But look at the graphic because we in SoCal are in the CONE!!!
That’s all anyone is talking about around here.
The storm’s path will bring it across the Baja California peninsula into the southwestern United States over the weekend and into Monday.
Regardless of Hilary’s exact track, we’ll be on the lookout for excessive rain, flash flooding, and high surf.
The National Weather Service has issued a Day 3 high risk of excessive rainfall, up to seven inches in the desert and about three inches here on the coast.
Hurricane Hilary grew rapidly to Category 4 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday and could reach Southern California as the first tropical storm there in 84 years.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary had sustained winds near 145 mph and was expected to continue its rapid intensification through Friday before starting to weaken.
It will nevertheless still be a hurricane when it approaches Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Saturday night and will approach Southern California on Sunday as a tropical storm. It will potentially cause “significant and rare impacts” including extensive flooding.
However, if the hurricane tracks just a bit differently, it will cause more extensive and significant coastal damage. Winds are expected to be 50-ish mph with 70 mph gusts.
No tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939, and reaching far into the past, the only known hurricane to make actual contact was near San Diego in 1858 with 73 mph winds.
I guess it’s time to batten down the hatches. I’ve been doing some prep out in the garden like removing umbrellas, wind chimes, and any deck furniture light enough to be blown around. Tomorrow I’ll clear out the ditch up on the hill that’s full of debris so it’ll flow if there’s any accumulated rain and not flood the backyard. I have plenty of candles if the power goes out and my cell is always charged.
Knowing me, I’ll want to go for a walk to the beach in the rain, but I’m also aware that’s not a great idea.
The one and only time I experienced a hurricane was about twenty years ago when I visited my son and DIL who were in school on the east coast. We huddled together when the power went out and the house was shaking off its foundation from the strong winds. The next morning we went for a walk and surveyed the damage; trees down, electrical wires dangling and sparking, and debris everywhere. After that, we drove to the beach to look at the surf. Another memorable event with those guys, that’s for sure!
This post is a departure from what I usually write about because I just spent a few minutes gazing at this mindblowing optical illusion and I was totally freaked out, so I need to ask…
Does this work for everybody? The brain is a wondrous thing…
Schroeder stairs is an optical illusion, a two-dimensional drawing which may be perceived either as a drawing of a staircase leading from left to right downwards or the same staircase only turned upside down, a classical example of perspectivereversal in psychology of perception. It’s named after the German natural scientist, Heinrich G. F. Schröder, who published it in 1858.
Looking west from the deck, the vibrant sunset is reminiscent of my favorite passionfruit and mango shave ice.
Rain might actually fall in a couple of days from Tropical Storm Hilary, the reason for those beautiful clouds. A new weather forecast says it might turn into a hurricane which would definitely bring stronger winds along with sky water. We would only feel the remnants–Baja California would bear the brunt–but I’d be really happy for the rain!
The new moon, under 1% illuminated, turns skies dark tonight as we anticipate the second full moon at the end of August.
This little Jewish girl from Detroit dancing around in a pink tutu and satin toe shoes harbored a secret desire to live among the wolves and become accepted as a pack member.
Crazy, right?
Crazy because the only wolves I encountered in Detroit were the hormone-addled little boys at the Jewish Community Center.
“The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.” Barry Lopez
It wasn’t until we moved to California and I was in college that I did anything about it.
Back in the 1970s, I joined the fight to save the wolf from extinction by advocating for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
In college, I studied predators and made plans to accompany research scientists and live with wolves in Minnesota and Michigan but never fulfilled that dream because I couldn’t (obviously) bring my dog, and I didn’t want to leave her.
Another dream unfulfilled. Oh, well.
Wolf print, Yellowstone
I was lucky to finally get to Yellowstone National Park and see IRL several of the wolves who make up the Lamar Valley pack, but never heard the song of the wolf, probably because we camped right on Slough Creek and the water, while beautiful, drowned out most animal sounds.
I’m still involved in the never-ending fight to save, defend, and protect this magnificent animal; read about my experiences in Sacramento when I testified at the Fish and Wildlife Service‘s wolf delisting hearing: Saving Wolves.
From my testimony: “At 6:00 a.m., a few miles outside our camp at Slough Creek, we followed others to a bison carcass, and our efforts paid off with a multiple sighting of many wolves, including 755. There was an overwhelming sense of awe among the dozens of us who silently watched him cross the road and then a collective sigh of relief when he disappeared safely over the ridge.
I recently took a drive to the Mojave Desert town of Lucerne to spend a few hours at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Tonya Littlewolf.
Many wolves call this sanctuary home, and while I finally heard the haunting song of the wolf, the whole experience could only be described as sad.
Why sad?
Sad because these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued.
Sad that humans think they have the right to try and make pets out of these wild animals. (Not gonna work.)
Sad that the wolves can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated, vilified.
Wolves are among the most intelligent species.
HOW DARE WE DESTROY THEM.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
So yes. Sad. Very sad.
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website…all volunteer educational organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and proper management of wolves in the wild and in captivity. We are a forever home for all of the wolves we rescue. We rescue wolves from the movie industry, private owners, and from breeders. The impression a 180 pound wolf leaves on you is everlasting. To look into their knowing, wise, amber colored eyes is a moving, spiritual experience. When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul…
“We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself.” Farley Mowat
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Denali (Deh-Nah-Lee) (“Great One” or “Highest Mountain”) was one of two pups born in the wilds of Alaska. He was rescued from the wolf-killing that was taking place in that state, both by private citizens and government agencies.
He’s a beautiful wolf with a golden sand coat. Denali’s personality is very sweet, curious, and friendly.
The wolves at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary seem to be well cared for and healthy.
When I met this handsome guy, Holan, he immediately jumped up, put his front paws on my shoulders, and licked my face. See my joy? This is the smile of someone who loves wolves.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“The wolf is neither man’s competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared.” L. David Mech
Look at him. The eyes. Amazing.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Throughout the centuries we have projected on to the wolf the qualities we most despise and fear in ourselves.” Barry Lopez
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Inescapably, the realization was being borne in upon my preconditioned mind that the centuries-old and universally accepted human concept of wolf character was a palpable lie. On three separate occasions in less than a week I had been completely at the mercy of these “savage killers”; but far from attempting to tear me limb from limb, they had displayed a restraint verging on contempt, even when I invaded their home and appeared to be posing a direct threat to the young pups.” Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf
WHY SAVE THE WOLF? Look at them: they are so noble, so beautiful. The wolf, as well as other endangered species, are ecological indicators. It is by studying these species and learning how to preserve them that we learn the main factors affecting our environment.
Perhaps in so doing, we will learn undiscovered ways to benefit mankind!
Unfortunately, there are those who deny the wolf’s place in the ecosystem. Wolves are gunned down from airplanes and snowmobiles (which some consider “sport”). Sometimes the fur is taken; however, more often than not, the animal is simply left to decay.
The wolf is poisoned “en masse,” trapped by leg-hold traps, used as adornments for the idle rich.
Today, the wolf’s range is limited to Alaska, Canada, the upper Midwest, and in Yellowstone National Park. Some of the YNP wolves have traveled into adjoining states, which allow hunters to kill wolves on sight and for little to no reason. In the 1930’s, there were approximately 50,000 wolves roaming the North American continent. By the 1940’s, that number had been decreased to 1,000. Today, mostly because of conservation efforts, there are approximately 3,000 wild wolves on the entire continent. They have made a small comeback, but because of the recent delisted from the Endangered Species Act, wolves are once again under attack.
Wolf lovers need to band together and do all we can to help them. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Only you can save the wolf from extinction. Proper management procedures must be put into action.
And, one day We shall look back and see It was always those little moments That mattered the most Those little fleeting moments Of innocence Of happiness Of laughter and dance.
While Lāhainā burned to the ground in utter devastation and so far, thirty-six people lost their lives, everyone is also talking about the largest banyan tree in America, located in the heart of the town.
It was planted in 1873 and turned 150 years old this year. It seems to be badly scorched but it’s too early to predict if it will survive.
Here are my thoughts are on this tragedy…
Memo to Social Media… Nobody wants to hear about how you vacationed on Maui and how your family is so thankful to experience Lāhainā before the fires. Local families and businesses have lost everything. Families can’t even find each other. Instead of posting tone deaf photos of yourselves on the beach, use your vacation money and donate to help Lāhainā.
It looks to me like they’re just lazily going around and around in directionless circles on Puget Sound/Salish Sea in Seattle, but I guess there’s a purpose to it…
The Italian word regatta means “contention for mastery” and comes from the Latin word regattare, or “to compete, haggle, sell at retail.” Regatta came to specifically mean “boat race” — and the many social events related to it — in the late 1700s.
Off in the distance, it looks like there’s a container ship, but sadly, no whales…
Whatever it means, and whatever they’re doing, it makes for pretty photos, credit to my son, high above the marina on Shilshole Bay. The clouds over the snowless Olympic mountain range create a magnificent backdrop.
I wrote this a couple years ago, but it still seems to have value, so I'm reposting with today's date...
I find value in curating information and education from a variety of people and sources–I’m not a disciple of one singular way of thinking; I believe there’s merit in many beliefs and perspectives. The following from Matt Kahn piqued my interest:
‘In celebration of the Lion’s Gate Portal on August 8th, please read or repeat the following activation:
“I call forth the energetic anchoring, wisdom and support of my spirit guides, Ascended Masters, Archangels, the enlightened elders of my ancestral lineage, my beloved relatives on the Other Side, and my spirit animals to hold immaculate space in each of the four sacred corners as I enter the Lion’s Gate Portal Activation.In accordance with the Akashic Records, I allow the Lion’s Gate to be activated, awakened, and opened as I enter through this portal into a parallel timeline of my next highest self. In stepping through this portal, may all healings I am ready to receive be completed, may all activations and crystalline DNA I am ready to embody be activated, and may all wisdom, life direction, and inspirations in serving the glory of a life purpose I don’t have to figure out ahead of time be realized, received, and revealed. In accordance with the Akashic Records, I allow all gifts of healing, activation, awakening, and transformation to be actualized into present moment time and anchored as my new zero point field, allowing this brand new reality that I welcome to be accepted by the subconscious mind and encoded into cellular memory as my new abiding state of reality.I accept this activation and each gift my words declare my readiness to receive that now integrates into the fabric of time at exactly the pace that serves my highest greatest good. I accept that each aspect of this Lion’s Gate Portal equally serves in the tipping point of humanity’s ascension, as I offer every person the exact amount of connection or space to work out the complexities and vulnerabilities of their journey. If and when, during this Lion’s Gate portal, or any time hereafter, I witness humanity purging emotional density while identifying with its individual or collective shadow, I can support the transmutation of the old dissolving paradigm by anchoring the light of my new reality as a space holder of Earth’s Ascension. As I utilize the sacred invitation and power of the Lion’s Gate Portal to step through interdimensional hyperspace and into a new parallel timeline of my next highest self in form, may I offer compassion, mercy, and kindness, whether up-close or at a distance, to anyone identifying with the very shadow being purged. May I witness the pain they have buried, as a chance to help bring their consciousness back into full awareness. I offer this awareness as a gift of loving service with no attachment to outcome for anyone or any situation in view.If and when the anchoring of light feels overwhelming, it merely acts as a sign reminding of the perfect moments to enact self-care. Knowing, from the depths of my soul’s wisdom, each choice to care for myself sends waves of consciousness throughout the Quantum Field to help others in supporting their own needs instead of judging themselves or fighting with others. In the name of bringing abiding peace to Earth, no matter how turbulent the waves of change ebb and flow, I accept the Lion’s Gate Portal Activation that completes the Soul Contracts and cuts the chords to all I am ready to move beyond — with the utmost gratitude to every circumstance, person, or outcome that has served my evolution.Thank you Akashic Records for making the Lion’s Gate Portal Activation complete. Thank you spirit guides, Ascended Masters, Archangels, the enlightened elders of my ancestral lineage, my beloved relatives on the Other Side, and my spirit animals for holding immaculate space in each of the four sacred corners and continuing to make your presence known as the light I shine, the breath I breathe, the wisdom I receive, the guidance I follow, and the truth I speak that is always anchored in the vibration of peace, unity, abundance, wholeness, and love.I hereby accept the completion of the Lion’s Gate Portal and allow all integrations to occur as swiftly, miraculously, and gently as it has always been meant to be. May all be blessed by the Lion’s Gate portal, no matter how any person or group interprets the incoming energies and healings entering our Earth. And so it is.”
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 