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The Hidden Almanac for
Monday July 21st, 2014
Episode 134
The Hidden Almanac
Previous episode: 2014-07-18
Next episode: 2014-07-23

Summary[]

Today is the birthday of poet Manuel Santana. It is also the day Madeline Boyden completed her commission. It is the Feast Day of St. Walrus, and in the garden, there are cucumbers.

Be Safe, and Stay Out Trouble.

Transcription[]

Welcome to the Hidden Almanac, I’m Reverend Mord.

Today is July 21st, 2014.

It is the birthday of the poet and activist Manuel Santana, who said “All of us are prisoners, but some of us are granted more comfortable chains.” Described as “a bit of a downer” by his peers, Santana nevertheless crusaded tirelessly for the rights of the imprisoned and is credited with improving prison conditions throughout the country.

And it was on this day in 1845 that the great landscape architect Madeline Boyden completed her commission to rebuild the gardens at the Royal Summer Palace. These gardens stretched for hundreds of acres and had been one of the great horticultural embarassments of the empire. Under Boyden’s hand, they were reworked into a series of hedge mazes and reflecting pools. “The view is unappealing,” she wrote. “I have therefore built high walls to avoid it and water to reflect the sky. The ultimate effect is not entirely successful, but it is better than it was.” Garden writers describe the Summer Palace grounds as resembling a maze built for contemplative rats, but agree that Boyden did the best she could with what she had to work with.

It is the Feast Day of Saint Walrus, patron of…well, walruses. St. Walrus is not know to have produced any miracles, but images of St. Walrus abound in churches near the poles. St. Walrus is shown with a halo, one flipped extended, carrying a clamshell. There are no specific observances for this day, but should you encounter a walrus today, it would probably be wise to be especially kind to it.

In the garden, the cucumbers are beginning to show signs of a bumper crop. The interns have been set to pickling. A simple dish of thinly sliced cucumbers with minced ginger and rice vinegar provides a pleasing side dish and uses up cucumbers without having to break out the canning jars.

Meanwhile, the standing stone is still standing there. The frog pond has become rather smaller as a result, and the frogs seem somewhat disgruntled. The stone’s motives are unknown.

The Hidden Almanac is brought to you by Red Wombat Tea Company, purveyors of fine and inaccessible teas. Red Wombat --- “We Dig Tea.”

Also brought to you by House of Pinecones! For all your pinecone needs! Small pinecones, big pinecones, pinecones covered in glitter, you name it, we have it. House of Pinecones! Check out our new Acorn wing!

That’s the Hidden Almanac for July 21st, 2014. Be safe, and stay out of trouble.

Outro[]

Out of Character

The Hidden Almanac is a production of Dark Canvas Media, and is written by Ursula Vernon. Our exit music is Red in Black and our into music is Moon Valley, both by Kosta T. You can hear more music from Kosta T at the Free Music Archive. The Hidden Almanac is copyright 2013-2014, Ursula Vernon.

Notes[]

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