Today is Chinese New Year, the end of the Year of the Pig
and the start of the Year of the Rat.
The above photo was taken from a book I own, The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui
by Gill Hale. Our world, physical and
spiritual, is composed of energy and feng shui deals with how energy flows in
and through our lives. Consequently I
find some of the ancient principles of feng shui resonate with me, although I am
not an ardent follower by any means.
The book has this to say about the Year of the Rat: “This is a lucky year, a good time to start a
new venture. The rewards will not come
without hard work, but with careful planning they will arrive.” Sounds good to me!
I have finished reading another book, this time Alice in Wonderland and Alice
Through the Looking Glass, both by Lewis Carroll. This unabridged book has both stories, plus a
few poems and other writings.
I have not
read the unabridged version of Alice
before, but most of the tales were familiar and it was easy to read. I struggled though with Through the Looking Glass, as it seemed to take the nonsense level
up another level and then tie it in with a game of chess – and I am not a fan
of chess!
It looks like we are in for a heat wave over the next week
or two. The farms around here are
already browning off, some more than others, and some areas of the country are
looking at being declared drought areas.
At home, we are being invaded by house flies, not being
helped by having cattle in the field behind us.
However, I did enjoy watching this bumble bee visiting my snapdragons
the other day.
I hope the Year of the Rat will be a pleasant and happy and
successful one for you all,
Margaret.
I hope it is a successful year, too! I have not read either of the books...right now I am struggling through Prairie Fires...and I like it and it is an easy ready...just somehow have not got to read much.
ReplyDeleteI've never read any of her books. Really must check them out in the library.
DeleteI like the idea that the coming year will be a lucky one!!
ReplyDeleteSummer drought is becoming so common in many countries I suppose due to global warming. Your Snapdragons are looking lush, you must be watering them faithfully.
We cheat a bit with the watering as we now have a sprinkler system set up, even though it is under restricted times when we can use it.
DeleteCattle and houseflies do seem to go together, don't they? The pollinators on the flowers are welcome guests, however, and perhaps a few friendly birds will be attracted by the flies. Have a great Year of the Rat.
ReplyDeleteThank-you David. I hope you have a great year as well.
DeleteI don't get hugely into chinese astrology but from what I know, and it's only the basics, myself, being a pig found last year quite hard work, wasn't traumatic like other years but alot of work I'm hoping that this year will be a bit easier.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a great believer in astrology but I do think they have some of the energy things right, like where to build a home etc.
DeleteAnd I hope this year will be a lot easier for you and you can begin to feel settled again.
I hope the heat wave is bearable. Stay cool Margaret.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting in front of a fan watching TV at the moment. I am so glad this house is well insulated so that it keeps much cooler than the outside temperature.
DeleteLet's hope for a good year! My friend is into astrology, and she is always saying that "rats" are the best people :)
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree LOL. My dad was a rat.
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