feathers

Cool Stories – ND #56

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Yard heart created solely by animals and birds – Photo: L. Weikel

Cool Stories

The snowfall we received over the weekend has yet to melt. There’s been some slight thawing during the day and re-freezing at night and the roads are clear, but overall, there’s still about 4” or so on fields and lawns and edges of forests. And those 4” have revealed some pretty cool stories – and provided fodder for others.

The first amazing story the snow told us today along our walk was that a raptor took a snowy plunge for prey. It was hard to get close to the obvious imprint without messing anything up, but as you can see below, we found footprints leading right up to the ‘kill site.’ (I can’t think of any better euphemism, sorry.)

Raptor Action

As you can see above, there’s an imprint in the snow of where a raptor quite obviously dove headfirst into the snow to snag a meal. Whether or not the creature who created the footprints leading right up to the kill site actually became the meal is unclear.

Taken together, it is obvious that a dive attack was made. The only optimistic prediction I can make (for those who hope the prey escaped) is that there didn’t appear to be a drop of blood or errant fluff of fur or tuft of feather anywhere near the site.

Plunge site and wing imprint (lower left) – Photo: L. Weikel

Cool Imprint

One bonus this particular snowy imprint offered us was the wing imprint just above the plunge site. It’s clearly the wing of either an owl or a hawk. I’m in awe that we found such a beautiful site tonight. I only wish I were a better tracker.

Cool Stories – Closeup of wing imprint – Photo: L. Weikel

 

Footprints leading to ‘fated’ plunge site – Photo: L. Weikel

Yard Heart

Finally, as can be seen in the photo leading off this blog post, I discovered the shape of a heart in our yard, created solely from the footprints of animals. I’m sure it wasn’t the puppies. Perhaps it was created by squirrels. This great big heart was clearly decorated by the prints of lots of birds.

Below is a closeup of the bird footprints and part of the prints of whatever animal it was that created the heart. Perhaps it was squirrels. Could be fox – although there are other prints in the yard that look more like fox. Deer prints, located elsewhere in our yard, are obvious – their hooves each make heart shapes in and of themselves.

Yes, my sense is that the heart was created by squirrels.

And I wonder if they left me a love note. I’ve put out at least 5 lbs. of peanuts in the past two days. A lot, I know. But it was darn cold out. Perhaps this is their way of showing me just how much they appreciated the feast. I’d like to think so. Makes for some cool stories, if nothing else.

Closeup of animal footprints creating heart shape and bird prints decorating the heart – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+56)

Major Impetus – Day 1000

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Prize for Reaching 1,000 – Photo: L. Weikel

Major Impetus

Is something magical going to descend from above and cover me like a blanket of feathers* after I hit the ‘publish’ button tonight? Will my attitude toward my 1111 Devotion – or my writing in general – undergo a transformation once I hit the 1,000 club? I ask these questions because a major impetus behind my decision to embark upon this Act of Power was a blog post I read by Seth Godin.

As the title of that particular post implies (“The first 1,000 are the most difficult”), Seth maintains that reaching the milestone of writing 1,000 blog posts can make a huge difference in how a person perceives themselves. Understandably, this shift in perception can also significantly impact how a person approaches their concept of themselves as a writer.

My Attitude

I will admit that hitting the 1,000 mark is a bit of a stunner. It’s amusing to me that 995 posts ago, I wrote an explanation how finding Seth’s post about ‘the first 1,000’ felt like a message to me. I’d asked how I could honor Karl’s life, and in particular his creativity, and this showed up in my face. The weird thing was, I hadn’t even read it when it first arrived in my email a week or two earlier. I only saw it that morning because I accidentally clicked on it in my email.

Suffice it to say, it seemed at the time that I was getting a major nudge to wake up and pay attention to what was (and wasn’t) ‘working’ in my life. And if I found my attitude or circumstances wanting, then I needed to change my story.

Celebrating 1,000

In reflecting upon the impetus behind choosing to write 1111 consecutive posts as my ‘devotional’ Act of Power, I looked up the entry in which I described how I arrived at that number. (I remembered the part about the power of 1,000.) What I forgot, though, was the appearance of the other Seth Godin post: the one that spoke of the power of changing your story.

I feel yet another change in my story approaching again. Perhaps I will plant that seed in some way tomorrow, both in honor of attaining the dramatic 1,000 mark and also to take advantage of the powerful new moon in Leo. This 8th day of August 2021 promises to be a powerful day of manifestation.

It might behoove us all to contemplate our stories. Do we wish to change them? Now might be a great time to begin.

A Prize From Above

Finally, as Spartacus and I walked this evening on the freshly macadamed road along our usual path, something beautiful caught my attention.

The way in which this feather was standing at attention in the midst of tall grasses, its shaft gently nestled amidst the new pavement was curious. I don’t know how I caught sight of it. But there it was.

I’ll take it as one of my beloved signs. I’ll trust that perhaps the time is coming to change my story yet again.

What a ‘Random’ Gift – Photo: L. Weikel

*I just realized: I DID receive a feather! Ha!

(T-111)

Feathers – Day 358

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

 

Feathers  

A couple days ago I needed to find a small backpack I knew I had in my closet. It’s actually more of a back sack, really, as it has no lining, no compartments, not even a zipper. It simply cinches shut with drawstring, and a flap flipped over the tied drawstring stays put with Velcro slipped through a metal ring.

Simple.

Extremely basic.

Not a backpack in which you might find treasures hidden in a secret pocket or compartment. Not a satchel that’s conducive to stowing sacred objects.

Imagine My Surprise

After rummaging through my closet, I finally located the pack under a variety of objects that had been randomly and haphazardly tossed on top of it. My purpose in searching for it was to consolidate my healing tools to accommodate a long trip. It was empty, as I’d expected, and I carefully added my rattles and notebook, my pendulum, and a few other items. My mesa too, of course, was going along for the ride.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I arrived at my destination and began unpacking these sacred items in preparation for a session with a client, only to find two these two feathers. I pulled out my mesa and underneath this cloth bundle filled with stones, crystals, and other sacred objects were these two beautiful, amazingly intact and unmolested feathers.

Confirmation of the Magic

To me, this was confirmation of the magic that infuses my life and, in particular, the ‘rightness’ of the work I was about to engage in. The details of how I’d come to have the appointment with the client I was traveling to see were a primer on synchronicity all on their own. I’d felt the importance of us meeting face to face, even though I could have easily arranged to work with them ‘long distance.’

But this time, for whatever reason, it felt important to establish a personal, tangible, eye-to-eye connection. Trust was essential. And the trip felt worthwhile.

Finding the feathers as I created sacred space were Spirit’s way of telling me, “Yes. This is important. Magic is afoot.”

And so it was.

Backsack – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-753)