Gratitude was in the eyes of all the pasture dwellers today. They had not been at all thrilled that a round bale of hay had been unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the entrance to their pens. They were equally irritated at the orange tractor sharing space with them.
Correct tractor and pens, but not the actual location.
Mysteriously, a front tire popped off its rim as Lee drove it into the horse area, intending to drop the hay bale in the pasture where the Powers That Be (horses) prefer it to be. So, they stayed there for two weeks awaiting rescue until today, when strong and clever men from DeWitt County arrived to perform tractor tire magic and get a new bale in the correct place.
Hay, where it is intended to be
I’m pretty sure the horses are also enjoying the pleasantly cool and sunny weather, too. They always charm me after they eat, checking empty dishes in case anyone left any tasty supplements. It’s one of those times when you just enjoy the moment.
Time to see if Spice left anything. Mmm. Dusty left some gravy. Dang, Apache just left salt. I’m gonna go eat hay. We can’t eat now! We must stare at this threatening truck and trailer until it leaves!
I hope you had a couple of moments in your day when you could just pause to enjoy the moment.
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this prompt was that I’d love to canter on one of my horses, to see what it feels like and finally go sorta fast. That’s just a little thing, but I’ve not moved forward in my skills enough to do it on Drew and Apache hasn’t moved forward in his skills enough. The one time I tried I ended up on the ground. I’m trying not to let myself get discouraged and enjoy the journey. But I’m human.
And I’m just a horse who won’t take my meds.
Little things can be good, though. For example, at the end of the work day I’d gotten to a good stopping point, and was looking out over my laptop as I sat at my porch “desk.” Something moved suddenly.
Hi!
It was this absolutely adorable jumping spider, Phidippus arizonensis. I watched as it explored my laptop then jumped onto my mouse and checked out all my stuff. It waved its first legs around as it explored, and moved its mouthparts like it was tasting the air.
Okay, I think it’s a male. It has bulbous pedipalps. Those are the things that stick out in front.
I can see why people have jumping spiders as pets, because this fellow was very entertaining and not at all concerned by my presence. I prefer them in the wild, but I do enjoy the bold jumping spider who lives in the mailbox.
One of many around here. Too bad you can’t see the cool green eyes.
I’d never seen an arizonensis before, so I looked it up. It’s definitely confined to this part of the world.
I had the best time watching this spider. That’s living for the moment. Mindfulness for the win.
I did not enjoy observing this one. A black horsefly.
Another little thing that made my day was just watching the dogs play. With all the medical issues in our canine community it’s easy to forget the happy, healthy ones. Carlton and Penney love it when I’m outside so they can run and play with an audience!
Dogfight, for fun.
Time to get some rest and talk to my high school friends in Florida who are going through the hurricane. I do keep up!
Carlton is ahead of me in the sleep department. He’s already dreaming.
I read a lot. Apparently what I read sinks into my being and comes out unbidden, making me think I have original ideas. Or maybe I repeat other people’s ideas unbidden.
All creativity borrows from others. Um, this is a Clouded Skipper with an interesting wing. It’s just here because it’s pretty.
Anyway, I laughed at myself a lot this evening at our Master Naturalist meeting. The speaker was a very nice woman with whom I can tell I have much in common. The second she saw me she complimented my shoes, for example (I do highly recommend Converse high tops with the comfort insole—mmm comfy).
Comfortable and cute as heck. I designed them.
Anyway, the speaker is an accredited leader in shinrin-ryoku or forest bathing, which is a formalized way of doing what I do every dang day. I’ve read about it a lot since it was developed in Japan and love the fact that they’ve done research that shows the positive effects of hanging out in nature with intent. You know, what makes intuitive sense to folks like me. But now there’s science!
Apache says his favorite part of the formal forest walks would be the tea ceremony afterward. He is preparing tea from dried dove weed leaves. He wouldn’t touch a living plant.
What tickled me was that as she talked, every time she was at a loss for words or needed help with a concept, I just blurted out helpful information. Wow, is all that information easily accessible in my brain. I was either quite helpful or annoying. But, the information she provided was in essence a more formalized distillation of what I yammer on and on about in this blog and on Facebook every day. So I knew her talk, just not her reference material. I just stood/sat there smiling to myself through the whole thing.
Everyone was interested!
I just kept laughing at myself whenever she suggested a practice, like sitting for 20 minutes or so in one place every day and just absorbing your surroundings. Yup. I do that in what Lee calls my Birding Chair. Before the chair, I just stood up, in any weather, except rain. Little did I know, that chair is my Sit Spot and there’s a whole book on it. I should have asked my friend Ann, who also does all this stuff but DID read the books.
Me and Ann being silly after the presentation.
I feel quite au courant with all my woodland wanderings and spot sitting. However, my urge to identify things as a naturalist means many of my walks aren’t forest bathing at all. But that’s okay with me. The Shinto/Zen side of me can coexist with my inner taxonomist. It all keeps me centered and happier.
Not my sit spot, but one I sat at.
If I were into more structured events, I’d consider taking the training to be one of the guides in this discipline. It must be very rewarding to see people experience nature washing over them for the first time. It can be so healing, and we all need that!
I came up with a goal today that I truly want to achieve. I want to stop my frenzy at least three times a day, pause, and notice what I’m grateful for wherever I am.
Yesterday I noticed the golden sun on swirling grass.
Here’s a thing many religious traditions get right. So many ask practitioners to pause to pray, reflect, chant or perform a ritual at intervals throughout the day. Think of all those nuns, monks, and traditional lay people who rise to pray, bow to Mecca, ring a bell, or whatever. They stop what they are doing and appreciate what they’ve got.
I paused to watch the sun rise this morning, as did many of my friends.
Slowing down to the speed of life is so good for the soul. It’s a gratitude practice any of us can do. Or it’s a way to stay close to our Source, whatever we call it.
This afternoon I paused to be grateful for a very odd dog and her beloved possum skull.
One thing we’ve all become aware of lately is how quickly things change. It’s more obvious to me every day. So tonight I’ll appreciate the wool running through my fingers as a sweet, white dog curls up in my chair. I won’t have it forever, so I’ll treasure it now.
Chickens don’t live forever, so go ahead, Bertie, peck my shoe.
Every day, at least three mindful pauses! Go, Suna.
Where did the real Suna go? I’ve been thoroughly enjoying getting lots and lots of exercise since it got cold way up here in the mountains. Like, I volunteer to climb up snowy hills. I pant a bit and go higher. I stand around and think about going even higher or driving to a better hiking place (we may rent a car tomorrow and go somewhere).
When the sun came out it was so beautiful.
Today we went to get more groceries, which was also fun. If there’s a blizzard I’ll be fine. And Anita got lemon for her morning beverage! We’re good! Then we took yet another walk. I just can’t stop. I think I’d never seen so much dry powdery snow before. The crunch crunch crunch is really invigorating! It’s even addicting.
When you get away from condos, it’s nice here.
I think I may need to learn to criss-country ski at some point, though my legs are already yelling at me.
Okay, some of the condos can look nice.
Folks, I never liked exercise as much as I do now. I wonder if taking turmeric and CBD oil has made my body feel better, so I enjoy moving more? Now physical exertion is fun.
Also, though, I never liked being out in the cold much (sorry, Illinois years). I’m from a warm place. What’s up with that?
Plus snowflakes! They are so pretty. Yes, I took a picture of snow.
In Illinois, it was often SO cold and windy, and I had to stand around waiting for the bus, or walk a mile to teach a class too many times when my breath was freezing as it came out. This week, it’s cold, but really pleasant. I’m glad I’ve had this experience.
Look! Clouds hitting the mountain.
All this glee isn’t something I’ve felt in so long. I get that way in Texas when I’m with Apache or out looking at new plants. The key really seems to be living in the moment. Just being present and experiencing what’s going on right around you truly brings joy.
Sun and snow. Good.
What a lesson at such a good time! Most of my life I’ve read about living in the moment. I’ve tried to do it. This year has been hard, so hard, but I think I’ve benefited by making so much progress on being here, now.
What’s out there that can invigorate you? How are you growing in this season of transition?
The Hermits' Rest 