The Memory of the Land, The Fae and the Restless Dead

An ancient Chinquapin Oak stands guard over a neighboring farm.

 November, 8 2023 

With the theme of the previous chapter and this one very much on my mind, I went out for a walk one night, the night of the full moon, a few days before Halloween. It was mostly overcast, with swiftly moving low stratus clouds, but very bright, warm and breezy. A deliciously spooky night.  The cloud cover occasionally parted to allow the Moon to peek through and on several occasions I caught a glimpse of Jupiter, which was a few degrees ahead of the Moon. I walked down the gravel road that runs through my farm, passing by a stand of very late sunflowers which were struggling to bloom far out of their season. A Jimson weed plant was blooming,in the midst of the sunflower plants, its lavender flowers suddenly illuminated by a beam of moonlight that shot through the parting clouds. I had a sudden inspiration to pick three flowers from the plant and add them to the offerings of beer and tobacco I was carrying…