Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

  Today, November 30, is St. Andrew's Day. Most of us know that Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, but he is also a patron of Barbados, Georgia, Cyprus, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, and various towns in Greece, Malta, Italy, and Spain. No better day than today to pray for peace between Russia and Ukraine!    Andrew is also the patron saint of fishermen, singers, and women who are pregnant. The Book of Common Prayer gives us this prayer: Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your Holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, now and forever. Amen. This stained-glass window is from Innerwick Church in Scotland.

When I lived in New York, Madeleine L'Engle was often part of our extended family - a teacher at St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's School, a guest at our Community of the Holy Spirit convent, and a spiritual leader and teacher at our St. Cuthbert's Retreat House. May her memory always be a blessing! Text copied from The Writer's Almanac from Nov. 29, 2013, with Garrison Keillor - with absolutely no permission, but counting on forgiveness:   It's the birthday of novelist  Madeleine L'Engle , born in New York City (1918). She worked for a while as an actress, and she was performing in the play  The Cherry Orchard  when she met her husband, the actor Hugh Franklin. She published a novel,  The Small Rain  (1945), and decided to give up acting and focus on writing and raising her kids. But while she was in her 30s, her career as a writer was going so badly that she considered giving up. Then she read a book that made her change her mind. She said, "I read a book o...

  Happy Thanksgiving W e chickens and ducks wish you a very happy Thanksgiving! You’ve probably heard the joke about the word that a Thanksgiving Day host hates the most? Vegetarian! But we chickens, ducks, turkeys, deer, and various other animals, hate the idea of a feast at the expense of our lives. And so, once again, we are asking you to consider a more animal-friendly Thanksgiving dinner. Just imagine: corn, squash – there are so many kinds of squash, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, string beans with almonds, carrots, rice, kale, mushrooms, biscuits, beets, turnips, cranberries, cabbage, roasted peppers, onions, beans – there are so many kinds of beans! And desserts:  blueberry pie, cherry pie, apple pie! Why, you’d not even miss us! -- first published in our News & Notes, Autumn 2021

 Please remember - you can decorate for Christmas and support Ascension Hermitage & Sanctuary all at once! Our on-line "store" has many beautiful options. We are raising money for hay for our horses - our goal is $856 for five weeks' worth of hay. Orders placed by Dec. 8 will be delivered in time for Christmas, but orders can be placed through Dec. 15 - those will definitely brighten your New Year! Thank you very much! Here's the link:   http://SanctuaryHouse.fpfundraising.com   1. Amaryllis Make PERFECT Gifts Amaryllis and paperwhites make PERFECT GIFTS for anyone of no matter their gardening skill level! Everyone will love these fast growing indoor holiday blooms!  2. Beautiful Holiday Décor Amaryllis and paperwhites serve as beautiful holiday décor! These unique blooms will be great conversation pieces among family and friends over the holidays! 3. Easy To Grow These holiday blooms require minimal care to thrive. Our waxed amaryllis bulbs don't even...

 I am glad to report that the recent drought has officially ended for the Eastern Shore of Maryland!  Our horses enjoyed their breakfast hay while standing in a gentle, chilly rain. That's this morning - as is typical of the Eastern shore, the weather is expected to change completely by noon. If the weather forecasters are correct, we'll have such a bright, sunny afternoon that dark sunglasses will be an absolute necessity!  Since this is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day, we pray for safe travel for all who will be on the roads (or in the air, etc.).   And sure enough, the sun is out not long after noon!

 Good Saturday morning! I hope you are ready for a great weekend - we are! The sun is shining, but the weather is cold - it might be a good day for inside painting, and we cats would love to help Sister Mary paint! That's even more fun than watching for birds and squirrels. Of course, she doesn't always know we are helping - sometimes it looks like we want to taste the paint or see what we would look like with different colored fur. A blue cat? A green cat? Yep, we've tried both of those. But then we usually think we are best with the colors God gave us. That would be black and white for me, Louie, and gray for Mouse. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, have your own great Saturday!

 Last Spring, in the hope of having a beautiful wildflower garden, I planted a mix of wildflower seeds - a few flowers bloomed. I really don't know if the weather was too hot, too dry, too wet, or if there were just too many birds who were hungry for a seed buffet; but whatever the reason, the only wildflowers that actually grew and bloomed were the Sulfur Cosmos. I love the color yellow and fell in love with these hardy flowers. And so, looking ahead and following suggestions, I am planting Sulfur Cosmos seeds this Autumn in order to give them a head start next Spring. I was surprised when I opened the package to see the seeds - they almost look like little dried grass cuttings or tiny twigs . . . and that's what I hope the chipping sparrows will think too as they visit our yard. I tried to scatter the seeds evenly, and trust that the blooming flowers will do the same when they go to seed. It rained last night, and the weather is very cool - almost cold - today, so I hope the ...

  St. Hilda's window in Chester Cathedral in England.  Prayer adapted from the Church of England online Daily Prayer: Eternal God, who made the abbess Hilda to shine like a jewel and through her holiness and leadership blessed your Church with new life and unity: help us, like her, to yearn for the gospel of Christ and to reconcile those who are divided; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Photo credit: Mum's taxi, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 It's a gray, chilly Thursday, but fortunately our hay delivery came before the rain!  All being well, these 60 bales of hay will keep our horses happy for the next four or five weeks. . . of course, they eat grain also.

After more than a month of no rain, we had almost an inch of rain last night and into the early morning - truly a blessing! Our rooster, SilverRoo, faced toward the east, still under a cloudy sky - "Think it's time to call the sun yet?" he seemed to ask. We're not out of the drought yet, and there's still a burn ban in place, but the grass already looks greener and there are a few puddles in our horse pasture.  

Last night, for the first time this Autumn the temperature dropped below freezing. Today was warmer, in the 60s, and we expect rain tonight and tomorrow morning, before another cold night. The rain will be a true blessing since we have been more than a month without any measurable precipitation. But I know the beautiful zinnias that have graced my table since mid-Summer are nearing their end. After the rain, I'll transplant some lily bulbs and plant new iris bulbs, as well as prepare an area and sow sulfur cosmos seeds and a few blue bonnet seeds that - God willing - will bloom in the Spring!

Yes, it has been more than three years since we last posted . . . but Letters from Ascension Hermitage & Sanctuary is alive and well. Our driveway is full of fallen maple leaves and the pale green color on the back is the inspiration for the color of our cat rooms. The rooms are painted every two years or so, and 2024 is one of those years. I went to Lowe's and found the perfect paint match - the name of the paint is Luck Be a Lady. Sort of a strange name for paint, but it's a beautiful color, a complement to the seasonal colors through the windows and a color that cat eyes can see. The color reflects light and even matches some cat eyes - it's just a win/win all around!                                                  Check back in a few days - we'll keep posting, and hopefully have an update on the painted rooms!            ...