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Be the Star You Are! ® charity Empowers women, families, and youth
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    Fall Fireworks
    Cynthia Brian
    • Nov 25, 2020
    • 4 min

    Fall Fireworks

    Fall Fireworks By Cynthia Brian “Let the beauty we love be what we do.” ~Rumi Sitting on my balcony, watching the ginger orb of the sun shoot sparkles and glitter throughout the dusky sky, I am besotted with the fireworks of fall foliage on the horizon. The colors and intensities change daily as I attempt to capture the essence of their beauty in my camera lens. A red-branched Japanese maple is glimmering gold one day. Four days later it is pumpkin spice orange. My liquid amb
    As the Leaves Turn
    Cynthia Brian
    • Nov 11, 2020
    • 5 min

    As the Leaves Turn

    Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian As the Leaves Turn By Cynthia Brian “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.” Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s only five in the evening and the darkness of night has arrived. I’ve been out in the garden prepping the soil as the sun sets and the moon rises. Normally by this time of the year, I would have had all my spring bulbs and perennials planted and my lawn re-seeded. But we have had no rain and the daytime temper
    Halloween, Nature's Way
    Cynthia Brian
    • Oct 30, 2020
    • 4 min

    Halloween, Nature's Way

    “Listen to them–the children of the night. What music they make!” Bram Stoker During this season, life is about the kids. This is a time of magic, wonder, and things that go bump in the night. Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for most children in the United States but this year, Halloween, the way it has been celebrated for decades, is canceled. No random trick or treating, no gatherings, no haunted parties. Since school has been online, kids yearn to get together
    Sheltering with Mother Nature
    Cynthia Brian
    • Oct 14, 2020
    • 5 min

    Sheltering with Mother Nature

    Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian “Too blessed to be stressed!” Bumper sticker By Cynthia Brian Are you feeling more in touch with Mother Earth as we near the beginning of eight months of stay-at-home mandates because of Covid-19? Or are you feeling antsy, stressed, and out-of-sorts? Retreating to our landscapes was initially a salve to the pain of the corona virus, social unrest, and political nastiness as we encountered improved air quality, quieter skies, a
    Risky Business
    Cynthia Brian
    • Oct 1, 2020
    • 5 min

    Risky Business

    Pres Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2020/09/30/risky-business/ Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener Cynthia Brian By Cynthia Brian “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from a cornfield.” Dwight D. Eisenhower When you bite into a crunchy apple, eat a bunch of juicy grapes, or slather butter on roasted sweet corn, unless you’ve grown these crops in your personal garden, do you ever wonder about the life of the farmer who provides
    Fall in a Pot!
    Cynthia Brian
    • Sep 16, 2020
    • 5 min

    Fall in a Pot!

    Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2020/09/16/fall-in-a-pot/ Fall in a Pot! By Cynthia Brian “Truth comes out in wine.” Pliny the Elder “The people who give you their food give you their heart." Cesar Chavez The fires and smoke have ravaged farms and vineyards throughout Northern California, including my family vineyards in Napa County. The grapes are plump, juicy, and ripe. Harvesting would normally be in full swing t
    Sirius is Serious
    Cynthia Brian
    • Sep 2, 2020
    • 4 min

    Sirius is Serious

    By Cynthia Brian “When the ancients first observed Sirius emerging as it were from the sun…they believed its power of heat to have been so excessive that…the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid.” John Brady, 1813, a Compendious Analysis of the Calendar. Forever the optimist, when I penned my last column, The Dog Days of Summer, (http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1413/Digging-Deep-with-Cynthia-Brian-the-Goddess-Gard
    The Dog Days of Summer
    Cynthia Brian
    • Aug 21, 2020
    • 5 min

    The Dog Days of Summer

    By Cynthia Brian “Dog Days bright and clear, indicate a happy year!” The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1817 Sirius, the Dog Star, rises in summer in the Northern Hemisphere with the “dog days” traditionally beginning on the 3rd of July and ending on the 11th of August. The ancient Egyptians welcomed Sirius as a forecaster of the floods of the Nile River. They could prepare for the river’s overflow delivering much needed rich soil to their deserts or destruction to their lands. The Gr
    Some Like it Hot!
    Cynthia Brian
    • Aug 5, 2020
    • 5 min

    Some Like it Hot!

    Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian By Cynthia Brian “Summer afternoon -- summer afternoon; the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Henry James The blackberry bushes flanked the horse stables on my grandparents’ ranch. My grandmother was a genuine horse whisperer. She lovingly cared for a herd of adopted steeds and rode in parades in her fancy Western wear. She even trained the horse for the television show, My Friend Flicka. Together, after an ea
    Sweet, Savory Summer
    Cynthia Brian
    • Jul 25, 2020
    • 4 min

    Sweet, Savory Summer

    https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1411/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Sweet-savory-summer.html Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian Sweet, Savory Summer By Cynthia Brian “Steep thyself in a bowl of summer.” --Virgil Summer! Just saying the word puts a smile on my face. Since I was a little girl, the months of July and August were times of great joy, working as a laborer picking or cutting apricots, peaches, and pears in neighbors’ orc
    Guardians of the Garden Galaxy
    Cynthia Brian
    • Jul 8, 2020
    • 5 min

    Guardians of the Garden Galaxy

    By Cynthia Brian “Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.” William Shakespeare The gray turtle dove darted from the mulberry tree to the wooden nest box and back again. Thinking there must be eggs, I grabbed my camera and discovered a baby dove nestled in a hollowed nest with the mother bird proudly standing guard. The sounds of gentle cooing surrounded this bucolic scene. I felt blessed that these birds chose my garden to settle. If you want a healthy, glorious summer g
    Plant Pivots
    Cynthia Brian
    • Jun 26, 2020
    • 5 min

    Plant Pivots

    Planet Pivots By Cynthia Brian “I should like to enjoy this summer flower by flower as if it were to be the last one for me.” Andre Gide Summertime and the living is easy! Or is it? This year will be a year like no other highlighted by the frightening health pandemic and sorrowful civil unrest. As the economy slowly re-opens, people are clamoring to shop, dine, socialize, get haircuts, and have their teeth cleaned. The line of masked individuals waiting outside reopened store
    Victory Garden 3.0
    Cynthia Brian
    • Jun 11, 2020
    • 5 min

    Victory Garden 3.0

    Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian Victory Gardens 3.0 By Cynthia Brian "In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time." Robert Collier, Writer and Publisher In March 2017, a month before the United States entered World War I, Americans across our lands were asked to plant produce to help feed the Allies fighting in Europe. It wasn’t only farmers who were solicited to
    Grounded!
    Cynthia Brian
    • May 28, 2020
    • 5 min

    Grounded!

    “I rejoice when I see anyone, and especially children, inquiring about flowers, and wanting gardens of their own, and carefully working in them. For the love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies, but always grows and grows to an enduring and ever-increasing source of happiness.” Gertrude Jekyll It’s not only the airlines and cruise ships that are grounded! Young people everywhere are also enduring the sheltering-in-place mandate. As we embark on our eleventh week
    Wild and Free
    Cynthia Brian
    • Apr 30, 2020
    • 4 min

    Wild and Free

    https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2020/04/30/wild-and-free/ "I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least — and it is commonly more than that — sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements. " Henry David Thoreau Mother Nature has an astounding way of rebounding. The blackened, charred hills behind my house from the October wildfire are now a carpet of emerald green grass
    Gardening is NOT Canceled
    Cynthia Brian
    • Apr 2, 2020
    • 5 min

    Gardening is NOT Canceled

    “We have it in our power to begin the world again.” Thomas Paine What a difference a day makes! Who could have ever predicted that as the vernal equinox approached in the Northern Hemisphere the entire world would be mandated to stay home, pause, and practice social distancing? Are you in compliance? As adults, we have the ability and the responsibility to be role models in keeping ourselves and our families safe and healthy whilst we are housebound. Thankfully, spring has sp
    Spring Ahead!
    Cynthia Brian
    • Mar 18, 2020
    • 5 min

    Spring Ahead!

    By Cynthia Brian “Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte With the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus Corvid-19 a pandemic, daily living as well as travel is interrupted. While we need to be alert and prepared, we can not panic. My method of staying healthy while diminishing
    Let the Sunshine In
    Cynthia Brian
    • Mar 4, 2020
    • 3 min

    Let the Sunshine In

    By Cynthia Brian – "The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy" Henry Ward Beecher It’s been at least seven years since we’ve enjoyed a warm, sun-filled February. Being accustomed to cold, dreary, gray days in the months of Aquarius and Pisces, this year buoyed my spirits immensely even though I know that we need rain. I admit I thoroughly lapped up those 70 plus degree days spending hours in the garden weeding, pruning, and planting with
    Love Grows in a Garden
    Cynthia Brian
    • Feb 6, 2020
    • 4 min

    Love Grows in a Garden

    By Cynthia Brian “The beauty of the season will grow wherever seeds of love are planted. “ ~ Euripides February derives from the Latin word februa, which means “to cleanse”. The Romans fêted Februalia, a month-long purification and atonement festival, annually occurring during the wettest and dreariest of days of the year. In California, February opens the floodgates of rain with weather that is overcast and cold. Thankfully, not everything is dreary and gray. We attribute lo
    Dream Green-Garden Trends 2020 Part #2
    Cynthia Brian
    • Jan 23, 2020
    • 5 min

    Dream Green-Garden Trends 2020 Part #2

    “A dreamer dreams that everyone else in his dream must awaken before he can awaken.” ~ Ramana Maharshi After my column, the Power of RE was published, I received numerous positive comments about how readers were implementing RE into their lives. It is gratifying to know that people read my articles, but I’ve always wondered what people do with the information they receive. Orinda resident, Kathy Boyle, showed me. She wrote: “I was intrigued by your ideas in your Lamorinda Wee
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