Women Against Republicans: 2024’s WAR

Years ago, when I started homemade bread baking, I read that some folks named their sourdough starter and treated it like a pet that had to be fed regularly. My starter is named Lazarus because I regularly starve him to death in the refrigerator and then bring him back to life. That’s what we’re working on today. If a feeding of all-purpose flour doesn’t result in bubbles, we’ll next try whole wheat white flour. Fingers crossed time. I’m looking forward to baking the first sourdough boule of the new year.

One of the amaryllis flowers looks like it may bloom for New Year’s day. It stayed in bud past Christmas and is just now beginning to open. Another bulb has two short stems but I’ve not a guess when we’l see flowers. Before Valentine’s day probably. I know, that is a guess. I’m in a mood because we’re still under cloud cover. A few brief glimpses of sun late yesterday and last night the clouds returned. At least they didn’t block the gorgeous golden glowing nearly full moon as it rose in the evening.

We usually leave Christmas decorations up until the Feast of the Epiphany (January 7 next year). It takes several days to a week to take them down and put them away, by which time we decorate for Valentine’s. One of my Christmas presents, again this year, is a bulb bucket of flowers that will be blooming for weeks. Here’s a picture from late January 2023 of the Christmas 2022 bucket.

late January, forced blooms

Photo by J. Harrington

Here in the North Country, some of us are grateful for every sign of impending spring we can get. I’m definitely one of those some. As long as we’re on the topic of upcoming Spring, that’s when I plan to cash in a different Christmas present, a gift certificate at a local, independent, book store. (I know, quite a surprise!) Milkweed Editions is scheduled to publish Ada Limón’s Poet Laureate project: You Are Here, Poetry in the Natural World.

I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Here’s what the title is about. At the moment, it appears I can do a reasonable job managing and scheduling most outcomes next year except for the one on November 5, For that I’ll need help from each of you. As of today, it’s time to declare a top 2024 WAR, Women Against Republicans! Down with insurrectionists. Up with bodily autonomy and women’s health!

How to Triumph Like a Girl

By Ada Limón

I like the lady horses best,

how they make it all look easy,

like running 40 miles per hour

is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.

I like their lady horse swagger,

after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!

But mainly, let’s be honest, I like

that they’re ladies. As if this big

dangerous animal is also a part of me,

that somewhere inside the delicate

skin of my body, there pumps

an 8-pound female horse heart,

giant with power, heavy with blood.

Don’t you want to believe it?

Don’t you want to lift my shirt and see

the huge beating genius machine

that thinks, no, it knows,

it’s going to come in first.

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