Some Rain Must Fall

"Into each life some rain must fall," wrote Henry Longfellow in his poem, The Rainy Day. And this January day has rain aplenty, accompanied by strong winds that banshee howl against the house. As the temperature falls those rain drops become coatings of ice, and broadcasts advise against unnecessary travel.

Ice coated branches add sparkle to the yard.

And so it's a perfect day to say indoors and transform the beeswax I've collected last summer into candles. In previous winters, I used the traditional dip method to make tapers. That was all fine and dandy but the candles were a little tricky to fit reliably into candle holders which seem to lack standardization. This time I'm using a silicone candle mold to make a self standing 5 inch hexagon model. Yes Peter, I'm your copy cat.

Beeswax melting in an old double boiler.

The melted wax will be poured into this silicone candle mold.

A morning's production yields about nine candles.

A beeswax candle adds light and sweet fragrance to a gloomy day.

The Rainy Day

 
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

  --  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)