Nature

Magical Day – ND #63

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Barred Owl – Photo: Lehigh Valley Zoo (lvzoo.org)

Magical Day

Between us, Karl and I experienced quite the magical day today. We’re both feeling a bit ‘blissed out’ by it all, to be honest. It’s not that there was any heavy lifting involved. I think sometimes it’s just a matter of expanding our awareness enough to drink it in that can leave us needing to just power down and be still.

Karl began his day with a gorgeous Red Fox crossing in front of his car and then trotting confidently across a field. I wasn’t with him, but it was almost the first thing out of his mouth when he arrived home. He kept marveling at the creature’s robust health and the stunning color and condition of its coat.

Fox can signify a variety of messages, from family matters to creativity to using camouflage to keep oneself and one’s family safe and out of harm’s way. Karl’s trip happened to be all about family and the beauty of the Fox felt like a wonderful omen. His trip ended up being especially loving and sweet.

On his way home, he spotted an enormous Bald Eagle perched in a tree overhanging a road near our house. While we both know they’ve made a powerful resurgence in the area over the years, we never seem to lose our sense of excitement and awe when visited by Eagle.

Recently, most of my sightings have been along the Tohickon or the Lenape Sipu, and almost always when I’ve been alone. (Although I did see two just last Sunday when taking a walk with my friend along the Delaware!) I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen a crestfallen look sweep across Karl’s face when I recount seeing an Eagle.

So it was especially meaningful to have Bald Eagle visit Karl today. He finally felt like he was part of the club. And best of all, the raptor was scoping out potential quarry on a branch close enough to Karl that its markings were unmistakable. A powerful gift from Spirit.

Eagle – Photo: L. Weikel

My Magic

I’d already experienced an afternoon that reinforced for me how unbelievably lucky I am to do what I do. Maybe it’s more accurate to say ‘to witness what I do.’ Because really – I just create the space and watch things unfold. Anyway, it’s hard to describe, which is why I tend to dance around it most of the time, or not even bring it up at all.

Anyway, I knew I needed to walk after the session I had. I needed to ground myself; I needed to make sure I was back in my body. By the time we set out darkness had fallen. The constellations were stunning in spite of the brilliance of the half moon above.

Just short of a mile into our walk, I turned around to untangle myself from Brutus’s leash when a meteor suddenly streaked through the sky, right to left. It was surprisingly low on the horizon and large – burning a brilliant yellow with an outline of crimson. And it crossed the sky slowly (for a meteor) – it wasn’t some little blip. While I yelped out to Karl when I saw it, my gasp and garbled, “Look! Oh! WOW!” didn’t sink in quickly enough for him to see it.

There was something special going on in the cosmos tonight. Like I said, the constellations seemed especially vibrant and obvious. And by that I mean, the patterns seemed emphasized somehow. The sky was filled with stars, as usual, and often I just drink them all in with my eyes wide as possible. But tonight felt different.

Our Shared Magic

Finally, another mile into our walk the call of a Barred Owl echoed through the woods to our left. I could hardly contain my excitement. I don’t remember ever hearing a Barred Owl up here in our environs. The first time I’d ever heard one (and then heard several) was a few years ago in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Did you hear that?” I whispered.

Of course he had. It was the only sound in this silent February night. The “Who cooks for youoooooooo” call of the owl was coming from the same vicinity the coyotes had been howling a few nights ago. There must be a lot of action down there along that part of the creek.

The Barred Owl hooted another several times (one of which you can hear, above) giving me a chance to record it on my phone. It’s almost as if it knew when I had because as soon as I was satisfied, it went silent. I can’t explain why, but this encounter, too, felt…different. Magical, if you will.

(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)

Unspeakable Beauty – Day 1034

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Waxing Moon in Scorpio 10 Sept 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Unspeakable Beauty

There’s something magical about September days. It’s possible to experience one or two and feel transformed simply by the unspeakable beauty and perfection that unfolds simply by ‘being.’

There’s going to be a lot of recalled trauma this weekend, especially tomorrow. Grief and sorrow will abound. Disappointment, regret, and rage will also be among the greatest hits.

Our feelings are our feelings. No one can reasonably tell us how we feel or how we ‘should’ feel. But there comes a time when the realization hits us that just feeling the feelings isn’t getting us anywhere. We need to purge them so they be transmuted or channel them into useful action.

Monarch sipping – Photo: L. Weikel

Be In Nature

If you do anything tomorrow, please: make a point of allowing yourself to be in nature. Seize the opportunity to bask in the warmth of the sun while a cool, refreshing breeze ruffles your hair and caresses your brow.

Take comfort from the birds and animals, trees and flowers and grasses with which we share this planet.

Remember to breathe.

Allow yourself to continue dreaming the dreams that only a few days ago you planted as seeds at the new moon. Look toward the west and the setting sun and pay attention to the crescent moon growing every single day. Know that it’s reflecting how your aspirations for the future, your passions for how you want to live your life are growing moment by moment. Ever so slightly, perhaps, but inexorably.

And all the while we’re surrounded by vibrant colors and astounding creatures that – if and when we notice them – make our human lives infinitely richer.

Bee finding the sweetness – Photo: L. Weikel

Find the Sweetness

So much has changed in the past twenty years. So much has changed in the past ten. It’s important to look back and appreciate what we’ve lived through, what we’ve endured, and what we’ve lost.

But it’s even more important to taste the sweetness of now.

(T-77)

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)

No Escape – Day 795

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Tohickon Flow 14 Jan 21 – Photo: L. Weikel

No Escape

There’s so much stress swirling around all of us these days. It’s in the atmosphere, on the news, in the grocery store, on the Capitol steps. It’s bombarding us on our phones, in our homes, and definitely squeezing hospitals all across the country – and around the world. It seems there’s no escape.

But there is. It’s called Nature.

I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here. Nevertheless. Even if I am, I’m going to repeat myself. Because no matter how vigilant we are about maintaining our balance or taking a break from the news, it can be all too easy to talk ourselves out of it in times like these. Taking a walk, watching the flow of a creek, or sitting on the porch for 15 minutes to watch the sunset can feel entirely inappropriate when viewed through the lens of how dire life can seem at the moment.

Case in Point

Over the weekend, when I wrote about how so many of us are feeling under pressure, Spartacus was also feeling the stress. The very same day my tooth broke, Spartacus woke up with an extreme flare-up of what’s commonly called ‘Cherry Eye.’ I describe it as extreme because he has occasionally sported a red bump in the corner of his eye before, but never was it so huge as it was on Sunday. It was extremely disconcerting to look at him. It almost felt as though he, too, had been feeling the pressure – and while I took my stress out on my tooth, he manifested his where his body was the weakest.

Even worse than how awful it looked was how sad he became. He was totally thrown off his game by losing most of the sight in his eye – and sadly, that’s how large the prolapse was. Even when he slept, his eye wasn’t closing. He barely sniffed at his food. We even took a walk, but in spite of the mild weather, his heart wasn’t in it.

I’m glad to report that the ointment they gave me for his eye worked wonders – even on the bulge as big as it was. He feels so much better now. (I’ll post an ‘after’ photo tomorrow – or soon, at least. I promise!)

Spart’s Cherry Eye – Photo: L. Weikel

Lost My Point

Ha ha – as I sit here, I swear, I’ve lost the point of where I was going with this post. I didn’t intend to write in such detail about Spartacus’s affliction, but there it is. I’ll share it, since it has a happy resolution. I didn’t want to write about it while we were going through it because it’s one thing to write about a broken tooth and quite another to write about your puppy (even if he is 12 years old) looking like he’s been in a war.

I didn’t want to bum any of us out any more than we were already feeling!

I Remember Now

I was writing about the simple joy of being in Nature and how essential it is for all of us to be reminded of that fact, especially as we face these intensely stressful times. I related the story about Spartacus because this afternoon, he and I were hanging out on the porch for a moment as I filled the birdfeeders, and I was filled with gratitude that he was feeling so much better and was shamelessly basking in the sun.

We’ve had a satisfying array of visitors to our feeders, and Karl’s trick of hanging chunks of Irish Spring soap to the feeders seems to have quelled the deer from draining the tubes each night. As I listened to the birds chirping and cheeping in the branches and bushes surrounding the porch, alerting all their friends and neighbors that the two legged was finally refilling the feeders and maybe even putting out some peanuts, I recalled an article I’d read recently about the impact of birdwatching on our happiness.

Just another example of how being in Nature is a balm to our souls.

In spite of all the anxiety we’re feeling over extremism in our lives and the possibility of more violence over the next several days, give yourselves the gift of appreciating the simple, natural, pleasures in life. The cardinals and chickadees. The squirrels and goldfinches. The puppy who can see again, scrounging up shelled peanuts that fall to the ground when you’re filling the peanut coil.

It’s the little things.

(T-316)

August Arrives – Day 628

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Photo: L. Weikel

August Arrives

Yes, by the time this post is read by any of you, August 2020 will be here. We will be seven full months into the cataclysmic year of 2020 and embarking upon month number eight.

Who amongst us isn’t freaking excited by the prospects? Huh? Come on. I know I can’t be the only one on the edge of my seat with anticipation over what revelations and curveballs await us this month?

Glad to See July End

Don’t get me wrong. I’m the last person to challenge worse. But I have to tell you: this last day of July has been a rough one. I’ll almost certainly write about what made today particularly discomfiting for me, but I have to sleep on it and assess the damage tomorrow.

But it’s not looking good.

Let’s just say the wild, torrential rain that accompanied some excellent thunder and lightning last night took an unexpected toll.

Biodiversity Project

I might as well use this opportunity to remind everyone that tomorrow is, indeed, the first of August. That means it’s time once again to lend your energy and intention to the Perelandra Biodiversity Project, which I’ve been encouraging participation in for well over a year now. (And just so it’s clear: I have no financial interest in Perelandra. I do not get a single penny for my enthusiasm. I simply love the concept and the sincere dedication of the organization and its founder to promoting our conscious partnership with Nature.)

This process, using Essence of Perelandra, is incredibly simple and quick. The whole procedure from start to finish takes no more than five minutes. And the loveliest part about it, in my opinion, besides the potential for fulfilling the overarching intention of restoring balance and harmony between all living things on your land or in your space, is the simple act of bringing awareness to the land on which you live.

Whenever I open Sacred Space, I specifically include and ‘call in’ the Spirits of the Place where I am doing the ceremony or engaging in sacred work. As a species, we’ve grown more and more oblivious to the sentience of anything other than other humans. Some people acknowledge the sentience of animals (especially their pets), but fewer and fewer still consider wild animals, insects, or plants as having a form of consciousness. It’s extremely rare for anyone outside of our brothers and sisters who retain their indigenous roots and connections to accord the land – and Mother Earth herself – sentience.

So beyond the explicit intention of restoring and healing the balance of diversity ‘in our own back yards’ that the Biodiversity Project fosters, I personally love the awareness it brings to each of us who engage in it. In the midst of these chaotic, uncertain, and oftentimes frightening times, engaging in this process asks us to simply STOP for five minutes and BE with where we are. It asks us to acknowledge our interconnectedness with All That Is. And it’s so incredibly simple and easy.

Simple – Like Wearing a Mask

The ease with which we might make an enormous difference in the energetic balance of our environment (including the environment within our own selves) by doing this simple process is akin to the huge difference the simple act of wearing a mask can make in protecting all of us and contributing to stopping the spread of the Coronavirus.

I guess I’m left wondering why we resist engaging in little steps that very possibly could make a humongous difference in the trajectory of our existence here on Earth. Are we afraid they won’t work and we’ll look foolish? If they don’t work, and we all die or the Earth becomes so out of balance that climate change inundates us (and kills us all in other ways besides the current pandeminc) to whom will we look foolish?

Community

Another significant benefit to engaging in the Biodiversity Project is knowing that I’m joining people all over the world in a collective and sincere effort to make things just a little bit better. I love envisioning the web of interconnected love and caring that is established when I contemplate our united efforts.

As August arrives, if you have a bottle of Essence of Perelandra, join me. Read the instructions here and take a moment – at any time during the 1st day of the month – to help reclaim balance and healing for us all. We’re all connected. What benefits one benefits all.

If you don’t have a bottle of Essence of Perelandra – order one for September 1st. Goodness knows, I’m sure we’ll need more and more intentions set for balance and healing by then.

And although I’m sure I don’t need to say it, I will say it anyway: Wear a mask. For you. For me. For us.

(T-483)

Lifted My Spirits – Day 562

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Sunlit Forest – Photo: L. Weikel

Lifted My Spirits

I’m so relieved that the weather today was as bright and warm as it was. I needed it. It lifted my spirits.

I can’t figure out why I was feeling so down today. The Memorial Day weekend was pleasant enough. I missed seeing our kids, but there have been other holidays, pre-Covid-19, when we weren’t able to get together. So it’s not as if it felt like the gaping hole in our summer opening extravaganza that I know other people experienced.

And we did manage to walk every day, despite initial calls for rain. Thank goodness!

Today was hard, though.

Ugly Out There

The best I can figure is that I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the ugliness ‘out there.’

Last night, just before settling down to write about my love of Ents, I saw the video of the woman in Central Park, who earlier yesterday rabidly threatened to call 911 to report a man who was taking video of her breaking the leash law in an area devoted to birding. I’m sure most of you know all about her very obvious use of her white privilege to threaten this man for daring to video her flaunting the park rules.

It sickened me to see how she treated this man.

And then there’s the horrific story of the man in Minneapolis who was murdered by police officers, one of whom literally had his knee on the man’s neck as the man cried out that he couldn’t breathe. I could not bring myself to watch the video of that incident. Merely seeing the still shot of the cop with his knee on the man’s neck was enough to make me want to throw up. This type of stuff happens every day. Almost always with impunity, although apparently – hopefully – not this time. But it all makes me wonder how black and brown people do not despair of such cruelty. How do any of us not despair of this cruelty to one another?

So no, I’m not going to link to either of these videos. If you haven’t seen them, they are pretty much everywhere. Which may be why I was feeling more and more depressed today as the day wore on.

Between those two incidents and the videos of people spitting on or verbally abusing clerks who were trying to enforce mask use in their stores, or people deliberately defying public health recommendations… I don’t know. I just felt profoundly sad over the state of humanity.

Took a Walk

So Karl and I took another one of our walks. I’m sharing a couple photos I took. The beauty we encountered was heartening and peaceful. Once again, walking lifted my spirits. Once again, Mother Earth reminded me of the beauty that surrounds us if we take the time and make the effort to look for it.

As usual, walking brings me peace. Here’s a recent article reinforcing just how and why walking is so great for us – especially now.

I’m going to keep on walking. If you haven’t walked in a while, I urge you to go for it. It helps. And we all need all the help we can get right now.

Rhododendron – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-549)

First Day of April – Day 506

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Photo: L. Weikel

First Day of April

It’s the first day of April by the time any of you read this, since I know I won’t get it published until after midnight. I’m sure you share with me the inclination to cock your head and ask, “Really? It’s April? What year?”

Nothing is normal anymore. Every single day we plunge deeper and deeper into an abyss of horror. “Surely,” we say to each other, “surely this is some vast apocalyptic nightmare movie that we’re all playing bit parts in. We’re extras in a movie starring Donald Trump, right?”

We’d be excused for thinking so – for thinking that we are no more than walk-on extras who are expendable in every way, as long as the star gets his due.

But I didn’t want to go there, so you can just forget these first couple of paragraphs. On to something tangible we can do.

Perelandra’s Biodiversity Project

I’ve written about this before – a number of times. The first explanation I gave of this very simply procedure that takes no more than five minutes, using ten drops of the elixir called Essence of Perelandra is in this post. I provide you with a variety of links to the Perelandra site and other interesting references in that post.

Hopefully, you’ve invested in a bottle or two of Essence of Perelandra so you can participate in taking a small but significant to Nature step in bringing humanity into balance with Nature.

It’s interesting to me that my first post on this subject was instigated by the fires in the Amazon. When I wrote about the lungs of Mother Earth being burned – and suggested we take this step to begin bringing us back into balance.

Hmm. Mother Earth’s lungs were burning, and humanity was in no small way complicit in that happening. And now our lungs are filling up and drowning thousands of us.

I dare say – there’s a correlation. On a lot of levels.

This Isn’t a Joke

So please – take five minutes on April 1st (today), and the first day of every month, to recognize and speak with Mother Earth/Nature – and do something proactive, profound, and yet oh-so-simple to bring us into balance with our home and the sentience that surrounds us.

It’s something you can do. And it’s not a joke.

And while you’re there, I urge you to check out the solutions being recommended that will build your immunity. (MBP solutions: Respiratory, Lymphatic, and Immune – and the Virus solution.) Read about the concepts underpinning these solutions. It’s all about creating a balance in your body and energetic field. Don’t take my word for it, though – read about it yourself. Make up your own mind.

Beauty – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-605)