victory, the famous flagship of Admiral Horatio Nelson. That one is still with us.

This H.M.S Victory is quite famous in it's own right. It was actually the fourth ship of the line bearing the name. And sank in the English Channel near the Island of Guernsey on October 4th, 1744. Tragically she went down with her entire crew of 1,150. Let that hit you for a moment. That is a huge number. Certainly a deep and heartfelt tragedy for the country and it's people. She was the first of her kind to ever be outfitted entirely with brass cannons, and also took to the bottom a treasure of 100,000 gold coins. Only a small bit of wreckage washed ashore on the islands, and the location of her resting place remained a mystery...that is until Odyssey Marine team showed up.

This commercial salvage operation is the one who has been the subject of the Discovery Channel show, Treasure Quest, which, oddly enough, we haven't seen yet. They have also been the subject of some controversy. Their are legitimate concerns about ocean salvage and treasure hunters in general. However, I personally am firmly in the camp that the artifacts and stories are best preserved ashore. The seas will keep what they keep. But what we bring back from the depths, and what they tell us about those who fell, well, that is important. OMEX has shown again and again that it is very dedicated to their salvage program with archaeology in mind, if keeping profit a firm goal.

They haven't actually shown any real profit yet. We bought our little portion of stock when they first went publicly traded, back in 2003, on a lark really, times were less tight then and it was prior to kids in the home. I think this discovery shows that a profit motivated salvage operation, with a sense of ethics and history, can really add to the wonderful tale that is mankind's epic adventure on the seas.

I am glad to play my small part of it.

For a further exploration of the stock and it's possibilities, take a look at this blog, Stock Treasure At The Bottom Of The Ocean

We did a custom order just before Christmas. We had another client request us to make one, and we had already done all the research so it was fun to create it finally.



( Behind a cut for the pictures and frightening images of the wrath of the White Witch...or my wife... )

So off we go!

Headed for Arkansas, to spend a wonderful New Years in "The Natural State", digging for amazing quartz crystals and enjoying the state. And what a state. We like Arkansas and they have a great sign at their welcome center. Carved in native stone of the state, which was appropriate to our visit there!



( For some more rocks, and I mean some seriously cool rocks, hit the clicky... )

When last we left our travelers, they were heading out from the realms of Mammoth Cave into the beauties of the Kentucky sunset. Off we went over the river (The Mississippi!) and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go! But first we had to get through Tennessee.

We knew we were destined for a good trip and the country music muses were smiling upon us, when Leah woke up singing Johnny Cash. It may be a little known fact that Leah and I are crazy about bluegrass, old time, old country, and other mountain folk music. One of our country play list shuffles on the MP3 player is the Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash sessions. Two of our favorite men in black, singing some of our favorite songs together. So what was really a surprise was the first rest stop we paused at that morning was the "Johnny Cash Rest Stop". We had forgotten that Tennessee names its rest stops for the musicians that have made it famous. Leah was immensely tickled by this.



( Travels, A Very Texas Christmas, Family, and Memories, behind the cut... )

Oh boy, that was some drive. We went to Texas.

After much deliberation on flying, versus driving, versus not going, finally the decision was clarified by the gas prices and plane tickets. It turned out that to drive the 19+ hours was MUCH cheaper than flying. Like under a grand. So we decided to have a family adventure that we haven't had in a while. Let me show you it...



( Some silliness, lots of road pictures, we went to Mammoth Cave, had great Christmas, Santa left footprints and more...all behind the cut... )