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Thoughts, ideas, perspectives, ruminations. If we make it through life without ruffling a few feathers, have we really lived?

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Sent or Delivered – Day 905

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Sent or Delivered? – Photo: L. Weikel

Sent or Delivered

It’s always amazing to me how Spirit will sometimes turn the most mundane objects or tasks into opportunities to send (or is it deliver?) messages. I guess the answer to that question (sent or delivered) depends entirely upon the recipient. Spirit can send a million messages – or a single message a million times – but that act alone doesn’t ensure a single one will be noticed, read, heard, or received in any way.

A piece of garbage that blows out of the back of a garbage truck can remain on the side of the road for days or weeks, or even much longer than that. It might get whisked into a roadside gully where a thunderstorm washes it into a stream, ultimately delivering it into a river. It might even make it to the ocean if it doesn’t get caught on a rock or buried in silt like the skeleton of a dinosaur.

There’s a chance that piece of garbage was sent as a message for someone to find and pick up. But if the intended recipient chose not to walk before the rain or went a different direction – or just wasn’t paying attention – then that sent message might never get delivered.

Ah, which tells me that it takes the efforts of two for Spirit to actually deliver a message. Spirit’s acting alone in sending is only the first affirmative act. But we need to do our part if we’re to give Spirit the satisfaction of claiming delivery. We need to see it and recognize the effort as the message it is.

Act On It?

It’s romantic to think that all messages we receive we act upon, but let’s face it: we don’t. I think we’re probably lucky to bat .200 or so in just recognizing a message has been sent and we snagged it as it passed by.

But following it? Actually listening to the message? Yikes. That entails a lot of steps. Receiving the message, recognizing it as such (and not dismissing it as a random piece of garbage), realizing it could actually be a message intended for us on some miraculous level, and then choosing to respect the message. And by that I mean respecting it enough to take the time to contemplate just what the message might mean and how it could apply specifically to our life.

Is this meant for me?

How does it apply?

Does it answer a question I’ve been mulling over?

Does it make sense?

A Picture or a Word

All of which makes me wonder just what I was being told and shown this evening. I believe the application calls for some contemplation. But no matter what, “Message sent – and  delivered.”

Bifurcated Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-206)

Double-take – Day 904

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Waiting – Photo: L. Weikel

Double-take

I was in the parking lot of our local health food store recently and did a double-take as I walked to my car. Who was that bulldog/boxer-faced individual sitting behind the wheel of that Jeep? And you know, some people actually resemble their pets (a lot), so my internal question was not facetious. (Yes, I just made that statement with full awareness that I have Boston Terriers. Hush.)

I just love it when our pets act like us by exhibiting human characteristics or expressions.  They’re way funnier than we are. Sometimes it’s a close tie between whether they’re funny, adorable, or just eerily clever.

You have to wonder if the dog in the Jeep has any inkling that it’s acting like its person. Surely it must be engaging in some form of imitation.

Early Night

Tonight’s post is short. My eye is hurting me and it’s probably best if I just give it a rest. I had a most unpleasant encounter a few days ago with the leaf of a bamboo plant on the edge of our property. I was mowing the lawn and this leaf became aggrieved by my efforts and whipped itself underneath my sunglasses, lacerating my eye.

It hurt. A lot.

Luckily, I was almost certain this aggressive greenery hadn’t cut my cornea, but rather limited its aggressive lashing out to the white of my eye. Nevertheless, it hurt (as I said before) and I wasn’t going to mess with risking infection.

Luckily, I was able to get in to see an ophthalmologist that afternoon. I’ve been using the antibiotic/steroid mixture in my eye for a few days now, but it’s hurting again tonight. So I’m going to rest my eye for now and leave you with this image of a dog driving a Jeep. I hope it makes you chuckle.

(T-207)

First Hummingbird – Day 903

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Hummingbird in Cusco, Peru, 2012 – Photo: L. Weikel

First Hummingbird

I’m not sure what came over me this afternoon. I’ll blame it on allergies. There is, after all, an ever-replenishing layer of yellow green pollen coating everything – tabletops, chairs, floors, cars. I have a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels at the ready because the air truly is thick with the stuff. And just as the afternoon air seemed to reach critical warmth, my eyes refused to stay open. I leaned against the pillows on the glider and drowsily rode the waves of the wind chimes…until “Bzzzzzzz!” I was jolted from my reverie by the season’s first hummingbird!

In fairness to this newby, I was wearing a neon orange shirt. So mistaking my hulking figure for a tasty and tantalizing nectar station might be excused – or at least might not be as glaring a miscalculation as one might think. Then again, it may not have been a miscalculation at all. If this was indeed a hummingbird returning to its ‘summer home’ from last year, it may have been feeling legitimately off-put by our failure to have a welcome home meal ready and waiting.

Close Encounter

Perhaps I was that in-between state I enter when I’m half asleep, but if I had to swear to it, I would: I felt the air above my head and face being buffeted by the blindingly rapid movement of the hummer’s wings. That’s how close it was to my drowsy countenance.

Needless to say, though, I was unprepared for such an early arrival. So I’m just going to have to make do with a photo from two years ago. Makes me realize that I need to try to snag more shots of these dazzling creatures. I’m chagrined that I only have one photo of our perennial visitors.

Ah! But here’s a bonus. My search for a photo for this post has revealed one I took of a hummingbird that visited me as I sat on a balcony in Cusco, Peru, in February 2012. I visited Peru that month on a quest to heal – or at least dive deep into – my grief over losing Karl only three months earlier.

Early? Late? On Time?

I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned the arrival of the hummingbirds in any other posts. I wonder when my first sighting was last year – or the year before. It’s curious that I’ve not documented (and celebrated) the return of the hummingbirds before this, since I always seem to announce the arrival of peepers.

And I do want to give a shout out to Karl. As soon as he heard I’d been buzzed, he retrieved the cleaned and emptied feeders we stored when the hummers headed south for the winter. I ran out to Giant to purchase a bag of plain white refined sugar (their favorite), which Karl then used to make their nectar.

So who knows? Maybe tomorrow, if I’m very very lucky, my weary little traveler will return. And maybe it’ll even pose for a photo. (Doubt it. But hey, you never know.)

Hummer from our porch, July ’19 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-208)

Pattern of Numbers – Day 902

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Face in the Clouds – Nilch’i? – Photo: L. Weikel

Pattern Of Numbers

Surely there’s something special about tonight’s post. The pattern of numbers associated with it merits attention. For here I am, writing every night, no matter how tired I am or how mundane my thoughts, all because I promised to write 1111 consecutive posts in tribute to my son; in other words, my 1111 Devotion. Today’s post is # 902 – in numerology, this adds up to an 11. As can be seen at the bottom of this entry, since this is post # 902, that means we have T-209 left. Another 11.

I know, I know. “It’s numbers, Lisa. Also known as math.”  It’s also a lot of portals. A lot of doorways. The double ones create a space to move forward, an opportunity to leave, an invitation to enter another dimension.

Sometimes things aren’t as cut and dried as we would like them to be.

Sometimes the obvious is a superficial distraction hiding something really profound.

Something Special

All day today I had this feeling that the day was, in some way, something special. The air appeared to have a crystalline quality to it. (Or maybe that was only when I realized my glasses were covered with pollen.) Gee! How amazing everything looked when I took them off!

Or maybe it’s the eerie realization that that single tone resonating in the back of my mind is actually just one single chime on our porch being nudged by the barely perceptible breeze outside.

Something tells me that the clarity of the day both visually and aurally was connected in some way to the tremendously powerful winds that blew through the area yesterday. New energy arrived. A shift in attitude. A door opened.

Winds of Spirit

Perhaps I should consult the oracle of the Winds – my friend, Renee Baribeau’s, book, Winds of Spirit*.

Hmm. Randomly opening the book for a clue, I happened upon Nilch’i (Navajo) – the Wind of Intuition. Renee suggests: “This wind can be conjured up for inspiration, organization, or ritual, and to provide strength when needed.”

I wonder if we were visited by Nilch’i yesterday. Feels like a distinct possibility.

*affiliate link

(T-209)

May Day – Day 901

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
ET or Kermit the Frog? – Photo: L. Weikel

May Day

Tomorrow (aka ‘today’ by the time you read this) is the first day of May, i.e., May Day. April was unceremoniously escorted off the premises by the aforementioned Wild Winds I warned of last night.

I’ll admit it; the intensity of the wind and the sound of it roaring through the trees exhilarated me. Blasting away the heat of the past two days, which was oppressive in its sudden onset, it felt like the last vestiges of 2020 were finally being whisked away.

The first order of business this morning was bringing in our wind chimes. We’d slept with our bedroom windows open last night and it was hard to hear myself think when I awoke. The chimes’ normally mellifluous tones quickly devolved into a clattering tangle of tubes.

Perelandra

I mention that tomorrow (today) is May Day because, as always, the first of the month is the day I join thousands of people across the world in engaging in an extremely simple, five minute (if that) act called the Essence of Perelandra  (EoP) Biodiversity Process. I’ve written about this many times over the past 900 posts and encourage everyone to participate for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost, I respect the work of Machaelle Small Wright and Perelandra, the center she established decades ago in Virginia. It is not unlike the work engaged in at Findhorn, in Scotland, in the manner in which the consciousness of Nature is respected and engaged with directly.

Second of all, this process couldn’t be more simple, yet it is uniting people across the world in setting an intention of bringing balance and healing to our biosphere. This process enables each and every one of us to take one small step toward healing ourselves and bringing strength and support to our personal environment in order to counter climate change stresses.

Beyond our compulsive commitment to carrying a bag everywhere we walk in order to pick up trash, engaging in the EoP Biodiversity Process on the first of every month feels like an opportunity to make a difference that’s just too simple to pass up.

Clouds

Because the atmosphere was so volatile today, the wind was driving a tumult of clouds into a variety of intriguing shapes and aspects to each other. As Spartacus and I walked, we didn’t even need to worry when fat drops of water started splatting down upon us. Almost as quickly as the billowing slate gray cloud started spilling over onto us, it stopped.

At one point, though, I wasn’t sure if I was looking at Kermit the Frog or ET. I still can’t make up my mind.

But the presence of The Mystery was both palpable and undeniably visible in a couple of the photos I took. My wish is that we awaken this first day of May eager to embrace the freshly scrubbed face of Mother Earth. The Winds of Change have arrived.

Sunset Clouds – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-210)

Wind Warning – Day 900

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Simply Exquisite – Photo: L. Weikel

Wind Warning

Get ready. It’s never a good sign when the National Weather Service issues a wind warning. Of course, with two days of temperatures that actually exceeded 80 degrees, the arrival of more temperate weather is inevitably going to arrive with some flash and bang – and probably some wild wind as well.

It feels like there’s going to be more happening ‘in the air’ than mere meteorological activity, although thunder, lightning, and wild wind will certainly make brilliant metaphors. I wonder if a surprise arrest may take place, or perhaps some other type of shake-up.

Astrologically, we might find ourselves experiencing extremely unexpected circumstances, perhaps even ‘earth-shaking.’ This is because the sun and Uranus (the “Great Disrupter”) will be conjunct (seemingly right on top of each other) and the two of them will be ‘square,’ or aspecting  at a 90 degree angle, Saturn.

Saturn is tradition, law, foundations – can’t imagine what a square or challenging aspect between Saturn, Uranus and the Sun might reveal. It should be interesting.

Pink on the left, white on the right – Photo: L. Weikel

Hopeful

I’m hoping the wild wind we’ll be experiencing tomorrow night won’t hurt my bleeding hearts.

Sure enough, just taking their photo and talking to them a couple of time has caused my white Lamprocapnos to perk up and suddenly start attempting to give the dark pink ones a run for their money.

I’ve taken a photo of the two plants, which are side-by-side in our garden. It’s clear that the white ones, on the right, are smaller. Something tells me that the newfound attention that’s being paid to the white plant will payoff in a burst of competitive growth. We shall see.

Lady in the Bath – Photo: L. Weikel

Lady in the Bath

In the meantime, I wanted to disclose to you what I believe is a fairly obscure fact about this flower: besides calling the Lamprocapnos ‘bleeding hearts,’ you could also call them ‘Lady in the Bath.’ And while I’ve tried to give examples, I may have to capture one of the blooms in flagrant delecto. Ha ha. I’ll try.

As I close this post, the wind is already starting to whip around outside my open front door.

Lady in the Bath 2 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-211)

Dial Tone – Day 899

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Cool Shot of the Moon Last Night (one night post full) – Photo: L. Weikel

Dial Tone

“Inspiration, don’t fail me now!” That’s what I’m sitting here thinking, and silently pleading, this evening. And yet? “The dial tone is strong in this one.” Yeah – that’s a mixed metaphor quote for all of you both old enough to remember dial tones and young enough (at heart, at least) to be a Star Wars fan.

I took a couple of photos today that could serve as fodder for a good post or two. But a couple of them just beg to be supported by at least a modicum of humorous or perhaps semi-clever prose, neither of which I have any hope of mining tonight.

The source of my dial tone tonight is sort of a sad commentary on the state of my post-pandemic physique. Apparently it doesn’t matter how many miles I walk every day, I’m nevertheless woefully out of shape.

Mowing the Lawn

Today was Karl’s and my official ‘First Mow of 2021.” Wow – I just did a search of my posts and discovered that I wrote about this ‘spring rite of passage’ two years ago to the day! And funnily enough, I sounded pretty tuckered out when I was writing two years, too.

I’m almost creeped out by the fact that I practically wrote the same post two years ago, lamenting how tired I was from the effort of mowing in spite of all our walking. So hmm. I guess maybe I can’t – or don’t need to – blame my exhaustion on Pandemic Physique. Perhaps it’s just the consequences of winter.

I’m going to take comfort in that. (I take it where I find it.)

Tohickon Reflections – Photo: L. Weikel

Brief Eagle Moment

On my way home from an obligation this afternoon, I stopped by the Tohickon to pay my respects. I brought the Spirit of the Tohickon a little treat that I shared with her. Crumbling a rice cake in my hand, I blew my intentions of love and gratitude for the wonder, serenity, and joy this body of water brings me so often. I talked to her a bit, wondering at how low her flow is already – and it’s only April.

I am feeling a little anxious over our water, to be honest.

As I was addressing the Spirit of the Tohickon and all the Beings that live within and around her, I was startled by the shadow that passed right over me and the whoosh whoosh of beating wings. Eagle graced me with its presence, stunning me with its beauty and size.

I only managed a single shot of it as it retreated downstream. Normally, I wouldn’t take a photo of a creature appearing when engaging in ceremony, but I wanted to share the magic with all of you.

Eagle Headed Downstream – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-212)

Sentience – Day 898

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Bleeding Heart Bonanza – Photo: L. Weikel

Sentience

At least twice today I found myself contemplating the sentience of certain Beings that share my home with me. Well, one of them lives outside, just off the edge of my porch. The other – whose specific identity remains uncertain  – can be confidently narrowed down to a field of three who do, in fact, reside in our home with us.

Notice I’m not questioning their sentience. Ha – at this stage, I wouldn’t dare. I’m merely contemplating it. Perhaps even celebrating it. Most definitely acknowledging it.

Floral Proliferation

My first appreciation of the sentience surrounding me has to do with the continued astonishing proliferation of our faithful Lamprocapnos spectabilis – our bleeding hearts. (Sort of a little disquieting to speak of how these flowers are flourishing when you consider their common name. Do we really want to celebrate the proliferation of bleeding hearts?) Hmm. Bears some reflection.

Beyond the wisdom (or lack thereof) in speaking of bleeding hearts with such great affection, I want to point out that my Lamprocapnos spectabilis is utterly delighted by having such lavish attention paid to it. If I didn’t know better (which I don’t), I’d say my tiny bleeding heart that I first began writing posts about a month ago is loving all the attention. This plant is becoming ginormous. ‘Flourishing’ barely covers how well it’s doing and how abundantly it’s bestowing its beauty upon us.

And while I honestly feel as though it’s growing noticeably bigger this year than it ever has any other year, there’s yet another reason why I feel this particular bleeding heart plant is responding to the appreciation and attention I’m lavishing upon it. That other reason is the white bleeding heart plant that’s only four or so feet away from the red one. I’ve been paying but a fraction of the attention I’ve paid to the red bleeding hearts to the white ones. And quite honestly? That plant is not thriving, at least not even close to how well the red one is doing. It’s doing ok, but the difference between the two plants is stark.

I’ll take a photo tomorrow of the white plant for comparison sake tomorrow.

Not So Subtle Dig

The other example of sentience in our household today was something I observed in our bathroom, where we keep our cats’ litterbox.  In fact, when I saw it and the reality of what I was looking at sunk in, I had to check with Karl. I thought for sure he’d done it as a joke or something.

But no.

One of our three cats was either sarcastically sending a message that the box was not cleaned out satisfactorily or s/he was snidely being helpful. We’re pretty sure it was Tigger. Precious is too paranoid to take that much time aiming a poop. Cletus would rather fling his or leave it on our pillow (not that he’s ever done either of these things – I just have a feeling his sentience would more likely express itself in one of those ways). Tigger is the only one who would politely, if passive aggressively, express either displeasure or a sense of humor in that manner.

Either way – the careful placement of the beast’s solid waste directly onto the scooper was a marvel of both adept rear placement and not-so-subtle snarky sentience.

Yep. These are some of the weird things I occasionally contemplate.

You have to admire the aim involved… Photo: L. Weikel

(T-213)

Full Moon Fox – Day 897

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Fox Kit – Photo: L. Weikel

Full Moon Fox

Oh! I am so excited to share with you the amazing gift I received today. Just take a look at this adorable full moon Fox kit that I encountered on our walk this evening.

Spartacus and I elected to do the longer walkabout today, while Karl agreed to meet us halfway. I can tell you, he was one bummed out guy when I showed him the photos I’m including in this post. This is the second time Spartacus and I have stumbled upon a baby fox on one of our walks – and Karl missed both times.

I also managed to video the kit, or pup, when it trotted out of the drainage ditch and looked directly at me without an ounce of fear. It even turned and faced me head on, with obvious curiosity, when I called to it in my ‘babies and small animals’ voice. Maybe I’ll try to recall how to post the clip to my YouTube account. (I hate how I post to YouTube so seldom that it’s like reinventing the wheel every time I want to do it.)

Photo: L. Weikel

Perfect Timing

As you can imagine, I was especially lucky to encounter the kit when and where I did. As Spart and I crested the biggest hill on our walkabout, a stone barn is situated close to the edge of the single lane road we’re on at that point. It just so happened that I could see the kit emerging from the grassy culvert – but Spartacus couldn’t! He was too close to the ground and a low stone wall shielded his view.

Spartacus is such a good boy (and admittedly a little slower on the uptake than he used to be) that I was able to put the leash on the ground and stand on it, freeing up my hands to take the photos and video. He was happily oblivious for the most part, although he did act slightly suspicious when I used my sing-song voice to call to the baby fox.

Handsome Profile – Photo: L. Weikel

Two In Two Days

Perhaps Fox is trying to get my attention. Just the night before, we were walking beside a field about two miles away from this sighting (as the crow flies), when I saw what appeared to be a deer laying down in the field. I commented to Karl how weird it was that we would see deer laying in the middle of a field two days in a row – when suddenly we saw the ‘deer’ start to lope across the field. Nope! It was a fox; a full grown one at that.

I was frustrated at that sighting because the fox was so far away, it was but an auburn smudge in the photo I took. And I would never have guessed I’d be so fortunate as to ‘run into’ this little one only a day later.

Perspective – Photo: L. Weikel

A Message?

Of course, I’m very familiar with the “camouflage” message of Fox described in Medicine Cards* by Jamie Sams and David Carson. But tonight I feel especially drawn to the words of Ted Andrews in his book Animal-Speak. He describes the “Keynote” of Fox as “Feminine magic of camouflage, shapeshifting and invisibility” and its “Cycle of Power” as “Nocturnal, Dawn, and Dusk.” And while he provides seven pages of information on the various attributes Fox has that might bear reflection and integration into a person’s life who has Fox medicine or to whom Fox appears, this seemed relevant just now:

“The fox has a long history of magic and cunning associated with it. Because it is a creature of the night, it is often imbued with supernatural power It is often most visible at the times of dawn and dusk the “Between Times” when the magical world and the world in which we live intersect. It lives at the edges of forests and open land – the border areas. Because it is an animal of the “Between Times and Places,” it can be a guide to enter the Faerie Realm. Its appearance at such times can often signal that the Faerie Realm is about to open for the individual.”

Hmmm. Cool message to receive on the night of this full moon. Thank you, Full Moon Fox!

Full “Super Moon” in Scorpio – Photo: L.Weikel

*Affiliate link

(T-214)

Tomorrow’s Full Moon – Day 896

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Colors of Tonight’s Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

Tomorrow’s Full Moon

Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like it’s been an especially long two weeks. I’m talking about the two weeks it’s been since the new moon in Aries when we planted all the seeds we wanted to manifest in the weeks and months to come. With tomorrow’s full moon, we’re going to want to check on our sprouts to see how they’re coming along – and make a concerted effort not to yank them out of the ground if they’re not growing as quickly as we’d hoped.

As I do every now and again, here’s a link to Chani’s assessment of the main attitudes we’ll be feeling and confronting with this full moon in Scorpio. Make sure you read both your sun sign and your ‘rising’ sign (known as your ascendant). Pay attention to which one seems to more accurately describe you and your feelings or approach to life. It just may be that your ascendant holds a more accurate key to understanding yourself and your position in life than any reading of your sun sign will ever yield.

Ascendant and Moon

Just in case you’ve forgotten what sign your ascendant is or where to go to find out, I want to remind you that it’s important to know your time of birth. Once you know that, it’s pretty easy: just go to astro.com and create a free account. (You can always look up everything as a guest – but if you create an account, you can save all the different charts you create when inserting birth information about yourself, your family, and people you’re interested in understanding better.) Once you start piecing things together for yourself, trust me: you’ll become ‘curiouser and curiouser’ about all the other people in your life.

Once you’re into the website, click on “Free Horoscopes.” On the far right side, you’ll see a link under “Drawing and Calculations.” The top link is “Natal Chart, Ascendant.” Plug in your birth information there and you’ll be well on your way to understanding yourself better. Plus, you’ll know precisely what two signs to read first whenever you run across a website or article like Chani’s.

Another important placement for you to discover in your natal chart (the position of the luminaries – sun and moon – and the planets at the time of your birth) is the sign the moon was in when you were born. This information, too, will be found on the chart you create on astro.com.

A Rehash

I realize much of this information is a rehash of stuff I’ve written about in other posts. But this basic information is important for all of us to know about ourselves. It’s extremely helpful to know your ‘rising sign’ (ascendant) and moon sign as well as your sun sign (which almost everyone seems to know). Tracking this information and the accuracy of its application in your own life only serves to help you know your own self better.

Intention

It wasn’t my conscious intention to focus upon the fundamentals of astrology tonight. But here we are.

I’m guessing at least some of you will benefit from this refresher and a little nudge to remember who you are, what the cosmos looked like at the moment of your birth, and what that means for you today.

It’s as if the cosmos are reaching out to put their arms around you in a big, loving hug.

Cloud Being Swooping In With Arms Extended – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-215)