Dear Reader:

Tim came over today to help me with clearing out the “woods” behind my back yard that I have neglected for way too long….broken limbs, wisteria, weeds of every genre imaginable….in other words….the “not fun” part of keeping a garden and yard up….

But the fun part came when Tim added more lights to the oak tree in the garden… and wound lights around the electric cord that runs through the trees to operate the fountain. (Great suggestion Mollie!) Now look at the old oak tree in the back…it’s just beaming with pride while appearing all “lit up.”

The month of May gets its name originally from Greek mythology….she is called Maia and is known as the goddess of the growth of plants. (Quite appropriate)

Today she is a star….actually a real star in the constellation  “Pleiades.” (sometimes called “The Seven Sisters.”) While still a goddess…she was the eldest of the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Considered the most beautiful of the daughters…she was also the shyest and lived alone in a cave on a mountain in Arcadia.

But no mountain cave is too secluded for the powerful Zeus…who spotted her one day and just had to have her. She soon bore him a son names Hermes (the messenger) and even as an infant he could play the lyre so beautifully he enchanted everyone who heard him.

An old legend says that if you listen carefully at night while watching this constellation of stars…you, too, will fall under the spell of the magic music of the lyre played by Maia’s son- Hermes.

* It is, ironically, in November (sometimes known as the month of “Pleiades”) that one can see the constellation best…from dusk to dawn.

* Interesting trivia fact…in ancient times the Anglo-Saxons called the month of May “Tri-Milchi”…meaning that in this particular month the green grass grew rich, and farmers could milk their cows three times a day.

Today we celebrate this beautiful month on the first day (May Day) with traditions from Europe and Asia. America has also come up with its own regional customs….like….

1) Barefoot Day– in the South, traditionally, the first day of May was when children could finally get rid of their socks and shoes…wiggle their toes in freedom. Brooke said she remembered this day because she and her childhood friend Lou, would start walking to school and back and everywhere else barefoot so that by the time summer arrived…the calluses were hardened and they could walk anywhere on anything without a single whimper of pain.

* Brooke commented that it was ironic now that she and her “barefooting” friends from the past pay good money to get their calluses removed ..such is life!

2. Maypole Day….The Ya’s call me “Maypole” because my senior year at Erskine I was chosen to represent our senior class in the May Pole festivities. It is all pretty much a blur but at least I got a new outfit to wear from all the festivities.

* I know you are laughing… at the ” Big hair and new outfit” but please remember it was the 70’s (blame it on the decade)….and see… I was a tree hugger even back then.

3) May Day Morning Dew: A widespread superstition is still held that washing your face in the May Day morning dew will beautify your skin. -( wish I had read that sooner….oh well…next year)

The Irish take it one step farther: (The May Day Dew – Should you roll naked in it?
by Bridget Haggerty

The plainest girl will be beautiful if she rises early on May Day and bathes her face in morning dew at sunrise. So goes the old Irish saying…

If she was daring enough to undress and roll naked, she was given great beauty of person; the dew was also believed to bring immunity to freckles, sunburn, chapping, and wrinkles during the coming year. It cured or prevented headaches, skin ailments and sore eyes and, if applied to the eyes, it ensured that its user rose every morning clear-eyed, alert and refreshed, even after a very short sleep.

So until tomorrow…Let us enjoy this most beautiful month of the year….I think I would never grow tired of these past two days if I got caught up in a “Groundhog Day” dilemma….I could repeat these days for a long, long, time. God…thank you for May.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Eva Cate…Look…do you see what I see…a shadow of a fairy running by her now lighted orange mushroom….the garden fairies are here.

* Please let me know if any of you are having problems receiving this blog… as of late…Johnny Johnson and some other subscribers have not gotten their morning blogs on their emails….let me know if you are one of them and/or if it has been corrected…the same thing goes for Facebook readers.

Some readers were afraid that I was sick again…but let me assure you I feel terrific! I’m still here…where are you?