The Sunday Stew
Editors: Jennifer Rasmussen, Kallan KennedyThe Sunday Stew is a free, e-magazine delivered every Sunday as a loving gift to the Pagan community. All submissions are the intellectual property of their authors, and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the blog owner. All photos are used with permission.
We welcome your feedback! Please be sure to tell us how we're doing and give us suggestions for improvement. Please leave a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!
This week's Stew is an amorphous, strange brew, which works perfectly for our purposes! Our chefs are discussing everything from nostalgic tributes to being a solitary; family issues to chicken pot pie. Be sure to check out the news and the astrology sections this week. Autumn Earthsong has a great download for your grimoire! Karen has your Pagan Lore, Julie's giving you more information on snakes, and Kallan's got your Tarot and Totem for the week. Ready? Let's do it!
Happy Birthday this week to Alice BarefootGypsy Rhoads, Bethan Oak, Ivonne Meyers-Bley, Volante Carlson, Morgan Jones, Cheryl Perry, Shana Enter, Sandra Jackson, and Susan Taksa O'Dee. May this be your best birthday ever, and may your next year of life bring you joy, peace, success and happiness in abundance!
In the News
Tanzania Witch Doctors Arrested after Albino Murder
2 Held for Thrashing Women on Witchcraft Charge
Battered Wives are Conned by 'Witches'
Sorcery at War
Modern Paganism Reveals Storm Clouds Over Democracy
4 Pupils Leave School Over Witchcraft Claims
Pagan Unity Festival Brings 'Devil-Worship' Into the Light
6 Held for Limpopo 'Witch' Killing
Falmouth pagan pervert Petrauske refused appeal
Woman branded witch, thrashed in Rautahat
Nigeria: Bird Turns to Old Woman in Lagos
Witches camp national tragedy — First Lady
Pagans in South Africa Defy Religious Discrimination
Pagan Lore with Karen Szabo
Sunday, May 25
In Europe (especially France), this day is sacred to Saint Sarah of the Gypsies and also to an ancient Triple Goddess who rose from the waters of the ocean. In ancient Greece, the birthday of Apollo, the twin brother of the Goddess Artemis, was celebrated annually on this date.
Also on this date, in the year 1581, famed occultist and alchemist John Dee first realized his natural gift for looking into the future through the art of crystal-gazing. He served for years as the royal astrologer of Queen Elizabeth and had a reputation as a powerful wizard.
Monday, May 26
This is Sacred Well Day. On this day, it is traditional for Pagans and Witches (especially in Ireland and Great Britain) to decorate sacred wells with wreaths and to toss offerings of flowers into the water in honor of the deities and spirits of the well. This custom dates back to the ancient Romans, who celebrated an annual well festival called the Fortinalia, which took place on this date.
Tuesday, May 27
On this day, the Secular Centennial Games were observed in ancient Rome. The Goddesses Diana, Prosperina, and the Three Fates were honored in nighttime healing ceremonies.
On this date in the year 1948, Morning Glory Zell was born in Long Beach, California. She was a priestess and vice-president of the Church of All Worlds, and a practitioner of Celtic Pagan Shamanism. Morning Glory passed away on May 13, 2014.
Wednesday, May 28
A sacred rite called the Pythian Games was enacted every four years on this date in ancient Greece. The rite honored the slain serpent-Goddess Python, and was celebrated in Delphi, the most venerated shrine in all of Greece.
Thursday, May 29
On this day in ancient times, the god Mars was honored by the farmers of Rome with feasts, prayers, animal sacrifices, and annual rites of purification. The Ambarvalia festival was also celebrated on this day in honor of Ceres, Juno, the Lares, and the Family Goddesses.
Friday, May 30
On this date in the year 1431, French heroine and military leader Joan of Arc was burned alive at the stake as punishment for committing the crimes of Witchcraft, heresy, and "being given to the forbidden arts of magick and divination."
Saturday, May 31
On this day, the annual Triple Blessing of the God Buddha is observed by Theravada Buddhists. To celebrate the god's birth, enlightenment, and passage into Nirvana, shrines and houses are decorated with flowers and special prayer flags. Offerings of flowers, incense, and rice are also made. The Triple Blessing often lasts for three consecutive days.
And there you are, another trip through time and around the world in the Pagan Lore! I hope everyone has a wonderful week -- and I'll see you next time with more Pagan Lore!
Karen
Did you know that Avon is involved in the fight against domestic violence? From time to time, Avon sells special items from which they donate much of the proceeds to their Foundation for Women to help support women who have been victims and to help them empower themselves. There are currently four "Empowerment" items on sale at my Avon eStore, in the Campaign 12 brochure on pages 158 and 159. If you'd like to purchase one, or shop all the other amazing things on sale, come to http://youravon.com/karenszabo -- and thank you!
Sparkle and Shine with Sosanna
On May 28th of each year, my household gets a little sad. There is a look of something missing from our lives. My hubby’s eyes seem a little misty and the usual spring is missing from his step. May 28th is his father’s birthday. His father, my father-in-law, passed away in August of 1996. Years before I laid eyes on my beloved, his world had already crashed around him.
I never got to sit and chat with him about hubby’s childhood. I missed out on the fishing stories. I wasn’t invited to the house for the holidays or greeted with what I’m told is a “booming voice” when I called the house.
I met my father-in-law through his son.
With each door that is opened for me, I know that he was a gentleman. As he places his hand in the small of my back when I walk through a door, I know that this father was chivalrous. As we go about our regular day, and he brushes the hair from my face and says, you’re beautiful, I know his father was attentive.
As he takes my hand when we’re in the grocery store, I know his father was an honorable man. As I watch him work on his projects and pour his entire being into each and every item he makes, I know his father was a devoted man.
As I watch him interact with the world, I know that his father was a kind man. I see it in his son.
During this month, his eyes sparkle a bit less, as I know he misses his father deeply. It is at this very time, I share with him that his father would be very proud of what he has become.
And when he misses him and wants to see him, I want to hold up a mirror to show him how I met my father-in-law.
Namaste and Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
www.sosannascloset.com
www.confessionsofamodernwitch.blogspot.com
Sunshine's Meanderings with Kathleen Lane
Do you have a place that is "home"? That one spot that resonates somewhere inside you with that sense of homecoming or that feeling of belonging and knowing it is where you are meant to be?
Most of my life has been spent as a gypsy. I have lived from coast to coast and border to border. I was born in the Midwest, lived in the South and NW and Rocky Mountains and the desert SW and now the NE. It has been a life of experiencing new places and new thinking and different weather patterns and finding new roads to travel. All of my children were born in different states and have traveled the continent with me. But now, in my Crone years, the feeling of "going home" has begun to grow in my heart.
Out of all the country I have traveled and seen and experienced, there is only one place that calls to me. It is the place that my dreams most often travel to and the one spot where I feel closest to the Mother. In feeling this, I wonder whether other people feel this call to go home. Or is it just a result of all of my years of wandering and never putting down permanent roots? My husband has several sisters who have never lived more than 20 miles from where they were born and that concept is so alien to me, that I can't even get my brain around it. Didn't they ever have the urge to go see anything different? Didn't they get bored with knowing all of the roads and never seeing different terrain and want to go live in the mountains or the desert just for something new?
The place that calls to me is the Oregon coast. It beckons with imagined sounds and odors. The sounds of the waves rolling in on the sand and the sound of wind in the fir and cedar trees and the gulls calling and the colors in the waves as the sun lights them up and the joy of watching the little miniature underwater gardens in the tide pools all call to me. I have seen the rest of the country from Florida to Maine, the Great Lakes and the Midwest, the glories of the southwest red rock country and while there are beautiful and awe inspiring places all over this country; none of them are home other than the NW. She is calling me and I think the time is coming to answer the summons.
Saga's Spirit with Loren Morris
I lost a friend this past week. No, we were no longer speaking, but I still counted her as my friend. She was a drug user. She USED to be an RN. She still had her sweetness. She still would do anything to help anyone, but she just couldn't help her own self. I want to tell this story, in hopes that it will help someone. I am not telling this to drag her through the dirt. I want people to know that ignoring things does not help people. That joining them in their lives will not save them. I won't be using her name, mainly for her children’s sakes.
My friend was beautiful. She was caring. She was helpful. She spiraled in oblivion, like an angel with wings that she broke with self-hate. Two years ago, I tried to help her. I paid a huge price of losing her friendship, but I had to make a decision.
At the time I knew that she was a past user. She had danced a death dance with cocaine, and had told everyone that she overcame the addiction. She stole script pads from her employment and lost her job. She was no longer a nurse. But, she said she overcame it.
Then she scrambled to right herself. That's the picture she painted for everyone; that she was righting herself. This was the picture that I saw. That she had gotten an apartment, had settled down with her young daughter, and she was making it all work. We went sledding in the winter, we helped her put some things in storage, and we made plans to spend Christmas together.
However, she would visit people and just fall asleep. She was scatterbrained. She would be hopping one minute and sleeping the very next. She kept her 5 year old out til 2 in the morning, making runs to who knows where. The child was falling asleep in her classroom, grouchy. The child was waking up and feeding herself chocolate and water because there wasn't an adult that could be woken from their drug stupor to feed her. There were other things that happened that helped me make a decision with what needed to be done.
Read more:
http://sagascottage.blogspot.com/2014/05/dont-be-enabler.html
My spirit boards: http://lapuliabookofshadows.com/product-category/spirit-ouija-weejie-boards/
Tiffany's Gumbo with Tiffany Newson
Family Boundaries
The argument started because both family members, mother and son, were not doing their duties and wanted me to sacrifice and bend over backwards to compensate their wants. When I refused to bend, I was then called selfish.
I'm selfish but I chose to sacrifice my career and a steady income to be there every day for my kids. I am selfish because I chose to have more kids after my first. I am selfish for getting married and letting my husband love me and take care of all my children. I am selfish because I haven't gone back to school since that would mean hurting the household's income and function. I'm selfish for seeing that two weeks out the year with only 4 calls a year isn't what my child needs.
I'm selfish for being selfless.
This took me by surprise. I mean who really gets mad because the mother isn't running to drop her kids off to party or drink?
She then started blaming me for her 'only being capable of a handful of phone calls a year.' She blamed me for 'only being capable for a few days out the year' because her religion and career demanded so much of her.
After some reflection and talking to my best friend/sisters, I realized they are jealous. They are jealous that they didn't get this opportunity. They are sad because they don't have those special memories with their child. They feel guilty for dropping them off so they could get a breather. They are mad at themselves for even feeling those feelings towards someone who is willing to do it.
Reading this resonated so deeply with me:
At first I was mad. How dare she try to speak on anything in my life? Just because we have a family tie doesn't mean she has any authority to speak about what I do in my household.
Then I started to sympathize and empathize with her. I remember being that single parent working 2 jobs. Turning on the TV and putting up the baby gate in hopes of catching a few hours of peace before going back to work. Feeling guilty because your child seemed happier away from you than with you. Being mad you're even having to struggle the way you are to get a little bit of a heads up.
Now, just because I understand doesn't mean I forgive her actions nor does it mean I trust her again. True words get spoken out of anger and drunkenness.
Those words can't be covered over in money, kind actions or avoidance. Once said, what reaction that comes from them is solely your responsibility.
I'm taking the time now to reevaluate what the heck just happened. Where do I go from here? Until then I am cutting that tie. I'm not exposing my life to that poison. I just got rid of it from one side. Family tie or not it doesn't exclude from me protecting myself and my family.
There and Back A-hen: Just a bunch of clucking nonsense with Melissa "Chicky" Cassick
Each clock tick booming,
A deadline looming:
I have an idea that’s just about blooming.
And just as the verses come rushing about --
Here come the distractions that won’t let them out.
A topic insightful,
With metaphor delightful,
The rush of the letters excitingly frightful.
But when I place fingers to keyboard each time --
Here come the distractions to mess up my rhyme.
Can’t quell my desire,
My mind is on fire!
My opinions rage on news events dire!
But as I sit down, intent on composing --
Here come the distractions, impeding my prosing.
My open thesaurus
Can’t play solo chorus.
I have to get rolling with rhythms sonorous.
And as the bright syllables pour from my brain --
Here come more distractions to vex me again.
Perhaps it is best
To go get some rest;
Art needs fermenting to rise to its best.
And my muse runs around with her anxious arms flapping --
She came to inspire: but she found me napping.-- Melissa Cassick, May 2014
Magic in Motherhood with Autumn Noel
Chicken Pot Pie
Mommies are busy. Magickal mommies are even busier. To keep the rhythm of my home sane, especially during the school year when I was working, I made sure to plan out my meals before grocery shopping, and before the hectic week started. Maybe it’s a bit OCD, but it’s really helped keep me organized. Of course while cooking for my family, I have to throw in a witchy twist every now and then. It’s always something small… but just enough to make me feel that I’ve whispered my motherly blessings on them.
On our menu this past week was chicken pot pie. My recipes are always simple, as a working mother, but you, of course, could probably whip this up from scratch! ;)
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded chicken
½ cup butter
2 cups chicken broth
one medium sized bag of frozen mixed vegetables (we use broccoli, carrots, peas, green beans and corn)
½ cup flours
1 cup milk
2 premade pie crust
Pie dish/pan
Directions:
Sauté vegetables in butter until thawed. Add flour and cook one minute longer. Stirring constantly, combine chicken broth and milk to mixture. Continue stirring over medium heat, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add chicken to mixture. Grease pie pan and line with one pre-made pie crust. Fill crust with vegetable and chicken mixture, top with second pie crust. Cut slits to allow steam to escape (or see picture). Bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes or until brown.
This week my small witchy twist was star cut outs on the pie crust that topped the dish. My almost two year old was thoroughly impressed!
Brightest Blessing on your magickal meals this week!
The Spice
Since this is Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., it's a great time for this totally easy recipe. That's me in the photo with my oldest daughter, who just graduated this past week from college. She's going to be an elementary school teacher. We used to make this cake together every year.
Jello Flag Cake
Ingredients:
1 white sheet cake, unfrosted (you can make it from a mix, if you like)
1 box of jello (I use cherry, but use your favorite flavor)
Whipped cream or Cool-Whip (enough to cover the top of a sheet cake)
fresh blueberries, wholefresh strawberries, sliced in half
Directions
Make your white cake and let it cool. Poke holes in it with a fork. Make up the box of jello per directions and pour the warm jello over the cake. Put in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours (this allows the jello to set). Once the jello is set, spread the whipped cream (I make my own with whipping cream, but you can use Cool-Whip if you like) over the top of the cake. Decorate with fresh blueberries and strawberries. ENJOY!
The Witch's Cupboard with Autumn Earthsong
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), is a perennial herb native to southern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa and has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It can be categorized under the Lamiacease (mint) family. “Melissa” in Greek means “honey bee”. “Officinalis” is a Medieval Latin word meaning “used in medicine”. The name is probably derived from its traditional use by bee keepers to attract bees and its high medicinal qualities. Lemon Balm is also known as… bee balm, honey-leaf, horsemint, garden balm, balm gentle, English Balm, common balm, sweet balm, balm mint and sweet Melissa.
Lemon balm exudes a very refreshing lemon fragrance when we bruise or crush its leaves. For centuries, the bee keepers have planted lemon balm near the bee hives, even rubbing the leaves on the inside of the hives to encourage the bees to stay. Its strong lemon fragrance is believed to attract and to settle the honey bee swarms. This is why lemon balm is also commonly known as bee balm.
Cultivating and Growing
Lemon Balm likes Sun and will spread like crazy if allowed to! It can be successfully grown from seed. The plant reaches about 2-3 feet in height and produces masses of wrinkled, aromatic leaves. It’s deeply wrinkled leaves are about 2 to 3 inches long. The shape of lemon balm leaves is similar to mint leaves (oval or heart shaped) and are a bright yellow- green in color. Lemon balm grows relatively small flowers that can be white or yellow in color. Lemon balm is easy to grow and maintain. It’s a versatile herb and can tolerate severe weather conditions. Lemon Balm is a wonderful plant for all herb lovers to have in their gardens! It’s a favorite of mine and you’ll see why!
Medicinal Uses
Lemon Balm has many medicinal properties. It’s an Antispasmodic, Anti-Viral, Aromatic, Cardiac tonic, Diaphoretic/sudorific, Digestive, Emmenagogue, Febrifuge, Hypotensive, Nervine, Sedative, Stomachic, Uterine Tonic, and Vermifuge. Lemon balm is used to relieve Anxiety, Colds, Depression, Dysmenorrhea, Nausea, Sore Throat, Insect/flea bites and Sunburn. It will help to heal Herpes/Cold Sores. It can ease cardiovascular symptoms and Pregnancy/Childbirth.
Here are just a few ways Lemon Balm can be used…whether you drink it as a tea or use the leaves on your skin. You can make a tonic, an oil or a balm as well. Each preparation is conducive to a way to use Lemon Balm for healing.
-Lemon balm has been used as one of the important ingredients to treat Insomnia. It has the ability to promote sleep.
-Lemon balm is a calming herb. It helps to reduce anxiety, improve relaxation, increase alertness and overcome stress problems. (tea, room spray or used in bath)
-Lemon balm cream can effectively cure cold sores caused by the herpes virus (HSV).
-Lemon balm has been used as a folk remedy to dress wounds, to treat snake, animal or insect bites. It has also been said to be able to ease high blood pressure, headaches, toothache, earache, fever, influenza, menstrual cramps and vomiting
-Lemon balm helps to improve digestion, loss of appetite and stomach discomfort and flatulence.
- Herbal tea made from the lemon balm's fresh or dried leaves is consumed to treat insomnia, anxiety, agitation, herpes, fever, menstrual cramps, muscle spasms, colic, vomiting and poor digestion.
-Crushed leaves rubbed on the skin may help prevent insect bites or heal existing wounds
-a lemon balm infusion added to warm bath water may promote menstruation.
-Some medical studies have found that drinking lemon balm tea may help to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Research indicates that lemon balm can help to reduce agitation and improve cognitive function in individuals with Alzheimer’s. The Georgetown University Medical Center cites studies that suggested that lemon balm can improve memory and decrease anxiety in people suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease
-Using lemon balm in aromatherapy has benefits as well such as to relieve a headache, nausea, calm stress, and aid in more restful sleep.
- The hot tea brings on a sweat that is good for relieving colds, flus and fevers and an antiviral agent has been found that combats mumps, cold sores and other viruses.
- Studies indicate that the herb slightly inhibits the thyroid stimulating hormone and restricts Grave's disease, a hyperthyroid condition.
- Lemon balm's antihistamine action is useful to treat eczema and headaches and accounts for the centuries-old tradition of placing the fresh leaf on insect bites and wounds.
- Lemon balm has antipyretic, refreshing, cholagogic and stimulating properties. Use a pad soaked in the infusion to relieve painful swellings such as gout.
- Use as ointment for sores, insect bites, or to repel insects.
- Use hot infused oil as ointment or gentle massage oil for depression, tension, asthma and bronchitis.
Warnings
Lemon balm may interact with certain medications, such as thyroid medications and HIV medications, explains the University of Maryland. Talk with your doctor prior to taking lemon balm to prevent any interactions with medications or health conditions
These are just some of the ways to use Lemon Balm medicinally! You can see why it’s an important herb to have in your Witchy medicine cabinet!
Read the rest of this article and download for your Book of Shadows or Grimoire at www.autumnearthsong.com
Find my herbal shoppe at www.etsy.com/shop/verbenalaneshoppe
This Week in Astrology
Planets in Retrograde (Rx)
- Saturn until July 20
- Alert: Mercury goes Rx on June 7 (until July 1)
Sunday, May 25
- 11:57am-5:27pm Moon Void of Course, VoC, then moves into Taurus
- Great day for business, before and after the void!
- Great day for business, all day!
- 5:09am through the rest of the day, Moon VoC
Wednesday, May 28- 12:47am, VoC ends, Moon moves into Gemini
- 2:40pm New Moon in Gemini
- 9:45pm Venus moves into Taurus
Thursday, May 29
- 5:11am Mercury moves into Cancer
- 5:58am Moon VoC for the entire day
Friday, May 30
- 10:13am void ends, Moon moves into Cancer
- Great day for business, all day after void ends!
Saturday, May 31
- Great day for business, all day!
Weekly Horoscopes from DarkStar Astrology
The Weekly Divine with Kallan Kennedy
Kallan Kennedy is a professional tarot/totem intuitive with more than 20 years of divination experience. She offers private readings to her clients via her website, Secret Services. Order your personal reading today!
Weekly Tarot: The Devil
The Devil is a very interesting card in Tarot. It has more diverse interpretations than just about any card I've ever seen. It is not at all representative of the Christian "evil". More than anything, this card represents fear. Fear is also an interesting character, as it's often made interchangeable with worry. To worry means to give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. Actual fear is an inherent life-saver. You k now, those hairs that stand up on the back of your neck that just tell you that you are in danger? That little voice that says, "Don't turn down that alley. Keep walking"... it is that flight or fight response to a dangerous situation where your body produces adrenaline that gives you the strength of somewhere between 6 and 10 men. That's what true fear will do for you. Ly De Angeles says that Fear is an entity that protects you. I tend to agree.
Worry is something that causes you to feel sick on a regular basis (and can greatly affect your long-term health). It is often associated with concerns over things that might happen, versus that which is actually happening. In "After Earth", Will Smith's character addresses fear (I would call it worry on crack). This character's advice is something to consider:
This card is also about bondage, particular in a spiritual sense (think radical, fundamentalist, dangerous ideologies). This card causes us to stop, pause and think about our relationship with fear, worry and with our beliefs. Are you caught in an unhealthy, unproductive situation? Have you been feeling like you're being kept in the dark about something? What is your self-image like at this time? It is time to carefully examine your assumptions and definitions at this time. Seek the truth and see without deception, even if that means taking off those rose-colored glasses.
Weekly Totem: Rabbit
Rabbit shows up when it's time to plan for the future or when you need to design a contingency plan for your current situation. The rabbit reminds us to examine and utilize the tools we have within ourselves. Although our instincts are innate, they also need nurturing and development. If you feel stuck in a situation, rabbit can help you escape quickly, and teach you how to avoid those traps in the future.
Nature's Most Wanted with Julie Baker
Today I would like to spotlight one of my favorite genus of snake. The Pituophis, commonly called gopher snakes, bull snakes and pine snakes.
They are found in many places throughout the United States and Mexico and are often mistaken for rattle snakes.
I call them “sassy pants snakes”, because they put up this sassy, hyper-crazy defense display that looks ridiculously aggressive and is utterly harmless.
They will flatten their heads to make it appear as if they have venom glands, rattle their tails against the ground and leaves to make a rattle sound and hiss ferociously. They will coil and pseudo strike and generally make such a crazy fuss that any predator with good sense would leave them alone.
They are most known for their deep loud HISS, which is created using an evolutionary adaptation which allows it to make this big sound. They have one of the loudest hisses of any snake, though the king cobra has the loudest.
The epiglottis is a valve in the back of the throat which stays open when we breathe to allow air flow and closes over the trachea when we swallow to keep food out of our lungs. Its wide and leaf shaped and made of elastic cartilage, in some languages the epiglottis is key to producing some sounds.
The specially modified epiglottis of the genus Pituophis, has evolved to be flexible, erect and very thin. The snake can flex their throats and force air out of the trachea. This causes the modified epiglottis to vibrate madly and produce that intense, loud hoarse vibrating hiss. I am constantly amazed at the Size of the sound that can come out of these animals. Its sounds like it should be produced by a tiger.
Most species in this genus live in more arid areas and have developed scales that are very rough and arched (Keeled) giving them a pebbly appearance and an interesting texture under the fingertips. They have a series of markings that look like a braided chain down their backs and end in a tapered tail that has stripes. When the snake rattles its tail, as many species do, these lines give the optical illusion of them being larger, and bead like.
It’s easy to see why they are mistaken for rattle snakes at first sight, but it only takes a moment to realize that they are just frightened animals trying not to be someone’s dinner. I personally find this bit of snake theater to be endlessly funny and charming, especially when they are babies. Gopher, pine and bull snakes are easy to care for, fast growing, eager and energetic animals that get more beautiful as they get bigger. They have a brooding brow and eyes that range from reddish rust to bright yellow, giving their faces a cryptic wise appearance.
Depending on the species Pituophis grow to be 48 - 66 inches and powerfully built. In the wild they are eager capable hunters that are fabulous pest control, they are fast to vanish into the underbrush but if threatened will go into their act and stand their ground for as long as they need to make the threat go away, but I cannot stress enough how harmless this act is. Though all animals Can Bite and a bite from a full grown Pituophis won’t tickle, it will not be life threatening either. They do not want to engage a predator, as most snakes do not, because this puts them in danger of further harm.
This writer has the honor of being the scale momma to three young gopher snakes. Moonbeam and Sunshine are both Sonoran gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer affinis) Sunshine is an albino.
Moonbeam is growing into a beautiful example of his species’ normal coloring.
Twinkle is a Pacific gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer)
As you can see, their colors are similar and patterns, though slightly different, are easily recognizable.
Each of the twenty three species in the genus Pituophis is unique and marvelous, each an amazing example of adaptation and stubborn beauty. I look forward to seeing more in person and having a few more in my family.
Memorial Day Note from a Veteran
As a United States Navy veteran, I ask all of you to focus on those for whom this holiday was created.. our war dead. I appreciate greatly all of your "thank you for serving" greeting, tags on social media, etc... but, I did not die in service to my country. I lost good friends during my time there. Many of them were marines killed in the barracks attack on Beirut. I lost friends on all continents, out at sea, etc... many of us have lost relatives in wars from both the 20th and 21st centuries. We veterans still living never want to take the spotlight from those who gave their lives in this way. So, I'll be even happier if you'll just honor my fallen comrades instead.
Enjoy your picnics, pool openings, barbecues, et al.. but, please.. take a moment to remember those who died in the service to the country whose freedoms allow you those privileges
Thank you,
Kallan Kennedy
The winner of the Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends Tea Giveaway is: Paula Lupi!!
You will be contacted by Amy so she can send out your prize!! Congratulations! Be sure to let us all know which tea you chose and how you like it once you receive it!
That's it for this week's Stew! Mull. Digest. Enjoy!