March 24, 2013

It is time for a change. It’s kinda funny how this feeling is running right alongside with the approaching spring, but with the new arrivals from the south – the robins, grackles, and red-wing blackbirds ( who really gave me a surprise yesterday) – change is bound to happen one way or another to the fabric of my being. Change is all I seem to constantly notice.

 There’s good excuse for my need to make constant changes. The kids have turned into teenagers (one has left the nest already) and will be leaving the house very soon. My wife’s rhuematory arthritis is crippling her up pretty good, so my need to hang around the house a lot more is dramatically increasing. It seems I’ve been preparing for this change for awhile, as we’re raising laying hens now and I knew all along that Rhonda wasn’t going to be able to participate much in caring for them. Same with the rabbits I’ll be starting up this spring. And the gardens.

My move from a constant wanderer of the hills is happening right before my eyes before I wanted, or anticipated.  Hmm. Something different and new. Sort of like traveling. This shouldn’t be so bad and I’m pretty good at making the best of things, finding the brighter side.

I’ll write again soon. Take care -

Casey

Couple Hours Out With Ellie

What do you know? I decided I would take my camera with me on the walk today, which will probably be Ellie's last one in the wilds for a couple of weeks. She's going in to get fixed next Monday. Right off, we came upon a group of turkeys.

After we had sloshed our way up to where the turkeys had been, Ellie had a hayday chasing scent!

The snow was very wet and deeper than I thought it would be in some areas, but we had no problems. We skirted the hillside the turkeys flew up, and chased them a little further west. While wandering around near the top of the ridge, we found the remains of a deer -

I found this moss interesting, growing on a tree trunk, and tried to get some detailed close-ups -

The rivers are swollen with the rain we have had the last few days, and slushy snow yesterday. On top of that, the temperatures have gone a couple of degrees above freezing during the days allowing some of the snow and ice to melt. Check out the damage the chunks of ice coming down river have done to this tree trunk. You can see a chunk of ice just to the upper right of the tree, just after it had smashed against it and resurfaced -

 

One complaint. I may not have a real good camera for awhile, so trying to get good shots of wildlife will in all likelihood be futile. Like this - 

Can't tell it's a Canada goose, eh? Heard and viewed a couple of them and a couple of eagles and hawks, cardinals, robins, blue jays and nuthatches. And one pileated woodpecker. Oh well, the real reason to be out there is to be out there. 

Take care - 

Casey

Now That It Has Been Said...And The Day We Got Ellie

Over the past couple of years, I have been trying to express how I feel while out walking under the trees, in the winds, and along the streams via numerous blogs. I think I have done a pretty good job (aside from the shizophrenic-ness of trying to find a journaling home and voice), but I came across these words yesterday morning that sum it up better than I've been able to:

" When you practice mindful breathing you simply allow your in breath to take place. You become aware of it and enjoy it. Effortlessness. The same thing is true with mindful walking. Every step is enjoyable. Every step helps you touch the wonders of life. Every step is joy. That is possible.

You don’t have to make any effort during walking meditation, because it is enjoyable. You are there, body and mind together. You are fully alive, fully present in the here and the now. With every step, you touch the wonders of life that are in you and around you. When you walk like that, every step brings healing. Every step brings peace and joy, because every step is a miracle.

The real miracle is not to fly or walk on fire. The real miracle is to walk on the Earth, and you can perform that miracle at any time. Just bring your mind home to your body, become alive, and perform the miracle of walking on Earth."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

And especially recently, I've been at a loss for words. Not that it has ruined my time out in the winds, it has just been frustrating trying to convey the spirit. I feel I'm free of that "burden" of trying to express it now that it has been said, even if by someone else.

So now what? Well, how about some photos of the day we brought home Ellie?

  

And what I woke up to today - 

It's just toys, you're saying. Yeah. She's fond of boots, too.