March goes out with a roar!

The wind is blowing and I love it! Last night I pillaged the nursery for the colours of Ranunculus that the mixed package I planted last fall didn’t have. We need to get more bulbs next fall if we stay there. Right now we have dutch iris, daffodills and jonquils, ranunculus, freesias, abutilons of many colours, cyclamen, roses, pineapple sage and coral bells blooming. The watsonia is getting buds. And the squirrels are finishing off the tangerines. And Cam is done with being radiated!

Here is another BunniHoTep tale

Why the Nile rises a BunniHoTep tale

Once upon a time when Horus was small and Isis was at her wit’s end, BunniHoTep came to the rescue.

One night when a rare storm was battering the great temples Horus was crying.

Horus was cutting his first tooth. Isis was very, very tired and frustrated. Hathor had come by and was walking the floor with the tiny god who was ailing so loud he had brought the storm to the Nile.

Bastet had come by with her latest litter of kittens and not even their playing would distract the tiny godling. He cried and cried and the Nile rose higher and higher.

BunniHoTep was napping in her cozy den while the Nile crept higher. She awoke because she could her the sound of the water lapping at her front door. So she hopped out the back door to see what was causing all the fuss.

She heard the terribly inconsolable baby and decided to help the tiny god.

Horus was wailing in his small cradle and Isis and Hathor were taking turns rocking him.

BunniHoTep hopped up and asked if she could help the tiny god. Isis replied that she could try. They’d tried everything else; why not let the small rabbit goddess have a chance at it.

BunniHoTep hopped into the cradle and wrapped herself around Horus’s neck and hummed. The heat from her little body soothed the baby and one of her ears became a teething toy. And Horus stopped crying and fell asleep with BunniHoTep wrapped around his neck.
And that is why the Nile rises and why the Nile falls every year and why there is a velveteen rabbit for every child somewhere that is real.

Wahooooooooooooooo!

After temping here at my company for a year and a half. I got offered a job, finally this a.m.
Now all I have to do is pass the background check and drug screening. BunniHoTep, finder of lost things, be praised!

Doing a Happy Dance!

today is a beautiful day

Everything in the garden is exploding. We have flowers blooming in every colour of the rainbow and Cam is feeling better. Wahhhooooooooo! Here in lovely L.A. the wind is blowing and being the double Gemini that I am, it makes me high. I just have to remember that my Brighid’s shift is tomorrow night and not get so hyper I forget it. http://www.ordbrighideach.org.

Maybe Sunday if the weather stays nice we can walk around the Sepulveda dam recreation area and see what birds are there now.

Here’s a new BunniHoTep tale

How Thoth Invented Writing – a BunniHoTep tale

Once upon a time there was no way to write things down. There was no way to send a friend a note. No way to write a story down. No way to remember the words to a song. No way to say I am and have anyone remember who you were. The gods and goddesses were concerned about this. How could they let people know how to behave and who to pray to? How could anyone know what each god did? Isis and Osiris got together with the other gods and decided since Thoth always marked on the nice clean Temple walls with charcoal from the fires, he could put those scribbles to good use. So Thoth was elected by the group to find a way to do this. There was only one problem Thoth wasn’t there when they decided this. That’s what happens when you miss a meeting.

The gods also figured if he was god of wisdom and he found a way to do it he would have some way to record it and it would be a good thing all around. They thought Thoth might get annoyed so They sent BunniHoTep to find Thoth to tell him of his new job. Always send the smallest, fastest god when delivering interesting news. BunniHoTep hopped down Temple Row and found Thoth on his back porch staring at a big, blank, white wall with a piece of charcoal in his hand. BunniHotep told Thoth that Isis and the other gods had given him a new and important job; He was to invent writing and then She ducked and waited for the storm. The storm didn’t come and She raised her head. “Aren’t you mad?” She asked. “No”, said Thoth, “I think its what I’ve been waiting for all along.” And He started to mark on the wall. He drew an ibis and said to BunniHoTep, “Here is my name”. “ I think because the Great Cackler created the sun from an egg I will make an egg around all kings and gods names to show they came from the sun and the egg.”

He stood thinking to himself. “The gods are easy to show, a hawk for Horus, a cow for Hathor. This is way too easy.” He continued marking down the walls. He had completely forgotten BunniHoTep in his excitement. He went faster and faster down the wall naming everything he could think of to name. He only stopped when he started to run out of room. Then he got another idea and ran to borrow some ground stone paints some men were using to make enamel jewelry. He mixed them with water and quickly began to fill in the drawings He had made on the wall. The wall began to come alive with the symbols and the colour. Beautiful reds and blues and greens glowed from the wall.

Soon a crowd began to gather. Isis, Nepthys and Hathor brought their folding chairs and sat quietly watching at the birth of this wondrous thing. They wanted badly to ask what everything meant but they didn’t want to disturb his concentration. They sat and watched and waited as the white walls came to life with the colour.

BunniHotep sat in Isis’s lap totally entranced with the rest of the goddesses. But finally she couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “ How do you say we are here?” She asked, breaking the silence. Thoth stopped for the first time in hours and took a deep breath. “Hmmm,” He mused. “ I don’t know.” I have drawn the story of the soul’s journey and I have named us all. I’ve told how to make and offering and what sort to use but I haven’t found a way to say that we exist. But I think I know now.” He lifted an eyebrow at Isis and she nodded back.

Thoth faced the wall again and drew a new character, a small rabbit running. “ In honour of having the courage to speak up and because you had the courage to come tell me about my new job when the others wouldn’t I shall make you the sign that we exist. That we have come into being.”

BunniHoTep smiled shyly from Isis’s lap. “ Thank you” She said very quietly. Thoth went on drawing and painting and they all passed the afternoon in peace watching Thoth and offering suggestions when He asked.

And that was how writing was invented and why we say “Be hare now” when we cast a circle.

Tuesday troubles

My baby brother is having brain surgery for the next 2 days in a clinical trial. Quite frankly, I’m terrified. I don’t want to lose him. In my religion there is a circle of life we all ride and most of the time I accept that. My mother is on down side of the Wheel and her riding the Wheel doesn’t really bother me, partly because she’s so narcissistic and a bitch but losing Cam is more than I’m willing to accept at the moment. And selfish me wants to kick and scream about it. If he rides the Wheel, Ali and I will be alone and that is a scary thing. And a really bad stereotype, 2 lesbian sisters with cats living together. Yes, I have the Sjoberg/Cumming twisted sense of humour that skipped Cam (handlebear). He may look like them but he can’t pun like them. Sooo, if you know him and care about him please light a candle in whatever your belief system for the best possible outcome whatever that may be.

I keep remembering him chasing me with a snail or a worm which never really bothered me unless I wanted to stay clean temporarily. Or driving him to his first radiation treatments 17 years ago and talking and talking about stuff when we were small. Or him stealing my microscope light and setting my new christmas pillow case on fire and trying to hide it.

today’s installment

BunniHoTep and Ma’at

Once upon a time Ma’at’s feather was missing and no one even knew where to look.

Bastet’s kittens had been playing with it down by the Nile. They had borrowed it because it was such a nice swishy ostrich feather and were afraid to tell any one they had taken it. Everyone knows its part of the kitty code; feathers are irresistible to cats and kittens. The kittens being easily distracted by some swaying bull rushes forgot about the feather and never saw it float away on the spring air.

The next morning Ma’at got to the temple to hold court and weigh the souls that were waiting and the feather was gone. The souls weren’t too happy about this. One rich old man was especially distressed because Ammit kept coming up and sniffing him and drooling, He kept worrying that maybe he should have been nicer or more generous to the poor and he was right. He didn’t know he should have been very glad the feather was missing.

Ma’at wasn’t in the mood for this. She was a very busy goddess and the line was getting long. Something about a battle with the Hittites she thought. She really didn’t care how they got there in front of her just that they did. “ How in Geb’s name am I going to find that feather?” she asked herself.

Meanwhile, BunniHoTep had taken this fine spring morning as a time to do some chores around the temple den so she missed all the commotion up on Temple Row. She liked the peace and quiet of her small space. Lots of hubbub hurt her tender ears. So she puttered about doing simple chores. The Priestesses only came on Moonday and Saturn’s day. So the rest of the time she was on her own. She hunted the dust bunnies and dismissed them with vigor. She polished the brass candle holders with her tail. She inspected the latest temple offerings of carrots and nice, sweet lettuce. That was her favorite temple chore.

Pretty soon she decided she would hang out the temple laundry on the banks of the Nile where they could catch the fresh spring breezes. As she was enjoying those lovely spring breezes she noticed a large feather stuck in a basket that was floating by on the river. She recognized that feather as Ma’at’s but what was the feather doing in a basket floating down the river? What was a basket doing in the river?

She hopped down to the river side and hopped out on a log to grab the basket that had come to rest there. She grabbed the feather and stuck in the moon circlet she was wearing since she didn’t have any pockets. Then she got the fright of her life when the basket started to howl. There was a baby inside! What was going to do with a baby?

She heard the women washing clothes down the way and knew the Pharoah’s daughter was with them so she gave the basket a gentle push and decided to let the Pharoah’s daughter deal with the baby who quite frankly, needed a nappie change very badly. Maybe since they were doing laundry they wouldn’t mind so much. She had a feeling that baby was going to be trouble and she didn’t want anything to do with it.

She hopped up Temple Row and down to the Temple of Justice where there was now a line down the block. Ammit was drooling all over and making a mess. Anubis was impatiently waiting to take care of the people that should have come his way. So BunniHoTep hopped faster up the Temple steps and carefully avoided Ammit because she just looked too hungry and might try for small bunnie bits.

She hopped into the Temple and up to Ma’at’s feet one of which was tapping at a very fast rate. Ma’at had been very worried and goddesses of Justice are too full of their dignity to go rushing around looking for a feather, even the most important feather in the world. Goddesses who are also parent’s of small godlings like Isis know better.

BunniHoTep returned the feather quickly although she really did like the way it looked in the circlet. She just took the feather and went about her business. BunniHoTep shrugged and She hopped back down to her Temple to finish washing the altar cloths and decided she would watch the sunset later while enjoying a few of those new temple offerings of lettuce and carrots.

The End

Its Friday!

Here is a BunniHoTep story for the season. If you don’t know the basic story of Isis and Osiris, GO LOOK IT UP! Any way, children, he lost those most important parts for procreating and if you are male – having a good time. This may sound like a children’s fable, Okay, Its Not! So don’t go reading it to your children like one of my friends did. Sheesh!

Once upon a time long, long ago in Egypt there lived a small rabbit goddess. She loved Isis and she knew Isis was very sad because a very mean god, Set had hurt the one Isis loved most, Osiris.

Legend says that Osiris was cut up by Set and scattered in 14 pieces around the ancient world but there were really a few extra bits and bobs left over. BunniHoTep decided she would find all the extra pieces left around. She knew those pieces were very important to Isis.

So BunniHoTep went out to search for the missing pieces. She searched the shores of the Nile. She searched in the corners of the big temples. She searched the Valley of the Kings. She searched in the lotus ponds and under the papyri. She searched in all low out of the way places the other gods had missed. She found many dust bunnies but no pieces of Osiris.

BUT she found the last 2 special pieces in a hawk’s nest. She was very brave and made sure Missus Hawk was not at home when she went to look. She was brave but not THAT brave.

She put the pieces in her basket and hopped back to Isis. Isis was SO happy she rewarded BunniHoTep was a very big honor. She said that when BunniHoTep was tired of being on Earth, she would place her in the full moon where everyone would see and remember her forever and this is why there is a rabbit in the moon.

Because BunniHoTep carried the pieces back in her favorite basket all easter bunnies have baskets to carry their eggs in.

The End.

How come they don’t have perverse or testy as moods?

first time silliies

Well, this is the inaugural effort at something I don’t normally do. I’m sitting here trying to decide if the rain outside is really going to take us to that all time record of over 38 inches and hoping its not going to pound the garden into a swamp. The garden gnomes must be getting tired of this. the daffodils and freesias are finally in bloom as well as my sister’s long awaited iris.

I’ve been trying to come up with another BunniHoTep fable but for now enjoy this first one.

The Tale of the Tail
Once upon a time in a time very long ago there was a very small Egyptian rabbit
goddess. Her name was BunniHoTep. She was a beautiful rabbit with soft,
soft fur and a long bushy tail. She was very vain about this tail. It was a
pretty color and swooshed behind her. It did have a slight problem because
when she hopped it landed in the dirt.

Every day she would groom her tail and if she asked nicely Bast would help
her brush it out so it shined and shined.

BunniHoTep loved to go down to the banks of the Nile and watch the fish
swim by. She could watch for hours and hours. One day while she was
watching the fish a crocodile snuck up behind her and opened his very big
mouth with its very big teeth. BunniHoTep turned around and saw the very,
big, nasty crocodile and gave a big leap away and hopped and hopped for her
life. She heard the jaws go snap as she sped away. She hopped all the way
to Isis and Hathor’s House. (They were sharing a summer Temple that year.)
As she was nearly there realized she was hurting and slowed down and looked
behind her. Her beautiful tail was gone.

BunniHoTep cried and cried, “Oh. it hurts.” she said. Nursing her bunnie
hiney. “My lovely, lovely tail is gone.” She cried softly to herself. But
she didn’t cry softly enough and kind Isis and Hathor heard her.

Isis and Hathor picked her up and cradled her and soothed her hurt bunnie
behind.

BunniHoTep sobbed to Isis. “What will I do without my tail? It was so soft
and lovely and cushioned me when I landed.”

Hathor thought carefully and knew she had just the thing and went quickly
into the house and came back. She handed Isis an object and said to Isis.
” See if this works.”

Isis it took and laughed and said this will be perfect and she put the soft
thing right where BunniHoTep’s tail used to be. BunnieHoTep looked down
and her behind. There where her lovely long tail had been was one of
Hathor’s powder puffs. It was lovely and soft and white and was much more
practical than a long tale.

And that is why bunnies have fluffy powder puff tales.