Sunday Morning Reflections

 

You make known to me the path of life

in your presence there is fullness of joy

~ Psalm 16:11

Sunday Morning Reflections

 

All good things are wild and free.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Sunday Morning Reflections

 

I've left the main highway and am just meandering through the countryside of aging.

~ by my friend Dee

What Happened To My Yard?

Fire abatement rules mandate that all weeds must be removed by June 1. After removal, 100 feet around my house should look like this picture, just dirt. Not the prettiest, but safety is more important. 

In the 15 years I've lived here, even during the drought years, my yard would look like this by mid-May. I posted this on May 11, 2020.

Each year, no matter what, weeds grew with amazing speed and I needed to hire someone with a tractor to clear my yard.  

It looks like no tractor will be needed this year,  since my yard still looks like this, except the tree and the lilac bush are both green now and look healthy. 

I'm having problems with Google photos, so I can only show old pictures right now. 

The difference in my yard from last year to now is so huge, it's like a premonition of what's to come if we humans don't change our ways. 

I was sure that the effects of our changing climate would not be noticed in my immediate environment in my lifetime. 

I was wrong.

Conversations with Faith - California Condors

 

Faith: What are you hemming and hawing about?

Me: Hemming and hawing, you're a dog, how do you know weird words like that? You're for sure the smartest dog I've ever known.

Faith: I know.

Me: So I was reading the Washington Post on my Kindle and the name of our town came up.

Faith: That's exciting, I hope they spelled it right. Why?

Me: Because some California condors had trashed this woman's entire deck. 

Faith: Why? Were they mad at her?

Me: I don't know. But do you know what the biggest problem was?

Faith: I bet they pooped all over the deck and didn't clean up after themselves. 

Me: Faith, you're absolutely right. It was like shoveling up concrete, the poor woman said. 

Faith: How many birds did this to her?

Me: The paper said 15 to 20 birds and you know they're giant birds. 

Faith: I know, she should shoot them if they come back.

Me: You are not allowed to shoot them, they are what's called endangered. I read there are only about 160 of them flying free in California and some more in other countries. So very few of them are left. 

Faith: It's sort of sad when animals disappear. I'm glad I'm a dog, I don't think we'll disappear any time soon. 

Me: It's pretty cool though that we live in condor territory, don't you think?

Faith: Personally, I think we live in raven territory. But they've left us too. 

Me: I know, Uncle Bob stole them.

Faith: How can you steal a raven?

Me: He is very kind to them and then he feeds them horse treats. You weren't nice to them,  you used to chase them all over the place. So no wonder they left us. 

Faith: I know, it was so much fun chasing them. Stole the ravens. I say, what's the world coming to? Pooping big birds and faithless ravens, I don't know...

Sunday Morning Reflections

 

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Thanks to my long-ago boyfriend Henry, I have continued to work on self-awareness, my spiritual being, my fears, insecurities, and the actual things that hold me back in my life. I've overcome many things, I'm a content and happy person, I have everything I need, I've dropped fear along the way, and I've come to see that love is really what matters in life. 

But there's one thing impossible to improve on, or so it seems.    

PATIENCE

Yesterday, I was waiting for my relatives who probably only saw the rising sun on school day mornings. 

The kids, I mean. 

They eventually showed up, hours late, and we had a lovely day. Nothing really changed by them being late. We communicated, I knew they woke up late, their dad had something to see to, their car needed oil, which had to be bought. Life got in the way of them being here when I expected them to. 

And I was the only one who suffered, here in my own home. It wasn't like I was standing on a street corner, waiting. 

I'm reflecting on patience this Sunday morning. 

 

Boys In Mexico

 

Errol and I spent many, many weekends in Baja California, Mexico. On one of our trips, we came upon some Americans, including these two boys. 

I've always loved the picture, it represents what boyhood is and should be all about, I think. 

Conversations With Faith -- The Great Migration Of The Swedish Moose

Faith: What are you watching?

Me: The Great Annual Migration of the Swedish Moose. 

Faith: What's that?

Me: Swedish TV has set up 29 cameras along the annual trek of the moose and show them on TV, walking through the forest. 

Faith: How far do they walk?

Me: About 400 miles.

Faith: That sounds like a very long way to walk. Why do they do it? Is it for excercise?

Me: No, they spend the winter in the coastal areas and then they trek back to the mountains for the summer. And it's all for food

Faith: So their food doesn't come in a can or a bag, like ours?

Me: No they eat grass, weeds, and leaves off trees.

Faith: Like the cows next door?

Me:  Yes, but the moose have to walk through deep forests and swim across a wide river that's very cold. I just saw that the water temperature is 32F. I'm just watching it now, this is a very big river with a long way from shore to shore. 

Faith: Do you see any moose.

Me: No, just a Swedish forest and the river. 

Faith: No moose. Sounds boring.

Me: No, it's not boring to me, 

Faith: Do you miss Sweden?

Me: A lot sometimes., 

Faith: Any moose yet?

Me: No.

Faith: Sounds like a good show to go to sleep by. 

Me: It's called Slow TV, I think. And you're right it's a very good show to go to sleep by. 

Faith: Wouldn't work in America, people want fast-moving shows here. 

Me: You can click at the bottom and move forward to where the moose are. Little squares show you where they are and other animals too. I saw a herd of reindeer, and a red fox running on the rocky shore of the river, looking for something to catch for dinner. And I've seen cranes too, and many water fowl. And just now I saw a beaver working on his house.

Faith: Good, but it still sounds pretty boring. I think I will take a little nap now. 

Me: OK, sweet girl, mama loves you.

Faith: You forgot my birthday.

Me: I know, but I remembered later and gave you some ice cream to lick on. 

Faith: But nothing on your blog. Nothing like what Samson gets every year.

Me: I'm sorry, but it doesn't mean I don't love you.

Faith: It just means your'e old and can't remember stuff.

Me: That's what it means. 

OK, here it is: On April 28, 2021, Faith had her 7th birthtday.

Happy Birthday, dear Faith, Happy Birthday to You.

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Note:

The moose is the National Animal of Sweden and Swedish TV documents the annual migration of some of the moose from their winter home in the coastal areas to their summer home along the slopes of the mountains to the west. 

The migration of the moose, as documented on Swedish TV, covers about 400 miles with 29 cameras set up along the way. 

The most exciting part, I imagine, is waiting for the moose to show up at this wide and very cold river. The first moose arrived at the river on Sunday and began to swim across. This was duly noted in the newpaper part of Swedish TV at svt.se. 

I took some photos, but right now I'm having problems with Google photos. So no moose today.

Link to the Great Swedish Moose Migration

Country Life

 

The dogs are looking for something or someone they can smell, but not see. They are so alert to any noise or movement in nature.

I finished the Kitty jigsaw puzzle, it was a lot of fun. 

I went to see Joyce the other morning and then stopped by to look at the latest calf to be born. It's next to it's mom, with the slightly larger calf off to the side.  The rest of the animals are finishing up their breakfast.

While at her place, I spotted this goose and commented on it. Joyce said, take it, I have so much stuff. So I did and I think it's enjoying it's new life on top of the doghouse roof. It cheers me up every time I look at it. 

My computer tells me to lighten up this photo, but I like it just the way it is. I get a bit annoyed when my devices tell me what to do, even if they mean well. Which makes me wonder what life on earth will be like in another 100 years. 

Other than that, I can't seem to decide what to do about getting a new car. The other day, I looked at too many cars online and read too many reviews and customer comments. Ending up with new ideas of which car I want. Then thinking maybe I should stick with the original thought of the Honda HR-V.

From that to thinking maybe I should stick with the Jeep and save the money. That thought lasts every day until about noon when the winds pick up again. My Jeep is a two-door version with a soft top, so no fun to drive in windy weather. Which by now is every day.

Right now the weather report on my Kindle says winds: WNW 32 mph. 

I have laundry in the washer and no way can I hang it on the lines. The wind picked up sooner than usual today. I have no idea what to do, except hang it in the bathroom. It's been done before, so no big deal. 

Happy weekend, dear friends.