Monthly Archives: January 2012

One of the best parts of having pets is the way they draw my attention to things I might otherwise miss. Many of us humans spend a lot of our time blundering through the world unaware of the nonhuman life that surrounds us. But our animal companions are usually much more keenly attuned to that life and can, if we pay attention to them, draw our awareness to it.

One morning a couple weeks ago, I opened the curtains and noted, in a not-really-conscious way, an unusually large number of crows in the back yard. But I didn’t truly notice them until our cat Mister Brown jumped onto the coffee table under the window and started making desperate “lemme at ‘em” noises. Only then did I think to wonder why we had so many crows in our yard. The answer, and the musings that followed, can now be found in the post “The Squirrel and the Story”, over at No Unsacred Place.

I love music. Have done most of my life. Although I never had aspirations to be a musician of any sort, some of my earliest childhood memories involve singing while I played. As I grew up, music continued to play an import role in my life, be it in my high school band, the choirs I (briefly) joined in college, or any number of concerts and operas I’ve attended in adulthood.

Of late, I’m turning a bit toward writing songs–Pagan devotional songs for use in ritual and personal practice. They’re simple tunes with simple lyrics, easy to remember, to teach to others, and to carry on while doing other work. But I’m quite pleased with them, and eager to teach them to some of my fellow witches in hope that others will enjoy them enough to incorporate into their practice.

I’m sure you can imagine how awestruck I was when I learned that our planet sings. How unbelievably phenomenal is that? The whole planet–heck, every planet–humming a great, ancient song. We can’t hear it, but it’s happening at every moment, and has been from the beginning.

No wonder we love music so much.

I am so fortunate to now have a forum where I can write about such amazing things. And so, as is my wont, I did! Check out “The First Song” at No Unsacred Place, and keep an ear out for that deep, round, Earthsong. It’s in us somewhere.