I had to read that Hemingway novel in school; I remember my dad helped me write the report ‘cos it’s not my cup of tea and I didn’t understand what it was all about. Honestly, how could any 7th or 8th grader with no life experiences ever understand the subtext of a story like that?
I think he met Hemingway at one point because he was salivating when I also had to read Old Man and the Sea for the same class and he helped me with that report too. I remember getting an A on it, and feeling like I didn’t really deserve the grade, but oh well…
Hemingway killed animals for sport and even back then I was an animal defender, so I didn’t feel too badly that my dad did my work.
That’s really off topic, because I simply wanted to share these photos I took of our sunrise this morning. Due to the time change, I was awake extra early, looked out my bedroom window and my mouth dropped open with the sheer loveliness of the sky.
I don’t exactly face due east, so I hurried to get my Canon and run outside before the scene changed and this is what I captured, no filter and unretouched.
Pure, raw pics:
And then this from another slightly different direction seconds later:
Anyway, this took my mind off of the election issues for a brief moment; I am anticipating the formal declaration of President Biden and Vice President Harris. It will be such a relief to fire that toxic orange amoral demon!
One of my favorite places on earth, and yes, the water really is that beautiful turquoise color.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
McWay Falls is an 80-foot-tall waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in central California that flows year-round into the Pacific Ocean from McWay Creek in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about thirty-seven miles south of Carmel.
During high tide, it’s a tidefall, a waterfall that empties directly into the ocean.
The waterfall poured directly into the ocean until a massive fire, landslide, and highway reconstruction project near the area in 1983-84 filled the cove with enough material to form a sandy beach several dozen feet out.
The falls, creek, and canyon are named after Christopher McWay, an early settler and farmer from New York state who arrived in the area with his son Christopher Jr. around 1874.
The park itself is named after Julia Pfeiffer Burns (1868-1928), a local and legendary early pioneer and resident who impressed Helen Brown and had run a ranch in McWay canyon with her husband, John B. Burns.
That’s what my mom would say sometimes when we’d do something extra fun or eat something extra decadent…”It’s special; once-in-a-blue-moon, Rosebud!”
I never really knew there WAS such a thing as a “blue moon” phenomenon; innocent Rosebud that I am/was thought it was something Mommy invented.
But we are now in 2020 experiencing an October blue moon that hasn’t occurred in 76 years. The last time it happened in all US time zones was in 1944.
It’s called a blue moon because it’ll be the second of two full moons in a single calendar month. If you have a clear sky tonight, you can also see red Mars!
Halloween is also the same day as Samhain, a holiday some witchy-types celebrate to honor the dead. This holiday paired with Halloween makes these upcoming days an energetically potent time because of the thinning veil between the spiritual and physical world.
We have some major supernatural happenings heading our way, so remember to manifest and appreciate the beauty of this significant full moon!
Happy Halloween and Happy Samhain, everyone!
Photo by u0410u043bu0435u043au0441u0430u043du0434u0430u0440 u0426u0432u0435u0442u0430u043du043eu0432u0438u045b on Pexels.com
I’m not talking about tRump this time; I’m referring to Covid-19, formally called the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2.
I remember back in February when I heard some chatter about a new virus first noticed in China, more virulent than the common flu, and my ears perked up. With my chronic asthma and reduced lung function, I’m pretty careful in the best of times, and this seemed to be something else entirely.
I’m glad I listened to my inner voice and stopped going to the gym in March weeks before the official shut down, a preventative measure on my part because it’s normally never very clean and the air never smelled fresh.
During the shut down when everyone was hoarding toilet paper and Lysol spray and hand sanitizer, I asked my doc what I could do to protect myself.
Besides wearing a mask in public and staying away from crowds, her suggestion (and what she does) was to add zinc and Vitamin C to what I already take: D3, K2, turmeric, magnesium, and a B complex ‘cos I’ve been vegan for such a long time. I also take Carditone for cardiovascular health.
I’d rather eat healthy and take a few supplements than fall victim to high blood pressure meds, statins for cholesterol imbalances, and a compromised immune system.
I think probably the most important supplement we can take is a D3/K2 combo.
Years ago, my doc checked my D levels and was concerned that it was 24, way below the recommended healthy levels of 50-60. I started taking 5000 mcg daily and three months later, my levels were up to 40. Now they’re at the optimal number of 60, and I feel much better than I did in the beginning.
It’s been suggested that there’s a link between low levels of D3 and depression, and I believe it.
It’s a good idea to take D3 with K2 as there’s a synergistic relationship between vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 for bone and cardiovascular health. Vitamin K is essential for the proper utilization of calcium.
Separately, K2 regulates normal blood clotting, while D3 supports a healthy immune system and muscle function.
So far, I’ve been lucky not to have been infected by Covid, but I still wear a mask when out and stay away from crowds or gatherings of any kind, and wash my hands often.
As if 2020 couldn’t be any worse with Covid, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and oh, I don’t know, simply the death of our entire DEMOCRACY, THIS happened and I am truly distraught…
From my friend, Jamie Rappaport Clark, President of Defenders of Wildlife:
It’s a sudden and tragic end to what should have been one of the great wildlife comeback stories of all time. Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially stripped gray wolves in the lower 48 states of their federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
This ruthless decision leaves gray wolves at the mercy of states, some with increasingly hostile anti-wolf policies – even some where we’ve already seen wolves slaughtered. This isn’t over.
We’re taking this administration to court to defend gray wolves fighting for their lives. Will you help?
We cannot and will not allow wolves to be abandoned, and their recovery to be cut off after decades of work. Wolves occupy only 10% of their former range and need continued federal protection to fully recover. There are still vast areas of suitable habitat in the lower 48 states where wolves have not recovered, including Colorado.
As recently as last year, a wolf spotted in Colorado brought a spark of optimism for the future of wolves in the Southern Rockies. That hope could now be smashed. Delisting wolves is the wrong move at the wrong time. We’ve already seen a wave of violence as some anti-wolf states have allowed even more barbaric methods to trap, shoot and kill gray wolves – and things could get a lot worse for these wolves without our help.
We’ll never stop fighting against anti-wolf extremists and politicians working to turn back the clock on wolf recovery. Today’s setback isn’t the end of the gray wolf story.
Thanks for your compassion and your steadfast support for the wildlife we love.
On a personal note, I’ve been fighting to save and protect wolves pretty much my whole life and while we rejoiced when wolves were originally placed on the endangered species list, it didn’t stop the senseless murder of wolves and their families.
Pinnacles National Park is an American national park protecting a mountainous area located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California, eighty miles southeast of San Jose.
Time for a post and a plea about animals. Defenders of Wildlife needs our help to protect southern resident orcas!
Stop a proposal that could allow serious harm to over two thirds of the entire southern resident population of endangered orcas.
A proposed rule from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would allow Naval sonar activities in the Northwest Training and Testing area to seriously harass up to 51 of these orcas (68% of the entire population!), putting the recovery and even survival of this population in jeopardySouthern resident orcas are still struggling to survive and recover – we can’t let this population go extinct on our watch!
Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family, and just like their smaller cousins, orcas depend on echolocation to find prey and to communicate with other pod members. With so few salmon left, it’s essential that we reduce underwater noise as much as possible to make it easier for orcas to find the food they need to survive.The ear-splitting shrieks of the sonar can make life nearly impossible for these majestic and vulnerable animals.
These sonar activities can disrupt critical natural behaviors like feeding, nursing, surfacing, migration and more. These orcas already face dire threats from pollution, collapsing food supplies and climate change. They’re fighting for their lives – but if the NMFS approves this sonar disruption, it could be the threat that pushes them over the brink.
Time is running out to save these magnificent whales. Given this population’s already critically endangered status, we need to do all we can to help these orcas – including protecting them from disruptive sonar activity!
That’s a lot of exclamation points, but I love Defenders of Wildlife and hope you’ll help them save the southern resident orcas!!
P.S. For some crazy reason, WordPress is inserting unwanted horizontal lines in my post and I can’t delete them. I give up trying. WP, you baffle me.
I don’t care how you pronounce it, but I need to share my secret love for potatoes and there’s a recipe at the end.
Specifically, the much maligned WHITE potato: simple, sturdy, earthy.
On the last day of my most recent visit to the Angels, sadly, a very long time ago, DIL thoughtfully made a special going home dinner for me, all from scratch by the way, which made it even more wonderful.
There was vegan lasagna with a side of roasted potatoes and apple crumble. The lasagna was made with chard and kale from the garden and was SO VERY YUMMY and healthy.
Apparently (and rightly so) she thought I didn’t eat white potatoes because for the longest time, I would scowl at anything white: white rice, white flour, white sugar, white potatoes–as the source of empty calories, zero nutrition, and a great friend of diabetes. Not too healthy.
From the oven there emanated a most delicious perfume. I asked DIL what I was smelling and she said, “It’s roasted potatoes but you don’t have to eat them. I know you don’t like white potatoes.”
Not so fast, DIL.
I want to not like them, but I’m addicted to French fries (has anyone ever seen me hoard them? It’s not a pretty sight.) I actually dearly love white potatoes, but I try NOT to eat them and have some semblance of self control, like I say I don’t eat chocolate, only because I have no off switch. Once I start eating chocolate, I can’t stop. I don’t ever have any around because of my lack of restraint, which is also the reason why I buy Halloween candy like Skittles and other stuff I don’t like so I won’t be tempted.
OK, enough of the sidebar; back to the story of the roast potatoes.
Dinner was ready and we were setting the table. I was actually STARVING and had most likely once again forgotten to eat for the entire day.
DIL handed me a bowl of roasted potatoes and before they even reached the dining room table, I had eaten EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I brought the empty bowl into the kitchen and asked DIL where I could get seconds. She took one look at me and the empty bowl and started laughing.
“That was a sharing bowl! Did you eat all of them?”
“Well, yes, oops, sorry! I didn’t know they were for sharing!”
“T, Grandma ate ALL the potatoes!”
“YOU DID? HEY DAD, GRANDMA ATE ALL THE POTATOES IN THE SHARING BOWL! SHE REALLY DID!”
I hadn’t tasted anything so delicious in FOREVER; OMG they were so good, I’ve been thinking about them ever since I came home.
And by the way, I had never heard of the term “sharing bowl” before that day. It must be a British thing, as DIL is from the UK.
I finally broke down and bought two WHITE IDAHO potatoes and since it’s a bit rainy today and not devil hot, I’ll attempt a recreation of DILs heavenly dish. I’m even going to add salt and that’s also something I rarely do.
They tasted pretty yummy, but to be honest, not quite as good as DILs, but maybe that’s because it’s such a treat for me to have someone else cook, ‘cos I usually have that job.
I’m inspired by the spartan aesthetic of Zen Buddhism.
Is less really more?
Ma (pronounced “maah”) is a celebration of not things, but the space between them. It’s negative space, voids, emptiness. The place you get to (if you’re lucky) in meditation. Like the space where that tree used to be.
I’m not exactly sure why this tiny little ceramic vase IS. Like why it even exists.
Only four inches tall, it holds about a tablespoon of water and I continued to replace flower after flower until I got the brilliant idea of searching around the garden for beautifully shaped little twigs.
These are the last remnants of the ficus tree that is no longer there, and I decided it would be a simple way to honor that once living entity by saving a little part of it.
At first I was going to embellish the tiny branches with faux gems, pearls, and seashells–like I usually do–but the more I looked at it, the more I loved the bare simplicity. I didn’t want to detract from the design of the vase.
I should write a haiku about the tree and these twigs. Being a minimalist with words is just as difficult for me as NOT gluing shiny things to those tiny little branches.
So this is zen — ma, the serene space between things.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 