Summer Goals

In a few days my last exam for this semester will be finished, and I will be heading home for the summer. I'm not sure how this will affect my blogging habits; I tend not to use the computer as much when I'm at home, but I will also not be distracted by homework. I'll probably be busy packing and unpacking over the next week or so, but I will also be thinking about what I want to get done over the summer. Since I believe that if you write down and tell other people about what you want to do, you are more likely to actually do it, I thought I would share some of those things here:

1) Learn how to speak Irish Gaelic. Okay, this may be a bit of a lofty goal, but the Celtic Reconstructionists have convinced me that I should at least try to learn how to speak a Celtic language. If I could just learn some basic vocabulary and grammar I'd be happy.

2) Take photos of all of the plants and animals that live on our property. It would probably be nearly impossible for me to photograph and identify every insect, lichen, moss, etc. that lives on our property (at least in the course of one summer), but I would like to have photos of most of the plants, larger animals, and showier insects like butterflies and moths. Ultimately, I want to create a book or album of these photos that also includes written descriptions.

3) Read the Lord of the Rings. Seriously, it is rather ridiculous that someone (like me) who loves reading fantasy novels over just about every other kind of book has never read this series. I feel very ashamed that I have not and it has actually gotten to the point where I don't want to buy a copy in a bookstore because I would feel embarrased that I hadn't read it yet.

4) Read a lot of other books. I'm not going to bore you with the long list of all of the books I want to read (I think the entire list is about 10 pages long). Obviously I wouldn't be able to read all of those in one summer, but hopefully I will find some at used book sales and stores, or at the local library. The list includes books on the Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology and culture, modern Druidry and paganism, nature and ecology, astronomy and physics, trees, meditation, creativity, bookbinding, journaling, and writing poetry, as well as many novels.

5) Write more poetry. I don't write enough poetry so I'm going to do more of it. I also want to write more in my journal.

6) Practice drawing - plants, cats, scenery, items around the house, mandalas, Celtic knot work, etc.

7) Do more to celebrate the seasonal festivals. So far my celebrations of the festivals have been fairly lame, to say the least. I think part of the challenge is that I am working alone, without the benefit of a group of people with which to celebrate. I'm not sure what I will do, but Beltane is coming soon, so I am definitely open to suggestions from any of my (possibly nonexistent) readers.