Vernal Equinox

A Repost from 2017

This will be our last Spring Season living in beautiful Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California. We will be moving to the City of Vancouver, Washington State, on April 14, 2017.

"Here the white-ray'd anemone is born,
Wood-sorrel, and the varnish'd buttercup;
And primrose in its purfled green swathed up,
Pallid and sweet round every budding thorn,
Gray ash, and beech with rusty leaves outworn.
Here, too the darting linnet hath her nest
In the blue-lustred holly, never shorn,
Whose partner cheers her little brooding breast,
Piping from some near bough. O simple song!
O cistern deep of that harmonious rillet,
And these fair juicy stems that climb and throng
The vernal world, and unexhausted seas
Of flowing life, and soul that asks to fill it,
Each and all of these,--and more, and more than these!"
- William Allingham, In a Spring Grove

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck

"The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it."
- Willa Cather

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils."
- William Wordsworth

Spring: Quotations, Sayings, Lore, Poetry

The Spirit of Gardening: 3,800 Quotations

Months and Seasons

Rising Up with Oestre

Who can resist the rising energy of Springtime?  Plants resurrecting themselves from the barren, seemingly dead, chilly winter silence.  Amazing!  Profound! Thankfully, Endless!  

Spring Quotations

March Quotations

Spring Equinox Celebrations

We enjoy a secular and pagan version of the Easter holiday: colored eggs, bunnies, chocolate, sumptuous meals, family and friends gathering, games, Springtime themes, fun.  


Since I am not a Christian, Judeo-Christian mythology holds little interest for me; I favor Greek, NeoPagan, and Chinese mythologies.  All have tales of creatures and beings rising from the dead, defeating death, resurrecting, fertilizing, born and reborn, Emergent, living on, Transmigration, in the springtime of your life, Springtime in California.  

"Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name. Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal. Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance."
- Easter History  

"Fertility rights are ceremonies of a magic-religious nature performed to ensure the perpetuation of mankind and to control the environment. Expressed as invocations, incantations, prayers, hymns, processions, dances, and sacred dramas, these liturgical endeavors were, and still are, believed to be closely connected with the mechanisms of nature. The basis for such rites is usually a belief in sympathetic magic - that is magic worked on one level to have an effect on a different level, and based on the assumption that life and fertility, whether animal or vegetable, are one and indivisible. If such fertility rites could induce fertility in the animal and human worlds, then the vegetable world would also be stimulated to reproduction, resulting in an abundant harvest."
-  Robert Ellison, The Solitary Druid, p. 130

Don't Do Unto Others

                      The Fireplace Records, Chapter 33

Don't Do Unto Others

An acquaintance of mine, a devout Catholic, ends all his email letters with "Love, Arthur."

He has frequently mentioned the Biblical verse "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Matthew 22: 38)  Love and loving phrases pepper his conversations. 

My underlying feeling was that these references to "love" were rather insincere and somewhat ungrounded, since I could not understand how two people with radically different opinions about life, religion, and politics could actually "love" one another; socialize and tolerate maybe, but "love," unlikely.  

In my teenage years, I questioned how this verse would apply to people who don't like themselves, hate themself, are ashamed of themself, denigrate themself, or don't love themselves in the slightest, etc. They would seem quite handicapped or incapable of loving their neighbor, insofar as they don't love themselves. On the opposite side, self-respect and self-love has some positive connotations, and can lead to loving others; however, carried to excess it becomes flawed and appears as egotism and narcissism.

I grew up in East Los Angeles, in the Bandini Barrio, for 20 years. It was a low income suburban LA neighborhood. I had a few friends and some good neighbors. However, as with most suburban neighborhoods, I did not know or have any relationships with 96% of my neighbors. I did not love them, nor did I have any opinion or emotion regarding them other than live and let live, let's stay at peace, and mind your own business. "Loving" them was not my concern; and, I had no ill will towards people I did not know. 

I also read, "In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." (Matthew 7:12) If I wanted hard drugs, does this mean I should give or sell hard drugs to others? If I thought I should be severely punished if I chose not to follow Catholic doctrines, does this give me license to severely punish non-believers? If someone liked perverted sexual play, should they being doing these acts with others? Knowing that others have cheated me, should I cheat others? This moral maxim had some good applications; and, some bad/evil/wrong/destructive applications.  

In high school in 1961, I read Confucian texts.  I came across the Confucian maxim "Don't do to others what you don't want done to you." (Analects, V. 12, VI. 30, 500 BCE)  This ethical/moral/behavioral advice seemed to resonate with me more than the Christian advice. I thought I could apply this maxim more effectively in my daily life with the many people I encountered but did not know, or love. It was a way of caring for others by not harming them. I have tied to follow this practical maxim for six decades.

Comments, Sources, Observations

Gold is malleable, soft, valued, and long lasting; but, limited in other ways.
Rather than a ruler of gold, a flexible cloth tape is more practical.
Rules are useful if properly and intelligently applied.
Acknowledging exceptions to rules is a good rule to apply sometimes. 
The disadvantages loving yourself to excess are numerous.
"Love" is often just another boring cliche, a charming metaphor.
A church sign says "God is Love!" The Devil also loves his work.
Liking, preferring, and loving are cousins, sometimes distant cousins.
Yes, gold is valuable; but of what value is this value?

"Love" is rarely mentioned in Zen Koans; maybe 6 times out of 1,975 Koans. Egoistic-restraint, kindness without reciprocity, control of desires, patience, gentleness, helpfulness, asceticism, toughening, and wisdom are emphasized more.  

Golden Rule - Wikipedia

Ten Reasons Why Self-Love is Bad

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records  By Michael P. Garofalo

Turning the Boat #34

The Chinese Wand Exercise Blog.  By Michael Davies.

Tai Chi Cane.  By Mike Garofalo.  

Qigong Ruler, Taji Chih, Chi Kung Dowel.  By Mike Garofalo

Turning the Boat, Exercise 34, Tai Chi Wandwork

     "The Tai Chi Wandwork 34 Exercises Routine consists of 17 open-hand and 17 wand exercises. The movements are taken from: 1. Qigong (`Shibashi') 2. Tai Chi (Yang Style) 3. Chinese Wand Exercises 4. Tai Chi Boating Wand Form 

     This routine was created to introduce wellness groups to Chinese internal health systems. It contains 34 gentle therapeutic exercises and serves as an introduction to Tai Chi, Qigong, Chinese Wand Exercises and the Tai Chi Boating Wand. The 34 exercises - 17 open handed and 17 wand-held movements - contain comprehensive physical benefits and offer an efficient approach to strengthening, stretching, building balance, good posture, coordination and mental focus. 

     The exercises can be performed standing or sitting. The movements are simple, easy to learn and make you suppler and flexible and increase your vitality. It is a great way to reduce stress, boost energy, increase circulation and improve balance. The gentle, fluid movements also relax the body and soothe the mind."

Happy 77th Birthday for Blanche Karen Eubanks Garofalo

Happy 77th Birthday, Karen!!  

We have been married for 58 years and have celebrated your birthday on St. Patrick's Day many times for much fun and celebration.  Today, we will do the same.  

Best wishes for continued good health and happiness.

I love you, and so do many others.  

Tulips Time

The Willamette Valley of Oregon features numerous flower farms. 

At this time of year, the Tulips come into full bloom in late March into April. 

We have enjoyed a visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival before.

Boys in Grandpa's Back Yard

My great grandfather.
Herbert B. Willits,
lived in a small trailer
in a backyard summer green
behind his daughter’s house,
my mom’s aunt Alice,
in north Downey, ELA.

My grandmother Mabel,
Grandma Blaize to me,
watched us weekends
when my parents pleasured
in 1954 in Las Vegas, NV.

We visited Great Grandpa Willits,
slow, and old, and gray,
hobbling-wobbling on his cane,
dressed in a suit,
rocking in his rocking chair
most of his final hours and days.

Once, my brothers and I,
playing in his Downey back yard,
were asked by Great Grandpa
to show him our strength.

We flexed our boyish biceps,
did push ups, sit ups,
ran back and forth,
tossed a ball to catch,
acted rowdy in horse play.

He told us “Be strong,
be brave, be tough, be a Man.”
We listened,
absorbed his advice.

Decades later,
a Grandpa now myself;
I looked at picture
of Grandpa Robert Ast.
Amazed, I look exactly like him
in our Germanic faces and frames.
Uncanny resemblance: genetic strains.

Hopefully, I was adequately
strong, tough, and brave
most of my 65 years
as a Man every day.

Characters in this Family Tree:
Herbert Benjamin Willits (1870-1954)
Robert Dewey Ast (1894-1924)
Mabel Amelia Willits Ast Blaize (1898-1974)
Michael James Garofalo (1/10/1916-4/2/1997)
Bertha June Ast Garofalo (4/3/1921-2/12/1994)
Michael Peter Garofalo (1946-)

Cuttings: Haiku and Tercets (1998-2016)

Transitions: Haiku and Tercets (2017-2024)

25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Bundled Up: Tanka Poetry

Two Levels: Haibun Poetry

The Gushen Grove Sonnets

Above the Fog 

Finding the Mother Tree

I am now reading the following book:

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. By Suzanne Simard. Vintage Books, 2021, index, bibliography, 348 pages. Paperback, $18.00. VSCL

California Bees and Blooms

"California is home to over sixteen hundred species of undomesticated bees--most of them native--that populate and pollinate our gardens, fields, and urban green spaces. In this absorbing guidebook, some of the state's preeminent bee and botany experts introduce us to this diverse population. California Bees and Blooms holds a magnifying glass up to the twenty-two most common genera (and six species of cuckoo bees), describing each one's distinctive behaviors, social structures, flight season, preferred flowers, and enemies. Enhancing these descriptions are photographs of bees so finely detailed they capture pollen scattered across gauzy wings and iridescent exoskeletons.
Drawing from years of research at the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab, California Bees and Blooms presents an authoritative look at these creatures, emphasizing their vital relationship with flowers. In addition to opening our eyes to the beautiful array of wild bees in our midst, this book provides information on fifty-three bee-friendly plants and how to grow them. Just a few square feet of poppies, sage, and phacelia are enough to sustain a healthy population of wild bees, transforming an urban or suburban garden into a world that hums and buzzes with life."

California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists, 2013

The Spirit of Gardening

The Red Bluff Notebooks

Pacific Beach State Park, WA, Yurt Camping Trip: Day 4

Pacific Beach State Park, Washington, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 4

Yurt Camping, March 10, 11, 12, 13 in 2025

Yurt Camping in the Pacific Northwest
Tips, Information, Locations, Experiences
Oregon and Washington
Off Season Camping
By Michael P. Garofalo

Drive home from Pacific Beach to Vancouver.

Stopped a the Black Lake Boulevard shopping complex and Capitol Mall. This is a few miles west of Olympia. I browsed the very large Barnes and Noble Bookstore, and the nearby Half-Price Books. Excellent meal at a Japanese restaurant next to the bookstores. Purchased $100 in books and magazines. 

Interstate 5 South to Vancouver was relatively uncrowded today. 

Saw four accidents this trip: overturned truck that lost all its load, overturned car, a serious fender bender, and a  dramatic house fire incident in Hoquiam with many fire trucks.

Home before 3 pm. Unpacked!

Pacific Beach State Park, WA, Yurt Camping Trip: Day 3

Pacific Beach State Park, Washington, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 3

Yurt Camping, March 10, 11, 12, 13 in 2025

Yurt Camping in the Pacific Northwest
Tips, Information, Locations, Experiences
Oregon and Washington
Off Season Camping
By Michael P. Garofalo

During this camping trip, I visited all these small towns and villages (along a 30 mile stretch of Washington road 109) along the southwestern Washington coast: Ocean Shores, Oyehut, Ocean City, Copalis Beach, Friday-Griggs State Park, Iron Springs, Ocean Grove, Seabrook, Pacific Beach, Moclips, Qui-nai-elt Village, and the Quinault Indian Nation town of Taholah. 

Along Highway 101, I visited: Olympia, Aberdeen, Hoquaim, Lake Quinault, Queets River, and Kalaloch. I ate dinners at the nearby Seabrook restaurants, and meals in Olympia, Hoquaim, Ocean Shores, and the Lake Quinault Lodge.

Generally, comfortable weather from 40-505 F, little wind, and intermittent light to moderate rain. Lovely cloudy and misty skies. Full moon at night.

A few dogwoods in bloom amidst the leafless deciduous branches and evergreen firs, cedars, spruces, and pines.

Pacific Beach State Park, WA, Yurt Camping Trip: Day 2

Pacific Beach State Park, Washington, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 3

Yurt Camping, March 10, 11, 12, 13 in 2025

Yurt Camping in the Pacific Northwest
Tips, Information, Locations, Experiences
Oregon and Washington
Off Season Camping
By Michael P. Garofalo

During this camping trip, I visited all these small towns and villages (along a 30 mile stretch of Washington road 109) along the southwestern Washington coast: Ocean Shores, Oyehut, Ocean City, Copalis Beach, Friday-Griggs State Park, Iron Springs, Ocean Grove, Seabrook, Pacific Beach, Moclips, Qui-nai-elt Village, and the Quinault Indian Nation town of Taholah. 

Along Highway 101, I visited: Olympia, Aberdeen, Hoquaim, Lake Quinault, Queets River, and Kalaloch. I ate dinners at the nearby Seabrook restaurants, and meals in Olympia, Hoquaim, Ocean Shores, and the Lake Quinault Lodge.

Generally, comfortable weather from 40-505 F, little wind, and intermittent light to moderate rain. Lovely cloudy and misty skies. Full moon at night.

A few dogwoods in bloom amidst the leafless deciduous branches and evergreen firs, cedars, spruces, and pines.

Pacific Beach State Park, WA, Yurt Camping Trip: Day 1

 Pacific Beach State Park, Washington, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 1

Yurt Camping, March 10, 11, 12, 13 in 2025

Yurt Camping in the Pacific Northwest
Tips, Information, Locations, Experiences
Oregon and Washington
Off Season Camping
By Michael P. Garofalo

Drive from Vancouver to Longview, Centralia,
Olympia, Aberdeen, Pacific Beach.

In Olympia, I plan to shop at the Browser's Bookshop, Half-Price Bookstore, and eat lunch at the Olympia Oyster House, and drive around the Capitol Building and Budd Inlet parks.

I purchased and studied a new book of poems by Elizabeth Bishop during the four days of this yurt camping trip to Pacific Beach State Park in Grays Harbor County, Southwestern Washington.

Poems. By Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979). Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2011, 352 pages. Paperback, VSCL. 

Living simply on the inheritance from her father, she travelled and lived in many countries. She wrote and translated in English and Spanish.

I read her poems during this Copolis River-Beach camping trip. Indoors out of the steady rain day and night, and indoors through the long outdoor winter darkness of the night.

My favorite poems by Ms. Bishop:
Objects and Apparitions 1976
artifacts in shoeboxes of memories
One Art 1976
“The art of losing isn’t hard to master.”

Explore Taholah, Pacific Beach, Seabrook,
Moclips, Quinault River, Lake Quinault,
Kalaloch Beach, Ruby Beach

I will post comments to this blog depending upon the availability of Internet service. Probably, after I return on March 13th.

Internet Photographs:

Beltane Celebrations

Beltane, May Day, Easter Celebrations

Neo-Pagans, Druids, Wiccans

Spirituality and Gardening

"Many Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Beltane.  It is one of eight solar Sabbats.  This holiday incorporates traditions from the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, but it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as May pole dancing).  Some traditions celebrate this holiday on May 1 or May day, whiles others begin their celebration the eve before or April 30th. Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. The name means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times. In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health."
-  Beltane by Herne 

The Green Man in our Sacred Circle Garden

Familiar Tai Chi Chuan Ideas

Tai Chi Chuan Practice and Training

Common Themes, Topics, Ideas, Suggestions, Principles, Concepts, Tips

One Sentence Taijiquan Notes by Mike Garofalo

Lift the head, tuck the chin, extend the neck, feel upright and rising.
Stand strong and balanced, then move slowly and gracefully.
Imagine resistance, water boxing, dealing with an opponent, Da Lu, pushing hands, sensing incoming energies, feeling the Other.
Be loose and relaxed, avoid over-exertion, use coiling energy.
Keep moving, flowing, shaping yourself in body-mind.
Shoulders down, gentle breathing, energized back, dignified bearing.
Be more stylish, artistic, beautiful, sensuous, dancing, formal.
Yin more than Yang, soft over hard, water over stone, gentle over muscular.
Follow the Teacher, coordinate, create unity, move together, act as one.
Act from the center, find the Dan Tien, Centering, secure internal energy.
You are responsible for your own self-defense, safety and fitness.
Develop and maintain the Inner Smile, positive disposition, enthusiasm.
Work within one's steady breathing, learn different breath/movements.
Enhance and maintain one's potential energy reserves for power.
Keep the knees over the feet, and don't over-extend in lunges.
Taijiquan, Tai Chi Chuan, Shadow Boxing, Grand Ultimate Boxing, Cotton Fist, At the Edge Fist, Mind/Fist Arts, .... whatever.
Differentiate between solo and group practices and training.
Learn the names of each numbered movement sequence.
Learn offense and/or defensive applications for each named movement.
Daily practice, review, and repetitions are essential to progress.
Distinguish substantial from unsubstantial, weighted from empty, rooted from moving, stable from unstable.
Be delicate, be gentle, be refined, be fluid, be slow.
Concentrate, remember, embody the patterns, display the Form.
Strengthen the glutes, quads, calves, ankles, and feet; Legs Powers, Thigh Chi.
Stay level, avoid to much bobbing up and down, smooth level movement. 
There is a natural automatic discomfort with falling, we wanting to stay standing and moving upright, we want to work effectively with the forces of gravity.
Working within and slowly out from your current limitations, injuries, mental or physical health problems, or other obstacles. 
Appropriate music might make your Taijiquan practice enjoyable in new ways.
Inhale while pulling in and gathering, exhale while pushing or striking out or blocking; sometimes holding breath; sometimes the opposites. 
If your huffing and puffing, breathing to fast, then you are out of shape but persist after resting and slowing down some; vary and improve your workouts. 
Think process, think evolving, think changing, think becoming; then stop thinking.
Keep a Beginner's Mind, Learn Something, relish the experiences.  



Repost from July of 2020


Tai Chi Chuan Website

Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan 24 Short Form

Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan 108 Long Form

Tai Chi Chuan Quotations and Classics