March 15-16, 2008

Felecia and Talon wait for kindred members and friends to gather around the vei

Kindred members and friends gathered together at Herbert and Suzanne's homestead late Saturday afternoon to kick off Summer Finding festivities for 2008. It proved to be a beautiful day -- sun shining and a bit on the warm side. After a rainy few days, finally, signs of summer were in the air.

Most of the action in the afternoon and early evening took place either out back on the screen porch, or indoors around the snacks. Steve cooked up a new queso recipe that proved to be quite the main attraction for those who chose to spend most of the afternoon snacking.

There was ample time for folks to shoot the breeze, visit and catch up with one another. The nice weather put most everyone in a good mood, so there was no lack of laughter in and around the house.

After the sun set, we gathered together for, what proved to be, a pretty long sumbel. It was one of those sumbels that went from serious to hilarious second-by-second. Lots of energy was flowing, and once more, sumbel proved to strengthen our bonds as friends and kin.

Sunday morning arrived partly cloudy and quite a bit cooler than Saturday. It was still pleasant outside, but cool gusts of wind kept things a bit chilly.

A little after noon, the last of the guests arrived and we made our way down to the lower lot for blót. The wind rustled through the trees and the crows looked down upon us from lofty perches as Talon led us in his first blót. It was a very powerful and heartfelt blót to the Allfather, and many who attended said they could feel the presence of the Gray Wanderer during the rite. No doubt, the black birds watching from above would agree. As the blót was ending, the sun found its way through the clouds and gave us one more glimpse of the summer to come.

Spiritually nourished after blót, we made our way back indoors for a little nourishment in the form of pot luck feast. As always, there was plenty to eat -- the theme this month seemed to be pasta, served in many delicious and different forms. There were, of course, great desserts to top everything off, and as usual, no one left the table hungry.

It was late afternoon before the last of the guests started up their cars and headed home after another memorable weekend together honoring the Gods and building the bonds of kinship.

Click here to view some photos from the weekend