Mother Nature

Unutterable Beauty – Day 1053

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 Sunset Filtered Only By Trees – Photo: L. Weikel

Unutterable Beauty

Last night I took a photo of the setting sun as its brilliant deep orange rays filtered through the trees on the edge of Stover State Park. I’m always questing to capture even a fraction of the unutterable beauty we encounter almost every day, especially when we walk. But my photos, although serviceable, only occasionally capture magic. Yesterday evening? I managed to capture a sunset akin to a rainbow, but not one.

My eyes keep calling me to return to this photo. My rational mind tells me I’ve taken a bazillion of these photos before. But for whatever reason, this particular one speaks to me in a way the others didn’t. Perhaps it’s the aubergine hues. They’re not often found spontaneously in sunsets. At least they’re not usually present in my photos of sunsets.

This photo has a magical tinge to it. That’s the only way I can describe it. Or maybe it’s not magical – maybe it’s more of a mystical vibe – almost as if I should almost be able to see into another realm if I look at it ‘just right.’

Road Trip

I had a chance to take a road trip today that took me west along Route I-80. As I passed through some of the mountains that ground and hold space for us here in Pennsylvania, I found my perspective shifting to such an extent that it felt like I was literally in the midst of a multi-dimensional work of art. The color palette selected by Mother Nature, coupled with what felt/looked like a skewed aspect to my depth perception almost made me pull onto the berm.

It didn’t look real. Or maybe it was all so acutely real that it made me ache with a longing I couldn’t identify.

I didn’t pull over. And I had no way of even trying to capture the essence of what I was experiencing in those moments. The best I can do is try to capture it with words, but even then, it just sounds like a paltry description of unutterable beauty as seen in my peripheral vision.

(T-58)

Early Autumn Perfection – Day 1048

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A Rainbow at Tohickon Creek – Photo: L. Weikel

Early Autumn Perfection

It sounds like the weather this weekend is going to be classic early autumn perfection. I’m sooo excited. I intend to spend as much of my time outdoors, immersed in Mother Nature’s embrace, as possible.

Sometimes we all need to just unplug from everything. The call to disconnect is strong at the moment. Given that I’m mostly water and electrical impulses myself, perhaps I’m as desperate for a ‘reboot’ as are my iPhone and laptops on occasion.

Where better than my go-to source of replenishment? Ah yes, my Tohickon Creek.

As I approached her today, the roar of her voice drowned out everything else, including my thoughts. I wish you could hear the sound that accompanies the photograph above. The rushing flow coursing down the argillite bed of this ancient waterway is almost intimidating.

Photo: L. Weikel

Not For Some, Though

Multicolored kayakers took advantage of the cascading water whirling and swirling over and around the boulders scattered along the bed of the creek. I’m not the type of person who usually takes vicarious pleasure from watching others do something adventurous or fun. Nah. I’d much rather be doing it myself.

But I have to say, I felt exhausted simply watching these athletes paddle furiously simply to keep themselves from being flipped by the coursing water. And even though I knew (or hoped) they knew what they were doing when their kayaks did flip them upside down, I caught my breath every single time it happened.

Photo: L. Weikel

Balm For My Soul

A hawk screeched relentlessly in the woods just behind me as I took the photo, above, with the rainbow arcing overhead. A few minutes later, I saw it (truth be told I’m not sure it was the same one) circling overhead.

The message I discerned in the cry of that hawk was, “Come home. Sit a piece. Let yourself just be.”

(T-63)

Centering Post – Day 1037

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The Littlest Woolly Bear – Photo: L. Weikel

Centering Post

As much as it may sound like an exaggeration, I honestly wonder where I would be if I didn’t have the ability to be outside as often as I am. Being in nature is my joy; it’s my centering post. Every once in a while I find myself marveling at just how much time I spend on my porch. From April (late March if I’m lucky) through parts of November (again, if I’m lucky), I’m able to write, correspond, and meet with clients, for at least some of the services I provide, surrounded by my beloved trees, birds, and other creatures, both wild and domesticated.

Beyond the time I spend on my porch, my daily walks immerse me in a world that urges me to forget – at least momentarily – my despair over the behavior of humans. Even just writing that sentence feels ridiculous because we all know how our leaders’ refusal to take the urgent action needed to address climate change is sinister and selfish indeed.

Listening to the insects inundate us with their raucous chirrups and zig-zaggy mating calls (I’m talkin’ ‘bout you, katydids!) as we walk through the darkness of a tree tunnel fills me with a sense of both mystery and calm.

Gifts That Delight

During our walk yesterday, I found the cutest little teeny tiny ‘woolly bear’ caterpillar rippling its way across the road. It made all the other wooly bears I’ve ever seen look like hulking gargantuans in comparison.

I read this article from The Old Farmer’s Almanac stating once again the lore of woolly bears’ predictive abilities when it comes to winter weather. As you can read here, the greater proportion of black on their bodies corresponds to the harder the winter. While this little guy looks fairly evenly proportioned, I have seen some larger specimens that definitely had more black than orange. Perhaps I’ll take an informal survey if the ‘many legged’ cooperate.

Another discovery I made yesterday was this moth, pictured below. The wings are so exquisitely defined and rich in color, they look like works of art to me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moth like this one before.

Moth Artistry – Photo: L. Weikel

Little Things

It never ceases to amaze me how much I’m transformed each afternoon or evening by the simple act of noticing the beauty of the weeds – I mean wildflowers – that jostle for my attention as I walk. Or how the bats zooming around snagging mosquitos mid-air make me involuntarily shriek when they buzz me a little too close for comfort. Playfully? (I hope. At least I tell myself they’re messing with me.)

Deer look up expectantly as we pass them grazing in the fields, some of them stamping their feet in an act of failed intimidation. And the frogs yerp and screet as they plop! plop! plop! from their perches into their puddles and ponds, billowing clouds of mud revealing where they’ve burrowed.

I feel a need to urge us all to make a point of being in nature this week. Don’t worry about the length of time or the mileage you walk. Just be. Give yourself five minutes to breathe in the scent of fall approaching. Listen to the wind in the trees as well as the voices of the birds and the crickets. Pay attention to and remember the little things that delight your senses and make your heart just a little bit lighter. That little bit of communion with Mother Nature brings so much into greater perspective.

(T-74)

Creation – Day 734

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Mystic Art Medicine Oracle by Cher Lyn – “Creation”

Creation

As I wrote in last night’s post, when I chose some cards on our behalf from the Mystic Art Medicine Oracle deck, I was intrigued by the appearance (yet again) of the Transformation card. The concept of this card has been riding with us for at least five months or so. Only this time Transformation was the top or ‘main’ card – indicating, I surmise, that we are in the thick of it. We’re no longer calling in the transformation of our perception, of our world, of our reality. We’re living it. Or rather, as the ‘foundational’ card of this pick, Creation, would indicate, we’re creating it.

I deliberately chose to share ‘the rest of the story,’ as it were, with you tonight for a couple of reasons. For one, the post would’ve been too long had I included what I want to write this evening. For another thing, with the power of the new moon that just occurred minutes ago (as I write this) to both fully release the old and serve as fecund opportunity to plant something new, I thought we might benefit from focusing our attention full-on to the power of Creation tonight.

Given all that we’re experiencing in the United States right now, especially with respect to the election results (and what was created as a result of the exercise of our sacred right and responsibility to vote), I got chills reading the words of Cher Lyn for this card:

Creation ~ “Medicine Baby”

The boy king’s heart gives love a chance.

Innocence is the wind in the butterfly’s dance

Bridging rainbow colors to bless and align

With Intent…an anticipatory design

Pause for a moment…imagine

Our New Creation…Divine.

  • Cher Lyn

 

“The image shown here from “Medicine Baby” is symbolic of the male spark in Creation. The innocence of the male is needed for recognizing the feminine in her wisdom, co-creating balance and healing. This unity brings peace back to Creation on Earth. He is decorated with crown jewels that ordain him as the chosen one who sends golden heart energy into the center of Creation. He is of royal indigenous bloodline and uses ancient alchemy to co-create with the goddesses of the Four Directions and Elements to heal the hearts on Earth. His butterfly wings are the colors of the rainbow and emanate from his chakras. The butterfly is a powerful symbol of change, moving from land, to cocoon, into finally a beautiful winged butterfly, the ultimate transformation.

Everything has an order of being within the infinite cycle of life. Indigenous cultures knew the ways of nature and Earth wisdom to sustain their lives in a good way. They knew how to heal naturally using the ways of the Land. They had seers and dreamers who could predict the future and warn them to safety.

It seems the further you wander from your innate unified connection with the Earth and God, the emptier you feel. You then strive to fill this emptiness with ‘material things,’ which only buries you into deeper feelings of disconnection. When electronics and entertainment distract with the illusion that they make life more interesting, it’s a warning that you have given your power away. Keeping you from what otherwise could be an extraordinary life. Nature is powerful beyond your imagination. When humans and nature come together working co-creatively, gifts far beyond your wildest dreams will unveil.

Creation medicine card has come to help you heal your relationship with yourself, the Earth and all of Creation. Essentially in asking, your inner-wisdom will offer you a way to live in a less complex and distracting world. Let go of any diversions that are draining your life force. Create more powerfully with the infinite world within you.” (emphasis added)

It’s Time

While I am the first to caution that we exercise care and vigilance as we move forward following the outcome of this election, there is also a sense of emergence in the air. It’s time for us to move forward, and it behooves us to do so with all due speed and deliberation.

The cacophony of discord may persist for a while, and I doubt it will ever recede completely, but the tide has turned. Our perceptions have shifted and transformed. We are continuing to evolve. We are ready, willing, and actually able now to create the vision of a country and world where we work together for the good of all, including – indeed, of paramount importance – our Mother Earth.

Hold the vision of the Butterfly as we bring in this new, passionate energy. I wonder what we will discover has come to fruition when we reflect upon the full moon in Scorpio, which will occur six months from now?

(T-377)

Rapturous Beauty – Day 694

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Rays of Hope – Photo: L. Weikel

Rapturous Beauty

I’ve always loved living where four distinct seasons occur. And I’ve never quite been able to name a favorite season. Each has its own unique charm and reasons to love it. But I have to say, this fall, beginning just at the equinox (September 22) and persisting into this October, has kissed us with some rapturous beauty.

On our walk this evening, it was almost as if Karl and I were struck dumb with the surreal beauty that kept unfolding around us. Funny thing is, not only was it unfolding around us, but it also felt as though it were wrapping us up, cocooning us, enfolding us in a warm embrace of hope.

Propaganda

We are being subjected to some pretty thick and intense propaganda lately. We’re being whipsawed from one dire situation to another, one outrageous slashing of norms and decency to the next.

As a result, we’re left feeling vulnerable and raw.

And what message do we keep receiving day after day? Take a walk. Look up. Immerse yourself in nature. Listen to the crickets. Notice the clouds. Watch the wind swirl the leaves off the trees and carry them miles away.

Hopefully, this pandemic has shifted all of our lives enough to make every single one of us realize just how important maintaining a direct connection with Mother Nature.

If you’re still on the fence, I offer you the two photos I’m including in this post. Look at them. They are unfiltered.

Open Your Heart

I love how rays of light piercing the sky the way they are in the photo at the top of this post make me feel that hope is alive and well and an utterly vital sense to have and maintain.

And then – I don’t know what to tell you. The photo below, which is simply a shot of some of the wonderful trees lining the dirt road that we walk along every night, makes my heart want to break wide open in an outpouring of joy.

I realize that sounds radical and a bit weird. It’s not necessarily a unique or special photograph in many senses of the word. But there’s something about it. Every time I look at it, I feel a tug in my heart. I almost feel tears starting to form. I can’t explain it.

But maybe you will feel it too.

And if so, then my work for the evening is complete.

Sunset through the Trees – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-417)

Public Access to Nature Update – Day 492

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Panorama of High Rocks – Photo: L. Weikel

Public Access to Nature – Update

As I lamented in my post Banging the Drum, the announced closure of the State Parks in Bucks and Montgomery Counties was both a shock and a deep disappointment. While I certainly understood, of course, the need to mitigate the danger of spreading the Coronavirus infection to park visitors and staff, closing these State Parks at this time, especially, felt ill-advised. After all, schools are being closed and people are being essentially counseled to ‘stay home’ and not go anywhere where there are crowds of people.

What better invitation (and need) to spend some quality time in nature than that?

Obviously, the best way to accomplish the goal of promoting the safety of park staff and visitors was believed to be by shutting down all buildings and facilities, including restrooms, and postponing or canceling all programs where staff and visitors would be meeting in groups. Given that it was a ‘complete’ shutdown, all parking lots were also closed.

I was even more distressed the next day, when I read about New York’s Governor Cuomo shutting down that state, yet recognizing the therapeutic value of being in nature decided at the same time to waive the state park fees – in order to promote New Yorkers’ connection to and enjoyment of the outdoors.

Change of Heart

But I’m excited to report that a little bird told me that a change of heart occurred! Apparently, when Governor Wolf decided to close down the entire state of Pennsylvania the day after the announcement of complete closure of the parks that I mentioned in my post, the powers-that-be realized the critical need of the citizenry to have somewhere in nature they can go to get away from the four walls of their homes, soak up some Vitamin D, feel the wind in their hair, sun on their faces, and just be in the company of trees and creeks and rivers and rocks.

So the decision was made to keep the trails and parking lots open. Huzzah!

Take Care of Business Beforehand

Take heed, though! The closure of all facilities and amenities at the parks remains in effect. That means, of course, that you need to relieve yourself of your morning or afternoon’s ingestion of beverages before arriving at the park.

And your added responsibilities don’t end there. The State Park system has been forced to send certain staff home for quarantine and because the buildings are all being closed. While Park Rangers will continue to be in the area, they may be spread a bit thinner.

So use your head. Don’t get cocky. Give yourself the gift of being in nature and enjoying it without drama.

Our lives are all entering uncharted territory at this point. We’ve made our preparations to ‘hunker down’ as best as we can, but we know, deep down, that this is not some blizzard that will only take a couple days to clear. We’re in a place of recalibration and re-centering. We have to adjust to a starkly new reality – for the long haul.

Gratitude for Public Access to Nature

I’m ever so thankful that Pennsylvania DCNR has discovered the middle way of protecting its park staff and citizens, while allowing them to enjoy and embrace the benefits of being nurtured by Mother Earth.

Tohickon Ducks – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-619)

Finding the Light – Day 484

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Sunset tree – Photo: L. Weikel

Finding the Light

Wow. What a way to start the week. If you pay attention to the news during the day, finding the light in any of what we were hearing was a tough task.

But the weather helped. The blue skies and bright sunshine were not insignificant, as I guarantee things would’ve felt exponentially worse had it been raining.

It looks like we’re in for a blanket of cloud cover tucking us in tomorrow, but at least without precipitation until a shower toward the end of the day. That’s a lot better than what I saw being forecast yesterday.

While I’m sure the skies being overcast will dampen our spirits somewhat, at least we’ll still be able to get outside for a little bit of one-to-one connection with Mother Nature without getting soaked.

Now More Than Ever

It seems to me that, now more than ever, we need to make a point to get outside and be in nature as much as possible. I’m not suggesting that vast swaths of anyone’s day be spent walking or hiking or riding a bike; it’s not even physical exercise that I’m advocating most. (Although I guarantee no matter what you’re thinking or doing or facing in your life, taking a 15 minute walk will improve your outlook).

No, I’m simply suggesting that at some point in your day, if you can even just walk outside and stand with your face pointed toward the sun (even if it’s behind a bank of clouds), close your eyes, plant your feet, listen for any type of a sign from nature, and take three long, slow, very deep breaths, you will feel better.

Sign From Nature?

What I mean by that is try to see or hear some indication that you’re sharing this planet with something other than just other humans. Identify one natural noise: a bird chirping, a squirrel chittering, the wind rustling leaves or tinkling wind chimes; a dog barking, a bee buzzing, peepers peeping, or crows cawing.

Depending upon where you are when you make your nature connection, you may not be able to hear anything ‘natural’ right off the bat. So you may have to look around, use your eyes or other senses, and find your connection that way.

It feels important that we remember to do this right now. We must remember, we’re part of something much bigger than just being human. We remember that by finding the light of Mother Nature.

Rising full moon – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-627)

Back in the Saddle – Day 463

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February Flowers – Photo: L. Weikel

Back in the Saddle

It’s been six days since I managed to get any serious walking in. Between the weather and work and other obligations, I’ve simply not logged the mileage. And I have to admit: I yearn to get back in the saddle and return to Mother Nature.

Last week was a bust. And the most frustrating thing about it, to me, is that last week I probably could’ve most used the exposure to nature and the physical connection to the earth.

I just checked the tracker on my phone and see that from last Monday to Saturday, I averaged less than half a mile per day. My top day I managed to walk 0.51 miles and my worst I only walked 0.29 miles. Not good.

A Re-New(ed) Leaf

I’ve at least managed to start this week out on a much better foot. I averaged 4.3 yesterday and 4.1 today.

I have to admit, I was both excited and delighted by the mild weather today. Simply having sunshine brightening my windows made a difference in my mood. And that’s double-edged warmth and sunshine, since they’re coaxing dramatic spring growth to not only sprout but now blossom here and there.

Cloud Raptor – Photo: L. Weikel

Bits of Magic

But the best part about getting back out on my walking circuit is the opportunity to stumble across random messengers in the sky and discover assorted bits of magic on blankets of moss simply awaiting my gaze.

For instance, I was given a timely reminder to rise up and shift my perspective on recent events in my life when I looked up and saw what appeared, to me at least, to be an obvious cloud raptor hovering above me. “Get up, Lisa! Rise above the shock and sadness,” I could hear it admonishing me. “See what’s playing out, where it originated, and where it’s headed.”

No small task, but absolutely do-able; at least the first two suggestions anyway. Hard to tell where anything’s headed in the world right now.

What’s the Lesson?

Funny you should ask. Only several hundred yards from where I first discovered the cloud raptor, I started taking photos of little yellow flowers blossoming in a cluster on hillock of moss surrounding a maple tree.

There it was, plain as day (to my nature-starved eyes, anyway). A piece of bark in the shape of a wolf’s head. Hmm. According to the Medicine Cards®*, Wolf might represent the teacher, the pathfinder, or the forerunner of new ideas that need to be shared with the clan.

Maybe. Maybe not.

At the very least, I feel I’m being told to ‘look for teachings’ no matter what is happening – and trust my intuition. Nothing is random; and I can only imagine (and trust) my eyes needed to be opened.

One thing is for certain: it feels great to be back in the saddle, seeing the signs, listening to Mother Nature, and feeling her love and support.

Bark Wolf – Photo: L. Weikel

*affiliate link

(T-648)

Digesting the Day – Day 382

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Photo: L. Weikel

Digesting the Day

We didn’t get a chance to take a walk today. I regret that, but by the time we got home it just felt too late. We were tired.

Which is pretty much the reason why we should’ve dug down deep and at least one or the other of us insisted that we do so. Precisely because we were so tired, we should have made a point of hauling our carcasses outside and marching our behinds up the road.

Emotional Weariness

Yeah, we were a little tired from the drive to and fro. But honestly, it was a gorgeous day outside, with only the occasional sprinkle from an errant dark cloud blowing through. Two and a half hours each way is not that significant an investment in love and family.

No, the weariness was emotional. That’s usually the most devastating. But interestingly, it’s also, in my experience, the most susceptible to reinvigoration by an immersion in nature. So it is a pity that, in spite of knowing this, I did not insist.

No. In many ways I betrayed my knowing – my knowledge of the secrets surrounding walking and listening to nature and the need for both in order to recover from toxic disconnection.

Toxic Disconnection

This concept is probably at the root of the vast majority of unhappiness, fear, rage, and disappointment we see in the world. And by it, I’m referring to the tendency of so many in our lives, in our families, and in our social circles to speak to the matter of loneliness or isolation with more of the same.

Why is it that so often we humans run away at full speed from the concepts and practices that would keep us connected? Connected to ourselves, to each other, and to the land.

I’m sure I don’t know. Is human nature simply contrary?

Loneliness

One definition of loneliness (via dictionary.com) is: “destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship, intercourse, support.” There’s a ton of loneliness in the world. There’s an untold number of people who feel cut off from, or deliberately make a point of cutting themselves off  from other people and the support they could easily receive if they gave themselves permission.

I think the worst part of witnessing loneliness is the realization that the antidote is right in front of most who suffer from it. They may rebuff gestures of outreach from other humans, both related and not. And that’s a pity. But the greatest violence they do to their hearts and spirits is refusing to accept the love and connection that abounds around all of us if we just open our eyes, ears, and hearts – in particular, the love from Mother Earth and her many expressions.

I’m close to falling asleep. This digestion needs further contemplation.

A Simple Message

But I will leave with this short video clip. Six minutes or so that may start your day off in an attitude that will get you – and keep you – connected to what’s important.

Have a great day and know it is all so much simpler than what we’re told or believe.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-729)

Ice Flowers – Day 364

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Ice Flowers

I was introduced to ice flowers this weekend, a natural occurrence I never knew existed, or at least never knew had a name and is a ‘thing.’

Also known as frost flowers, these delicate, otherworldly creations of nature must be seen at just the right time of day or they’re missed forever.

First Time

I regret to report that I do not have the photos I thought I did of the truly magical ones that appeared the other day. I only snagged a photo of the single one I personally encountered – and it actually bears little resemblance to the crystalline-looking ice sculptures my companion discovered earlier and had photographed.

Why didn’t I ask them to send me a copy of it?!

Truth be told, I was dissatisfied with the example of an ice, or frost, flower that I found (the one pictured above and below). It’s gray and almost resembles more a frozen wave or waterfall, cascading forth from the ground below it. Nevertheless, its flowing energy caught mid-movement was an odd frost sculpture to come across.

Photo – L. Weikel

An Article Appears

What’s particularly odd is that just one day after seeing an ice flower for the very first time (that I recall), I randomly come across an article that actually gives them a name and documents their occurrence in the state of Missouri. It’s pretty obvious it occurs elsewhere, but I still think it’s pretty cool that I was edified on their existence and what they’re called within 24 hours of experiencing them.

There’s so much magic surrounding us every day, but especially so when one is immersed in nature and paying attention.

There’s a cold snap coming in the next day or so to many parts of the country. Make sure you give yourself a chance to discover some frost flowers this week. Quick! Before all the plants give birth to their icy selves.

(T-747)