December Days and Dalliances
In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, winter solstice is called Geola, aka Yule, and the months (starting with the first visible crescent of the new moon) before and after that are Aerra Geola, “Before Yule,” and Aeftera Geola, “After Yule.” Since the next “new” (dark) moon occurs on Dec. 19, by the time we can actually spot that sliver of a backwards C that marks a new moon-month, it’ll be the winter solstice, Dec. 21.
On My Work Table: The 2026 Planner-Diary
I have made some version of a planner-diary for a few years now, trying different formats while striving for the right balance of information and functionality through trial and error. There are a couple ways in which the 2026 Useful Calendar planner is different — it’s a little bigger, both in dimensions and number of pages, and it’s hand-bound with an uncommon technique that’s very functional.
November Days and Commemorations
Native American heritage has been celebrated in some form during November since 1986, when Pres. Reagan signed a proclamation designating American Indian Heritage Week.
The Dark Times
One day in late October, a neighbor boy on the block where we lived years ago observed that we were beginning “the dark times.” It seems to amuse Craig to recall this comment each fall around this time. It’s an apt observation, considering the decreasing daylight hours, the encroaching return to Standard Time, and the way our evening rituals have been shifting for the last several weeks.
Seasonal Rituals Include Leaving the Leaves
The more I learn about the diverse ways in which nearly all insects are beneficial—sometimes simply as food for birds—the less cleaning up of the garden we do.