Two topics tonight! First, I have one of those physical reactions to places associated with Arthurian legends. One of the places I got the “vibes” from like on the Sacred Springs was Avebury, in England, especially Silbury Hill. I guess it’s not surprising, since it’s one of those places with “ley lines” (which you can believe or not).
AI representation I asked for.
I’ve read enough about King Arthur and those times to know that we have little idea what the people then were up to, if they were real. But it’s attached to my ancestry, so I find it interesting. Really, the ancient Celts seem like a bunch of angry people who liked to fight, and English history after 1066 didn’t make English folks seem more sympathetic, at least the ruling class. But I’m thinking whatever my ancestry is, there were a bunch of pagan misfits, like me today.
Hail and farewell, Suna, says AI Arthur
Anyway, the blog prompters asked, and this was my answer. It may not even be historical.
As for Queen Goldie, last night she triumphantly mounted the stairs and came up to sleep with me.
It’s hard to sleep wedged up against her with Carlton at my feet, but I appreciated the opportunity.
That was a surprise. Being a dog, she hadn’t thought about what goes up having to come down, so her descent was a bit scary. But she was all right. We ordered some stair tread carpet to keep her from slipping if she tries again.
Looking a bit dazed after her descent.
Dr. Amy said she wanted to see Goldie again today after reading about her adventures. We got her in the car, and Lee took her to the mobile clinic. Goldie got more IV fluids and an antibiotic shot. She still has an infection going on, though Amy said she is obviously much improved.
Giving blood is exhausting.
One thing’s for sure, Goldie is eating again, which we take as a very good sign. I’m hoping she keeps up the improvement. She has a whole family team looking after her!
And Samhain blessings to all you folks who keep up the old traditions.
What’s something you believe everyone should know.
Life would be better for all of us if we realized that we are all one big family on this earth and that we all have a place in the Big Picture. That’s not just people. It’s the whole ecosystem.
I try to think of the Big Picture frequently.
Maybe we’d all live and let live if we bore this in mind. We humans have different cultures, as do other sentient beings. It would sure be nice if there were more coexistence.
Storms are coming.
Who am I kidding?
I sorta wish the wind would just blow me away. But I’ll manage. You try, too.
Oh I needed today. Words have failed me when I’ve tried to describe what I experienced, but I’ll try to summarize.
San Marcos River
This morning I attended a field session at the location of the former Aquarena Springs tourist attraction, which has been lovingly returned to a more natural state by Texas State University and is now the meadows Center for Water and the Environment. Before it was an attraction, it was a site of a gristmill. Before that, it was a sacred site for native people who believed they were born from the springs.
This is the spot.
I’d met the descendants of this tribe at a conference years ago. They talked about the Sacred Springs and how it had magical qualities. That’s why I wanted to attend the session on Field Environmental Philosophy As An Approach Towards Mindfulness and Reconnection With Freshwater Ecosystems. That’s a mouthful.
Headwaters of the river.
Oh my goodness. The session, which was led by three philosophy professors, was exactly what I needed to put together the seemingly disparate pieces of my spiritual practice, personal philosophy, and scientific interests. It’s biocultural conservation. The techniques the presentation demonstrated show how you can integrate mindfulness and connection with nature and scientific analysis. Bingo. That’s my goal.
Learning and listening
I got a bit overwhelmed just standing at the sacred site. It felt like one of “my” places. I was deeply comforted and quite moved. One of the professors noticed. I said I felt connection, like ley lines. He said that’s because many sensitive people say the same thing! Eureka. I found my Texas home spot at last. (I know of two others, one in Florida and one in Wales.)
Later in the day
I no longer wonder if I shouldn’t be identifying birds while doing my breathing exercises. I feel validated in my drive to perceive the world around me in all the modalities. It’s just a great feeling.
Sunset and cypress
Anyway, we did an observation exercise then came back and talked about it. I think the philosophers were ticked that so many of us were blown away by what they were sharing with us. There were so many great pieces of feedback and questions. I have many reading resources to look up now. I’m stoked.
Glorious old growth trees.
I enjoyed hearing the birds and looking at the beautiful plants on this site, too. The university is doing great work to preserve this area.
The rest of my day was full of fine conversations with new and old friends and even some rest. I met interesting people in the vendor area and learned from them. Fascinating stuff about night sky preservation, fireflies, raptors, and native seeds. Bonus was meeting a woman who’s just published a book on karst and caves in this area, another interest of mine!
The Texas Master Naturalist annual meeting kickoff was back at the springs. I enjoyed the glass-bottom boat tide very much. I’m glad they kept the boats from the tourist days. Here are some fish and turtle photos.
Glass-bottom bowman ride.
After the boat I went into the aquarium area in the building on site. They had examples of all the fish we saw in the river, plus the Texas River Cooter turtles. The garfish were so cool. Plus there was an eel. I love aquariums.
Aquaria
I came on back before the nothing began and joined my friend Mike for a drink. I wish we could see him more often. I caught him up with the rest of our chapter members and he caught me up with his naturalist and ethics work.
I still have time to blog for you! Enjoy this dump of more photos of my day at the aquatic center.
A maple tree!Great EgretGiant black WillieArmy webwormCypress kneesTurtle and fishPrettiest poverty weed everWetland beauty.
What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?
I did take a risk today, but I’ll get to that later. One I wish I could take is to go live somewhere I’d feel more comfortable. Every time I think about it I come back around to the sad truth that there is no Sunaland. Anywhere.
The coast of Sunaland, a mythical location. Photo from Pexels.
We keep thinking of different parts of the US. Last night it was somewhere in Central Pennsylvania. Earlier it was Wisconsin. Or whatever. Always too expensive, too far from medical facilities, blah blah.
This part of Pennsylvania. Yes.
Other countries? Sure. Ireland, Wales, or Sweden! But would they want us? They mainly want very wealthy people. I’m not sure we’re that. I want to live somewhere pretty rugged and in a small community. I’m just not brave enough to leave this place. I guess I’m settled where I am, even if I sometimes feel out of place.
Ideal.
Anyway, I was brave and took the risk of moving the horses to the field in front of the house. It still has some reasonable grass, which I thought they’d like.
Hmm, they don’t look happy.
Well, they liked the water trough we put in a lot. I’ve already had to refill it, due to splashing and slurping. Mabel and Drew like to splash.
There are LOTS of giant cocklebur plants in that field, and lots of woodland creatures to spook them. I hope they find the trees to be a good place to sleep. If they seem upset, I’ll put them back after my lesson tomorrow and give them a round bale of hay to eat.
We’re hiding in the brush.
It may just take a while to settle in. Horses aren’t fond of change.
Dusty, however, is quite fond of his own reflection.
Everyone here is tired because we had a guest last night, then people came to fix the bedroom slide in Seneca the motorhome, then much horse drama.
Motorhome repair time.
After all that, Lee and I voted, picking the perfect time when it wasn’t too crowded. I’m glad we got that done. It was fun to just skip uncontested contests where I dislike the candidate. By 2:30 over 300 people had voted in our town!
My hair sure looks yellow.
Goldie is pooped and so are the others! I must admit that I’m tired and peopled out myself!
Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?
Until my recent bout of Covid, I hadn’t had a lazy day in a long time. In recent years, I’ve just felt better if I was active. I just didn’t sit around a lot. when I was sick I genuinely had to just lay around. I hated it. But I did it.
Mantids are good at stillness.
It reminded me, though, that there is good in being still and not doing something for more than the daily meditation time. I’ve been trying to let myself have more time with no agenda and no “have to do” urges. I’m usually full of those.
Goldie says she just “has to” adorn the fake rug.
That’s the closest I get to lazy days. I am working to balance my daily agenda with more loose time hanging around with Lee or the horses. I think both man and beast enjoy me just being me. I do, too. And I think I feel rested!
Join us on this beach, Suna! (The pond is drying up.)
I think my productivity is better when I don’t stack activities on top of each other after all. I was getting pretty frenzied there for a while. I’m still getting in my steps and exercise, so I’m glad I’m feeling okay about not being so physically busy. It’s a more balanced approach.
I stopped to watch the sunset.
Next: letting myself do nothing mentally when I’m not meditating. I’m always birding, knitting, reading, writing, editing, or something. Right now it’s helping me avoid intrusive thoughts about the near future. So I’ll keep my mind occupied until November.
Best typo in a long time. Find it!“It’s” written in stone!Editing I wanted to do today.
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
A prompt I haven’t answered yet! And I have an answer! That’s great, because I’m pretty wiped out from writing and thinking about other stuff right now. It’s all good—I’m just worn out mentally.
I’ve been busy as this tiny guy getting ready for their first winter.
I thought of the best boss ever as my idea of successful. That’s Bruce Springsteen, someone whose career I’ve been watching since high school. He’s worked hard to be the best at what he does and developed the leadership skills and business savvy to go to the top of his field.
The only Bruce image in the free photo library.
I know plenty of great musicians, wonderful songwriters, and fine singers who didn’t have all those other skills needed to succeed in music. You have to be good at hiring and keeping a great team for your band, but also at hiring honest and dedicated publicists, booking agents, and logistics folks. That’s pretty rare. He’s done it.
The most moving spiritual experiences I’ve ever had were at his concerts.
Springsteen has also done what I find most important in a successful person. He’s given back to the community he came from, helped others, and worked hard to make his country and planet better. He’s shown a strong moral compass and been a great spiritual example, too. He’s the good kind of Christian.
Plus he’s learned from mistakes and grown as a person. That’s important for success. He has a great relationship with a spouse he chose for more than her beauty and great children who are able to follow their dreams.
Jessica Springsteen
I’m sure life isn’t perfect for Bruce Springsteen, because we all have our challenges and regrets, but to be able to do what you love as long as he has is a wonderful thing. It takes hard work, but what rewards!
Doing what you love leads to success so often!
PS: I’m doing things I love, have good friends and family, and I’m having fun. That’s success to me. Let’s hope things stay this way.
You thought I was such a peaceful, nonviolent person. I am, or I try to be. But I have my limits. Pantry moths have always pushed my limits, and lately they have made the Hermits’ Rest much less restful.
They sure can reproduce! AI prompt: create a romantic image of pantry moths.
We always have a few pantry moths, because they come in with food. We try to seal or put in the fridge things we know they love, but we mess up. I’m just not great at cleaning every square inch of pantry, and some containers I think are airtight turn out otherwise. Sigh. There’s a reason, says the Wikipedia article on Indian meal moths:
The larvae of this species have the ability to bite through plastic and cardboard so even sealed containers may be infested.
Oh. Turns out my nemesis is not from India. There’s something called Indian meal. I didn’t know that, either. It loves grains, nuts, flour, bread and cloth. No wonder moths showed up in the bedroom closet..
Grrr.
The issue is that some dog food bag that Lee bought had a lot of moths in it. And they bred like crazy. We’d be watching television with moths distracting us. I’d go to bed and have to slap moths attracted to my phone. They were in the shower. And the toilet (at least those were dead). They were everywhere. Yuck.
My friend Pamela told me about a product that worked for her, but I kept forgetting to order it. Last week I finally remembered. Every day I told the family the moth death was coming. Yes, I wanted to kill. Not very Buddhist of me.
Great name, huh. Notice I bought a bunch of them. Amazon Prime Deal Days!
But I’m willing to give up a bit of karma to live a home life with only an occasional pantry moth. I opened the box and set out the traps. Apparently, sexy moth pheromones immediately began wafting around the pantry, kitchen, living room…and everywhere.
Five minutes after setting the trap out.
Interesting fact: the sexy traps only attract male moths. But without the males, they can’t breed. The literature said that we’d still see some females and new ones after the last eggs hatch, but soon we’d be ok.
24 hours later.
The results have been better than I expected. I don’t see a flutter of moths every time I walk into a room. The bathroom mirror has zero resting moths. The television is watchable (unless Dallas Cowboys are playing).
Moth free TV.
This is only in 24 hours! Dear readers, if you have even an average pantry moth problem, clean the cabinets then order Dr. Killigan’s. He also has a product for the evil moths that eat wool, say, your handmade socks and the yarn to make them. I have experience with these, too. I bought a few of these murder by smell devices, just in case the ones upstairs are that kind.
Thank you, pheromones.
I really didn’t expect such as improvement so quickly. I’ve only seen a couple of moths today. What a relief. I’m a killer, I know. But I’m pretty sure there are plenty of others out there, probably in another bag of dog food.
I have no idea what that AI bag is supposed to say.
It happens all the time to me. I get perturbed about a situation, but if I just give myself time, I can figure out a solution. I need to remember this for future perturbations.
I’ve no idea if I used perturbation right. But here’s a cute Fiery Skipper in a salt marsh aster.
Yesterday I found out my roommate for the upcoming Master Naturalist annual meeting had decided to get a room to herself. Now, as Suna, I would be hypocritical if I didn’t applaud someone who wanted to room alone. Heck, this was the first year I’d wanted a roommate, and I go on long trips alone. I get wanting a place to decompress!
This Dusky Skipper is here to tell you it’s time for the 2024 Texas Pollinator Bioblitz, so there will be many insects and flowering plants in here for the next few days.
The problem was that I’d messed up when registering for my hotel room. Because I wanted to arrive Wednesday, a day the hotel is full, I couldn’t use hotel points and had to reserve a full price. Then I realized I’d forgotten to book Saturday night. So, it was working out to be an expensive mess and I considered canceling, since I’ll have no one to hang out with.
I could hang with this guy. What an interesting wasp. It’s a Five-banded Thynnid wasp, I think.
But I thought, and thought, and at last my brain woke up and gave me the inspiration to contact Hilton customer support. So I got through to their Diamond member customer support. I told the agent my situation and she said she thought she could fix it. It took a while, but she was able to apply points for three of the nights, and get me the less expensive conference rate for that pesky Wednesday night (it’s still over $200—no wonder most of my colleagues aren’t going). To top it off, she exchanged my standard two-queen room for my favorite: the king corner suite. I just couldn’t stop thanking that nice and competent worker. She got a great review from me!
I’m happy as a Phaon Crescent that’s avoided the local Phoebes.
I felt like things took a turn for the better last night when I got a text from Tarrin after I’d already gone to bed. She said to go outside quickly. So I did. There was the aurora borealis dimly shining in the north! It may have been pale, but I’d never seen it before! And it looked really cool in photos.
Wow!
I got all weepy and giddy at the same time. I’d always wanted to see the Northern Lights. Now I don’t have to go to Iceland to do it. Lee enjoyed it, too. I really should have texted others, but I was too awestruck. I’m glad Tarrin texted!
Bucket Lust (Anita said I had to leave this good typo) complete. That was the only thing left on it, now that I’ve also seen the Grand Canyon.
I’d also been sort of pouty that I had no one to do fun things with tomorrow afternoon, but now I do! I’m going to the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary to do my October bird count and should find friends there, then I’ll go help another group at the yearly Steak Stein and Wine event downtown. I’m glad they asked. I’m a sucker for feeling needed.
I’m also a sucker for gifts of flowers. Lee got me a chrysanthemum a couple of days ago. This, however, is feverfew.
Plus, I get to eat the steak dinner, because a space became available. I was ok not going, but it will be nice to go after all and see my son as a bonus.
Don’t be pouty! A beautiful moment might be coming right up.
The moral of today is to quit being pouty. Things will work out, or a better alternative will arise if you remember to make your own fun!
Goldie was a fine animal and went with Lee to get her stitches out so willingly. I wouldn’t fault her if she didn’t want to get in the car after all those vet visits. But she was happy to get in the car and to go into Dr Amy’s mobile clinic.
Wearing her harness, put on correctly.
I bet it feels better to have the itchy stitches out. I’m hoping the pain is less and less and she can soon be off drugs. She’s getting around pretty well, but does tire easily. She’s building up muscles!
She also got medication for the place she keeps licking on her only front leg.
We are proud of her. She’s totally worth the expense. Now we will just enjoy her as long as we can. Same with Harvey. He can’t really walk in a straight line, but he’s moving at a good clip!
That vet visit made me thirsty.
I’m feeling a bit lonely and a bit of a mess. But, it will pass.
I’m a small being on a big planet. And here’s the truth. We’re all alone, really.
Driving home from the state park was a depressing reminder of how divided our country is today. Sometimes being a sensitive person makes me too vulnerable to attack ads, negativity, and the spread of misinformation. And when people I care about are sharing the worst misinformation, it’s too much.*
Cheerful Cardinal dude.
So I was thinking that I can’t control what’s on television and other media, but there are things in my sphere that I can control. So I’m taking a vacation from my Facebook feed. I’ll miss some good news and other personal developments that happen, but I’ll get less agitated.
Maybe honey locust leaves are like gummies for birds. He seemed really mellow. Maybe I need gummies. No! Drugs/herbs are not the solution, ha ha.
I have other ways to keep in touch! I’m sharing the blog posts on my ranch Facebook page, and dog and horse updates on their pages. And people can comment on the blog or email me. Just ask.
They need more than 197 followers. Of course, I haven’t been posting there since I got so busy.
But, I’m not an influencer. I may be an asocial media influencer at that. It will not be a big deal to go away for a while. I just finally hit the point where the benefits of connection no longer outweigh the negativity and hostility from people who mean well.
Fiona agrees that she’s pretty dull, especially when no one posts on her page. I’m guilty.
Other news? Goldie’s biopsy report finally came in. Indeed she had or has osteosarcoma. The best news is that it’s not a highly aggressive or in a one. I guess it’s the least bad kind of a bad thing.
Supervising her domain.
She started licking and messing with her leg where her old hotspot and IV were. So we covered it last night. The vet I talked to today said it needs to able to breathe, so it’s off now and I replaced it with a sock. It’s one that was really tight on me, but is probably too big. We will keep trying.
We have another shirt on her, too. She can lick her incision. Ugh.
I’m okay! I just don’t want to be hammered with partisan politics, name calling, and intimidation for a while. Self care rules, y’all.
Cindy and Cathy take care of each other and rarely argue. Well, as far as I can tell.
Oh yeah: take care of yourselves, Florida friends!
*some great friends I disagree with are sharing factual information that makes me think. I appreciate those perspectives.
The Hermits' Rest 