NORFOLK — On Thursday, Feb. 1 a small group gathered in the Great Hall of The Norfolk Library to attend a workshop led by Eileen Fitzgibbons and Bina Thomson.
The group gathered in a semi-circle in front of a cozy fire, the hearth bearing the library’s Latin motto “Inter Folia-Fructus” which translates to “fruit amongst the leaves” referring to the pleasure from knowledge that can be found in books. Topping the mantle, the owl of wisdom looked down upon the group.
Fitzgibbons and Thomson spoke about Imbolc, an Irish holiday with deep pagan roots that marks the first day of spring and celebrates St. Brigid’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland as well as the moment between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.
“In Ireland there’s a national holiday dedicated to Brigid. In many ways, she represents all women, and recognizes the equality of the feminine and masculine in society. While too early to plant, it was a time to start thinking of what you wanted and needed to plant and harvest. It celebrates a time to reaffirm life and is a commitment to rejuvenation. ” Fitzgibbons said.
Brigid was the Celtic fire and fertility goddess. Elements such as water symbolize healing, while fire represents alchemy. Christianity adopted Brigid as the patron saint of Irish nuns, newborns, midwives, dairy maids, and cattle, while smiths, poets, artists, and others who create stories are also celebrated.
“St. Brigid and the goddess are very similar. She’s a mother earth figure,” Fitzgibbons said.
She also explained to the group how the Celts made dolls from oat or wheat, which young girls would offer door to door as gifts.
“People took quiet walks, lit bonfires and celebrated with feasts. Fires symbolized the returning light; candles symbolized the growing sun,” she said.
In addition, traditional baked goods, winter vegetables, butter, cheese, and lamb were typically on offer. In this spirit, Fitzgibbons laid out her own delicious, home baked Irish Soda bread and a selection of tasty cheeses for the group to enjoy.
Attendees were invited to share poems and stories about how they celebrate this point of the year when spring is on the horizon.
Fitzgibbons also demonstrated how jars of honey, candles, yarrow, spruce, basil, and laurel and other elements such as antlers can be used to create an altar. And attendees were given brown paper bags to gather these elements and encouraged to create their own altars at home.
“Altars can be made in any corner in the house, on a window sill or a tabletop. They are created to be a place for beauty, intentions or meditations,” Fitzgibbons said.
Feeling satiated and informed, the group left enlightened, anticipating spring and brighter days ahead.
Eileen Fitzgibbons shared her knowledge of Imbolc on Feb. 1.Mike Cobb
Haley Leonard and Khyra McClennon looked on as HVRHS pulled ahead of Webutuck, May 2.
The sun was beating down as the game got underway in Falls Village. A cloudless sky led to a toasty match between these two teams with temperatures hovering around 76 degrees. Gnats were also hovering around.
Diana Portillo played second base for HVRHS.Riley Klein
Looking to earn its first win of the season, Webutuck got off to a good start. A line drive by Aria Griskauskus brought Ciara “C.C.” Gray home. Housatonic responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to keep the game even through one.
Webutuck retook the lead in the second inning when Abby McEnroe logged an RBI on a bunt. The lead persisted until the bottom of the third inning, when HVRHS took over.
Fueled by powerful hitting and a series of errors by the Warriors, HVRHS piled on four runs in the third to pull ahead 5-2.
The score remained until the fifth inning when the Mountaineers climbed ahead. Haley Leonard got the inning rolling with a solo home run. Abby White sent Hadley Casey home on a single before Kylie Leonard brought White home with a double.
Webutuck scored its third run of the game in the top of the sixth inning. Olivia Wickwire hit an RBI double to bring the score to 8-3.
Housatonic responded by “finding the barrel,” as Coach Pete Foley instructed from third base. The Mountaineers swung for the fences and tacked on eight more runs.
Grace Riva slid safely into home in the sixth inning.Riley Klein
The game ended by a 16-3 decision in favor of HVRHS. The Mountaineers’ record advanced to 7-5 this season while Webutuck moved to 0-8.
“We’re in a good spot,” said Foley on his team’s performance. “We’ve got a chance to be where we want to be, but we need to get more bats going.”
HVRHS was led offensively by Haley Leonard, who hit 4-for-5 at the plate and brought in three RBIs in addition to her solo home run. Grace Riva batted 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Kylie Leonard hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Madison Gulotta hit 1-for-4 with two RBIs, and Anne Moran hit 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Anne Moran pitched four strikeouts for the Mountaineers.
For Webutuck, Abby McEnroe went 2-for-4 at bat with one RBI, Aria Griskouskus hit 1-for-3 with an RBI, and C.C. Gray batted 2-for-3. Lyndsay Johnson threw three strikeouts from the hill.
Webutuck Coach Chris Osterman reassured Olivia Wickwire in the loss to HVRHS.Riley Klein
Anthony Foley caught Chase Ciccarelli in a rundown when HVRHS played Wamogo Wednesday, May 1.
Chris Race mixed the curveball into his rotation.Riley Klein
It was a bright spring day in Litchfield on May 1, partly cloudy and about 72 degrees at game time. Adjacent to a dairy farm, the ball field at Wamogo boasts the distinctive ambiance of “moos” resonating in tandem with the umpire’s spirited strike calls.
The game started slowly and was dictated by lights-out pitching from both bullpens. Wamogo’s Derek DeNigris and HVRHS’s Race each pitched a shutout until the fourth inning.
Owen Riemer reeled in a fly ball to centerfield.Riley Klein
In the bottom of the fourth, Quinn Coffey hit a pop fly to right field for a two RBI double to put Wamogo on the board. The infield got HVRHS out of the inning with back-to-back rundowns.
Race made it through the fifth inning with no hits and freshman reliever Wyatt Bayer took over on the hill in the sixth inning. An unfortunate balk on Bayer’s first pitch sent the runner on third home and gave Wamogo its final run of the game.
Wes Allyn played first base and batted 1-for-3 from the plate.Riley Klein
The Warriors won 3-0 and advanced to 5-4-1 for the season. HVRHS moved to 3-8. Offensively, HVRHS was led by Wyatt Bayer who hit 2-for-3. Wes Allyn and Sam Marcus each logged a single for the Mountaineers. Race threw two strikeouts and Bayer threw one.
For Wamogo, Derek DeNigris hit 1-for-2, Patrick Weaving hit 1-for-2, and Josh DeLello hit 1-for-3. DeNigris logged seven strikeouts and the Warriors committed zero errors throughout the game.
Freshman Wyatt Bayer played third base before coming in as HVRHS's relief pitched in the sixth inning.Riley Klein
Curious cows watched the game from next door and echoed strike calls with resonating "moos."Riley Klein
‘Migration Collage' by ransome
‘Square Quilting painting' by ransomeAlexander Wilburn
Map fragments of North Carolina feature heavily in a large collection of eight-by-eight collage and acrylic paintings, sold individually but together mounted on Geary’s wall resembling the stitched patterns on quilts, like the quilts by the late Black American artist Arlonzia Pettway. Along with artists like Annie Mae Young and Mary Lee Bendolph, Pettway was a renowned artist associated with the quilts of Gee’s Bend, generations of women in the town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama who preserved African American culture in beautiful and vibrant textile art with bold combinations of stripes, textures and colors. The influence is also wonderfully clear in ransome large-scale collages and acrylic paintings like “Square Quilt painting” on display at Geary. It’s a powerful symbol of Gee’s Bend’s legacy continuing on, even under a new artistic medium.
In the smaller works, called “Migration Collages,” painted portraits are combined with pieces of floral and pastel paper, evocative of the tradition of “Sunday Best” splendor worn in Black churches in the South. “The women elders at my Baptist church often greeted each other that way on Sunday mornings when one hat was more elaborate, colorful, or wider brimmed than another,” New York Times veteran Lena Williams wrote in her 1996 essay, “In Defense of the Church Hat.” “It was traditional to put on one’s newest finery for church, and in many historically black churches, the wearing of fancy hats by women carried both spiritual and cultural significance.”
“The Bitter and the Sweet” is on view at Geary through Sunday, June 2.
