Month: October 2020

Orionid Bummer – Day 709

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Waxing Crescent Moon – 10/20/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Orionid Bummer

I admit it; I dropped the ball this year. Tonight, starting right about now (just before midnight – or perhaps closer to 1:00 a.m) and extending into the wee hours of the morning, the Earth will be traveling through the dirtiest part of the tail of Halley’s Comet. That means that the greatest display of meteors created thusly will be visible at that rather inconvenient time  – and if I’d been thinking ahead, I would’ve mentioned them last night. As it is, I’m stuck with writing about my Orionid Bummer.

I’ve written about these beauties before. The reason why they’re called ‘Orionids’ is because they appear to be originating in the night sky from the constellation Orion. But, of course, that’s just an illusion, as they are actually teeny tiny little bits of debris – some as small as a grain of sand – impacting our atmosphere at such great speed that they burn up in a dramatic flair that actually lingers a bit due to their distinctive composition. Indeed, it’s the lingering flourescent effects that make the Orionids distinctive from the usually more numerous Perseids, in August, and Geminids in December.

Early Heads Up

Indeed, just so I don’t drop the ball again two months from now, I want to urge you all to mark your calendars for December 13-14, 2020. This is when the Geminids will be at their peak this year. And because the peak of the Geminids, like tonight’s Orionids, will be cascading through the atmosphere very close to a new moon, then our view of them should be spectacular. Assuming there’s no cloud cover, of course.

But all is not lost. Technically, we’ll be traveling through Halley’s Comet’s detritus until November 7th. So while we may not be privy to 20 per hour, which is the upper end of the number of meteors usually spotted at the height of the Orionids, we may very well spot a couple good ones fairly easily over the next few nights. If we’re patient. And if the weather holds.

And I have to say, even the temperature outside is conducive to hanging out and staring at the cosmos for an hour or two. OK. I’ll admit it; there’s no way I’ll be spread out on the ground looking up for that long, even though that’s what’s recommended by the articles I’ve read.

The only way I would lay outside tonight after 1:00 a.m. and watch the sky for a couple of hours is if I were in a sleeping bag and intending to permit myself to fall asleep in the process.

Honestly, as I sit here writing about it, I feel sad that I’m not choosing to grab a sleeping bag and do just that. The simplicity and connection to the Earth that it promises seems like a great thing opportunity, especially in the midst of all the human-generated chaos swirling around us.

Pre-Orionid Sunset, 10/20/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Two Weeks From Tonight

Which reminds me. Two weeks from tonight, I doubt any of us will be thinking about laying outside and watching ‘shooting stars.’ I wonder what we’ll be experiencing.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been finding myself saturated with all of it. (Of course, I’m referring to politics and the crisis we’re facing as a country.) At this stage of the game, it’s essential for us to just stay the course and refrain from burning out. Do what we can in each moment and then consciously make an effort to slow ourselves down. After all, we don’t want to be like a piece of dust from Halley’s Comet, hitting the atmosphere at 148,000 miles an hour and flaring out.

We need to survive.

(T-402)

Mushroom Family Update – Day 708

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Only a couple days later – Photo: L. Weikel

Mushroom Family Update

“They grow up so fast.” We say this about our human families, and often about our four legged family members too. And now, here I am, offering a Mushroom Family update a mere two days after first introducing you to the newest family to move into (onto?) our maple tree.

I have to admit, when I wrote about the Mushroom Family a couple nights ago, I never expected them to mature quite so quickly or dramatically. That’s especially true when I compared the current family to the photos of last year’s crop, which I took two weeks later in the month. I don’t believe last year’s mushrooms ever reached this level of magnificence.

And who knows? The conditions may be just right to produce the most astounding crop of mushrooms ever! If they continue to flourish, I will keep you apprised of their status.

Red-bellied sentinel – Photo: L. Weikel

Disturbing the Vibe

While I was taking these photos of the Mushroom Family earlier today, I was surprised to find myself having a close and somewhat surly encounter with a Red-bellied Woodpecker. We were privy to a couple of Red-bellied families this year, one of whom I’m pretty sure built their nest in a hollow of this very maple. Indeed, the hollow would probably qualify as ‘just around the corner’ from the Mushroom Family, so I’m guessing that this avian sentinel is just conducting some routine Neighborhood Watch activity.

I can attest that it did seem perturbed that I was directing a significant amount of human attention toward the Mushroom Family. And while I’ve taken lots of photos of the Red-bellied peckers that frequent our feeders, this is the one I specifically took this afternoon, after it fluttered its wings in the general direction of my head and then rather defiantly perched above me.

I can appreciate that Red-belly didn’t care for how I was disturbing the vibe of the neighborhood. I think we can all appreciate the disruptive nature of my behavior, and I assure you, I apologized.

But I did warn her: if the Mushroom Family continues to expand their girth in ways that are shocking and newsworthy, I’m going to be back and I’m going to be taking more photos.

My maple Ent – with Mushroom Family – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-403)

Cool Numbers – Day 707

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T & M’s Exquisite Dahlias – Photo: L. Weikel

Cool Numbers

I wasn’t initially intending upon writing about the cool numbers associated with this blog post, but they caught my eye as I saved the first draft. I can’t remember if I thought about these same numbers when I was ‘only’ on my 404th post, with 707 left to write.

Apparently not. I just checked, and the post I wrote on that day was all about the Winter Solstice (2019) and my participation in the I AM Solstice Symposium the next day.

As I recall, the Solstice last year was a day filled with intensity and drama. It was unpleasant and tough to witness, even if vicariously, for I cared very much for the safety and well-being of those involved. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a few weeks later that it had all been an elaborate ruse, a ‘hoax,’ if you will, apparently strung out over months – if not years.

This has me hopscotching to the upcoming Winter Solstice, nine weeks from tomorrow (technically ‘today,’ when this is read). There is a major astrological aspect that’s going to occur on that day, December 21st, and while I can’t remember what it is at the moment, I know it is significant.

I’ll check on it and get back to you with details.

In the Meantime

In the meantime, let’s face it. December 21st is nine long weeks away. Yes, in some ways it is but a stone’s throw from now. But good grief, I do believe we are all weary, wary, and wise enough to realize that an unbelievable amount of change – for good or for ill, or perhaps both? – can occur in that period of time.

Indeed, I do want to call upon all of you to please, no matter where you live – in the United States or elsewhere in the world – please take good care of yourselves. Social distance. Wear a mask whenever you’re out and about. Only go out and about as infrequently as possible. Zealously wash your hands.

We hear these admonitions all the time, but my spidey-senses are pricking my ears and I’m feeling a sense of urgency that we double and triple our personal and collective vigilance.

Maybe it’s the 707/404 combo that’s bringing home to me the 1111 of it all.

Stay safe, my friends. And drink in the cosmic color and energetic vibration of these exquisite dahlias when you need a boost.

Friends Sharing the Sweetness – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-404)

Mushroom Family – Day 706

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Mushroom Family – Photo: L. Weikel

Mushroom Family

Standing on the flagstones leading to our home the other day, I looked up. Lo and behold, a mushroom family beautifully revealed itself, cradled in the arms of one of our beloved, aging maple trees.

I’m pretty certain mushrooms have made an appearance in the crook of that tree before, but I swear they weren’t golden caps with brown highlights. At least they weren’t as juicy looking.

Mushrooms from October 28-29, 2019 – Photo: L.Weikel

Ah! I found a photo – and sure enough, it was almost exactly a year ago: October 29, 2019, when I first discovered a pack of mushrooms living in our tree and wrote about it. (What? You didn’t realize mushrooms run in packs? How could you possibly not know that?)

Anyway, based on what the mushrooms looked like last year, I have a feeling these recent specimens simply need some time to mature. By October 29th, their appearance will shift and mellow and they will look as griseled as their ancestors did last year. Only now it looks like the family has grown!

The Maple Tree

I actually got a kick out of the opportunity to explore the beauty of our maple tree, the one that serves as host to these fantastic fungi. By taking a variety of photos that show off its craggy personality and late stage ability to still show a bit of color, it felt good to shower some love and attention on this tree. Like Sheila, it feels like we only have a short time left to revel in and appreciate its contribution to the overall personality of our home.

Simply Lovely – Photo: L. Weikel

It’s interesting to me that the appearance of the mushrooms was the precipitating force that led me to take these intriguing portraits of this grand maple.

Looks Like a Protective Ent to Me – Photo: L. Weikel

Unintended Consequence

Funny how that works. We think we’re doing something for a particular, specific reason. Something catches our eye or we love the way something sounds. We take photos, we record audio; and then – unexpectedly – we realize that what we’ve captured was something completely different than what we expected.

I’ve already spoken of how that phenomenon seems to be an undercurrent to all my cloud photos. I just never know what’s going to show up when I chase clouds and try to capture their souls.

The anima of this tree is obvious, as I’m sure you perceive as well. I’m just grateful for the appearance of that attention-seeking mushroom family, for it’s through documenting them that I paid some much-deserved attention on our maple.

It makes me wonder where else in my life this principle operates.

(T-405)

Homework – Day 705

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Tohickon Reflections – Photo: L. Weikel

Homework

I’m quite aware how each day, lately, may be feeling like walking through deep, thick mud. As we approach November 3rd – and its aftermath, because let’s face it, there’s two and a half months that follow the election before the inauguration – each interminable day feels heavier and stickier. This reminds me of the admonition I received, and I think I passed along in one of my posts, that it’s important for us to mind our energy and take care of ourselves throughout this month especially. So, to that end, I have some homework to assign.

No, it’s not like any homework I’ve ever given at the conclusion of one of my sessions. It’s easy and you will be glad you did it.

My recommendation is that, if you didn’t already this evening, take the time to watch the documentary about White House Photographer Pete Souza, “The Way I See It.”

It aired tonight without commercials from 10:00 to midnight on MSNBC. The timing of its released is perfect – just what we need to watch and remember as we approach this election and the fatigue I mentioned above is becoming almost too much to bear.

We must shoulder through and, as cliché as it sounds, keep the faith.

Do yourselves a favor: watch that documentary. You’ll realize why you’re so tired. You’ll remember why you’re working so hard right now. And I have no doubt you will feel a glimmer of hope and faith in the ability of our fellow Americans to reclaim the soul of our country being rekindled in your heart.

We can do this. We did it once. We’ll do it again. But maybe this time we’ll recognize just how incredibly precious it truly is.

Watch – remember – and dream it into being.

(T-406)

Twelve Days – Day 704

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Created within 12 days – Photo: L. Weikel

Twelve Days

What a difference twelve days make.

Karl and I finally managed to drag our weary bones out to do the larger (4.1 mile) ‘walk-about’ today, and not a moment too soon. It’s been far too long since we took this longer route. It’s not that we weren’t game to walk it earlier this week – we were. It’s just that we found ourselves caught a bit flat-footed by how much earlier the sun was setting. While we yearned the past few days to do the longer walk-about, we found the darkening skies, both from the sun setting and a somewhat daunting cloud cover, persuasive in their insidious whispers cajoling us to only walk the shorter 2-mile walk-around.

And while you might be thinking this post’s initial sentence is referring to my realization of the shocking rapidity with which our bodies devolve into languid corporeal decrepitude when not consistently engaged, you would be incorrect. Well, not entirely, for that is actually also true; we did become slugs. But my main thrust was an astonishment at what can be accomplished in twelve days, as opposed to lost in that amount of time.

Massive Wasp Nest

Enter exhibit ‘A.’ We discovered this massive wasp’s nest hanging from a tree along our ‘walk-about’ route today. It was not there twelve days ago – not even as a fledgling nest. I suppose we may have missed seeing it, but it is directly at eye level and, as can be seen, rather conspicuously positioned.

It is a work of art. And of course, me being who I am, I ‘see’ things – expressions, if you will – within the patterns of the paper wasps’ creation. But I will leave each of you to see what you see.

Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon Tomorrow

This reminds me that tomorrow (Friday, October 16th, 2020) a new moon occurs at 3:30 p.m. eastern time. What do you hope to create over the next two weeks? Or what seeds do you wish to plant that will flourish in six months’ time? Or a year from now?

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in twelve days by tiny, if ferocious, creatures. I’m feeling inspired.

(T-407)

Planetary Clarity – Day 703

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Saturn & Jupiter (l-r) – Photo: L. Weikel

Planetary Clarity

As Karl and I neared the final leg of our evening jaunt both last night and tonight, we were treated to some breathtaking planetary clarity. Saturn and Jupiter shone brilliantly and obviously in the southwestern sky, while Mars blazed like a distant, illuminated pumpkin, reddish-orange and glowing as it rose in the east.

I don’t ever remember being so aware of the planets than I have been over the past year or so. And while the Sky Guide app I approvingly muse about so often is wonderful in the way it confirms for me just what I’m looking at, I think the initial awareness and subsequent desire to seek them out is also spurred by the astrological podcasts I listen to while mowing our lawn.

Yes, I realize that’s a rather specific time to pinpoint (while mowing lawn), but that’s actually when I get my most consistent listening accomplished.

Mars – 10/14/20 – Photo: L. Weikel

Mercury Retrograde

Just to add some fun to all the disinformation and misinformation and outright propaganda floating around in our ethers at the moment, Mercury stationed yesterday and is now appearing to move backwards from our perspective here on Earth, or move retrograde, from today until – get this – the morning of November 3rd. Yes. Election Day here in the United States.

So from now until Election Day, we’ll be operating under the influence of Mercury retrograde. When you consider that Mercury Retrograde is often associated with glitches in electronics and miscommunications, it’s easy to see that we just might have some serious shenanigans taking place over the next three weeks.

Mars Retrograde

Adding to the frustrations that may start piling up with Mercury going retrograde, we also are continuing to contend with Mars retrograding in its home sign – Aries – until November 14th. Even a cursory recollection of Greek and Roman mythology will tip us off to the fact that Mars, the God of War, is not exactly an easy going energy. And when moving retrograde? I believe a simmering pot with the lid on it, might be a good analogy.

There are a few interesting articles I want to link to in order to provide you with information and insight on the transits that and will be impacting all of us as we navigate these wild times. One of them is this monthly forecast for October by Rick Levine.

From the sound of a lot of different analyses, it would appear that the greatest planetary clarity we’re going to experience in the next couple months is going to be the type we see when we look up and peer directly into the night sky. Nevertheless, it pays to remain aware and awake to the possibilities, because forewarned is forearmed.

Mars – 10/14/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-408)

Back in the Saddle – Day 702

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Clouds & my mood at the beginning of my walk  – Photo: L. Weikel

Back in the Saddle

I tend to think of myself as fairly steady overall emotionally. But sometimes I can feel overwhelmed and not have a clear idea of what’s at the source. That pretty accurately describes the trajectory of my day today. As the day wore on, I felt more and more sad, frustrated, and as if I was spinning my wheels in seemingly ineffective efforts to accomplish anything productive. That’s when I realized I needed to get back in the saddle.

I’m a list maker. I like to cross stuff off; it gives me a distinct sense of accomplishment to strike a line through something as simple as ‘mail a package.’ Well, today was not a good day for my list-crossing-out side. In my attempt to cross one such task off my list, I first encountered a line of five people (stacked into the lobby) at my own post office – which then shut down as I ran back to my car to repackage a box I was sending. Undaunted, I ran to a far larger post office about 20 minutes away, only to discover a line of customers 13 people long waiting to send packages.

I let that go until tomorrow.

Nevertheless, it was a lot of spinning of wheels. And that was only one of the items on my list today.

Clouds about half way around – Photo: L. Weikel

Take Five

Karl could see on my face that I was feeling more and more down as the day unfolded. But then I went on my merry postal chase and he knew my attitude was definitely not improving. From afar, he texted me that it might do me some good to do what I would tell him to do: take five minutes to sit with my journal and allow myself to decompress a little.

It was when I ‘took five’ that I realized we hadn’t taken a walk in a full week. Just realizing how much our walks keep me in balance was a revelation. Of course, on many levels I already knew just how critical our walks are to our overall health and harmony. Goodness knows, I’ve certainly written about it enough.

But here it was: in my face. My mood was dark and morose. I needed to walk.

And so we did. And didn’t the atmosphere shift before our eyes as we walked, with my own mood tracking it bit by bit? It was amazing to witness how getting back in the saddle of our physical routine so dramatically lifted my spirits.

And my journey was reflected in the sky.

Clouds nearing the end of our walk – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-409)

Dreary Overload – Day 701

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Cloud Beast – Photo: L. Weikel

Dreary Overload

Wow, today’s weather was a dreary overload of dark skies, chilling rain, and wind intent on whipping the just-turning leaves into sopping wet blankets of yellow and brown.

I’ve been riding such a high over the past several days that even when the skies occasionally clouded over or actually let loose with a downpour or two, I never once felt a sense of gloom. So today’s experience of the remnants of Hurricane Delta (so named because they ran through the entire alphabet of names for the season and were forced to start anew) was a bit of a shock to my system.

Over the Weekend

It feels like there’s almost been an inexplicable shift in everything since late last week. The outside world just isn’t feeling quite the same. It seems to have shifted into another level of absurd, beginning with the Vice-Presidential debate last Wednesday night.

Listening to the answers given by each of the candidates was like listening to two people from different galaxies. For instance, it felt surreal to watch Pence spew lie after lie about the supposedly outstanding response to the pandemic martialed by the current Administration. And the repeated interruptions, rudely interjecting under a guise of folksy passive aggression that made me want to scream in disgust.

After watching that debate, however, I became immersed in the last minute tasks and festivities leading up to the wedding, which in turn mercifully distracted me from paying any further attention to the non-stop anxiety train.

Yes, I tangentially checked in every once in a while to make sure I wasn’t missing some imminent threat to our well-being, but the truth is that I only started tuning in again today. And I have to admit, there’s a part of me that yearns to go back to the person I was years ago who generally paid only half a mind to political sparring and policy discussions.

But can you put that toothpaste back in the tube? I doubt it.

Conflicted

I’ll admit it: I’m conflicted. As someone said tonight, we only have 22 days left until this election. If we want to peer into the mirror and look ourselves in the eye, posing the question of whether we did everything we could to make the world a better place on November 3rd, then we need to put our thoughts and actions into service today.

There’s so much at stake; it’s hard to feel I’m doing enough. But perhaps I can chalk up at least a portion of my malaise to a bliss hangover made worse by hurricane detritus.

(T-410)

Long Day Short Post – Day 700

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Photo: L. Weikel

Long Day Short Post

There’s nothing like having a title so succinctly tell your story that you don’t need to write a single, additional word. And here we are: long day short post.

It’s all I can do to keep my eyes open.

Not only has it been a long day capping a brilliantly emotional weekend, I’m also laboring under the additional handicap of listening to the steady patter of raindrops through the screen of our front door. It’s deeply relaxing and mesmerizing and makes it oh so hard to maintain a focus.

Wishes flowing out into the Universe – Photo: L. Weikel

Short Walk, Too

I will persist, however, until I achieve my goal. Just like today – while we may not have managed as long a walk as we usually take when we’re together, we did manage to squeeze a short one in before getting on the road.

And there they were: leading the way, embarking on a brand new path – together.

And overhead? It was as if the clouds embodied the wishes of love, hope, and joy for the future – theirs and ours – that so many of you have so kindly offered, swirling ahead of us, leading the way to the very future we are co-creating.

All I can say is that my heart is filled with gratitude for the abundance of blessings we experienced this weekend. Hope exists in all of our hearts. And Love prevails.

Newlywed Smooches – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-411)