Good Luck

In the box mom gave me back in March was a plastic bag containing these two items. Dad had these and, as she was cleaning, she stumbled across them. Dad kept a lot of things.

The bottom item is decorative. I don't remember seeing this up on a wall anywhere, but it's possible it was out in the garage. It's heavy metal and has a small bit of a green patina.

The horseshoe is a real horseshoe. I have no idea where he would have gotten it, but, with dad, he picked things up along the way and had a lot of friends who would have passed things along. It's worn on the bottom and edges so I'm guessing this had been used at some point. I do remember dad having a horseshoe over the side entrance to the garage when they lived in Marquette.

I think I have a horseshoe in the basement. I don't remember where I would have picked it up. From the Daily Wicca comes this note about horseshoes:

The belief that good luck will come from hanging a horseshoe above a door
originates from beliefs related to symbols of half-circles and crescents.
Early religions considered crescent shaped objects powerful and protective
signs. In ancient Yucatan and Peru, temples were built with arched doorways
because of this notion. In Spain the Moors designed their mosques in arch
formation. Ruins at Stonehenge, England, show that the religious grounds of the
sun-worshiping Druids were in semi-circles or horseshoe design. Down through the
Middle Ages churches and public buildings were built with arched windows and
doorways as a means of protection against evil.

It is thought that horseshoes originated with the Greeks during the 4th Century.
Horses were held sacred at that time, so their crescent-shaped shoes became
symbols of good luck. Added power came from the fact that the horseshoes were
made from iron, the metal that people believed guarded one from the power of
witches. Until recent years, horseshoes were made to hold seven nails, a mystic
and potent number. So its no wonder that the Greeks and Romans always kept a
horseshoe nailed to the wall for protection against almost anything.

There are two beliefs on how to hang your horseshoe. One is to hang your
horseshoe prong side up, so if the Devil should get too near, he will be sucked
in and destroyed. The other belief is that if you hang your horseshoe prong side
down, the good luck will pour out over your threshold, keeping the Devil from crossing it.

So, here's the thing, should I put the horseshoe prongs up or prongs down? Another superstition is that you want them prongs up to catch any good luck floating in the air. The opposite is to have them prongs down so all the good luck will spill out on people as they enter your house. If I really do have two of them, should I put one above each door or should I just mount it on the side of the house near the doors?Sigh. Decisions. Decisions.

I'll give the shoe a good washing first of all as it's kind of dirty and rusty and then see if I really do have another in the basement. If they are good luck, I should have them up on the outside. Lord knows I can use all the good luck I can get.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

Heritage in Yard and Stitching

It's a lovely flower. The purple of the bud is quite distinctive. It is native to the Mediterranean and north to Scandinavia working east to Asia. It's impossible to miss as it's about 3 feet tall with large branching leaves which are covered with intimidating looking spikes. It blooms pretty much anywhere although it prefers disturbed soil. It's considered a biennial although much depends upon when its seeds sprout. These seeds are spread usually by the wind although humans and animals will also spread them. Finches love the seeds and will land on the plant to pick the seed heads clean. Studies show seeds can lay dormant for 5 years but it's not considered unusual for seeds to germinate up to 20 years. Clearly, this is one tough plant.

It's called the Cotton Thistle or, more notably, the Scottish Thistle, the national emblem of Scotland. I have one growing in my yard.

I didn't know that's what it was until it bloomed. It's off a corner of my neighbor's fence and it was out of sight until the purple blooms showed up.

I remember helping dad weed these things on the farm. They are tenacious and I thought they had it in for me. You must wear heavy, heavy gloves when handling them. Dad would cut the plant down and I'd be responsible for picking it up and tossing it onto a pile we were making. He'd then take the pile to the burn barrel and torch them. Cattle will not eat these unlike other thistles and a row of them is almost impregnable, due to the thorns on the leaves and stems.

I noticed today that the first blooming flower has gone to seed. I should probably snip off this seed head and all the rest of the flowers, put them in a paper bag and dispose of it. This really isn't something I want in my yard regardless of the connection it has to my heritage. I should also probably spray the remaining plant with Round-Up to make sure it dies and doesn't flower any more this year. Given that there is one plant here, that probably means there will be others sprouting in this location so due diligence will be needed.

And yet, I'm a bit torn because I used to have a goldfinch family in the yard and this is just the kind of plant they love. Given all the flowers on it, I could feed a couple of families or more than just goldfinches, (wince) but it's a noxious weed. Really.

For a number of years, I made these pins for the women in my clan. I found the thistle pattern in one of my cross-stitch books and it was clear to me it would make an excellent pin. I haven't made any in a few years as the backing was quite costly and I haven't been able to find anything cheaper.

How did the thistle come to represent Scotland and the Scottish people? No one knows. It's the stuff of a good legend. The story goes that a group of Scotsmen fell asleep while defending the country from attacks by Norsemen. The Norsemen came ashore at night, preparing to rout the Scots and claim the land. One of the Norsemen happened to step on a thistle in his bare feet, as boots were a luxury for the fighting man back then, and screamed in agony. This awoke the Scots and they routed the Norsemen and sent them home.

Whatever the real story, the thistle growing in my yard is synonymous with Scotland. Given the anguish I know it causes in a yard, can I summon up the will to remove it before it becomes a pest?

Beverage:  Darjeeling tea

Deb

Maybe I can put it away this weekend.

The spring weather has been glorious. It's always been intriguing to me that in October and November, when the temperature gets to 40 or 38, we haul out the winter jackets, the mittens and search for that scarf we know we had last year.

Yet put the same temperatures in March and I'm dragging my recycling and garbage to the curb sans coat, hat or gloves. It truly is a question of perception.

I came home on Wednesday in 40 degree weather and dropped my coat on the table in the living room. It was claimed.

There is a legend about St. Francis which I have always used to justify why some things aren't put away. The story goes that St. Francis, an animal lover, cut the sleeve off his favorite robe rather than disturb a sleeping cat. I had spilled soda down the front of that jacket coming home from Iowa so it had been washed on Tuesday and hung up in the bathroom to dry. If you have cats, you know they will lie on anything and clean clothes are at the top of their short list.

At some point, I would like to hang it up. I'm hoping that will come this weekend. Every time I go into the living room intending to hang up the coat, there's a cat on it. St. Francis was correct. We do not disturb the contented cat.

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb