Rabbit

Blanket of Warm – ND #89

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Rabbit and Schnauzer Cloud Beings – Photo: L. Weikel

Blanket of Warm

Wow, was it warm out today. Holy cow. I thought I’d looked at the weather forecast a day or so ago and I could’ve sworn it wasn’t supposed to warm up significantly until a day or two from now. Apparently I was mistaken. The shock of walking out the door and expecting it to be a bit chilly, only to be whapped in the face by a blanket of warm, bordering-on-hot, air, was unsettling.

Perhaps I would’ve embraced the warmth today a little bit more had I been expecting it. Geesh, that makes me sound rigid. And perhaps even petulant.

Nevertheless, the warmth of the day inspired me to get outside and get things moving. I cleared the yard of a bunch of sticks and broken tree limbs. I tell myself they’re fodder for the next fire we have, hoping having kindling at the ready will encourage more of them.

Even the Clouds

Even the clouds got in on the act today. I was delighted to see a very obvious gigantic and ferocious rabbit bantering playfully with a puppy right before my eyes. Indeed – to my eye – the puppy might even be a Schnauzer.

By the time I got ‘round to Princess, Middle, and Liddle this evening, they’d apparently bedded down for the night. It was dark out and not a snuffle nor a snort was heard emanating from their enclosure. Guess I’ll have to catch them tomorrow.

The Best Part

But by far the best part of tonight’s walk was the magnificent chorus of tree frogs and peepers. They’re definitely erupting from the mud early this year – in fact, I’m pretty sure they first started singing on the last day of February! That just seems way too early.

I sometimes think the ones that are my favorite are not the ones that sound brave or never, ever tire. The peepers I like the best are the ones that have extremely deep and gravelly voices. I’ve conjured images of them in my mind that undoubtedly have nothing in common with what they actually look like.

They do seem to be getting louder and louder each night, though. They were nearly deafening tonight and could be heard at least a half mile away.

I wonder if they have peepers in Ukraine?  If they do, do they know enough to be quiet at critical moments? Or are they simply blasted out by the overwhelming noise of war?

I saw a terribly sad story of a young woman who was killed last night. She was helping deliver supplies to a dog shelter.

All these heartrending stories of lives disrupted as a result of a deranged man who wants what he wants and is willing to tell lies and sacrifice the lives of millions to get it. I can’t go there tonight.

I’d rather listen to peepers and see Cloud Beings masquerading as rabbits and puppies.

(T+89)

Grand Conjunction – Day 771

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Grand Conjunction – Photo: L. Weikel

Grand Conjunction

I received the most amazing of gifts today. Seriously. It felt surreal when it all unfolded and almost feels more so as I sit here looking at the photographs I took documenting it. Right before our very eyes, Karl and I witnessed the Grand Conjunction reveal itself from behind a thin layer of clouds, Saturn and Jupiter beaming their conjoined brilliance toward us within the span of two thrilling minutes, and then disappear once again.

We decided to time our walk to take place just as the sun slipped below the horizon. I’d had my eye on the Weather Channel since this morning and knew a cloud cover was moving in, with rain predicted in the early evening. The likelihood of personally witnessing this cosmic event in our area was viewed with increasingly universal pessimism. As you can imagine, given the way I’ve been rather zealously documenting Jupiter’s approach to Saturn over the past few months, I was disappointed, but not surprised. The weather seems to do this to us humans a lot.

Turkey

Even though I’ve not mentioned it lately, Karl and I still choose Medicine Cards* every morning. My pick today was Rabbit/Turkey, which means my ‘main’ choice for the day was Rabbit, while ‘underneath’ (on the bottom of the deck) was Turkey.

The keyword for Rabbit is Fear. There’s a whole medicine story of how Rabbit became associated with fear in some Native American traditions, but that didn’t seem particularly applicable, at least not today. I joked to Karl when I read it that maybe it was a reflection of my fear that all the unfortunate weather predictions would come to pass and we wouldn’t get to see the Grand Conjunction.

“But look!” I exclaimed, flashing the bottom of the deck in Karl’s direction. “I got Turkey underneath! Maybe the clouds will part and we’ll experience something magical.” I said that because Turkey’s keyword is “Giveaway.” And amongst its many messages, probably the most foundational inference of Turkey is that a gift will be received.

As the day wore on, we noticed how one instant the sky would be remarkably clear and then half an hour later a cloud cover would move through. This changeability persisted all day, and the hourly forecast on my Weather Channel app did not bode well.

Timing Our Walk

As I said, we timed our walk to hopefully snag a glimpse of the celestial event within a random gap in the clouds. Just after setting out, on the first leg of our usual journey, I stopped and took a photo of the southwestern sky. The prospects looked grim, with only a small band of clear golden light encased between layers of thick looking cloud cover.

Outset of our Walk 12/21/2020- Photo: L. Weikel

We walked all the way around our usual two mile jaunt. As we breached the final hill where I take almost all of my best photos of the night sky (and where I’ve taken virtually all of the incremental shots of Saturn and Jupiter that I’ve included in my posts), we lingered. I felt like we might see them. The cloud cover looked like it was thinning a bit and I yearned to just wait there as long as we could.

But honestly? It felt like a fool’s errand. A wish that held precious little likelihood of manifesting. So we walked home, bummed knowing that we’d never get to actually see this Grand Conjunction, as the next time these planets will be this close and in this conducive a position to be seen won’t be until 2080.

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to give up so easily – and to my delight, neither did Karl. We walked home and took Spartacus’s coat off, and said I was going to drive back to the top of the hill to sit there for a bit and see if the clouds parted like I felt they might. He agreed.

We drove around the circuit three times. Breaching the hill the final time, I decided to take a photo of the cloud cover. The least I could do would be to jokingly post a photo of the spot in the sky where I knew it was taking place.

The Gift

The following photos were taken as follows: #s 1-2 at 5:38, #s 3-4 at 5:39, #5 at 5:40, and #6 at 5:41. As I’ve said many times before: YCMTSU. We saw it. We really truly actually had the Grand Conjunction reveal itself over a span of two minutes…and then disappear once more.

It started to rain less than ten minutes later.

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(T-340)

Lilly – Day 461

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Lilly the Killer- Photo: L. Weikel

Lilly

Sometimes I get a chance to pet sit for my neighbor, who was technically Duckhead’s mom (and is mom to all his ‘girls’). This occasional opportunity to vicariously indulge my inner gentlewoman farmer is now enhanced by the fact that Lilly has now become part of the mix.

I’ve cared for Lilly only once before, but she’s a much bigger bunny now.

As all young bunnies know, there are stages to becoming a rabbit. So when I was discussing my meager duties with Lilly’s mom earlier this week, she told me to beware, as Lilly ‘can be a little aggressive.’

Visions of Monty Python

I don’t know about you, but I immediately flashed to the blood-thirsty bunny in the classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

She quickly assuaged my concerns and assured me Lilly is merely a little ‘food aggressive.’ No worries. All I needed to do was distract her a little bit while filling her bowl of bunny kibble. All would be well.

Famous Last Words

She looked at me with curiosity when I entered her domain; meaning she looked up from her slumber and acknowledged my presence. I started my usual patter of animal chatter, picking up her bag of kibble and preparing to open her pen to fill her bowl.

<<BAM!>>

Lilly lunged in my general direction (wink), banging her nose upon the wire mesh of her cage. “What the heck, Lilly?” I yelped.

But I refused to be deterred. I opened the cage and started petting her body, making a point of steering clear of those potentially bloody canines! Although I was pretty sure she simply recognized the kibble bag and was displaying her enthusiasm over the prospect of me filling her bowl, I didn’t want to be dumb about it. She sure did bang herself hard against the cage.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Lilly happily enjoyed not only her kibble but also her spinach, a handful of which I gingerly thrust into her cage.

No killer rabbit. Not even a close encounter. I think I’m just a tiny bit disappointed – I think I was hoping for a sequel.

Lilly Munching – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-650)

Fog – Day 429

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Foggy night – Photo: L. Weikel

Fog

As within so without.

In the vicinity of my home, a couple of alerts have gone out this evening warning of the presence of heavy fog.

It’s true. It’s thick out there.

Just now, I went out on my porch and took a shot at trying to capture the fog on my phone’s camera. The result is above.

The weather has been downright weird for about a week now. And life in general has struggled to mirror it. Things feel out of balance; skewed. Shrouded in obfuscation.

Clarity

The opposite of encountering a fog bank, I’d venture to guess, is a condition of crystal clarity, when everything within eyesight is discernible in high resolution perfection.

What happens when we encounter a fog bank? We’re pressed to rely on other senses. Not so easy when one is driving a car. But easier, somewhat, if standing around or walking in the thick. Our ears prick up. Our skin tingles. We rely less on sight for clarity and more on an overall bodily sensing.

This post is a bit foggy, I’ll admit. I’m trying to locate some other senses through which I can discern some clarity, but am finding only the desire to sleep.

I was surprised, when I went outside to take in the fog, to see a bunny hop out from the dripping hosta carcasses and scamper onto my driveway. It’s not common to see rabbits this time of year. Even less common to see them well past midnight in the dead of a January fog.

Playing with fire, I’d say. That rabbit could easily become owl food if it’s not careful.

Caught him! But where’s the fog? Weird – Photo: L.Weikel

(T-682)

Ice Cream Confession – Day Twenty (T-1091)

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Ice Cream Confession

Oh my Goddess, I should never have eaten that ice cream. I made the mistake last night of rewarding myself for – I don’t even know what, getting through the week? – by swinging past Owowcow and buying two pints of ice cream. All natural, organic-where-possible, locally-sourced ingredients in this hand-crafted ice cream, folks. It is good stuff.

I haven’t had any for quite a while (at least several weeks). But after my session with my client yesterday, I was seized with the brilliant idea that I should pop in to see if they had any unique flavors on offer – perhaps with a holiday theme.

As I drove up Route 412, at first I thought they might be closed. But as I approached the traffic light which marks its place on the map, I was beckoned by the soft amber light cascading out of the store’s picture windows. It felt like an oasis in the dark of the gloomy, starless night.

I took pity on the high schoolers tending ice cream bar last night; clearly they needed someone from the community to stop and make their employment worthwhile. I was their only customer; it was my responsibility to make a purchase. A pint of candy cane chocolate chip and another of espresso came home with me. The former flavor definitely unique to the holiday; the latter not. But I can’t remember the last time I had coffee ice cream, much less espresso. It called to me.

Funny, though – once I got home and made dinner, I didn’t bring it out. I didn’t even mention it to Karl, nor did I think about it for myself. I almost forgot about it.

But tonight? Well, that was a different story. Karl fell asleep on the couch fairly early and I was left to my own devices. I could hear the rain pouring down outside, the night once again cold and opaque.

I thought about my pick for the day (you knew that was coming, right?), and had to chuckle. Hardly any introspective spin to this tale. Nope. I’d chosen Rabbit reversed/Bat.

Hmm. Rabbit. Fear. Right side up, it’s a frustrating and not entirely unfamiliar story of being rejected. And then cursed. Not pretty. When it’s reversed, though, I like to focus on this recommendation:

“Take a hint from Rabbit. Burrow into a safe space to nurture yourself and release your fears until it is time again to move into the pasture, clear of prowlers who wasn’t a piece of your juicy energy.”

I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but I did feel like curling up into a soft, warm burrow and nurturing myself with ice cream. And Bat underneath? Well, I do feel as though I am dying to an old way of life and birthing something new. Not sure what yet, but it can be scary.

And now my tummy hurts. And it’s approaching midnight. And I realize all I’ve done is lament my indulgence – and justified it by my card pick this morning. Ugh. Gross.

But it was tasty. And that evil Owowcow deliciousness…the creamy delicacy melts ever so slowly and you just have to keep smoothing it off with your spoon, you know? Until all of a sudden you realize you’ve evened it out almost to the bottom of the container.