Voting Out a Monarchy
In 1946, a year after the fall of fascism there, the Kingdom of Italy held a nationwide referendum on whether to continue as a constitutional monarchy—under the reign of King Victor Emmanuel III, who had appointed Benito Mussolini as prime minister in 1922 — or become a democratic republic. On June 2, 1946, the people voted overwhelmingly to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic, which is celebrated every June 2 as Italy’s Republic Day.
End-of-September Musings
On a rainy day in late September I removed the screen from the window of my attic studio, cranked the casement open as wide as it would go, leaned out and took a picture of my back garden, with the crabapple tree just beginning to turn. I do love a wet garden.
August Friday Morning
On Friday morning, I was drinking my tea at the dining room table and idly watching a chipmunk perched on the birdfeeder in our front yard. It flicked its tail sharply in exact synchrony with each loud chip! more than a dozen times. I have no idea what it was going on about.
July Days—Independence, Ripening, and a Pony Swim
This month was originally named Quintilis (“fifth”) in the old Roman calendar, which had March as the first month of the year. It was renamed to honor Julius Caesar, who reformed the calendar in 46 BCE to add leap years, and move the start of the year to January.
To the Mdewakaŋtuŋwaŋ Dakota of Minnesota, the full moon on July 29 is either the Chokecherry Ripening Moon or, more generally, When Things Ripen Moon.
The Longest Day and Other June Days
This month is named for the Roman goddess Juno, wife/partner of Jupiter; queen of the heavens; protector of women, childbirth, and marriage. The Ojibwe name for the full moon on June 29 is Strawberry Moon. The Anglo-Saxon name for both June and July is Liða, spelled Litha in modern English