RIP "Grandma"

RIP "Grandma"

Our barred rocks hen 

who from the beginning was the queen of the roost 

April 2012 - June 28, 2013

A very friendly and inquisitive chicken who was known to fly onto your shoulder when she was young.  She was killed by the dog next door who got through a hole in the fence.

Bear Shopper Captured

Two Links to newspaper articles on local bear shopper:

Bear Spotted & Captured in the Suburb Shopping Center

Second Bear in Ewing, NJ Spotted & Captured

For my friend- the bear, & my hometown of WAR-ing-town (Warrington), I offer these proverbs...

Time to catch bears is when they're out.

(American)

The bear dances, but the keeper takes the money.

(Russian)

A bear that is not tied up won't dance.

(Russian)

When one flees from the wolf

the bear appears.

(Finnish)

The bear doesn't dance for his own pleasure.

(Rumanian) 

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Proverbs from Howl Like a Wolf: Animal Proverbs by Wolfgang Mieder
& photos from newspaper article links listed above.

moonlight sonata

sometimes a certain melody just follows you around...

and how appropriate with the "super" moon upon us this weekend.

turned on the radio yesterday and they put on a recording of Andre Watts playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata.' It is amazing the subtleties of each pianist's voice, making one so different from another.  I particularly like Watts.  And though I am not sure if this youtube recording is the same as what was played on the radio- I figure it is at least a recording of the same person playing the same piece of music- even if it is played differently.  Enjoy listening.

First Movement:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYkxMv7sds
Second & Third Movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTZVwNGdUpE

and Happy Solstice!

Howl Like A Wolf

A hungry wolf is not at rest.

(Portuguese)

Hunger drives the wolf out

of the woods.

(English)

The wolf doesn't concern himself with

the price of a sheep.

(African-Hausa)

It is a hard winter when one

wolf eats another.

(English)

If the wolf feared rain, he would

wear a clock.

(Greek)

The wolf is not afraid of the dog,

but he hates his bark. 

(Yiddish)

Do not measure the wolf's tail

till he be dead.

(Serbian)

A wolf changes his coat but

never his nature.

(Serbian)

All taken from Howl Like a Wolf: Animal Proverbs by Wolfgang Mieder.

mushrooms

an old photo from early Spring 

when I had my third and final mushroom flush 

from the oyster mushroom bag we started back in mid-Dec.

PRESSED FLOWER poem

PRESSED FLOWER

like freshly peaked blossom petals
I am smashed between two pressed surfaces,
and held there,
newly positioned,
until I preserve.

Suck the Sweet Nectar of Life

Honeysuckle Honeysuckle!

Never have a care!

For the sweet scent of Honeysuckle

is perfuming all the air!

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And now for a How-To on Proper Honeysuckle Sucking....

a skill I learned as a kid as I'd stop off my bike to get a taste on almost every corner where the honeysuckle hung...

Only later did I learn this Japanese Honeysuckle is invasive in the US (you can find it everywhere around here!)- all the more reason to start picking!

Step One: Delicately pick a fresh, sweet Lonicera japonica or Japanese honeysuckle flower at its base, with care to not tear the pistol.

Step Two: Pinch the base of the flower, so that you can gently slide the pistol out the bottom.

and then start sucking!

and tasting the sweet nectar of life!

enjoy!

where is the moon?

"where is the moon

when the moon

is new?

It's a sliver on the right

growing bigger 

every night....":

SCENES AT SHAKER LAKES poem

just unearthed this from some old papers....
-----------------------------


Lost in the Lake

Rustlings in the Brush

Goose's Triumphant Return

Muddy tracks on Snowy paths

SCENES AT SHAKER LAKES
          March 7, 2011

-----------------------------

I.
lost in the lake,
absorbed in its wholeness.
admiring its moneylessness.
and the fuzzy shadow show of trees
        moving extraordinarily slow
        with the gentle breeze.

II.
slumped on a snowy log,
with a dog at side - fingers in her fur -
and a rustle.
A bustling rodent gathering, packing, hustling
         in the brush.

III.
Under the arch,
a triumphant return,
honks like a bark
Proud + showy silvery breast prompt
         upon a protruding rock.
Others sleepily tuck their white splotches,
         nestling into black,
some honk back.
Spring - Spring - Spring is back!

IV.
Muddy tracks on snowy paths-
"you may not come back"
warned the chatty dog walker.
I remember why I wore my boots.

On being wild

"When women reassert their relationship with the wildish nature, they are gifted with a permanent and internal watcher, a knower, a visionary, an oracle, an inspiratrice, and intuitive, a maker, a creator, an inventor, and a listener who guide, suggest, and urge vibrant life in the inner and outer worlds.  When women are with the Wild Woman, the fact of that relationship glows through them.  This wild teacher, wild mother, wild mentor supports their inner and outer lives, no matter what.

So, the word wild here is not used in its modern pejorative sense, meaning out of control, but in its original sense, which means to live a natural life, one in which the criatura, creature, has innate integrity and healthy boundaries.  These words, wild and woman, cause women to remember who they are and what they are about."


-from Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.