Just Being

Meditation - Inchydoney Island Spa, Eire

It's raining again!  What a wonderful sign for me on my "day off."  Wednesdays are my days off each week.  They are my planned days within the week to just be and delay any unpleasant chores to Thursdays.  The only regularly scheduled event is my lovely yoga class in the evening for an hour - a delightful way to end a day of solitude.  And the rain gives me permission to stay inside and read - my favorite way to relax.  Today I'm going to also try a new recipe for fresh tomato salsa.  I often  cook something on Wednesdays since that, too, is an unusual event for me.  It's fun when it's not for sustenance but experimentation. I bought nice fresh tomatoes,  serrano peppers and cilantro at Whole Foods yesterday in anticipation of the project.   Made my green drink this morning and realized it is so good I could substitute it for my chocolate milk shakes I crave as comfort food often.  Will my mind do that?   Next time I'll try adding organic cacao powder and see how that works.  If I close my eyes perhaps it will taste more like a chocolate shake.  On the other hand, being a nature nut, green is my next favorite food color, next to chocolate brown.  SOOO, we'll see.

Walk the Earth Softly

Making progress - another bag full of trash and more to come - I keep thinking surely one more bag will do it.  But, maybe not.  Still a beautiful morning for walk - misty, cool, absolutely lovely at 6:30 in the morning.....This is just one lovely spot where the way appears to be through an overhanging branch into a tunnel.  Even on a paved road with painted yellow lines down he middle and white ones along the outer edges - beauty is there.  Always "in the eyes of the beholder" of course.  The challenge is to find beauty wherever I am and to always "walk the Earth softly, the beauty way" as I pray when addressing the winds of the South.

Spring Cleaning in July

Yep, it's sourwood.  This morning's walk has still not totally cleared the roadside of trash.  One spot is loaded with trash but it is a deep ditch and I've put it off till I remembered to take my walking stick with me.  So, tomorrow I'll try to get to it.  I do know that new trash has been deposited since I started my cleanup a week ago.  I'm curious now to see if I can ever walk the road and NOT see new trash.  Surely that can happen? ..... I'm on a serious cleaning kick right now.  After getting the red door repainted, I power-washed the Yogatorium porch floor and back steps  Clearly this needs to be done more often.   Anyway, it's satisfying to see the wood grain again!  ....... If you look closely you can see me reflected in the back door and even all the way through the Yogatorium to the front door and beyond!  Amazing what shows up in photos by accident.  Have a great Monday!  Mine is off to a great start, hope yours is too.

Sourwood (?) Tree Leaves

Change.  It's in the air.  It's also on the ground.  The photo indicates days are shortening.  I believe these are sourwood seedlings.  I know sourwood tree leaves turn red very early and here it is not quite August.  And it's usual to see some red and some green together even on the same tree.   I'd like to have one of these trees in my yard.  Perhaps I'll try digging one up from the ditch where I found these on my morning walk.  I can determine whether or not it is sourwood by tasting one of the green leaves.  Tastes sort of lemony.  When I walk in the morning, I'll test it.

Red Door - Beholding

Yesterday I re-painted the Yogatorium door red.

There's something so very satisfying about painting - particularly front doors.  I'll always get an ego boost when I recall an incident when I was painting our front door (white) in Clemson.  A little neighbor girl (can't recall her name) was sitting on the walk watching me and asked "What are you doing?"  I replied "Painting our door."  Silence.  Then, I said "Your Mother is a painter, isn't she? (just to make conversation) Her response, "Yeah, but she just paint pictures." (in a sort of derogatory tone).  As if painting a door were more to be admired than the beautiful watercolors her mother produced.  It's all in the eyes of the beholder.  Today I'll think about how I behold.   

Preserving Change

7:30 pm 7/24/13

7:30 am 7/25/13

Nature has recently become far more important in my life.  My roadside walks have opened my eyes to many marvels.  These two photos exemplify rapid change in the visible world.  The first photo was taken last evening at about 7:30, the second one at 7:30 this morning.  When I spotted it on the foundation of my cottage last evening I thought paint had been sprayed - but it must be some kind of fungus.  Look how overnight it changed into a puffy kind of stuff that has begun falling off onto the mulch.   And, it didn't rain last evening.  Have the fairies been at work again in my domain?  Anyone know the name of this stuff?  Common or scientific?  By now, you followers of my blog must begin to sense the fun I'm having out of doors lately.

What is truly astounding is how rapidly things are changing.  How is it that change seems so difficult for us two-legged ones when it inevitable - just like taxes and death - a sure thing.  For me, change is exciting, desirable, and a stimulus for my creativity - a value I don't want to live without.  So, I work at preserving change.  Is that an oxymoron?  Strange how my post titles seem to come to me after writing a bit rather than at the beginning.  Perhaps that's not surprising.

Emancipation from Television

Woke too early to walk first thing this morning.  So, I've been soaking my feet, drinking green tea, watching the light come to the outside world and just being.  Yesterday I finally cancelled my television service.  I have been threatening to do that for many months.  It seemed intrusive, not like the "good company" some people identify with it.  My cottage seems almost clear now.  I still have to call the Faith Home and get them to come pick up the monster to totally clear the atmosphere. But, already there is an air of cleanliness and fresh energy replacing the intrusiveness.  Others will say, "How can you live without it?"  I say "The same way I live without a daily newspaper."  More free of unpleasant events irrelevant to me.  "But how will you know what is going on?"  I say "Someone will tell me or I'll see it on my laptop."  For the past couple of years I have only watched Netflix movies on it and Bill O'Reilly.  Somehow, that doesn't warrant spending the money each month ----but especially allowing the invasiveness.  It is truly amazing how clean the energy feels even with it just removed from my major living space.  I began this emancipation by covering it with a lovely piece of textile from my collection.  That helped, but it wasn't enough.  So I had it moved to another room and closed the door.  Still, its antagonistic energy is here.  But I am gaining on this intruder.

Protect Your Time

Fairy Ring?

My Pod Sisters and I are studying Women Who Run With the Wolves and at this point, a section entitled Nourishing the Creative Life.  Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the author, makes many good points, but the one that struck me as most important for me at the moment is Protect Your Time.  Here is some of what she wrote:
I know a painter ....who hangs this sign off the road to her house when she is in a painting or thinking mode:  "I am working today and am not receiving visitors.  I know you think this doesn't mean you because you are my banker, agent, or best friend.  But it does."  My experience tells me this is not too bold - absolutely required to create.  What happens is my own mental state is protected even if no one shows up to read the sign.  Just by posting it, my creative life is enhanced.  The creative juices begin to flow.  Perhaps this need for privacy is why the fairies work at night.  The photo made me think of the lovely fairies who must have been at work to create the beautiful ring of vine I saw on the roadside on one of my walks.  If you look closely you can see light in the distance through the near center of the ring just to the left of the small tree.

Caterpillar Critter

Another grocery bag of trash collected on my walk this morning.  This makes three so far this time around. ....... Want you to see a critter I saw on an earlier trip.  (Sorry it's out of focus)  Can't help but wonder what she has now become ....... maybe a butterfly?  I've seen a couple of lovely blue ones lately.   I know so little about insects.  Any ideas about this critter you can share with me? All I see is orange and black  ........ Already the weather is cool in the morning at 7.  I even wear a light shirt on the way out, but on the way back, sleeves are tied around my waist. .. Off to yoga class at the Y now.

Climbing Butterfly-pea?

Bee on Climbing Butterfly-pea,  I think?

On the road again this morning - here's a bee at work on a Climbing Butterfly-pea  I think, based on my beautiful book Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States, a reference  I used when in forestry graduate school and still do.  I don't know what the brown lump is - Does anyone out there?  Looks as if it might be attached to the bee's leg?  Sorry I didn't look more closely.  Next time I walk I'll take my pocket magnifiying lens.  .........On a more practical scene, yesterday I cranked up my power pressure washer and cleaned the carport concrete floor.  Amazing how much dirt can accumulate when you aren't looking.  And what a joy when it disappears.  ......Speaking of dirt disappearing - I had the most delightful surprise when I returned from being away Thursday night in Atlanta.  The Yogatorium had been cleaned - even the fan blades - Renee and Todd did a very thorough cleaning while I was gone.  THANKS for the idea, Renee, AND for the work!  Both of you are super friends.

At Apple Store w Becky

New post this morning - with help!  How about those pink clouds in the water?  Need I say more?

Luna moth walk

Wonderful walk this morning - for only the second time in my life I saw a luna moth on the shoulder of the road - what a beauty!   The first time was several years ago on the porch of the Cabin here at the Pond.  Google and learn all I did this morning about this magnificent insect.  Amazing what nature has to offer when we simply look!  My morning walks are turning into exciting adventures.  It was at Hilton Head where I first began my morning walks to enhance my spiritual journey in 1996 - only 17 years ago and it seems like a lifetime.  What miraculous sights and sounds and thoughts I have enjoyed.

Interconnecting

What a delightful way to begin a day!  Early this morning when I woke I realized my first priority is exercise and walking first thing is No. 1.  So, in spite of the drizzle, I walked for 30 minutes.  I found my Self smiling all the way - the drizzle was so light it was like walking through a fog rather than rain - and so doing brought me closer to God - the Universe - the Source - being surrounded with evidence - the brilliant greenness of the trees and shrubs, the Queen Anne's lace, dandelions, a beautiful purple blossom that reminded me of the maypops we used to see along the roadsides and stop to stomp them - but I didn't stay long enough to be sure what they are.  On my way back to the Pond, I did stop to pick up a turtle shell that was almost, but not quite empty.  There were beetles working on the tiny bits of turtle left in the shell - with a large bright yellow spot on their black bodies - just like the ones I saw working on the fox skull being cleaned in the woods a few weeks ago.  When I touched the shell, they scurried away.  How can we not believe in the interconnectedness of all with such evidence everywhere we look?  I brought the turtle shell home with me and placed it near the steps so I will see it often and remember.  Remember?  As I sit now looking out across the Pond, memories of findings in nature flood back.  Remembering is a key to connecting.  Connecting is what happens when I stop doing and begin being.   What began as exercising turned into a beautiful session of connecting.

Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self

This book (Richard Rohr) is exactly what I need right now.  Maybe you too.  His writing is right on - seems no matter what I read of his is just what I need at the moment.  Is it his writing, or is it me?  Is it both?  Whatever.  Perhaps it's where I am and what I'm doing, but I think it's more than that.  If you are a truth searcher, I highly recommend this book. .........I think this is what a vacation is supposed to do, at least for me - open new doors, close old ones.  Give me a chance to reflect and choose new pathways.  Instead of doing a whole lot, I'm being.  What a joy! ......Now it's time for my workout.......which was absolutely great!  Shannon is working up a routine I can do when I get home and will give me complete instructions with photos to take home after tomorrow's workout.  She is extremely knowledgeable and a joy to work with.  I've already learned lots of good stuff - especially for abs workouts!   Time now for a shuttle run to the beach for the guys.  Only one more day after today!  Wish I could stay another week, but also eager to get back to yoga classes.  See you all on Monday!

Golfiing Day for the Boys

Yesterday was golfing day for the boys.  Here they are.  Jack, Sam, and Luke.  Today was another like many others - family off to the beach, I stayed home for a few hours studying - this time Falling Upward by Richard Rohr and also his Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self on my Kindle.  Whoops!  Time to take the boys to the movie so Luke and Susan can have a night out.  Maybe something more worth reading tomorrow.

Bottlebrush

My guess was right - googled it - it's a bottlebrush.

Flowers and Shrubs

I found this near the swimming pool here in Shipyard Plantation at Hilton Head.  Can anyone identify it for me? It's a shrub about 6 feet tall now.   The blossom is about 4-6 inches long.
Many more lovely flowers in the landscape but this is the most unusual I've seen so far.  We have seen one large alligator sunning on a bank near the lagoon.  Altogether, a lovely environment in which to be.  I am truly blessed.

Hilton Head Wimbledon etc.

Last Summer Jaquie at HH

Wimbledon - surely everyone spent some time watching - we did this morning - what a thrill to see Andy's reaction to winning. ..... This is turning into one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever had.  The only responsibility I have is to drive Susan and the beach chairs and boards, and such to the beach in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon.  The guys ride bikes over the short distance to the beach.  Otherwise, I'm knitting, reading, studying philosophy, and in general just being.  Now that the first week is over, I'm really relaxed.  Can't imagine a better thing for me to have happen!  .........This second week I'll do strength training 3 times with a personal trainer at the Sea Pines Club which I'm truly looking forward to.  I always learn from new trainers and/or classes.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last several days and seems to be heading for more of the same - at least tomorrow.  Brother Jim has scheduled a 90-minute massage for each of us on Tuesday - never had one that long before, so looking forward to the experience.  Otherwise, one more week of the same.  Have been trying to get photos organized in my Mac but not making much progress.  Mostly just enjoying looking at them.  Hope you enjoy one from last summer.

Saturday ending first week at HH

Here it is Saturday - closing in on end of the first week.  Falling into a routine that is quite pleasant for all of us.  Finally got to working on my photos a bit and so here is one of Sam and me taken during the fireworks on the 4th.  What a wonderful tradition we have developed.  This year, for the first time, we stopped by Jim and Anne's apartment for dessert at 8 and then at 9 over to the area beside the 18th green for fireworks display.  Great fun had by all.  Now the cleaning people have showed up to ready us for the next week - so out of here.

Hilton Head - 3rd day

Improving rapidly.  By tomorrow morning I should be in good shape.  So come back tomorrow for something worth reading - maybe!

Second day a loser on vacation at HH

Second day a loser!  Spent four hours last evening getting to a doctor and pharmacist with a bladder infection and all day today sleeping, getting up, going back to bed, ad infinitum (sp)  Anyhow, after today,  I will be back at it, I think!

Vacation - First Day at Hilton Head Island, SC

 What a great beginning!  Here at Hilton Head Island arriving last evening and early this morning brother Jim and I walked the beach and saw young ladies moving loggerhead turtle eggs away from the tide line back about 15 feet.  The bucket contains the eggs - I'd guess maybe 40 or 50 of them. She is closing the hole back filling it with the sand.  Then she walked back and started digging a new hole.  What a treat!  And, of course, that's me saying "Thanks be to God!"  for this beautiful Earth.........tomorrow morning I begin strength work with a personal trainer at Sea Pines Club.  Today maybe more beach time.  Showers are occurring frequently so we'll have to be ready to switch back and forth for a few days.  

There are two bikes that come with the time share which we will get out soon and make sure they are ready to go.  I'll try a short ride today and perhaps lengthen each day until I get my bike legs going.  Been many years since I've even tried so it's unknown at this point how well that will work.........Stopped on the way onto the island for fresh tomatoes and peaches - enhancement for my salad last evening and my cereal this morning!    Haven't made it yet to The Fresh Market but will before this day is over.