"The Chelsea Carol" and the Winter Solstice

MN Landscape Arboretum The Red Barn  12.10.2014

To celebrate the Solstice, this day which marks the return of the light, I thought I'd post this poem, translated from Latin.  I was listening to Public Radio the other night on my way home from work and, by chance, heard a program by APR with an interview of Eric Whitacre, a composer of choral music.  He wrote choral music to this exquisite poem about The Entrance of the Queen of Winter.  The original poem was written & translated by Charles Anthony Silvestri.  It seemed appropriate to post this on the Winter Solstice.  I hope you find it as beautiful as I do.                          EricWhitacre.com The Chelsea Carol      You Tube; Eric Whitacre talks about the Chelsea Carol    
The Chelsea Carol (English translation)

Come thou, Wisdom,
Gift of Winter–
Strengthen us to wait
For that which is to come.

                    Come thou, come thou dream-bearer,
                    Time-bearer,
                    Queen of sun and stars.

Come thou, come thou moon-bearer,
Frost-bearer,
Queen and mother of the seasons.

                    Holy lady, Queen!
                    Holy lady of silver!
                    Purest holy lady!

Come thou, come thou flower-bearer,
Sun bearer,
Queen of gleaming white light.

                   Come thou, come thou sheaf-bearer,
                   Snow bearer,
                   Queen, Mistress of Dreams.

Come, Thou, Mother!
Come to us!
Come Lady!

                   Come thou, Wisdom,
                   Gift of Winter–
                   Strengthen us to wait
                   For that which is to come.

                                          Charles Anthony Silvestri

And the original Latin:

Adveni, sapientia,
Donum invernale–
Confirma nos vigilantes
Ad quod adventurum.
Adveni, adveni somnifera,
Aevifera,
Regina solis siderum.
Adveni, adveni lunifera,
Glacifera,
Regina mater temporum.
Sancta domina regina!
Sancta domina argentea!
Sancta domina purissima!
Adveni, adveni florifera,
Solifera,
Regina lucis candida.
Adveni, adveni messifera,
Nivifera,
Regina Somnis Magistra!
Adveni mater,
Adveni ad nos,
Adveni domina.
Adveni, sapientia,
Donum invernale–
Confirma nos vigilantes
Ad quod adventurum.

More Winter Birds

Just a few more of the adorable birds gracing the tree that the MN Herb Society decorated.

A Felted Red Headed Woodpecker.

Veronica's Bird Abode.

Faith's Felted Birdhouse.

Another Succesful Holiday Luncheon

We always eat well at our Holiday Luncheon and this year was no exception.  Just the way to start our Holiday feasting. Thanks so much to Jan for hosting this year. 

Hostess with the Mostess, Jan & chief decorating Elf, JoDee.

The Herbie Elf came & dropped off a few gifts.

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The Desert Table

A beautiful plate of very yummy herbie food.

A Little Holiday Cheer for the Birds

Here's a few more shots of the tree adornments.  Birds, Birds, Birds.  I'll post several pics each week of the tree decor, so check back weekly.

MNHS Tree 2014

Our crew with the finished tree.

Bonnie adjusts the eagle

Felted birdhouses.

Jodee bravely reaches.

Some creations in detail.

What a wonderful variety of ornaments! 

To accompany our tree and explain to visitors who we are, Anne created a collage of poems.

Up Close & Personal with the Birds

Here's a few more up close & personal shots of the birds.  Check back next week for pics of the tree.

The Tree Elves Were Busy This Week

The Tree Elves were busy this week.  Check.out this week's creations.  The Tree week be going up next Tuesday, so check back for more pics.  I'll post a few more up close pics of the creations this weekend. 

Jill's sweet felted nests.

Patty making nests for the garland.

 

Bev & the start of a sumac bird.

Shirley, feathers, & birch bark.

Natalie's swans.

Sue is at it again, creating garland with handspun yarn & nests.

Check out these adorable pinecone birds that Jan was making.

Jodee is hard at work making a loofah bird.  Loofah is a plant that I may have to try growing next year.

The finished Loofah bird.

Nora is working on a beautiful birch bark egg.

The Tree Elves are at it again...

The tree elves have been busy.  Check out some of the creations.  It's "All About the Birds" this year.  It's amazing what a bunch of dried material, a glue gun, and creative minds can do. Check out these sweet chairperson and check back soon for more pics.

Sue was getting creative with this gourd.

Nora & one of her sumac birds and a woven bird.

The regal Eagle.  Still looking for a better yellow beak.  Anyone foraging, keep your eyes peeled.

Veronica's been working on these adorable birdseed houses, along with her felted birdhouse. 

One of my favs, created by Jodee. 

 

Jodee and her birds.

 

Gordie

Felted Chickadee

Directions for making this delightful Felted Chickadee.

Start with some grey roving - you'll need less than 1/4 ounce.  Form the roving (bottom) into a shape similar to a bird's body and needle punch it into the body (top).  Once you have the main structure, you can add more roving to plump up the bird.

Needle punch a ball shape that will be the head of the bird.  Leave the fibers on one end of the head loose so you can attach the head onto the body. 

 Place the head on the body & needle felt the loose fibers into the body.  The loose fibers will compact so the bird's head will be proportional once it is needle felted into the body.

You'll see that the head is now attached and is proportional.  Lay some roving onto your foam punch block in the shape of a wing and needle felt one side.  Then flip the wing over and needle felt the other side.

Once you get the wing to the approximate size you want, you can needle felt the shoulder area of the wing onto the body of the bird. The rest of the wing will be loose.  Make another wing & attach it to the bird's body.

So you'll note that the bird is all one color until now.  I felted white to the birds breast and also to the face of the bird.  I look at a bird book and use those photos to determine the coloring of the bird. 

 

 Next, I take a very small amount of roving and try to felt the beak the best I can, leaving loose fibers to attach to the face of the bird.  Additionally, I put the black cap on the chickadee.

I felted some pale yellow to the sides of the bird's breast and then I took two black beads for the eyes.  To sew on the eyes, I thread from the back of the head, over to one side of the head where I want the eye placed.  I thread the bead and then stick the needle thru the head to the other side where I want the eye.  After threading the bead for the 2nd eye, I take the needle and stick it out the back of the bird's head again and tie it off (the knot will be on the back of the bird's head).  Usually, I felt a very small amount of wool over the knot. 

You can adapt this to any other songbird by changing the coloration.  I just happen to like these little guys because they're almost life size and they are such a cheerful bird that visits us all winter long.