Another front blew in and once again hit hardest southwest of here. We got over an inch of rain, but it just raised the water level in the ponds.
My heart goes out to all the people who just lived through horrific flooding and are seeing it again nearby. There has to be a lot of PTSD in this part of the world right now. And first responders must be stretched to their limits.
That puts my personal hurts into perspective.
Anyway, enjoy some interesting insects with fun names that I saw today.
A quick note about some fun we had today. My neighbor Vicki is looking for an energetic horse to ride, since she hasn’t had a horse in some time. Today she came over to meet Drew, who was quite happy to meet a new human.
He was a good boy and came running when called and walked up to be haltered. Of course, he showed Vicki his pushy side, but she handled it just fine. We groomed him all up and I did some ground work to show what he can do. He was extra perky, having not worked in a while, and really seemed to enjoy himself.
It was a very positive first meeting! She’s hoping to lease Drew and do lessons on him.
Later in the afternoon, Vicki came to watch my lesson on Apache, which was good for all of us. We hadn’t had a lesson in a while, and not much practice thanks to the rain and my job’s hours. But we learned through his stiffness and had a good time. I’m glad Vicki got a chance to see a lesson before she has hers with Drew next week.
Hoping some fun times are ahead. I need encouraging horse experiences! And Apache needs more exercise with all this green grass around.
I’m sitting in the driver’s license office in scenic Hearne, Texas. It’s in a weird spot in the westernmost part of the town, making it only 25 minutes from my house. It’s really an odd spot, right next to the remnants of a POW camp for Germans from World War II. You can see the old watch tower and building foundations right outside the driver’s license office.
And the inside of the building is so quiet. They make you get appointments and you can only check in a half hour before yours. There’s one person ahead of me and I can tell he’s all confused, so I’ll be here a while.
And who knows if I’ll succeed in my own mission to replace my stolen or lost license. It was freshly renewed, so you’d think they’d just replace it. But, no, I hadn’t taken a photo of my newest one, and there’s a secret number that changed with the renewal, so without it I couldn’t simply do it online.
Because I live in Texas and they think everyone is trying to sneak into this paradise on earth, I’m worried I don’t have enough ID. I even ordered a copy of my Social Security card in case my passport wasn’t enough. I have proof of insurance and pieces of mail addressed to me just in case they don’t believe I live in my house. The only thing I don’t have is a copy of my birth certificate, which is in a safe deposit box in Austin.
It’s really odd to need all this, when they believed I was me in March and renewed my license. I will update this post when I succeed or fail!
Hooray! My appointment is over and it couldn’t have been more pleasant. All I needed was my passport. And of course, this being rural Texas, the clerk and I quickly determined who we knew in common and had a nice chat about our common interests. You just can’t beat this aspect of living in a connected small community. There is much good in this area!
The only negative was that I didn’t realize I’d need a new photo. I have pink hair. Oops. Luckily I had pulled it back. That, however, makes me look like my father. Oh well, at least I have a temporary license and will have a real one soon, and they believed who I was!
On my way out, I drove by Camp Hearne, since I’d been meaning to do that for many years. It’s hard to believe they brought Germans here. Interesting historical tidbit.
Two dear friends had surgery today. These women have given me great support, encouragement, and caring in the many years I’ve known them. They are two of the most thoughtful and loving people I’ve ever met, so naturally they were in my thoughts today.
I told my husband how relieved I was when I heard they were both home and starting the next phases of recovery. He probably thinks I’m a bit bonkers for caring about so many of my old colleagues from the nonprofit years, but we went through so much together. I owe them my loyalty as so many have been so good to me.
The way I thought about my friends all day made me muse about how handy it would be if I had some sky dude to pray to. But even when I tried to pray as a child, I always thought God would get more of a feeling than my laundry list of specific entreaties. Nonetheless I find myself doing my pagan Buddhist version of sending out Lovingkindness aimed toward the West Coast of North America, where my friends are. I just feel it in my bones that positive intent has an effect on us.
No doubt humans have an instinctual drive to try to make things better for friends and family. And for all I know the vibes I send out may help. They help me, at least, to feel connected. I’ve heard that people recover better when they know others are cheering them on, but I’m not sure. I can hope!
Perhaps if folks spent more time sending positive energy and good intent out and less time blaming others for sickness, natural disasters, and all that, we’d start to think and behave differently. To make the world better takes more than thoughts and prayers, of course, but if it leads to action, maybe humanity could slow the downward spiral we and our planet are in.
I’m off to beam out healing vibes now. Good night.
It’s a good thing my new consulting position cropped up. Getting immersed in creating quality documentation this week has been very helpful in keeping me from dwelling on how the natural disasters keep coming more and more often.
I’ve been able to concentrate so hard on enjoying my work that time seems to speed by. I’m really feeling like a part of the team, plus my input is solicited and seems appreciated. I’ll enjoy this as long as it lasts!
I do want to be there to listen to folks who need to talk through their sadness and feelings, though, and I feel more able to empathize and provide support (and receive it) having given my mind a break.
We’re in for a lot of weird nature stuff, I’m afraid. It does serve as a reminder to live well and love hard. Speaking of love, here’s a salute to my many friends working right now to kick some medical challenges away from their lives. Your healing vibes are on their way!
I’m just not able to say much right now. The loss of lives and livelihoods near me in Texas is heart wrenching and has affected nearly everyone I know directly or indirectly. The whole state is in shock, because the campers and other visitors were from all over the state. It’s really too hard to talk about right now.
I’m grateful for the first responders and trained volunteers from our county and nearby who went to help with flooding that wasn’t on the news, but was still bad. It always impresses me how these highly trained folks just go wherever they’re needed, even to other states or countries. They’re needed with so much bad weather here and in North Carolina, not to mention the fires in the Navajo Nation.
Here we just had a reasonable amount of rain, though lightning hit a tree near the horse pasture. Horses are ok. I immersed myself in work today, which was helpful. I guess I’m also grateful for having a good challenge to occupy my mind.
Take care of yourselves. Hugs to all of you dealing with challenges. I haven’t forgotten you. We are in this together.
I was looking forward to This Dog Will Change Your Life, by The Dogist, Elias Weiss Friedman (2025), because I was in the mood for something light-hearted and perhaps funny, to take my mind off current events. Plus, as you may be aware, I’m fond of dogs.
Well, the book does have dogs, many dogs, even. And they’re good dogs, yes they are. But, not being familiar with the media influencer known as The Dogist (Elias made that name up himself), I didn’t know what to expect. I’m going to be charitable and say that his little quotes from dog owners must be more interesting accompanied by their supposedly very cute photos. Unfortunately, there are no photos in the book, just quotes from his Instagram:
Mister, German Shepherd (6 years old), Washington Square Park, New York, NY •
“He’s new to the city from Portland, Oregon. He’s a softie-he craves attention in a very un-Germanic way.”
Ok. Great. This was one of the better ones.
The book rambles around while Elias tells us about places he went to take photos of dogs and how interesting he finds it. He’s very happy that people recognize him and that he gets to go fun places to look at dogs. The dog parts of the book are okay, but there’s an awful lot about Elias and his life, which is nice but not very interesting.
I couldn’t really figure out the structure or where the book was going. Each chapter is a story about a dog that makes someone happy. I didn’t find much humor in the writing, though. Bland but well meaning is the best way I can describe it. And all that required a co-writer, Ben Greenman, who has ghost written for others.
I think media influencers may not be very experienced in writing more than a few sentences and linking them together. That makes sense, because they aren’t required to do it to gain their fame. My guess is that The Dogist is a really good photographer who puts his notes by photos of cute dogs, very well. I hope he sticks with it in the future.
Sorry to give a negative review. But this book was just not for this dog lover.
Argh. I know it’s normal for a damp time in summer, but gee whiz, I’ve had ENOUGH already with mosquitoes, fire ants, and biting flies. It’s hard to enjoy myself outdoors right now!
First, house flies are having one of their periodic invasions. They follow me everywhere, indoors and out, and either bite or leave a weird feeling where they land. They are just so buzzy.
Then there are the mosquitoes that make me unable to stand still or sit outside unless I’m in the swimming pool. I saw 6 at once this afternoon. And they come get me in my sleep, too. Mosquito nets seem like a smart idea. Since I’m slightly allergic, I’ve been mighty uncomfortable from itching.
We cannot forget fire ants. I wish we could. They seem to be on the move, because no matter where I stopped today, ants would be on my feet instantly. I paid a price for any photo I took today! There are way too many to treat chemically, but I know of a few beds I’ll go after.
One more! I think there are no -see-ums or some tiny biting insect out right now, too. My arms and neck will start hurting and I don’t see any cause. Wah.
No wonder I walked in the rain a lot today. If I stay on the road, not much will bite in the rain. Also yay rain.
What’s your definition of romantic?
Eh. I don’t dwell much on romanticism at the medium-old age of 67. Still, I do know what my caring spouse does that makes me feel loved and appreciated. He hits most of the love languages, too.
Yeah, Lee may be grumpy sometimes, but he’s a good guy, and quietly romantic.
I hope I do something he finds romantic!
PS: it rained a good bit today. In July! That led us to romantically sit on the new porch and listen to rain.
Whenever I start to go in and on about my pessimism it makes certain beloved relatives worried. When I realized that this afternoon I began to muse about how okay I’m actually doing right now. I guess if things have to get scary for those of us not in power, now is preferable to even a few years ago, for me. Spiritual growth is a big help.
It’s taken a long time to get to where I don’t panic and start feeling paranoid. Even if “they” were out to get me, it wouldn’t hangs who I am or how I act. Like a friend mentioned in response to yesterday’s post, I’m going to choose to be kind. I’m also not going to give up my ethics and morals. Not panicking doesn’t mean not doing the right thing.
(Aside: more than one person I know called their representative today and talked to a real person.)
Anyway, I’m coping well, my anxiety only pops up occasionally, and I’m enjoying my little hermit life. I’m staying in my lane, not asking questions of anyone who’s not wanting to share with me, and enjoying the heck out of my tiny circle of friends and loved ones, dogs, horses, and fowl. That, and birds, is enough to create a peaceful oasis.
Please remind me of my peace when I start whining about being lonely, left out, or missing old friends. It does happen. Those I care about are in my heart! That has to be enough.
And all of you who read and comment and share your stories with me are also in my heart. Thank you for showing all of us how much good and caring for others there still is in the world.
The Hermits' Rest 