Just Looking Around this Place and That, With some Greek Tales

This past Thursday was my day for Remicade treatment. Trust me, those are days in which absolutely nothing else gets accomplished. The infusions take three to four hours and they give me a dose of 50mg Benadryl. I look forward to a nice looong nap on those days. We are provided with nice comfy Lazy Boy lounges and TVs with headphones; other than that, this is about all there is to look at: ...which is why I generally take a magazine to look through. Last week, I brought the Premier edition of Where Women Create. It had been awhile since I read through the pages of this issue, so reading it again between zzzz's was a real treat. A couple days later, we had a refreshing cold wave come through the area. I always look forward to Fall but each year when the leaves start to turn, I remember the Greek mythological story of Persephone. She was the young daughter of Demeter, who some know as "Mother Earth" or Mother Nature and Zeus, King of the Gods. Demeter is responsible for keeping the earth fresh and fertile, with lush crops and flowers. Zeus is responsible for, among other things, law and order, thunder and such. Persephone is a beautiful maiden and of course, everyone loves her. Hades, the King of the Underworld, is no exception and he kidnaps her one day, dragging her to the Underworld with him to make her his bride. Demeter is wrought with grief and can no longer perform her duties as Mother Earth. The world turns cold and Persephone's parents grieve and search for her. The earth is no longer fertile; fruit and trees fall from the trees, the skies are grey and the crops all die. When her parents finally discover who has taken her and where she is, it is too late. She had eaten some of Hades' fruit (pomegranite seeds) and therefore must spend at least part of her life with him. The three (Demeter, Zeus and Hades) finally come to an agreement. Persephone will spend one third of the year with Hades and the other two thirds above ground. There is much more to this rich story, but you get the picture. Fall is the time when Persephone must leave her above ground home and return to Hades. Thus, this is when the leaves begin to dry and the world starts to turn cold. Demeter, during this time misses her daughter so much that the world gradually turns to ice until Persephone comes "home" in the Spring. Photos: Barn is next to our property; the picture was taken from our garden. Rolled hay (last photo) is on another neighbor's property. Olde windows were taken from a turn of the century house and are waiting for me to decide their destination. The Japanese Maple lends its beauty and color to the small flower garden that is immediately adjacent to our back patio and the washtubs and tools hang on our smokehouse. The picture appears to be black and white but was actually taken in color; the colors you see are "natural".