Bat Girl!

Oops, I couldn't figure out how to rotate this photo...but if you turn your head to the right you can see the individual with whom Simon and I shared our first night in our/her new home! Soon after I turned the light out to go to sleep, the little missus began flying around. I couldn't just open the door for her to fly out b/c I didn't want Simon to go outside at night in a place he was not familiar with. Soooooooo, I put Simon's harness on him in the middle of the night, tied it to my finger cuz I wasn't sure I could keep myself awake till the bat flew out and opened the door as wide as possible. I remember waking back up at some juncture and realizing the bat had left. I closed the door, unharnessed Simon and konked back out. I must say it was a rather event-full first night and I am hoping tonight is less so!

Pinch Me!!!

This is taken just a minute or so from my new driveway!!!
I can't even believe how lucky I am. That's the Pacific ocean in the background...
More later as moving day tuckered me out.
I am very excited to wake up!!!

Bedtime Lullabies

It is rarely warm enough here at night to wear one's birthday suit outside. Last night, however, was an exception. So, late at night I walked outside to look at a sky full, full, full of stars...and as I was looking up a movement caught in my peripheral vision. I looked towards the movement and at first thought it might be Simon but quickly realized it was not. I had to do that night thing where you don't look directly at the object but rather at its field which is what I did and recognized that it was our fox neighbor tiptoeing around just outside my little yard. I think it found me through scent rather than sight and when it did, it made a u turn and quietly disappeared. Gosh, their energy is lovely to be around...very much a presence that is both strong and soft. Anyways, I continued to look at stars till I couldn't stay awake any more and put myself to bed. I remember falling asleep hearing both the fox and great horned owl voices.
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When I was out last night I was talking to several plants telling them I was going to transplant them today and that I would do it as early as I could cuz it was going to be a hot day, etc.
Then I walked over to the little patch of just getting ready to bloom cosmos...I asked them if just one of them could bloom before I have to go and sure enough this morning one beauty-full orange face was smiling in the sun!

Farewell Beauty-full Spot On The Planet...

Bath Day!

As I was letting the tub fill with water I was holding Edward and Hershe down so their bodies would absorb the moisture. However, I made sure their little faces didn't get wet! It's true. Though I am mostly a grown up person, I stood there and told them not to worry, I wouldn't let them get water in their eyes or mouth. Awhile later a friend came over to help me move. She walked into the bathroom and startled at the bears in the tub and then proceeded to tell me the sweetest stories of how she would talk to her stuffed animals as a kid. I knew immediately she was the one to finish giving them a bath. When I told her to make sure not to put their heads under water she looked at me and said: "of course not" as if that were an absurd thing to even think she might!
That was a few days ago and Edward (his friends call him Pooh) is still fairly wet and oddly shaped. Perhaps once he thoroughly dries I can reconfigure his figure and sew up the joints that got torn from the bath. Bathing the elderly is a delicate matter.

Am I A Gay Man?

I have this very strong desire to decorate and beautify my storage locker...

Jackpot

One of my favorite finds here on the property is a book called: Seth Parker's Hymnal. It has the smell of a book that has been a shut in for a long, long time and there is a small section on the front cover where a mouse, perhaps a religious one, chewed. The hymnal is full of ambiance both inside and out.
The introductory page reads like this:

Dear Folks,
I've had a real good time getting these old hymns together and I hope you enjoy singing them as much as we do.

You'll find in the book here most of the old tunes,  but of course there'll be a couple now and then that you'll think ought to be in, but aren't. Now if I was suggesting I'd say to kick just about enough to get a dollar's worth of enjoyment out of it, but not so much so you won't enjoy the other tunes that you do find. Some folks try to get a twenty dollar kicking license out of just one dollar, but of course that isn't in proportion.

One thing about singing these old tunes is they make everybody feel as if they were neighbors. A neighbor is a man, you know, who tries to make living a mite more fun for everybody and when a man gets feeling this way he's pretty sure to catch religion. One thing to remember, though, is that if you're a neighbor it doesn't make much difference what color the church is painted that the other neighbor goes to. If he's a good neighbor you can feel sure he's got a pretty good religion, too. The proof of the tree is the taste of the apples.

Most cordial.
Seth Parker

Paralyzed By Snake Phobia

I figure each moving day is going to have at least one entertaining story so here's one from this eve.
Friends and I were walking around the property checking out all the barns, etc...going shopping in a sense cuz the current owners are done collecting their things and the new owners haven't yet arrived. I was slowly opening the door to a little shed and the next thing I remember hearing is the word snake. Now, let me just say that as much as I love animals I am scared of snakes. Don't even like to touch them. When I heard the "s" word I instinctually lurched backwards. My sister grabbed my arm to try and keep me from falling but my feet caught in the blackberry brambles and in kinda slow motion we both fell into the blackberries. One of our friends was busy laughing so hard she couldn't help and the other kept trying to pull me up and then for some reason put me back down, each time scraping my back against the blackberry thorns. It took them awhile to see that in the fall I'd trapped my sister underneath me and she couldn't budge till I got up. Eventually they helped us both up and then the four of us recounted our own version of the story while bent over double laughing, gasping for air. I have a feeling I might not find it quite as hilarious tomorrow when I wake up paralyzed!!!

P.S. My sister claims no responsibility for this near death experience though she was shouting out the word "snake" to her snake phobic sister who was also having her period and has a nervous system wired like that of a meth addict. I'm not sure how that would look in a court of law.

Moving Day Magic Words!

I've lost count of exactly how many days this last week I, along with my friends to whom I am forever indebted, have spent moving. A serious amount of schlepping due in great part to the fact that I am moving into a temporary place. Part of my things are going there, part into storage, a variety of things going to friends/family and then there are my garden plants which are being cared for by a number of people (also to whom I am forever indebted...even more so cuz my plants are, second to my animal companions, my closest kin)
Anyways, I definitely hit the proverbial wall today and yet there is still more to do...probably a couple more days worth. So, my whole system went slack with relief when my friend who came over today said these words in regard to any stuff I no longer wanted to have to deal with : "I can make it go away." My goodness, that was EXACTLY what I needed to hear and after a moment of disbelief, I began marching around with a new sense of motivation and gathered up things for her to disappear, bless her soul!!!

Temporary Moratorium On Snuggling

Simon has become a snuggle monster. Every night he comes and either asks to get under the covers or just begins burrowing his way under! However, two days ago I moved my mattress to storage (i think mattress moving stories might make a great book!!!) and since then have been sleeping in my sleeping bag (which, btw, is NOT the best environment for night sweats!!!)...anyways, that first night I lifted up the sleeping bag for him to get in but I think we both realized simultaneously that there just wasn't enough room! So, reluctantly, Simon curled up right next door in his new cashmere bed made from a too big sweater a friend had given me! He tried again last night and kept walking from one side of my head to the other trying to make sense of how he could get under. Pretty cute thing to feel and watch!!!
I look forward to a couple nights from now when we can resume our regular snuggle routine!!!

False Alarm

As I was madly packing this afternoon I heard a sound very familiar to my heart. My mind made me think it must be Simon (my boy cat) tho I knew Simon didn't sound like that. I jumped up and bolted towards the sound...to find Liza's sweet voice coming from an alarm clock! A couple days ago I came across a gift a dear friend had given me which was an alarm clock with Liza's photo and a recording of her meowing...burst into tears, I did.

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff

Since I am moving to a temporary home, I am putting the bulk of my stuff in a 10 x 13 storage locker. And I know for a fact that once I have moved into my new digs I will not miss much, if any, of it. Which then begs the question: why have any of it?
Storage facilities have the same effect on me that dumps do. For some reason the amount of waste we create and the amount of stuff most of us have is just so...I dunno, in a way I suppose it reflects the worst of American values, that of overconsumption.
On a brighter note my garden is as big a project as my inside stuff. I will definitely miss seeing the plants grow throughout the summer...tho they are being cared for by friends so I can visit!!!
That's the kind of "stuff" I'd prefer to have :)

The Fuzz Heads!

I woke as it was just getting light this a.m. to an unfamiliar sound in my yard. In ALL the years I have lived here there has never been a deer inside the "deer" fencing which surrounds our houses and gardens. Not ever. So, it was fun to see three fuzzy antlered bucks tiptoeing in my yard...until one of them went for my raspberries and then I was not laughing, no sireeeeee. I didn't scare the beejesus outta 'em but rather made enough of a sound that they bounded away.
I can't help but feel that our animal neighbors are responding to the shift in energies here on this property...their home, too.

Frog Friend

Ever since my cat, Liza's, passing there has been a green frog with black eyeliner living in my bedroom. I've found her on my pillow, on the wall near my head, on the window and sill and last night...
well, last night I was in bed watching a movie and she jumped across the bed on top of the covers and landed about a foot or so from my body. I'm not sure if she was watching the movie or not but afterwards I went to move something on the bed and she jumped closer to my body. I  V E R Y
S L O W L Y moved my hand closer and closer until my finger was under her chin though not touching her body. I just let my hand rest there and after a wee bit she jumped into the palm of my hand and stayed for a couple minutes!!! Eventually, she jumped back over my body and disappeared in the crevice between my bed and the wall. It was a very sweet encounter.

Who's Your Dentist?

Moving Help?!!!

Thank The Good Lord

Oh, what a heart fueling day. It began with a visit to my buddy, M, the 92 year old fella I occasionally take care of. He is confined now to his bed, to wearing a catheter and is living a wee bit less on this plane. However, when I walked into his room, we gazed at each other then he said: "Longstick" and grinned a big grin! The other caregiver and I spent about an hour trying to bath him, etc. I so thoroughly enjoyed the time with him...even the moments like the one when we had him rolled on one side so we could wash his back and he said to me: "just wait till you get sick" in a less than happy tone. Aye caramba, bout started crying. There's not really much to say in response to things like that. All I could do was just hold his gaze while energetically I bathed him in love. As I was leaving (which I didn't really want to do) and backing out of the room M said repeatedly: "thank you very much." I said: "we all did a good job of working together" and gave him a thumbs up. Though difficult to coordinate his hand, he did his best to reciprocate that thumbs up. Then we just kept waving to each other and smiling. His wife was watching and laughing, saying he could do that all day long. Preciousness incarnate.

But wait, that's not all!
I was helping a farmer friend bag her veggies for the farm market this afternoon. As I did my job she serenaded me with stories of her land mate and friend, M. She lives in a very rural community close to the coast. For the last 2 or so years M has lived in that community. I knew him when he was 8 years old because a good friend of mine was his aide in school. He has Asbergers. He also has a schizophrenic mom. He was one of those kids that for whatever reason fell through the cracks. Fast forward 10 or so years to M living in this community but in less than ideal circumstances. The way he spent his days was to stand at the gate of the property (which very few people drive through) and open and close it. Once my farmer friend got wind of the circumstances he was living in she took him under her wing and for the last year has helped him learn how to cook, open a checking and savings account, drive (bought him a truck with the help of the community) and many other tasks as well as helping him learn work skills. At one point it was decided that he should receive SSI. They prepared him for that interview and told him that almost everyone is denied the first time. Sure enough, M was denied. Soon after though, he said to my farmer friend: "I don't think I need SSI, do you?" She agreed and he never went back.
There are so many beautiful stories within this story. But perhaps the most moving is the fact that this woman took it upon herself to commit to M and the amazing turn around he has gotten to experience...how much his life has expanded cuz one person cared.

Just one more...
I was at the farmers market visiting with my 94 year old friend, HarveyLee. She had mentioned this story last week but when she mentioned it again in the particular way she did today, I took notice. She has two daughters. One lives in Waco and the other here in CA. For reasons I am not clear about, HarveyLee is worried what might happen to her if both her daughters were unable to care for her. She thought for sure she'd just be left out on the street. I told her that if anything were to happen and her daughters couldn't take care of her that I would. She didn't miss a beat and then said: "You promise?" I put my hand out to shake and said; "I promise." And then I made sure to let her know it might not be a life of luxury or anything but I would most definitely take care of her. She made it a point to say: "you know, I'm not gonna be getting any younger (with a huge pile of implications inside of it!!!)" and I told her I knew that and it was ok. We both had a good laugh that came from a shared understanding of what that might mean!!!

Really, what a great, great day.
Hope yours was, too.

Otherwise, I'm Good

I got a call from a fellow in need of some care-taking. In our couple of phone conversations he had a hard time getting enough air and talking sounded effortful. I had to decline the job as I am in the middle of moving and don't have the time or energy to give him just now. I suggested he call back at the end of the month if he still needed support. In town today I happened to see his land mate and inquired how he was doing. The woman told me he was actually in her car waiting for her at the hardware store. I decided I wanted to meet him in person and he me so I went over and introduced myself. We chatted a bit and then he told me what he is actually dealing with. He said: "I am starving." I must have had a quizzical look on my face (or he's use to having to explain) but he told me he has esophageal cancer and has a pretty hard time swallowing and named the couple foods he could actually swallow. Then he said: "other than that, I'm good." I started laughing and then he started laughing...such a unique moment to share with another human.

New Recipe

In a regular old blender try throwing together a bunch of lettuce (any variety), apple juice, fresh ginger and a dash of lemon. Though unusual, it makes a very textured, literal green drink. You will most definitely get your roughage quota for the day...maybe even for the week!!!!

Who's Watching Who?

The bobcat story...
As "luck" would have it I happened to look out my window in time to see a bobcat meandering through the pasture just across the fence from my house. I grabbed my binocs and began stalking her!
While gawking it occurred to me that Simon was not in the house yet...and my heart dropped. Not even a minute later he came in the cat door and hopped up on the table right next to me. After investigating what I was eating he looked outside and saw the bobcat. He immediately started growling, furz standing up and then he jumped down and wanted to go out the cat door. I lunged to lock it before he got there, thank goodness! So, he hopped back up onto the table and we continued gawking. Well, I was gawking and he was very seriously sending out "I'm gonna kick your bobcat ass" vibes!!!
In order for me to continue watching I had to very quietly go outside and begin following the bobcat as she strode out into the front pasture. Every time she stopped, I stopped, waited and then took as many quiet, barefoot steps towards her as I could. We continued this dance for awhile. Sometimes when she stopped she would hunt (unsuccessfully) and sometimes just rest on her haunches and look around.
At a certain point she remained in one place for awhile so I kept walking indirectly towards her until I sensed that I was at her energetic boundary. She was crouched down low to the ground and there was a slight rise between us. I got down low enough so that she couldn't see my body at all and just waited a bit. When I slowly sat back up I noticed that she was sitting up again on her haunches looking at me. We both sat awhile looking at each other...until my overly excited human self started walking her direction again. I could feel in myself THE step that was one too many. She got up, looked at me and quickly turned to leave. She looked a couple more times directly at me before running off. But she didn't run very far before realizing that I was not moving at all so she stopped and resumed her sauntering, only this time she went around the back of the property. With a bobcat full heart, I decided to leave the poor girl alone and go home. As I walked up I could see Simon still on the table, his eyes big and round! I came inside and had to return a phone call. Much to my surprise, as I talked on the phone I turned to look outside and guess who had circled the perimeter of the property and was now back in a similar place where she had begun, staring into my house? As my friend said: "who was watching who?!!!"

Dad Love!

In a phone conversation with my dad I mentioned that one possibility for an inbetween place to live was a space in which I would share a wall with the goat pen next door. As we were ending the conversation he said to tell the goats hello and then started baaaahing, cracking himself right up!!!!

Los Animales

Today I went to look at a possible new place to dwell. I'd spoken with the person who owned it for a long while and then drove myself to another part of the property to get a sense for it. As I walked down a not too often travelled gravel drive I noticed a buck grazing. He didn't seem to hear me until I was fairly close...maybe 20 feet or so. When he finally either heard or got wind of me he startled and bounced a couple bounces away and stopped. Of course, I had already stopped once I saw him startle. There we stood, looking at one another...while hundreds and hundreds of oak moths flitted around and between us in the late afternoon light. It felt other worldly.

and then

When I got home I noticed the great blue heron was in the pasture across from my house. That is my favorite bird and in all the years I've lived here I've never seen it as often as I have in the last couple months. Just the other day I watched it catch a gopher, pause, put its head down to the ground again as if to secure its grasp on the gopher and then tilt its head back and swallow. Quite a sight. But today it hadn't yet succeeded in catching anything and was cruising the pasture as it hunted. The next thing I saw was just too funny. I watched as one of the calves began trotting in the herons direction in what appeared a curious way and the heron flying away a few feet as it approached. It happened a second time and on the third attempt the heron flew quite a bit further away and the calf lost interest. All that action caught the attention of some of the other calves and they came trotting over to investigate but were just a little late to the party!!!

Boy Parts!

A friend was telling the story yesterday of how her boyfriend learned to pee when he was a youngster.
His mom would put a square piece of toilet paper in the toilet and told him to see if he could sink the battleship as a way of training him not to pee all over seat!

Girl Parts!

A female friend (who identifies as a boi) said in response to the Michigan Women's Music Festival that her ovaries start to hurt when she gets around too many women!!!

Bumper Sticker

Love Thy Neighbor
Shop Local

Remembering Liza

As part of grieving the loss of my girl, I seem to be having memories of her pop into consciousness.
This story was SO quintessentially Liza and it made me laugh deeply when I remembered it. There was a group of turkey vultures out in the pasture...maybe 5 or 6 of them in a circle. Liza saw them and in her own uniquely saucy and bold way marched through the cat hole in our fence and headed straight for the vultures while making that sound that cats do when they see a bird. Oblivious to the fact that the vultures were considerably larger than her, she kept marching until, apparently scared by my girl, the vultures flew away!

Bliss Boy

The other evening I made an emergency run into town to get a coconut bliss bar!
I brought it home and was sitting outside on a lawn chair. It was that beauty-full time of the eve when things begin to quiet and the very best thing you can do is sit and listen (and eat coco bliss!)
As I was sitting there Simon, my boy cat, jumped up onto the arm of the chair and parked himself. He didn't act overtly interested in what I was eating which then made me think of Liza. Had she been on the arm of the chair she most certainly would have wanted to smell the bar, give it a lick and then bite off a sizable chunk...and another and then another!!! But Simon is a more reserved individual. I let him smell the bar and then he very delicately took a little lick. After digesting that and evaluating whether he liked it or not he began licking the top of the bar very sweetly. I sat watching, smiling and experiencing, well....Bliss!

Canine Relief

A good friend of mine lives "in town" which means she has neighbors on either side. On one side is a couple that has several dogs. Those folks don't believe in spay/neuter or walking their dogs and enjoy the fact that their dogs bark...A LOT. Neighbors have tried all kinds of approaches to get the situation to change but without success. I was over at my friends house the other night and heard the dogs. Their barking went on for a long, long time. I couldn't imagine living with that 24/7. I definitely sympathized with my friends frustration. We decided to take matters into our own hands!!! We got some dog biscuits and put rescue remedy on them and my friend threw them over the 7ft fence. We heard them hit the ground. The dogs got quiet and after a minute or so we heard them crunching. And then it just got very quiet. So, we threw more! And for the remainder of the time I was visiting it was mostly quiet with only an occasional bark. Oh happy day. The dogs got to experience less stress and the neighbors more quiet.
I texted my friend the next eve to remind her to do the same thing with the biscuits and she texted back that she had been thinking about it all day and was looking forward to tossing over more 'medicated' biscuits!!!