Sunday, August 30, 2009

September, 2009

Hi, everyone. Hard to believe September is already upon us; weather or climate (take your pick) gave us a shorter than usual summer, and I for one feel a little robbed as a result. Of course, I've had other concerns that further kept me from enjoying what summer there was... Hopefully we'll have a few more warm days ahead before fall really closes in on us.

Calgary Pagan Pride Day normally happens in September, but, as often happens with many of us, the organizer reports that she’s “had a few more things tossed at me than I was expecting and CPPD has completely been bumped from my list”. If anything, it will be a laid-back event in a Calgary park; keep an eye on http://calgaryppd.com/ or their Facebook group for updates.

I’m posting this from Toronto, where I’m in the middle of a two-week vacation of sorts. As some of you know, a stomach bug a couple of weeks ago caused Margarian to become dehydrated and malnourished (including low blood sodium), leading her to a stay in a Toronto hospital for a few days. She left hospital still sufficiently weak that she was unable to trust herself living alone in the house, so we decided that I fly out here sooner than I had planned, in order to assist her. If she’s still not self-sufficient by Labour Day, she’ll be flying back when I do.

For my part, between visiting my Dad at the hospice, and dealing with a short hospitalization of my mother this month, plus dealing with a reorganization and office move at work, plus making contact with my long-estranged brother, among other things, I found myself so intolerably stressed that most of my vacation so far has consisted of sleep, hanging out on the computer, and driving Mar around. Hopefully I’ll be coming back re-energized to tackle the ongoing issues.

Thanks go out this month to Karen, for sitting the cats on short notice. You are all in my thoughts, especially some of you whom I haven’t heard from in awhile. May those of you who are suffering find healing in the month ahead.

Congratulations to Brenda, on her recent engagement!

September's Birthdays: Lee G., Tiger Lily, and probably some of my other Facebook friends. Sorry if I’ve missed yours.

September Events:
Note these events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement is necessarily implied. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me.

Sep. 3, 10:03 a.m.: Full (Corn) Moon.
Sep. 3: The Eclectic Circle, led by SpiritnSoul. Info: http://www.meetup.com/The-Eclectic-Circle-TEC
Sep. 5: COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. Info: info (at) cogcoa (dot) ab (dot) ca
Sep. 6, 12:00 p.m.: Calgary Gay Pride Parade. Info: http://www.pridecalgary.ca
Sep. 7: Labour Day.
Sep. 15, 7:30 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by moi, in south Calgary. Info: http://www.meetup.com/Calgary-Witches
Sep. 18, 12:44 p.m.: New Moon. Muin (Vine) lunar month begins.
Sep. 18-20: Body, Soul, & Spirit Expo at Big Four Building. Info: http://bodysoulspiritexpo.com/
Sep. 22, 3:19 p.m., Autumnal Equinox.
Sep. 26, 7:30 p.m. sharp: COGCOA Mabon ritual.

Blessings,
Hergest

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Thoughts on Nose Creek

Happy Lughnasadh, everyone.

Of special interest this month is a presentation of "The Fifth Tarot", a five-element Tarot set, at Fort Calgary on the 20th. This will be their only Calgary stop, so y'all come out! Details in the calendar below.

I've lately been enjoying driving around some of the range roads between here and Crossfield, part of a personal deep-ecology/photography project of the Nose Creek watershed. I think many Calgarians are simply so happy to get out of Calgary that they take off along the major highways to the mountains, or Drumheller, or the lakes, and ignore the micro-landscape close to home. Nose Creek seems now to be little more than a drainage ditch, yet it runs through a broad valley (remnants of glacial runoff) that makes a natural travel corridor through the north half of Calgary (and, to my mind, the boundary between the Fescue Grassland and the Aspen Parkland biozones). It's essentially the eastern boundary locally of the Bow River Sub-basin, as (aside from storm drains) nothing of significance runs into it from the east within Calgary. Everything east of there flows into the Red Deer River instead.

Those of you in north Calgary are probably familiar with West Nose Creek, a.k.a. Beddington Creek, which joins Nose Creek underneath a small railway bridge north of Beddington Trail beside the Deerfoot. West of the confluence park, it passes through a couple of golf courses and a number of communities, before heading out of town. I used to enjoy the drive into and out of Calgary along Symon's Valley Road; the valley abounds with scenic outcrops and hoodoos, but was discovered by developers a few years ago, and now urban sprawl and construction extends out to Symon's Valley Ranch, which has all but lost its country charm. I worry that the sprawl will continue to extend northwards, further ruining the beautiful little valley.

August's Birthdays: Romper, Bomper, Stomper, Boo... my magic mirror shows me: Cathie M., Anita B., Gin C., Raine, and probably some of my other Facebook friends. Sorry if I’ve missed yours.

August Events:
Note these events are listed for information purposes only; no endorsement is necessarily implied. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me.

Jul. 31 – Aug. 3: PanFest in central Alberta. Info: http://www.panfest.ca/
Aug. 1: COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. Info: info (at) cogcoa (dot) ab (dot) ca
Aug. 2, 2:00 p.m.: Serpent and Owl Clann Lughnasadh Celebration in a south Calgary park. Info: serpent_and_owl (at) shaw (dot) ca or http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/event.php?eid=95425552363
Aug. 3: Civic Holiday (Heritage Day).
Aug. 3-9: Calgary International Blues Festival. Info: http://www.calgarybluesfest.com/
Aug. 5, 6:55 p.m.: Full (Sturgeon) Moon.
Aug. 6: The Eclectic Circle, led by SpiritnSoul. Info: http://www.meetup.com/The-Eclectic-Circle-TEC
Aug. 9: "Marda Gras" Street Festival in Marda Loop, 33rd Ave and 20th St. SW. Info: http://www.mardaloopbrz.ca/index.php
Aug. 14-29: Globalfest Fireworks and Multi-Cultural Festival at Elliston Park. Info: http://www.globalfest.ca
Aug. 14-16: Alberta Bound Tattoo and Arts Festival, at the BMO Stampede Round-up Centre. Info: http://www.albertaboundproductions.com
Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m.: Calgary Witches Meetup, hosted by moi, in north Calgary. Info: http://www.meetup.com/Calgary-Witches
Aug. 20, 4:02 a.m.: New Moon. Coll (Hazel) lunar month begins.
Aug. 20, 7:00 p.m. "Tarot for Today". Presentation on "The Fifth Tarot", (a five-element set) and book signing at Fort Calgary, 750-9 Ave SE. Info: http://theeclecticcircle.com/Flyers.html
Aug. 20-23: Con-Version 25 Fantasy/SF/Genre Convention at Metropolitan Centre, with guests Terry Brooks, Tanya Huff, and Robert J. Sawyer. Info: http://www.con-version.org

Blessings,
Hergest