What’s something you used to worry about but don’t anymore?
Oh, there’s a whole bunch of crap I don’t worry about anymore. That gives me a lot more mental space for living in the moment, discovering beauty, and sending out positive energy, which is sorely needed right now.
Wish I was here.
One thing I no longer worry about is what other people think about me. That’s a hard one for a reformed people pleaser! (And it is so easy to slip back into those patterns under stress.) I am pretty sure anyone who is thinking random negative stuff about me is not worried about what I think of them! So, let them!
I’d rather remind myself that I don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives, so it’s better to assume they’re doing their best. Mental illness can make good intentions hard to see, but they’re usually there. Yes, even my least favorite political figures think they’re doing good. I do occasionally worry about them. Some worry is justified!
No worries from my faithful companions.
After another intense but interesting work day, and some rest and relaxation in the pool and with my animal buddies, I’m ready for some travel! See you tomorrow in another time zone!
What’s a quote that perfectly describes your outlook on life?
The prompt writers seem to be fixated on quotes these days. I thought I’d just skip today, since the most exciting parts were at work and no one other than me would find my new assignments fascinating.
However, as I was looking to see what photos I took today, I realized I’d taken a photo of a page in the book I was reading that had a quote that resonated with me. I think it captures my outlook.
To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.
Leonardo da Vinci, quoted in Noticing, by Richard Louv, p. 93
That’s just a perfect way to look at our journey through life.
I was pleased that two canna lilies bloomed today. The water garden looks ok!
I like quotes, too, but I’m extra-bad at remembering them, just like how canned jokes never stick with me. I claim that I specialize in situational humor and improvised sayings, though I’m not funny or pithy these days.
I’ve been feeling like a spring flower in a summer landscape — in the right place at the wrong time.
But I do have a quote for you! I remembered that I liked one of the pull quotes at the beginning of the book I’m reading, Noticing, by Richard Louv.
Right???
So many of us would-be do-gooders and nature lovers resonate with that one.
Meanwhile, I’m continuing to do things I like to do, not that I think I should. I put silly little stickers on my nails. It was fun. If you don’t like it, don’t try it.
Sunflowers for summer
In the background of my nails is my journal. I enjoy putting Washi stickers in it. Artistic? No. Fun? Yes. There’s lots worse I could be doing!
I also stickered my big toe. My gosh that photo looks weird.
Other fun today was swimming, even though there are so many wasps around the pool. You can see nests better from in the water, I’ve learned. Spray time tomorrow!
If you had to give one life-changing tip, what would it be?
Just one? Do not confuse hormones or sympathy for love. Let’s just say I’ve made that kind of mistake so many times that I have no intention of starting any new love relationships.
On a more cheerful note, it wasn’t quite as hot this morning, and I figured out I can sit in the shadow of my bird hut to hang out with nature. My spirits were lifted by getting to see a Yellow-bellied Cuckoo in the closest tree.
It never faced me, but I got to see its eye!I just love the seed pods on the honey locust
I also got to watch three Gulf Fritillaries enjoying the passion vine and sorrel vines. It was rather enchanting.
Three at once!DancingMy favorite
I’ve really needed more nature time lately. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do for the years I have left. I really want to stop volunteering to do things to try to make others happy, and I don’t want to spend my time on things I don’t enjoy, just because I “should.” If I cut back on obligations and let myself just relax more, my mental state could improve.
Looks like the green heron is a hummingbird on the fence wire.
If my mental state improved, I’d start exercising again and keep feeling better. That would lead me to choose activities I enjoy, not obligations. A happy cycle.
A thing I enjoy is taking pictures of dogs making funny faces.
More on this later. I’m thinking hard but also allowing ideas to come to me when I’m relaxed.
Today was good. Lots of work was done and I had a nice talk with my Master Naturalist friend, Donna. Then Lee and I tried out my friends’ new restaurant on the Cameron square. I had a nice chat with Michelle, then enjoyed a Chicago dog and really good green chile creamed corn. All fine. Pleasant.
I went up to my bathroom and immensely clean closet just now to change into pajamas and ingest my hormonal normalization pills. As one does, I looked into the mirror as I brushed my blueish hair. Not only the hair was bluish. So was my face.
I look like I’m bruised. There was another splotch by my nose, but I wiped it off to be sure it would come off.
Okay, spouses, if you go to dinner with our spouse, at least LOOK at their face. I tell Lee when he’s dribbled food on his beard! He could sweetly whisper to me that there’s blue smears all over my face. Geez.
Explanation: today I spent some time reorganizing my pens, since I change colors each month. July was red and blue, in a feeble attempt at portraying loyalty to where I live. one blue pen had sprung a leak and I got some on my hands. I washed that all off. But I didn’t check my face. I did a Zoom call with my boss with that stuff on it, too. Argh. That pen is in the trash basket now.
July is done already!
This is cheerier. I finished July on my temperature blanket at the end of July! I can easily see only three days when the high was below 90, plus three 100+ days (today being one). I’m predicting August will look similar but maybe with no oranges at all. A good month to leave town a lot!
Am I cute?
Benito is having a blast. Yesterday he got to help the Great Hunter Vlassic chow down on a fresh rabbit kill. Remember, that’s what dachshunds were bred for. Both dogs got a healthy fresh meal at least. And today he figured out that toys are fun and has been tossing two toys around and playing. that’s less icky.
Benito also is an incredible jumper. He can really launch himself into the air for long distances, to our surprise! He’s probably missing out on a career in agility work. Also, when he’s excited and barking with the other dogs because someone is here, he bounces on all four legs. I have always wanted a dog who could do that.
He’s fitting in. And he doesn’t care if I have ink on my face while ordering in a restaurant.
I’m cheating and answering this because it’s late after a long day and getting two of three dogs swabbed for DNA testing. We are trying to figure out how to swab grumpy Harvey’s cheek. But anyway.
I know what breeds the other dogs are, so Vlassic doesn’t get swabbed.
My decorating style at this point in life is ranch eclectic, with a dose of hippie/witchy stuff. Lots of wood and natural stone for the ranch part, and art mostly by people I know and silly collectibles for the eclectic. All the Buddha statues, St. Brigid statues, and tarot stuff make up the rest.
Best I can find of living room.
And Lee contributes piles of stuff (me to some extent).
But it’s homey and comfortable, and I have lots of flowers and horses to cheer me up.
An old photo of my office, but it mostly looks like this.
I really enjoy looking at nicely decorated homes and read many magazines on architecture and interior design. I’m also fascinated by how homes looked in the past. But that doesn’t mean I want to live in a perfect environment. A little mess doesn’t bother me. I salute those of you who can’t abide clutter. It’s just not me.
Funny the prompt should ask. My tarot group met tonight, and the reading we did was about manifesting the future with guidance from the collective consciousness and universal spirit (something like that). And the cards I drew reflected my concerns about the state of the USA right now and my growing resolve to put in the work to do something about it.
I got the message that I need to first rest and recuperate (all that tooth stuff) and to turn away from paths that don’t serve me. That’s what the Michael Pollan book on consciousness was making me think, too.
But most important, I saw that while things are going to get bad for a while, probably very bad, there is a good chance we can all rebuild a nation with goodwill and harmony. And that’s my biggest dream, that I’ll live to see us figure out a system not run by corporations, super-elites, and their insane puppet leaders. I want to live where people can live differently, have different paths, and all that, but care for each other.
We have to be strong, have resolve, and believe we can create the world we envision. And if we fail, we will know we tried.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan. He fearlessly investigates what makes us human and is delightfully unafraid to test out his own ideas and find them wrong. A World Appears (2026) is his latest, an exploration into what it means to be conscious, and for that matter, what exactly consciousness is.
The title refers to what happens as we open our eyes from sleeping. A world appears. How does that work? Hint: the answer to the consciousness question is not really the goal of the book. The goal is to explore various ways of addressing “the big question” and how close they come to an answer.
Pollan interviews a wide range of fascinating scientists, deep thinkers, academics, and spiritual leaders in his quest. Some think they have the answers, some think they’re getting close, and others doubt we’ll figure consciousness out.
Mostly, Pollan drinks a lot of tea. If you listen to the audiobook you can make a drinking game where you down a shot of an interesting beverage every time he sits down with a pot of tea to interview someone. I guess consciousness scholars aren’t coffee drinkers. (Aside: Lee and I have a drinking game for every time an HGTV host says “pop of color”.)
Other than that quirk, I enjoyed reading along as Pollan thinks about what the experts tell him and points out where he thinks they have a point or are a little off. I was fascinated by the idea that consciousness is controlled by the cerebellum, not cortex, and I loved learning how many other living things may well be conscious, depending on how it’s defined.
Other parts of the book delve into whether machines can be conscious. All sorts of conflicting ideas come up in this part of the book. I will say I’m hoping Pollan’s conclusions on this one are right.
Fans of Pollan will not be surprised that psychedelics come into play when trying to figure out how to escape consciousness. Meditation is also invoked (and I’m more familiar with the brief flashes of transcendence from this method—brief—that’s why it’s a practice). It’s all fascinating.
One thing missing from the book is what happens when we are asleep. Are we completely unconscious? What do dreams have to do with our stream of consciousness? Maybe that’s another book.
All in all, this was a fun book that gave me much to think about and more tools in my toolbox to figure out what “I” am. It’s deep!
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
Just a quick one. I knew the answer to this one right off. I’d love to have dinner with Sherlock Holmes. I’d like him to tell me horrible facts about myself just from looking at me and proceed to tell me how insufferably boring I am.
Then I’d probably talk to John Watson.
And I choose Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, please.
What app eats up most of your screen time — and do you even feel bad about it?
Great news for me—I have another fun question to answer while not much is going on around the ranch but work, heat, dogs, and my sore mouth. I have overdone the NSAIDs and it’s making my old lady red spots go into overdrive. The pain is a bit less, so I’ll cut down starting tonight.
Barely need to rub on the skin to get this. Yuck.
However, the question was about apps. Here’s what my phone has to deal with every day.
Merlin Bird ID: it has its own phone, so it’s on much of the day, but I only look at it every couple of hours. It’s very important for my bird data, you know. (Yeah, I’m such a scientist.)
Facebook: sorry, haters, but I keep up with old friends, new acquaintances, and lots of horses and dogs. I’m encouraged by the kindness and interesting ideas I come across. I skip repetitive ads based on the things I’ve been talking or thinking about, and only very rarely do I see offensive, ignorant, or mean content. I’ve curated my feed. No, I have no secret other than liking what I like and ignoring the rest.
Finch. I check this cute self-care app 3-4 times a day. It reminds me to do kind things and lets me engage in harmless play with a few friends. It’s really good for my mental health. I can send my friend code; just ask.
Crossword: the Redstone Games crossword app is great. There are themes, different creators whose puzzles you can play, and many levels of difficulty. There are always new games. It’s good for keeping your brain sprightly. I play a game or two per day. Lee is constantly playing.
INaturalist. I’d say I add one or two observations per day or hundreds when I’m traveling. I love to look up whatever plants, birds, insects, or other creatures are near me. It’s endlessly fascinating.
WordPress or JetPack or whatever they’re calling it. I do blog a while most days. Yesterday was too uneventful for me to dredge up anything, so I skipped. I like WordPress just fine. I have always enjoyed putting words on the internet and formatting them. It’s what I do. For me.
Others I use often are Clime weather (official live radar maps), Google for asking questions, LinkedIn to check on work buddies, Gmail for the occasional personal email, Zoom/Teams for chatting, the camera app (duh), and boring banking and financial apps.
Do I feel bad about any of it? Heck no. The only app I felt bad about using was Bejeweled. I used it to escape from my daily life for about ten years. Things got better and I stopped.
Benito is settling in well. He’s very attached to Lee.
No doubt younger readers have very different app preferences. These folks have never known a time without apps. I guess books and drawing paper were my “apps.” I got lost in them!
The Hermits' Rest 