Month: March 2021

A Single Photograph – Day 860

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Delaware River (Lenape Sipu) – Photo: L. Weikel

Due to a confluence of circumstances and opportunities, Karl and I had to forego a walk today. Since neither a walk-around nor a walkabout was had, as a result, I’m relegated to a single photograph upon which to build a post. It’s an unenviable foundation, but workable. We’re going to make this happen.

One bright spot: I pulled to the side of the road early this evening to attempt to capture the precious abundance of water filling the banks of our beloved Delaware River (aka Lenape Sipu in the language of those who lived here first, the Lenape). Not only was the river running full, wide, and fast, at the moment I took this photo, the rays of the setting sun were still managing to illuminate the tops of the trees lining the river on the New Jersey side.

It was a lovely moment and if I’d been more patient, I might have been graced with a sighting of epic proportions. (Only because I tend to be lucky – as you all know.) But patience and my occasional sense that “I have all the time in the world” (which enables me to linger those extra moments or minutes that sometimes make all the difference) were not fully activated this afternoon.

Nevertheless, I did what I could.

Raptors Keep Showing Up

Although I wasn’t in a position to memorialize my sightings, we encountered at least four hawks again today as we drove a short distance from our home. The abundance of snow cover this winter probably caused a lot of rodents to snuggle up and linger in their homes longer than usual. And while they may be a little lean after a long, snowy winter, I bet the hawks don’t care if they taste a little crunchy.

Funny how hunger can make slim pickin’s for meals taste utterly delectable. Something tells me the raptors are not being culinary snobs at this stage of the game. They’re on the hunt; fertilizing eggs and ensuring the survival of their species is hungry business.

One Thing I Noticed

The skies are supposed to remain clear tomorrow and into tomorrow night. For the past two nights, I’ve had a chance to be standing outside in the dark. The moon will be in the western sky and looking like a perfect ‘half moon,’ which is actually the moon in ‘square’ to the sun. That means that it’s halfway between conjunct – or in the same spot – as the sun (when it’s a new moon) and opposite the sun (when it’s a full moon).

So if you go outside tomorrow night and look for the moon, you’ll be rewarded with a midnight blue sky, brilliant stars, a half moon (exactly at 10:40 p.m.), and a twinkling, surprisingly bright red Mars very close (to the right and just below) the moon.

The last few evenings were exquisite. Try not to miss the beauty just outside your door.

Happy Equinox!

(T-251)

Setting of Tone – Day 859

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Hawk – 19 March 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Setting of Tone

Today turned out to be a much more delightful day, weather-wise, than what I was expecting. While it was still chillier than last week, I was grateful that yesterday’s dreary pall of rain didn’t carry over into today. As we took a walk late this afternoon the lingering breath of winter felt exhilarating. And encountering this messenger, surely one of our horny hawks from last week’s extravaganza of mid-sky mating rituals and raucous attention-getting, felt like a seasonal setting of tone.

What tone might this hawk be setting?

First and foremost, Hawk (as an archetype, hence the capitalization) is a messenger. And this one perched not on a pole or at the apex of a tree, as is their usual preferred observatory, but rather smack in the middle of a telephone wire, perfectly balanced above the center of a roadway. And s/he watched us approach for a good quarter of a mile before taking flight again.

It strikes me that for a bird as hefty as a hawk, balancing on a wire takes more skill and focus than might be demanded of a sparrow or bluebird. This fact gave more credence to the deliberate intention of the act itself. This hawk was not trying to hide itself from us or observe us from afar. In fact, I swear it maintained eye contact with me the entire time I walked toward it with the hope of getting as clear a photo as possible.

I’m not suggesting that it showed up just for us, but surely a higher and more stable point would have been preferable as a hunting perch. And part of its message could therefore be that we need to bring an extra dose of skill and focus to achieve our goals this spring.

Communication, Creativity, New Life

Sitting on a telephone wire above the middle of a road. Being obvious and direct in its work as a messenger, possibly using new means of communication. Patiently awaiting the arrival of the new growth/life that so much effort was put into creating last week during the very public and unmistakable mid-air mating dances and rituals.

The energy I felt from this hawk was that it almost wanted to whack me upside the head with its wing. Perching there on a wire overhead it just felt like it was deliberately making itself obvious to us. It was pretty much demanding that we pay attention to it and heed its message – which at least partially was conveyed last week when she and her suitors made such a ruckus as they created new life.

Confirmation

Just as I started writing this post, I decided to choose a card from the Naked Heart Tarot deck, asking for a message on setting of tone for the spring season. I chose the Three of Wands.

To me, this card says yes, create a sacred space in which to focus your creative energy. Allow the rising sun that signifies the burgeoning energy of springtime to fill and illuminate your life. Give yourself a protected space in which to give this new life, this nascent creativity, room and space to grow.

Three of Wands – Naked Heart Tarot deck

(T-252)

Last Day of Winter – Day 858

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Waxing Windswept Moon – Photo: L. Weikel

Last Day of Winter

Welcome to the final day of winter 2021. The vernal equinox, or first day of spring, will officially arrive at 5:37 a.m. EDT on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Of course, that’s in the Northern Hemisphere. If you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, I’d say this is your last day of summer, and wish you happy first day of autumn – but you’re very nearly there already. (Consider it said anyway!)

It feels good to be putting this winter to bed. It gave us its all and it worked us out, too. I’m grateful for the abundance of snow we received. We spent most of the season dressed in a cloak of white. And the greatest part was how the snow barely had time to get all dirty and cinder-pocked before another storm would arrive to freshen our perspectives.

Today (the 19th) is also, as many have already memorialized, the anniversary of when Pennsylvania acknowledged the pandemic for what it is and basically forced the commonwealth into power-save mode. I’m grateful we were one of the states that took the threat of the virus seriously fairly quickly.

It’s been a year. And it’s been a season.

A Doozy of a Week

Rounding out the pandemic year, and the winter season, this week has been strange and challenging. It felt oddly interminable. Every day I would wake up and struggle to grasp what day it was. People generally felt a little short-tempered, distant, or perhaps distracted.

Personally, I think the return of colder weather and the dismal overcast of the past few days (who among us enjoys taking a walk when it’s spitting rain and the temperature is hovering in the mid-30s?) took a toll on our ability to roll with the punches. Even though we knew last week – at least intellectually – that winter definitely would wrap its cold bony fingers around our shoulders at least one more time before more reliably spring-ish weather arrived, it still came as a punch to the gut to have to endure raw weather yet again.

And this time it wasn’t even accompanied by pretty white flakes.

Thank you winter, for providing us with so much cocoon time. I can’t wait to see what we all look like (creatively!) when we emerge from our chrysalises.

Icy Patterns – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-253)

Natural Hieroglyphics – Day 857

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Natural Hieroglyphics – Photo: L. Weikel

Natural Hieroglyphics

Our walk late this afternoon yielded a remarkable observation that just begged to be photographed and shared. A branch of a tree had fallen on one of the back roads we travel when we go on our longer ‘walkabout.’ It obviously had been cut with a chainsaw and tossed on the berm to decay. While this is a relatively common occurrence, the mystery evoked by the natural hieroglyphics lurking under its bark was a welcome addition to our day.

Yes, of course. We know the markings are the result of insects living beneath the bark. But it doesn’t take a deep dive into the ocean of whimsy to see the designs created by these creatures resemble early efforts by humans to convey thoughts, ideas, and perhaps emotions as well.

I guess the markings probably resemble more the musings of our most ancient ancestors (those I referenced in my recent post about a Cloud Horse) – not necessarily the further evolved ideas of the ancient Egyptians. Nevertheless, one could definitely ‘read’ meaning into this discovery.

Signs and Symbols – Photo: L. Weikel

Intuition or Baloney?

I’m not positing that we drew any conclusions from our discovery today, beyond the fact that the natural world creates works of beauty filled with symbols recognized by humans for millennia.

And even though we didn’t ‘read’ anything into the figures and faces, spirals and meandering paths we could see as plain as day etched into this chunk of wood, I’m not reluctant to say we could have. We didn’t see messages or interpret signs because we hadn’t asked a question. We weren’t seeking answers to anything in particular.

Or maybe we were – and maybe we received exactly what we needed. Maybe we were yearning for a flash of creativity from Mother Earth or the creatures with whom we share our environment. Perhaps we needed to see some freeform artwork that would send our own creative juices into a state of demanding expression instead of always being happy to step aside for more practical and logical endeavors.

Photo: L. Weikel

Permission

When we give ourselves permission to imagine we unleash a whirlwind of potential.

Maybe that’s why, as a culture, we tend to instill in ourselves and our children (because it was instilled in us) a disdain for embracing our intuition. Actually, beyond disdain, it actually feels like a fear of embracing our ability to tap into the Unseen. There’s an incredible amount of power inherent in imagination, creativity, and making intuitive connections to signs, symbols, and patterns in our lives.

What happens when we give ourselves license to truly engage our imaginations? To read the patterns engraved in wood by insects that may have died months or years ago? Could it be possible that there is a web of connection between all beings we encounter – between us and everything else in our world?

Is it be possible that we can access insight and guidance from beings we arrogantly deem lack sentience?

It makes me wonder if the message brought by our natural hieroglyphics was to provoke a musing on precisely these questions.

In Context – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-254)

Crash and Bang – Day 856

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Crash and Bang – Photo: L. Weikel

Crash and Bang

 I’m rushing to write my post tonight because our evening was interrupted by a terribly loud crash and bang just outside our door. Just about 90 minutes ago, Karl and I were winding down our evening. We raced to our front door, fearing what we’d see when we opened the door.

Two vehicles tore down our road, not stopping at the stop sign at the intersection with the larger thoroughfare. Something had been crashed into and we only hoped it wasn’t another vehicle.

Luckily, it was ‘only’ our mailbox.

But wow – what a number they did on it. That baby’s demolished. We can only imagine the damage to the car or truck’s front end. But after looking at the damage more closely, we’re wondering if it may have been a pick-up truck, since it’s doubtful a regular car could’ve driven away from the scene. And even if it had, it probably wouldn’t have gotten very far.

No, this was driven right over (there are even tire tracks visible along the entire post), so the body of the vehicle was probably extra high. (Sharing a characteristic with its driver, one wonders.)

Crushed – Photo: L. Weikel

Police Were Here

So after calling the police and having everything documented, the adrenalin is still running a bit high.

Of course, we’re beyond grateful that no one was hurt. No people were injured nor were any animals injured. Two HUGE pluses. The second tier of pluses is that no one’s car or home was damaged.

If the worst was the property damage to our (really cool) mailbox, then I guess we’re lucky.

It’s upsetting nevertheless.

Tire tracks – mowed right over – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-255)

This Is Us – Day 855

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Photo: L. Weikel

This Is Us

OK, I have an admission to make. Karl and I are notoriously ‘late to the party’ on a lot of programs that people watch – sometimes for years at a time – before we finally take the plunge. I can rattle off several titles without even blinking an eye: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, the Sopranos, Call the Midwife, Schitts Creek, just to name a few. And now we have yet another series to add to the list: This Is Us.

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking to yourselves, “Late to the party, Lisa? Good grief. The people hosting the party moved out three years ago!”

And that would be fair. Guilty as charged. We’re laggards – sometimes by decades!

Nevertheless…

If any of you share with us this tendency to eschew the wildly popular until it’s run its course, then I am here to tell you: This Is Us is worth your while. Unlike the Sopranos (which first aired in 1999 – 1999!), which was our last lengthy binge before this one, This Is Us only began in 2016.

Sometimes This Is Us bordered on creepy when the parallels to our own lives were hitting so hot and heavy that Karl and I could only look at each other with tears in our eyes. Of course, it’s a show – meaning, it’s fiction – and sometimes it felt like the piling on of experiences of the characters was stretching credulity. But hey, nothing’s perfect.

All in all, if you want to watch a show that has a lot of heart and characters you can empathize with, get annoyed by, grieve with, and feel touched by, this is one of those shows. You can get lost in their stories. And sometimes, especially in the midst of the extreme circumstances we’ve both witnessed and experienced first-hand over the past year, it’s cathartic to discover some story lines that take you somewhere else. Even if that somewhere else is your own past.

The Future

Actually, I’m psyched. In writing this little post this evening and searching for a clip or something to link to, I read that the episode we watched tonight is not, in fact, the end of the series. Woohoo! I thought it was – or at least plausibly could have been – given the pandemic and the vagaries of productions, etc.

My poking around actually revealed that another episode may be airing tomorrow night  – Tuesday, 3/16/2021 – so ‘tonight’ for most of you reading this.

As far as the future and our television consumption goes, we’re going to try to watch as many of the Oscar-nominated films as possible.

All of this chatter about television programs and movies reminds me, though: I have at least four books beside my bed that are in varying states of completion.

(T-256)

Galloping – Day 854

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Cave Painting Cloud Horse – Photo: L. Weikel

Galloping

New, new, new. Saturday was a new moon and this coming Saturday is the Equinox – heralding a new season and, in many traditions, a new year. On our walk early this evening, Karl and I were once again buffeted by the wild March winds we’ve been experiencing of late. Drawing our jackets close and looking to the east, the place of the rising sun and birthplace of each new day, we watched as the clouds shifted before our eyes into the form of a horse galloping into the future.

Perhaps I’m indulging my inner Cloud Whisperer. Indeed, I’ve felt a bit of a lull in that department of late, so the appearance of this singular conglomeration of water vapor in the midst of gusting dry winds caught my attention. To me the Cloud Horse was immediately reminiscent of prehistoric images such as those in the Caves of Lascaux.

But the fact that an image is primitive doesn’t diminish its message. In fact, in some situations I’d argue that the more basic the representation, the greater the visceral impact.

Connections to Ancestors

The way this particular Horse reminded me of the images found in the caves of our prehistoric ancestors felt like an affirmation of the fascinating experience of those who’d just participated in today’s Sunday Wagon of the Shamanic Caravan project. It felt like a continuation or validation of the thread that began when the participants shared their journey experiences.

Having set their own unique intentions and of course having no occasion to discuss those intentions ahead of time (or even afterward) with each other, the fascinating theme weaving throughout their experiences was that they encountered and had conversations with their ancestors.

An Astrological Tie-in

And so it felt significant this evening, just before I began writing this post, when I noticed a link to an astrological site I respect, posted by a friend on Facebook. Upon reading the overarching message reflected in the sky above for this week, the sense that our ancestors are especially close right now was yet again reinforced.

This feels like a week ripe for reflection on what is truly closing out in our lives and what yearns to be born anew.

If the relentless urging of the gusting March winds is any indication, there’s some seriously sludgy, old stuff mucking up our systems that needs to get blown out once and for all. And our Ancestors are all for it. In fact, they’re cheering us on and even sent a Horse to help us send it galloping off into the sunset.

(T-257)

March Winds – Day 853

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Wind Carnage – Photo: L. Weikel

March Winds

I mentioned in last night’s post that I could hear the wind shifting dramatically as I wrote. The wind was suddenly coming in from the south, the first evidence of that being the shhh shhh, shhh I could hear as it blew through the tops of the 30’ pines across the road. The March winds whipped up so quickly, at first I thought I was hearing rain pouring from the sky.

There was no rain, and that explains at least partially why tonight, last night, and I believe the night before, the Weather Service issued wild fire warnings, which is something I find quite unsettling to consider here on the East Coast.

Indeed, I just checked and there’s actually a “Fire Weather Watch” issued for 8:00 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday) through 8:00 a.m. Monday. The warning is a result of continued gusty winds and very dry conditions. In fact, the relative humidity is a mere 19%, which seems astonishing given all the precipitation we’ve had this winter.

It just feels like the weather is increasingly ‘feast or famine.’ Although we might attribute the pendulum swings to typical March weather generally, it just seems as though the extremes are greater and happen much more quickly. One day we need flood control and the next we need to be careful of the tinderboxes our fields have become.

Last Night’s Carnage

I had to laugh when I went outside this morning, though. I could tell from the agitation of the wind chimes last night that there was a good chance we’d have to go on a search for the seat cushions blown off the porch. Boy was that an understatement. We even had to retrieve the glider itself.

Note to self: when trying to keep the cushions from getting blown off the porch by cleverly tying them to the frame of the glider, it’s possible that well intentioned strategy will result in the entire apparatus getting whisked over the edge.

Cleaning Out

Regardless of how many cushions and pillows were strewn about the yard, there was a refreshing clarity to everything this morning. It feels like the March winds are sweeping the stuffy, cooped-up air out of our homes and off our porches, and whisking freshness back into our lives.

Even though the temperatures dropped at least 10-15 degrees from yesterday’s indulgent taste of spring, Spartacus and I couldn’t resist the temptation to soak up some sun and engage in some porch time again this afternoon.

And as the winds purge the cobwebs from our hearts and minds, I’m eager to see how much else I can clear out as well. I feel the urge to lighten our load on many levels.

It’s time!

Spartacus Back in the Saddle – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-258)

A Promise – Day 852

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Bluebird – Photo: L. Weikel

A Promise

Today’s walk-about was, in a word, exquisite. Not only was the weather that perfect combination of warm sunshine and refreshingly brisk breezes, it was also a promise. Even if the wild winds that are whooshing outside right now usher in another spate of cold weather, we know the end of winter is close enough to taste.

Sitting with Karl out on our porch once again, shuffling and choosing our Medicine Cards* on the day, and enjoying a mug of coffee together is pretty close to my idea of heaven. But when we came upon this spectacular bluebird on our walk this afternoon, and it allowed me to get close enough for this amazing photo, we knew it was heralding a shift in the energies of the day, but also the season.

Looking at that photograph I feel a sense of awe. I also recognize a sense of un-self-conscious audacity in the attitude of this little bluebird.

A Snack

Recently we’ve barely had to fill the feeders. Of course, that’s due to the vigilant presence of our new Red-shouldered friends, who continue to whoop it up at all times of the day, sky-dancing and crying their sweet nothings to each other in raucous love-calls. The feeder birds must be getting hungry – it’s obvious their meals have been disrupted by raptor threats.

There’s no doubt tomorrow will be much cooler. I can hear the wind ushering in a cold front. At least there’s no rain in the forecast for the moment. If these March winds keep it up, though, I’m definitely going to have to go hunting for our porch pillows. They’ve probably ended up across a couple fields by now.

I’m sorry; I’m being lulled into the dreamtime by the whipping of the wind this evening. That, and the luscious feeling of having taken the long way today.

I hope more walks are on the horizon for this weekend. And maybe even some more bluebird encounters.

Don’t forget to plant some dream seeds! Spring is almost here. And a new cycle is starting.

*affiliate link

(T-259)

New Moon Reflections – Day 851

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Dragon in Repose (Patient Dragon?) – Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon Reflections

We’ll be experiencing a new moon this coming Saturday morning at 5:21 a.m. ET. This new moon will, of course, be in Pisces because when a moon is ‘new,’ it occupies the same sign and degree as the sun, just as when the moon is ‘full,’ the sun and moon are in signs opposite each other on the wheel of the zodiac. As the cycle of the last new moon (which occurred in Aquarius) comes full circle and reaches completion, it’s time to engage in new moon reflections.

The new moon in Pisces is almost always a particularly fecund one, since it’s in the sign of Pisces and has all that dreamy, creative, just-shy-of-spring energy associated with it. With the new moon occurring early Saturday morning, it’s an especially good time to seriously contemplate what aspects of your life yearn to burst through the ground like a seedling singularly focused upon reaching for the sun. What new growth yearns to be given life through you and your skills or passions?

I’m mentioning this now in order to give us all a day or so to consider the goals we wish to set or the projects we want to initiate. (Or maybe, quite literally, the seeds we wish to plant in the Earth!)

Reflection and Assessment

This is when I remind myself (and all of us) to check in on the ideas, goals, or projects we began at the last new moon. The last new moon was on February 11th at 2:06 p.m. – and it was in Aquarius. If we launched a new product or idea on or around February 11th, has it blossomed by now? Have you taken the steps required to manifest the vision you had? If it hasn’t reached its fullest expression, was it a project that will more likely take six months to realize tangible progress on?

It’s important for all of us to remember that some things take longer cycles to come to fruition than others. It can be helpful to check to see whether your longer-term projects are progressing.  You might, therefore, want to check back in your journal to see what dreams or intentions you held and you set in motion six months ago. Are they close to reaching their fullness?

Cycles and Patterns

Nature is incredibly precise in so many ways – and yet almost reliably subject to chaos. There’s a paradox, huh? When we take the time to look deeply at life, it’s hard to miss the many extremely predictable ebbs and flows. Some of the longer cycles are harder to notice than others, though. Mostly because they’re so long, we forget what it was like when they weren’t precisely as they are now.

Speaking of cycles and patterns, tonight on our walk I saw a Dragon on the horizon.

I just did a search of my posts to find out when the last time was that I saw and posted a photo of a Dragon in the sky. Lo and behold, as I sit here and write about monthly cycles and six month cycles, didn’t I see a spate of Dragons six months ago? Yes, indeed I did; when the sun was in Virgo (the opposite of Pisces).

Cycles and patterns. Everywhere we look, there are cycles and patterns.

Dragon from afar (looks like it’s casting a shadow!) Photo: L. Weikel

(T-260)