Author Archives: Enchanted Seashells

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About Enchanted Seashells

Also known as Princess Rosebud! MIDlifestyle blog. Mom of Professor Angel Boy and Grandma to Angel Boy 2.0 and Angel Girl 2.0. Love to camp and hike. I've been in a few films, am obsessed with seashells, sea glass, and rocks; gardening and baking, Hello Kitty, Chanel, Leon Russell, and anything sparkly. Veg since 1970 and an ardent animal activist forever. Fashionista...veganista...animal activista. I'm still trying to find the perfect shoe!

seriously

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The world is going through some serious things, all very painful, all tragic.

One of my favorite aunts died yesterday, in her sleep. She was ninety-one years old and had a hard time coping with the death of her loving husband and a subsequent stroke. She was simply tired of being alive, even less after her youngest son recently died of cancer. Last week, her entire family (on the east coast) gathered by her side for her birthday but they said it was as if she was already transitioning, already thinning the veil between here and there or nowhere.

This Mary Oliver quote from her poem, “Invitation”, really says it all:
It is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.

Hanging By A Thread

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“A spider lives inside my head
Who weaves a strange and wondrous web
Of silken threads and silver strings
To catch all sorts of flying things,
Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles
And specks of dried-up tears,
And dust of dreams that catch and cling
For years and years and years…”

― Shel Silverstein

Hanging by a thread is exactly how I feel every once in a while, how about you?

This is the last of my spider posts, I promise!

You’re looking at one of the many orbweaver spiders that make my garden their home. Yes, they’re fairly large but that’s no reason to be scared of them! Orb-weavers, like most spiders, are highly beneficial and eat lots of insects: mosquitoes, bees, wasps, flies, small moths and butterflies, and even grasshoppers. 

This guy was attached to an apple tree but I’m not sure of his ultimate destination…

Green MONSTER

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Have you ever seen a Green Lynx spider? I hadn’t until this morning when I saw this Godzilla-sized bright green monster watching me through the patio doors.

I took a photo and then calmly moved him to a safer (for him) location. Peucetia viridans, the Green Lynx spider, is bright green and usually found on green plants. That makes sense since he was right next to a young orange tree I have on the deck. It’s the largest North American species in the family Oxyopidae. The body was about and inch in length and the legs were more than THREE inches long. It was HUGE.

Green Lynx spiders are non-poisonous and rarely bite humans but the bite can be painful. Females, when threatened, are known to spit venom from their fangs (up to 8 inches). If venom enters the eye, it may cause irritation.

My DIL is deathly afraid of spiders, more so than anyone I’ve ever known. On a recent visit, my son and I were enjoying a quiet cuppa and some morning chat about the kids when we heard her screaming, I mean like blood-curdling screams, the kind that, if they heard, neighbors would call 911.

My Angel Boy ran up to see what was going on and I followed. Apparently, she had been on a Zoom call in AB 2.0’s bedroom when she noticed a VERY VERY large spider on his bedspread.

After we ushered her to another room so she could calm down and resume her call, we then searched high and low for the offending arachnid and couldn’t find a thing. I thought her screams might have scared him off, but my son said he actually had seen it before scurrying away and it was literally four inches in size.

We needed to keep looking because if there WAS still a spider in the little guy’s room, we needed to find and relocate it before bedtime.

I stripped the sheets off the bed, shook them out, and found nothing. We removed the top mattress and then the box springs and OMG, there it was, trying to make itself as small as possible in the corner of the bed frame. I didn’t have my phone to take a photo but you can trust me that it was one of the biggest spiders I’ve ever seen.

We ushered it into a box, clamped on the lid, and my son took it outside as far away from the house as he could, while I remade the bed and checked to make sure DIL hadn’t had a heart attack from fright.

I wonder what she would have thought of my Green Lynx with those scary, hairy legs watching her through the window?

The Annular Solar Eclipse

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I couldn’t find the special eclipse glasses we used in 2017 even though I know I saved them, so I used a colander and it made some really awesome crescents on a white background. The sun was only about 70% obscured here, no ring of fire, but super cool to safely experience.

Here’s a relevant poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919) 

A SOLAR ECLIPSE

In that great journey of the stars through space
    About the mighty, all-directing Sun,
    The pallid, faithful Moon, has been the one
Companion of the Earth. Her tender face,
Pale with the swift, keen purpose of that race,
    Which at Time’s natal hour was first begun,
    Shines ever on her lover as they run
And lights his orbit with her silvery smile.

Sometimes such passionate love doth in her rise,
    Down from her beaten path she softly slips,
And with her mantle veils the Sun’s bold eyes,
    Then in the gloaming finds her lover’s lips.
While far and near the men our world call wise
    See only that the Sun is in eclipse.

Come Home

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Yesterday’s angst is over; problems solved — today is Friday the 13th, a day that was once considered unlucky until we learned that its negative image is rooted in the patriarchy suppressing the power of the female.

Rather than being afraid of Friday the 13th, especially since its ruled by Venus, we could instead manifest its magic as a day to connect to our beauty and nature.

For me, that’s always been the easiest route; my animal family is all about love. This IS home, along with art and a poem.

I shall
Gather up
All the lost souls
That wander this earth
All the ones that are alone
All the ones that are broken
All the ones that never really fitted in
I shall gather them all up
And together we shall find our home

“Gather up” A Poem written by Athey Thompson
Taken from A Little Book Of Poetry
Art by Elaine Bayley curated from Pinterest

Cosmic Blunders

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I don’t know about you, but today has been a day full of frustrations, miscommunications, stress, anxiety, and a general sense of agitation and discord everywhere I turn.

People tell me they didn’t get my emails that I CLEARLY have a record of sending while one misunderstood word engendered disagreements and verbal sparring before the matter was cleared up.

I don’t like stress, not that anyone really does, I guess. but for me, stressful situations cause my poor little heart to pump too hard and raise my blood pressure.

This is when I need to practice breathing and meditation. It will all work out, I’m sure, but in the meantime, I won’t really be able to relax.

In addition to the annular “ring of fire” solar eclipse on the 14th, in SoCal we’re on the verge of a Santa Ana weather event; windy, very low humidity, and lots of swirling energy, so it’s probably a good idea to go outside and water my plants to redirect my mind.

BREATHE!

Oh, and stay hydrated, ‘cos when I get stressed, I shut down and don’t eat or drink, so I’m sitting here with a giant water bottle. There’s nothing worse than a dehydration headache.

From Seed to Harvest | The Essential and Humble Beet

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Have you ever grown beets? They’re humble and rustic, sweet and solid, packed full of heart healthy nutrition, even the leaves.

Beets are full of antioxidants that fight cell damage and reduce the risk of heart disease. They’re one of the few vegetables that contain betalains, a powerful antioxidant that gives beets their vibrant color. Betalains reduce inflammation and may help protect against cancer and other diseases.

No part of this beauty is wasted, whether it’s cooked or shaved raw in a salad.

My mom used to make borscht, a Ukrainian cold beet soup, because my dad loved it, but I thought it looked and tasted disgusting, especially since she topped it with a dollop of sour cream.

I now think that I might have been mistaken about my revulsion for borscht, well maybe…except for the sour cream, which I still don’t like.

I’ll scrub and slice the beets, then steam them with the leaves just until tender, to enjoy eating unadorned just like they are, fresh and wholesome. YUM!

Purple + White

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Doomed to live and die on the same day, the morning glory is a symbol of resilience and rebirth.

This enchanted morning glory is thriving near a bunch of Natal plum bushes and their fragrant white five-petaled flowers.

The Natal plum is a tropical shrub grown mostly as a flowering landscape specimen, but also known for its small fruits which taste like cranberries and are used in jams and jellies.

Once upon a time when I was in high school, I picked a bushel of the fruits from an empty field and made the most delicious jam but the thorns on the plant almost tore my arms up so I’ve never done it again.

This is a Blue Potato Bush: The flowers are gorgeous but all parts of this part are toxic!

The sweetly scented flowers of Lycianthes rantonnetii, also known as Solanum rantonnetii, blue potato bush, and Paraguay nightshade, grows near a fence in the garden. I cut it back every year which it seems to love because it returns full of flowers that attract bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day

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This year, October 9 is known as Columbus Day. Some states have proposed legislation to legally replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as of today, none have passed.

I don’t acknowledge Columbus Day because it’s more of the same; entitled males making unilateral decisions without regard for anything but their own selfishness.

Columbus Day has since come under fire as a celebration of a man whose arrival in the Americas heralded the oppression of another group of people: Native Americans. 

Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors the truth about the American soil on which we live. It serves as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day by recognizing the perseverance and contributions of Indigenous people across the United States.

Even the Angel Kids know what this day really is all about, and good for my son/DIL talking TRUTH to the next generation.

happy indigenous people day meme - - Yahoo Image Search Results

From President Joe Biden:

A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 2023

  On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples, show our gratitude for the myriad contributions they have made to our world, and renew our commitment to respect Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. 

     The story of America’s Indigenous peoples is a story of their resilience and survival; of their persistent commitment to their right to self-governance; and of their determination to preserve cultures, identities, and ways of life.  Long before European explorers sailed to this continent, Native American and Alaska Native Nations made this land their home, some for thousands of years before the United States was founded.  They built many Nations that created powerful, prosperous, and diverse cultures, and they developed knowledge and practices that still benefit us today.

     But throughout our Nation’s history, Indigenous peoples have faced violence and devastation that has tested their limits.  For generations, it was the shameful policy of our Nation to remove Indigenous peoples from their homelands; force them to assimilate; and ban them from speaking their own languages, passing down ancient traditions, and performing sacred ceremonies.  Countless lives were lost, precious lands were taken, and their way of life was forever changed.  In spite of unimaginable loss and seemingly insurmountable odds, Indigenous peoples have persisted.  They survived.  And they continue to be an integral part of the fabric of the United States.
Read the rest of it here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/06/a-proclamation-on-indigenous-peoples-day-2023/

Hello Kitty Sunset 🎀 | Pink Pink Pink

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Or cotton candy pink. A trivial confession about me…I’ve never actually eaten cotton candy. I’ve seen it made at the fair but I never had any desire to taste it. I do love Hello Kitty, though, and she speaks to me:

“Once upon a time, there was a princess.” — Hello Kitty

Last night’s sunset was breathtaking to experience. The sky colors were pure Hello Kitty pink.

I didn’t make it to the beach in time to see the full sunset drop into the horizon, but I went outside in the garden to appreciate all of the resplendent Hello Kitty pink gloriousness.