Now, Space.com reports that the second moon of the month will be a “super blue blood moon”, which will reach peak fullness on January 31, 2018 in the morning.

As you might imagine, blue moons are rare occurrences– thus the expression “once in a blue moon”– but they don’t always appear blue. In this case, the term “blue moon” simply refers to the appearance of a second full moon, or total lunar eclipse, in any given month; usually, there is only one. In some areas, for example, the moon might appear red.

According to the New York Times, this moon will rise for peak visibility around 5:51 AM, just in time to be seen before the approximated sunrise time for most of the East Coast. Watch it before you go to work!

Interested in learning more about how our cosmos are connected to plants? Read our article on lunar planting.

The post Everything You Need To Know About The “Super Blue Blood Moon” appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

Herewith, 7 things you should know about today:

Astrologers Are Blaming Saturn For What Some Think Will Be a Shitty Day

“Patience will not be a priority, especially if we are told that we ‘have to’ (do something) by our superiors,” Astrology website Lunar Living points out about today’s alignment of the Sun and Saturn, which are both crossing the constellation Capricorn.

Accordingly, starting something new or embarking on a difficult task today is ill-advised, as this may have long-term consequences. “We may be perceived as (in)subordinate,” LL continues. “Be ready to deal with the repercussions of the rebellion.”

Alaska Will Only Have About 3 Hours of Sunlight Today

Consider yourself lucky, Lower 48. North of the Arctic Circle– at 66.5 degrees North Latitude– the sun never even rises. In far North Parts of Maine, the sun will be setting in the 3 o’clock hour, but when, specifically, the sun will set in your area depends on your latitude and longitude coordinates. Wherever you are, just know that this will be the shortest day of the year in terms of sunlight. (Time to turn on your Happy Light, folks.)

In Latin, Solstice Means “Stopped Sun”

In Latin, solstitium means ‘the sun stands still’– a reflection on the fact that the sun reaches its largest distance from the equator on this day, and then either goes up or down in varying degrees depending on if it’s the winter or summer solstice.

Today, the term solstice is used specifically to describe “the exact moment when the sun reaches its northernmost point (around June 21) or southernmost point (around December 22) from the earth’s equator.”

We’ll Get More Sun After Today, But It Will Get Colder

According to a phenomenon known as Seasonal Temperature Lag, most areas in the Northern Hemisphere receive their coldest temps in January because the amount of solar energy arriving at the surface of the earth is less than the amount leaving the earth– at least for a few more months. (It’s sort of like how the warmest ocean weather arrives at beaches slightly after the hottest months; or rather, the water at a beach when its hot outside in early spring hasn’t yet “warmed up”.)

The Sun Contains 99.85% of the Mass in the Solar System

That’s wild. In other words, more than 1,000,000 plant earths could fit inside the sun, and we’d have to detonate over 100,000,000,000 tons of dynamite every second in order to match the energy it produces. All hail THE SUN, yo.

This is a Good Day for Fires and Houseplants

The Celtics believed that plants brought indoors during the solstice would assure woodland spirits safe refuge there during the winter months. According to the University of Vermont’s Department of Plant and Soil Science:

“The early Romans, Egyptians, Celtics and their priests [the Druids] observed that by December, the fields were no longer producing crops, leaves had fallen off the trees, and many plants had died… They lit bonfires to light up the skies both for warmth and to coax the sun to return. They thought the fire would call out to the sun, asking it to stop its descent into the earth and return to the sky. You may see this Druid festival referred to as ‘Alban Arthan’, translated from Welsh as ‘light of winter.’

Other sacred trees of the solstice were the yew (symbolizing death and the last day of the solar year), silver fir (winter solstice day and rebirth), and birch (new beginnings).

The sun, considered a supreme being, was often considered ill, only to recover with the longer days after the solstice. Some experts believe the word ‘Yule’, another term for Christmas, came from the similar Gothic and Saxon words meaning ‘wheel’. This would have referred to the cycles of the sun.

Oak was usually used for these bonfires because, being a ‘strong,’ solid wood, it was perceived to represent strength and triumph. The Saxons and Celtics often kept an oak log– usually the entire trunk of a tree–burning for 12 hours on the eve of the solstice.

Other sacred trees of the solstice were the yew (symbolizing death and the last day of the solar year), silver fir (winter solstice day and rebirth), and birch (new beginnings). The Celtics believed plants brought indoors during the solstice would assure woodland spirits safe refuge there during the winter months. They used yellow cedar (arborvitae) to symbolize cleansing and purity, ash to symbolize the sun (considered a supreme being) and protection, and the pine for peace, healing, and joy. Druid holiday colors of red, green and white are represented by berries (red), greens, and white berries (mistletoe) or white birch bark.”

By modern standards, this might instead look like you cozying up in front of a fire with your houseplants. It’s the same thing, right?

This is Also a Great Time to Consult the EarthWindMap

Just because. Check it out.

The post 7 Things You Should Know About The 2017 Winter Solstice appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

What many people don’t realize is that much of our tap water is originally pulled from an aquifer or surface water source that is located quite a distance from where we live. This water is then filtered and treated with chlorine and fluoride at a public municipal water treatment facility.

Tap water tests also reveal a host of harmful materials present: copper and other metals leaching from pipes, trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs and endocrine disruptors like the herbicide Atrazine, which is banned in the EU. This, of course, is to say nothing about widespread hormones from birth control medications that are also present in the global water supply.

What if there was another way? A method that was as ancient as our species, and available for anyone– even those who live in urban areas? It turns out that you don’t have to live next to a crystal geyser to find fresh spring water.

With the help of the user-submitted database Find A Spring, people all over the world can locate and submit fresh water springs near their homes, or in areas they plan to travel.

If someone is traveling– say, to upstate New York– they can view the list of over fifty springs in that geographic area and find one along their travel route at which they could stop to fill up their water bottle. Certain major cities have springs located within or very close to their limits. For example, for a popular spring listed just outside of Chicago, the site publishes water quality test results and the exact location of the water source.

Portland, Oregon also has several springs listed just outside its city limits. Most springs submitted by users are in less urban places, however, and are spread throughout 48 states in the U.S.– and over 50 countries worldwide.

As Find A Spring’s founder Daniel Vitalis tells users: “The water from springs is the cleanest water in the world. It’s been filtered by the earth itself. Water percolates down through the earth… and is filtered through earth’s substrate [before] it accumulates in deep aquifers. When those aquifers are full, that water is brought up to the surface at springs.”

User-submitted reports and comments on Find A Spring indicate the location of each water source, how to find it, test result numbers, and other useful information. These tips will help point you in the right direction, but once you’ve found the spring, always test it for yourself to be sure it’s clean for consumption. [easyazon_link identifier=”B07411DS95″ locale=”US” tag=”gardcoll03-20″]TDS meters[/easyazon_link] (Total Dissolved Solids) are inexpensive and easy to use, and they will help determine whether or not water from a spring is fit for consumption.

Ideally, spring water should have a reading of 100-150 parts-per-million (ppm) or less. Use common sense when drinking from any spring, and ask around in your community to see who else is drinking from it.

Many springs are daily sources of water for families and other community members who would rather not drink processed commercial water or tap water.

Be sure to bring some sturdy collection bottles to store your harvest. (Glass is ideal for storing water because it does not leach chemicals into solution like plastic does.) If you plan to store water for an extended period of time, always store it in the darkest, coolest place possible, as algae may grow on the inside bottles of spring water that is exposed to excess light. For extra protection, cover your bottles with an opaque blanket to add insulation and block out light.

The benefits of drinking spring water are manifold. Unlike tap water, which is usually slightly acidic, spring water will have a neutral or slightly alkaline pH, which helps to lower inflammation and reduce overall free radical damage in the body. With its naturally occurring particulates, spring water is also beneficial for digestion and helps to promote healthy gut flora.

“Often the water we get at springs has been in the ground longer than humans have been polluting the surface of the earth, which means that water is pristine,” says Vitalis. “The water you drink becomes your body, becomes your blood, and there’s a real satisfaction in knowing that water in your body is wild.”

Need another reason to be interested in water quality? Pesticides in the water supply are more common than you think.

Click here to see how you can test the water in your home.

The post How to Forage for Fresh Spring Water appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

Writing on the topic of Thoreau’s legacy, Wulf explains:

“What the 32-year-old Thoreau quietly did in the fall of 1849 was to set up a new and systematic daily regimen. In the afternoons, he went on long walks, equipped with an array of instruments: his hat for specimen-collecting, a heavy book to press plants, a spyglass to watch birds, his walking stick to take measurements, and small scraps of paper for jotting down notes. Mornings and evenings were now dedicated to serious study, including reading scientific books such as those by the German explorer and visionary thinker Alexander von Humboldt, whose Cosmos (the first volume was published in 1845) had become an international best seller.

As important, Thoreau began to use his own observations in a new way, intensifying and expanding the journal writing that he’d undertaken shortly after graduating from Harvard in 1837, apparently at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s suggestion. In the evening, he often transferred the notes from his walks into his journal, and for the rest of his life, he created long entries on the natural world in and around Concord. Thoreau was staking out a new purpose: to create a continuous, meticulous documentary record of his forays. Especially pertinent two centuries after his birth, in an era haunted by inaction on climate change, he worried over a problem that felt personal but was also spiritual and political: how to be a rigorous scientist and a poet, imaginatively connected to the vast web of natural life.”

With regards to the past year’s crippling natural disasters and mounting concerns over international environmental policy, Thoreau’s writings– even those that didn’t initially garner public attention– seem more relevant than ever.

Ultimately, as Wulf points out, “For Thoreau, a sense of wonder—of awe and oneness with nature—was essential.”

Read the full article here.

The post <em>The Atlantic</em> Explores Thoreau’s “Poetic Wonder and Scientific Rigor” appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

As the Huffington Post points out, figs are not fruit– they’re actually inverted flowers. As such, they require a specific kind of pollination that can only come from fig wasps– wasps that have to die inside the fruit in order for the fruit to mature, since figs cannot be pollinated by wind or normal bees.

Horrified? Yes, we were too, when we first found out.

According to Science Focus, female figs (the ones we eat) are capable of digesting wasps whole. Whole!

Photo: Andreana Bitsis

As Luis Villazon summarizes:

“The female wasp crawls inside through a hole so narrow that she loses her wings in the process and becomes trapped. If the fig is a male, she lays her eggs inside. These hatch into larvae that burrow out, turn into wasps and fly off, carrying fig pollen with them. If the wasp climbs into a female fig [the kind we eat], she pollinates it, but cannot lay her eggs and just dies alone. Luckily for us, the female fig produces an enzyme that digests this wasp completely. The crunchy bits are seeds, not wasp parts.”

And yes, this happens every time a fig wasp flies into a female fig. EVERY TIME.

Stated another way, by Julie R. Thomson of the Huffington Post:

“If a fig wasp enters a female fig accidentally… there is no room in the interior for it to reproduce. And it cannot escape, because its wings and antennae have broken off. So the wasp dies inside, which is unfortunate but necessary because that’s how it delivers the pollen giving us the fruit we love.”

In conclusion: no, there are no wasp parts inside of your favorite figs… but there were, at one point. Lucky for us, figs digest all wasp parts long before they make it to our cheese plates.

This is why we can’t have nice things.

The post Is It True That There Are Dead Wasps Inside of Figs? appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

The post A Look Inside Robert LLewellyn and Joan Maloof’s <em>Living Forest</em> appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

For those of you who dream of hopping on a plane to fairer destinations the moment the weather gets cold: look no further. We’ve compiled a simple itinerary of castles and filming locations that feature prominently in HBO’s wildly popular Game of Thrones television series. From Fort Lovrijenac in Dubrovnik, Croatia (The Red Keep in King’s Landing, Capital of Westeros) to Doune Castle in Stirling, Scotland (also known as Winterfell, home of House Stark), there are a number of ancient and mysterious locations throughout Europe where any dedicated GoT fan could easily find shelter– and a good bite to eat.

At Castle Ward in Strangford, Ireland, guests can stay in Potter’s Cottage, which opens to the show’s fictitious Courtyard of Winterfell. In Seville, Spain– the perfect warm-weather vacation destination– travelers can visit the “Palace of Dorne” at The Alcázar of Seville. Aït-Ben-Haddou in Morocco serves as the backdrop for Yunkai and Pentos, while Essaouira in Morocco is Astapor. Further out in the Atlantic, Fort Manoel in Gżira, Malta is the show’s Great Sept of Baelor.

Over in Iceland, Grjótagjá is home of the scene in which Jon and Ygritte first break Jon’s oath to the Night’s Watch, while Dimmuborgir is where Mance Rayder set up his camp. At Thingvellir National Park, wherein the season followed Arya and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane while they traveled together, visitors can go cold-water diving at Silfra, which is the site where the Eurasian and North American continents split (a stunning location that is a favorite travel destination of Garden Collage Photo Editor, Andreana Bitsis). The mountains in Vatnajökull glacier area also provide the scenery for “North of the Wall,” home of the White Walkers.

For the most bang for your buck, head to Croatia, home to the majority of Game of Thrones’ iconic scenes. Lokrum Island in Dubrovnik is Qarth; Trsteno Arboretum in Dubrovnik is the Gardens of King’s Landing; Belvedere Atrium, also in Dubrovnik, is the set of the fight between Oberyn Martell and Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane; nearby Minceta Tower is the House of the Undying; and Klis Fortress in Klis Village, Croatia is the set of a brief scene in which Daenerys plans her return to the throne (dedicated viewers know the one).

Ireland is also a heavy-hitter: several scenes were shot at Tollymore Forest Park in the Mourne Mountains of Ireland, including the pilot episode’s opening scene, the moment when the Stark children’s direwolf pups are found, and Ramsay Snow chasing Theon Greyjoy. Sandy Brae in the Morne Mountains is the setting of Vaes Dothrak, sole city of the Dothraki, and Corbet near Banbridge, Ireland is the fictional location of Riverrun, home of the House Tully.

In Spain, visitors to Barcelona who don’t want to stray too far off the beaten path are encouraged to visit Castell de Santa Florentina, which is Horn Hill in the show (home of House Tarly). Roman bridge of Córdoba in Andalusia, Spain is also the site of the Long Bridge of Volantis. For a more rugged landscape, venture out to Bardenas Reales in Navarre, Spain for a look at the Dothraki Sea, or head to Zafra Castle in Guadalajara, Spain to relive the flashback scene of Lyanna Stark’s death in the Tower of Joy.

With its majestic cliffs and sparse coastal population, many seaboard locations in Northern Ireland make up the backdrops that give GoT its magical, medieval-vibe: Mussenden Temple and Downhill Beach in County Londonderry, Ireland are Dragonstone; The Dark Hedges in Ballymoney are The Kingsroad; Ballintoy Bay in County Antrim represent Pyke, home of House Greyjoy; and Murlough Bay, also in County Antrim, represent The Iron Islands. Whether you’re a seasoned traveller or just want to get out and see some of Europe’s more rare, enchanting destinations, Game of Thrones has a lot to offer. It may be a show steeped in fantasy and imagination, but the natural landscapes that bring the story to life are realer than most would imagine.

The post Gorgeous <em>Game of Thrones</em> Film Sites To Plan Your Next Vacation Around appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

Science tells us that fairy rings– or patterns of certain types of mushrooms that grow in circular formations– are naturally-occurring phenomenon that usually appear year after year on lawns, in fields, and in forests. Fairy rings occur when a mushroom spore falls in a favorable spot, grows a mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus), and spreads out an underground network of fine, tubular threads called hyphae. Mushroom caps then appear at the edges of this network. The formations continue to expand outward, using up all the nutrients within them as they grow larger. A ring found in Belfort, France– the largest ever seen– measures approximately 2,000 feet in diameter, and is an astounding 700 years old.

What then could be so dangerous about a circle of mushrooms? According to many English and Celtic tales, any human who enters a fairy ring will be forced to dance with the creatures, unable to stop until they go mad or perish of exhaustion. Dutch traditions tell of fairy rings that were created by the devil as a place to keep his milk churn, and any livestock that were to enter said circle would suffer the souring of their own milk. An Austrian legend also claims that fairy rings were the work of dragons that burned them into the ground with their fiery tails.

Photo: Alessandro Zocc

According to The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, a Northumberland tradition states that in order to investigate a fairy ring, one must run around it nine times under the full moon. If one were to accidentally add a tenth circle, “evil would befall the runner.”

Welsh tradition’s dire tale varies slightly in that the unfortunate consequences of a human’s arrival into a fairy ring are not brought about by the fairies themselves, but by the nature of their world. According to the legend of Llewellyn and Rhys, the pace of the fairy world differs from that of the human one; a person could dance for minutes in a fairy ring only to discover that it has been days or weeks in the human one. And if one manages to make it back into the human realm, the shock could easily kill them.

Not all myth surrounding the fairy ring is quite so dark, however. Some legends say that fairy rings are, in fact, good luck. While Welsh tradition doesn’t recommend entering them, it is good fortune to grow crops around them and allow livestock to feed nearby. They are said to improve fertility and fortune. In Germany, fairy rings were called Hexenringe, or “Witches Rings,” and were believed to be places where witches danced to celebrate Walpurgis Night, a festival that welcomes the beginning of spring.

Photo: Erin Brierley/Flickr

Because fairy rings are typically associated with magic and other-worldly phenomena, they are regarded with awe as well as with fear. Shakespeare alludes to fairy rings with appreciation in Act II, Scene I of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which the fairies say:

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green… 

As the weather starts to cool and summer transitions into fall, fairy rings appear all over the world and spark our imaginations. If you happen to spy one on your lawn or come across one while hiking, watch your step, and perhaps try listening for the quiet sound of laughter and merriment that people have heard from them for so many thousands of years.

The post The Myth and Lore of The Fairy Ring appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

No– seriously.

Castle Ward, the 18th century castle that is the real-life filming site for Game of Thrones in Ireland, is throwing a Game of Thrones Winterfell Festival on September 24, 2017.

Winterfell is a one-day festival in which fans of Games of Thrones can discover the Stark family home while seeing first-hand theatrical reenactments of scenes from the show that were filmed on site (including a special celebrity guest appearance from GoT actors). Set within an 820-acre historic demesne on the shores of Strangford Lough, George R. R. Martin’s mythical world of Westeros unfolds in the beautiful landscape of Northern Ireland, as the festival offers ample opportunity to explore the surrounding nature while enjoying local food, live music, festival games, and more.

Castle Ward is located in an 820 acre historic demesne in the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland.

For more information on Winterfell Festival, visit the National Trust’s website or go here to purchase tickets. 

The post Events We Love: Winterfell Festival at a REAL <em>Games of Thrones</em> Castle appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.

Photo: Courtesy of Wild Center

The whole adventure can be likened to a guided meditation, designed to heighten the senses and bring people closer to nature. Taking cues from a Mohawk Thanksgiving ceremony, Wyer’s “I Walk Towards Myself” expresses gratitude to elements of nature: streams and creeks; puddles and ponds; soot and wood. Anyone ambling through the iForest, bathed by the rising and falling of soft choral notes, can feel a mystical aura. “I spent time in the woodland when it was quiet, imagining the voices moving around invisibly,” says Wyer on where he drew his inspiration.

The whole adventure can be likened to a guided meditation, designed to heighten the senses and bring people closer to nature.

Nothing about the composition is an accident. The choice of singing “encourages the visitor to focus closely on the human voices.” By default, however, the listener also absorbs the sounds of nature such as the sway of branches or leaves rustling underfoot. The indigenous lyrics only add to the mystery. “The fact that this piece is not in English helps us gain an emotional connection,” says Wyer. “Rather than straining to hear the words in order to understand what’s being sung.”

Mounting an exhibition of this complexity and scale was no small feat. Wyer recorded “I Walk Towards Myself” with a 72-member choir, each with an individual microphone. He then created a mixes for each of the 24 speakers to be installed in trees scattered along the path. Each of the recordings featured a variety of singers reciting different segments of the song. Once the speaker system was in place, another round of audio mixing was done to create a balanced symphony of voices, so that no one speaker or section drowned out another.

On any given day, nobody can have a duplicate experience, which is what makes the iForest so personalized and unique. The iForest wander plays out as a surround-sound concert composed on the fly, with special effects. The time of day, the seasons, and the weather play key roles. Birds could chirp on early morning strolls. A walk after the rain would mean silence instead of the crunch of twigs. A breeze could carry the voice of the chorus into the far distance.

Photo: Courtesy of Wild Center

Ultimately, the journey turns toward introspection. “The hope of ‘I Walk Towards Myself’ is not only to encourage deeper connection with nature but to help see ourselves differently, as a living, breathing part of nature,” says Wyer. In fact, he intentionally integrated human voices “so that visitors would experience ‘human’ as a part of nature, rather than feel they were simply external observers of it.”

The Wild Center is located at 45 Museum Drive in Tupper Lake, New York.

For more information or to plan a trip, visit the museum’s website. 

The post iForest’s New Immersive Sound Installation Captures the Wonder of Upstate New York appeared first on Garden Collage Magazine.