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```*+*``` !!! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY !!! ```*+*```

“It is winter proper; the cold weather, such as it is, has come to stay.  I bloom indoors like a forced forsythia; I come in to come out.”  -- Annie Dillard

At this time of year, as the brutal weather of January and February wraps us in its chilling embrace, and darkness greets us in the morning and travels home with us after work, spring is a longed for guest whose arrival seems impossibly far away.

Yet winter is as welcome a guest as spring, for it is a time to slow down, to ease up on the chores of plowing and planting, weeding and harvesting, hunting and gathering. Winter is a time for gathering around the warmth of a fire and putting hands to work spinning and weaving, mending and sewing, and carving and making.  And while hands are busy, stories of community life are shared, along with the entertaining and enlightening stories of myth and fairy tale.  Creativity and imagination are given time and freedom.

Thus it was that the creativity of one of our newest citizens, Isolde Fitzpatrick, came to the fore.  On one of those cold days, she presented a special sculpture to King Karl and Queen Honeee.  Realistic in presentation, a large black griffon stands over the dragon of Heathfield. The base is made to look like the map of the realm in relief. Surrounding the two symbols of royalty are  representations of the Four Horsemen:  a tornado for Wind, a wall of Fire, a mountain for Earth  and a wave for Water.  The sculpture sets in a place of honor in the main foyer of Heathfield castle, a sparkling representation that celebrates our home. --submitted by Abigail Frasier.

For those brave few that have dared outdoor events, hats off to you!  For those that have not, here is what you have missed:

Snowman Building Competition - Joining with others from outside of Heathfield, a snowman building competition took place on January 17th.  Those that built the perfect snowman received a special treat.  Their snowman would come to life and hand them a bag of 100 gold pieces, gifts from Sovereigns King Meldrum and Queen Caillean.  Along with enjoyment of company and laughter, this turned out to be quite the event.  A few from Heathfield decided to take their chances in the fun and games, as well as meeting new friends.  Among them were Adrian Frasier, Brogan Frasier, Fearghas Frasier, and Orianna McCree.  Winners of the competition included Sovereign King Meldrum, Brogan Frasier,  and Fearghas Frasier who created perfect snowman and have our congratulations!  Orianna ended up tripping and taking her snowman down.  Adrian had quite humorous ideas of how to create a snowman.  He started a trend as the competition continued.  White weasels popped up a few times to steal scarves as rabbits stole carrots.  For all that ventured out, it was a night of laughter and fun.

Sledding - Thanks to Logan Cunningham we here at Heathfield have our own toboggan runs.  Many have taken their chances out on the snow, few coming out without a bruise or bump.  Jael took her first ride down the hill with Sean MacGrath.  Others out that night included Kizzie Cohen, Kyle Frasier, Adrian Frasier, and Orianna McCree.  While all had nice rides down, their landings were far from perfect.  The lake at the end proved to be to much for the seasoned crew, sending them sprawling or into snow banks.  On the last run of the evening, Adrian and Orianna destroyed a Royal Snowman.  All about that evening aided in it's repair.  Nights later, we found Sean, Orianna, and Kieran daring the slopes.  While Sean and Orianna were safely sitting on their toboggan, Kieran went down head first.  He ended up with a nice landing in snow.  Devon and Jasper were spotted near the slopes as well that night.  Time will tell when Devon will be taking them on.  To all others out there...you are missing the fun. --submitted by Orianna McCree

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Healer's Touch
by Samantha Golden

ALOE - Every kitchen should have a potted aloe on the windowsill. That way, when minor burns, scalds, or cuts occur, it's easy to cut off one of the thick, fleshy leaves and squeeze its clear gel onto the injury. Aloe dries into a natural bandage. It may promote would healing and help prevent infection. Another part of aole, the latex (extracted from special cells on its inner leaf skin) is a powerful laxative -- so potent, in fact that many authorities say it should not be taken internally. Aloe has been used in healing since the dawn of history. Egyptian medical writings from 1,500 BC recommend it for infections, skin problems and as a laxative.

Healing with Aloe -- Contemporary herbalists use aloe in some of the same ways Diocorides used it almost 2000 years ago -- externally for burns and wounds. Studies have supported the herb's ability to spur the healing of first and second degree burns and other wounds. It may also ease the discomfort of poison ivy rash. It may also prevent infection in injured skin. Several studies show aloe effective against many different bacteria that can invade a wound.

Cleopatra massaged aloe gel into her skin to make it shine. The herb is widely used in skin-care products but if you're after beautiful skin, do what the legendary Egyptian beauty did -- use the fresh leaf gel, not the 'stabilized' preserved gel used in commercial shampoos and skin products. Stabilized aloe has none of the fresh herb's skin healing benefits. Studies show that aloe may kill the fungus (candida albicans) that causes vaginal yeast infections but just because it kills the fungus in laboratory tests doesn't mean it can wipe out the infection in the human body. Although aloe has been used externally in folk medicine as a treatment for skin cancer, its effectiveness has never been studied scientifically. A European study suggests aloe gel reduces blood sugar (glucose) levels in experimental animals and humans with diabetes. The gel is not usually taken internally but if other studies confirm this effect, aloe might one day be used to help manage diabetes.

Usage -- To help soothe wounds, burns, scalds, and sunburn and to help avoid infections, select a lower (older) leave, cut several inches off, slice it lengthwise, apply the gel and allow it to dry. Make sure you clean the wound properly with soap and water first. As for the injured leaf, it quickly closes its own wound. The rest of it may be used in the future. To enjoy the cosmetic benefits of aloe, apply gel from the leaf to freshly washed skin. Discontinue use if it seems to irritate your skin. Aloe gel is safe for external use by anyone who does not develop an allergic reaction. Aloe is best used in consultation with your doctor. Tell your doctor if wounds do not heal significantly within two weeks or appear to be getting worse.

Aloe latex should not be ingested by pregnant women. Its cathartic nature may stimulate uterine contractions and trigger miscarriage. Aloe's cathartic power may also aggravate ulcers, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, diverticulitis, colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. Anyone with a gastronintestinal illness should not sue aloe latex as a laxative. In general, aloe latex is not recommended for internal use. Although aloe may help heal injured skin, one case study reported eczema like welts in a man who had used it for several years -- proving that too much of a good thing may cause problems.

Aloe is the perfect houseplant for people with brown thumbs because it requires little water and no other care. Aloe prefers sun but tolerates shade and doesn't mind poor soil. The only conditions this hardy succulent cannot tolerate are poor drainage and temperatures below about 40 degrees F. Bring potted aloes indoors before the temperature falls lower. It periodically produces offshoots which may be removed and replanted when they are a few inches tall. Simply uproot or unpot the plant, work the soil gently to separate the offshoot and return the mother plant to its bed or pot. --Taken from The Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman

Life Around Here

The weather has definitely turned towards the colder side of this season, and the citizens of Heathfield have taken advantage of it in full swing. Snowball battles have popped up all over, so be forewarned! The toboggan sled runs have opened down by the Crystal Gold lake, and already rumors have gone around of citizens taking flight down their winding slopes. The season brings lots of fun, inside as well as out, cuddling with someone special to keep warm a main attraction.

Which leads us into the main theme for this month. February has long been a month full of romance, and St. Valentine's Day celebrations contain vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. For the Romans, February was the official beginnings of the spring season, and considered a time for purification. The festival of Lupercalia began at the ides of February (February 15th) and was one of fertility, dedicated to Faunus, the god of agriculture. In another tradition, all the young women in a town or village would place their names in an urn, while the town's bachelors would then each choose a name out and be paired with that woman for the year, the matches often ending in marriages. Should the crones be told of this? This tradition was later decreed un-Christian by the Pope, and February 14th was declared St. Valentine's Day. It is said that the real priest Valentine was imprisoned for helping Christians escape Roman prisons where they were being tortured, and had fallen in love with his jailor's daughter. Before his death, he supposedly wrote her a love letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," which may have started the popular tradition used today.

Whatever the truth behind the traditions, February has become a month for romance, and renewal. So enjoy the time spent with family and friends, and let them know how much they mean to you, however you deem appropriate... on a side note... the candy, sweets, flower, candle, and jewelry shops will be open longer hours! --submitted by Devon Winters and Isolde Kilpatrick

Births: None this month. Marriages: None this month.. Engagements: None this Month.  Deaths: None this Month. Citizenship: Please welcome Orianna Lynn McCree.

A knife as a gift from a lover means that the love will soon end. * If a ladybug lands on you, the direction after it leaves your person - the direction from which your future love will come. * If a nightingale is heard singing before the cuckoo - Success in love.

If a stork builds a nest on your roof, you have received a blessing and a promise of never ending love from Venus. Aristotle made killing a stork a crime, and Romans passed a stork law, saying that children must care for their elderly parents.

To dance in the open air, especially round a tree, on New Year's Day is declared to ensure luck in love and prosperity and freedom from ill health during the coming twelve months.

Certain months are better than others for a wedding: Married when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind & true, When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate. If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know. Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden & for Man. Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day. Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go. Those who in July do wed, must labor for their daily bred. Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see. Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine. If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry. If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember. When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.

Choosing to cut your hair (or nails) on a particular day means the following: Cut them on Monday, you cut them for health; cut them on Tuesday, you cut them for wealth; cut them on Wednesday, you cut them for news; cut them on Thursday, a new pair of shoes; cut them on Friday, you cut them for sorrow; cut them on Saturday, see your true love tomorrow; cut them on Sunday, the devil will be with you all the week.

OTHER LIFE FORMS

Kelpies -- A ghastly water spirit that assumes the form of a grayish black horse, the kelpie drowns then devours anyone who attempts to ride it.

It is often spotted wandering along the shores of rivers or lakes, appearing to be a lost pony. It can be identified by its constantly dripping mane and by its skin, which is like a seal's but cold to the touch. The stride is approximately 55cm, a bit smaller than a horse's.

The kelpie can be heard wailing before a storm and can cause water to rise high enough to flood. If you manage to bridle a kelpie, it can be forced to do your bidding, but woe betide you should it slip its harness.  -- submitted by Kathleen Frasier - from Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide. Everyone should have one!

February

...is for Lovers... St Valentine's Day

While it can't be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine's Day.

One of these men named Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Valentine was revered by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of life attending his services. At this time Emperor Claudius was heavily recruiting men to serve as soldiers for his wars without much success. The men preferred not to leave their wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. Claudius became angry and declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled.

Valentine thought this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When Claudius found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Friends of the priest retrieved his body and buried it in a churchyard in Rome.

Another version had St. Valentine jailed for helping Christians. While Valentine was in prison he cured a jailer's daughter of blindness. Claudius became enraged and had Valentine clubbed and beheaded on February 14, 269 A.D.

Yet another story claims that Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter and wrote her letters that were signed "From your Valentine."

All of the seven Valentines eventually evolved into one. In 496 Pope Gelasius declared the day in honor of St. Valentine. Through the centuries the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. Lovers' quarrels come under his jurisdiction and, naturally, he is the patron saint of engaged couples and of anyone wishing to marry. -- submitted by Kizzie Cohen (http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html)

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
by Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That valleys, groves, hills and fields, Woods or steepy mountains yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses, And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool, Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair-lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs; And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning; If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.

--submitted by Sara Devonshire

When Icicles Hang by the Wall
by William Shakespeare

When icicles hang by the wall,
    And Dick the shepherd blows his nail.
 And Tom bears logs into the hall,
    And milk comes frozen home in pail,
 When blood is nipp’d and ways be foul,
 Then nightly sings the staring owl,
     To-whit!
 To-who!—a merry note,
 While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all aloud the wind doth blow,
    And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
 And birds sit brooding in the snow,
    And Marian’s nose looks red and raw,
 When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
 Then nightly sings the staring owl,
     To-whit!
 To-who!—a merry note,
 While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

--submitted by Orianna Lynn

Whoever Loved, that Loved not at First Sight?
by Christopher Marlowe

It lies not in our power to love or hate,
For will in us is overruled by fate.
When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,
We wish that one should love, the other win;
And one especially do we affect
Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:
The reason no man knows; let it suffice
What we behold is censured by our eyes.
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?

--submitted by Cassie Saxton

My True Love Hath My Heart
by Philip Sidney 

My true-love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given;
I hold his dear and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a better bargain driven.
My true-love hath my heart and I have his,

His heart in me keeps him and me in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides;
He loves my heart for once it was his own,
I cherish his because in me it bides.
My true-love hath my heart and I have his.

--submitted by Cassie Saxton

There is a Lady Sweet and King
by Thomas Ford

There is a lady sweet and kind,
Was never a face so pleased my mind;
I did but see her passing by,
And yet, I'll love her till I die.

Her gesture, motion, and her smiles,
Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles,
Beguiles my heart, I know not why,
And yet, I'll love her till I die.

Cupid is winged and he doth range,
Her country, so, my love doth change:
But change she earth, or change she sky,
Yet, I will love her till I die.

--submitted by Cassie Saxton

1Corinthians 13

 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

--submitted by Cassie Saxton

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Did You Know?

Ball of Lightning - For centuries scientists have debated the existence of 'ball lightning' -- brightly colored globes of light seen floating in the sky during or after thunderstorms. Recent research conducted suggests that ball lightning may indeed be a real meteorological phenomenon. Lightning may be thought of a huge sudden spark of electricity generated by the difference in electricity between particles of matter for example, between opposite charges within two clouds. The discharge follows the line of least resistance, which often forms a forked pattern. In addition to normal fork lightning, however, thousands of people have claim to have seen luminous spheres moving through the air during or after thunderstorms -- so called ball lightning.

Fact or Folklore? Ball lightning may be white, orange, blue or red and is said to vary enormously in size, from grape to basketball. Such lightning is often accompanied by a loud hissing sound. Some eyewitnesses claim that ball lightning is capable of passing through walls and moving against the wind. According to some accounts, it can cause damage by burning or melting various materials; other maintain that it is quite harmless. It reportedly dies out suddenly, either silently or explosively, a few seconds after it appears. Unlike normal lightning, ball lightning appears to occur without any apparent contact between oppositely charged particles, thus defying ordinary physical principles. Its occurrence is therefore much more difficult to explain. Many scientists used to dismiss ball lightning as an illusion. One British physicist theorized that ball lightning might simply be an after-image formed by the human eye following an initial exposure to the flash of ordinary forked lightning. Another Soviet scientists disagrees and suggests that ball lightning was indeed a true physical phenomenon, he proposed that the luminous globes consisted of plasma -- matter composed of electrically charged atomic particles stimulated by natural radio waves to generate light. Recent experiments appear to support this view. However if ball lightning does consist of plasma, as many scientists believe, further work is needed to identify the forces that hold it in a sphere.

 -- submitted by Samantha Golden (taken from the book Earth's Mysterious Places, Reader's Digest)

How can a guy tell if a woman is interested in him especially if she flirts naturally with everyone? ~ Clueless.

Dear Clueless,

Women all have different ways for flirting as well. I find myself flirting differently than some other women based on the friendship I have with the gentleman. Simple flirting can consist of banter, and through wordplay with casual friends. With those I wish to know further have my attention, and even some extra 

RECIPES of the MONTH