Early Resolutions

By


November has rolled around again, and this year it sure is a doozy, eh?   But putting my election day emotions on hold for a minute, I'm contemplating this:  

 
In autumn, nature's palette is distinctly different than any other time of year, and I long to spend hours drinking in the beauty.  But alas, too many other things fill my days, and my thirst for time off from my "regular life" only grows.  Each morning when I awake, I see the brilliant sunrise with a crisp edge of frost making the leaves rain down from the Jujube and Apricot trees, and at day's end I see the golden angle of the sun beaming through the chartreuse and yellow leaves of the Cottonwood along Arivaca Creek.  In between, there are lists and chores, and distractions galore. 
 

If I'm lucky, some of those distractions include butterflies and bees, flowers and birds.  If I'm not, they include politics and conflicts, anger and sadness.  And no matter what, even when I manage to cross off many to-dos during the day, there are always more added.  Thankfully I still sleep very soundly most nights and wake refreshed, yet each "groundhog day" wears we out again.  And slowly but surely, the things that are most satisfying to my soul slip to the bottom of the to-do list.

So I've been missing out on a lot of my favorite pastimes: For instance, this fall, by the time I cleared off my studio porch enough to hang the hammock for the first time in months, it was almost time to move all the surrounding Geraniums and Coleus plants to the greenhouse, and get the cloches ready for frosty nights.  Then the third time I laid down in it, its ropes began to pop apart.  Is it too early to make a New Year's resolution to break this cycle?  

 

I hope not, cause that's my plan!  And here's my new to-do list, in no particular order:

  • Order a new hammock;
  • Keep hope alive;
  • Make art;
  • Watch birds;
  • Finish my book;
  • Keep in touch with friends and family; 
  • Sing;
  • Take trips near and far;
  • Stargaze;
  • Read;
  • Grow more food;
  • Take naps.
Wish me luck 🤞🤞🍀🍀


Popular posts from this blog

The Moon, Earth, & Sun... and vultures

By
Image
Last fall, I had two very magical encounters with vultures, and I am sharing them now in honor of this year's Arivaca Vulture Festival! On the morning of September 30th, I woke before dawn with the glow of the full moon coming through the windows. Known annually as the Harvest Moon, this one was also a "super moon", and I stepped out onto the patio to gaze upon it as it set over the giant Cottonwood trees.   Its brightness far out-shined the fading stars and the glow of dawn that was beginning on the east end of the sky. The breeze was crisp and cool, and the smell of fall leaves filled the air.  What an amazing time to be outside, with nothing but nature all around.  Then I saw that the vultures were out!  Hundreds of them were playing in the night wind, silently gliding, some only 50 feet over my head.  I had never seen such a sight.  On a typical morning, my routine includes getting up around dawn and having plenty of time to drink my morning coffee, watch the songb
Read more

How Did I Get Here?

By
Image
The first Bards and Bratz event at the Arivaca Dancehall happened on the afternoon of October 1st, with the theme "How the Heck did I Get Here? and Why am I Still Here?"  I decided to write a poem for the occasion, and below is Part 1, accompanied by photos of the Arivaca Cienega taken in 1993 during the very first trip Uno and I made to this area: HOW DID I GET HERE?                   Frosty, pink dawns in the Cienega; Red-winged Blackbirds calling from the Cattails; Deer standing in knee-high March rain; New leaves on the Cottonwoods; Black Vultures playing with the wind; Ginormous Barrel Cactus; Mergansers and Buffleheads in the Willow Pond; Pied-bills in the Grebe Pond; Lark Sparrows darting in and out of the trails; White Kites and Northern Harriers hovering overhead; The warm warm sun, shining on Vermillion flycatchers; The bubbling of the creek over rocks and downed logs,   a ribbon of green along its edge; A Wilson’s Warbler la
Read more

In Living Color

By
Image
 This summer has been a magnificent feast for the eyes, with an abundance of butterflies and bees in my home garden as well as in the Pollinator Garden at the Arivaca Dancehall.  In the midst of 19 months of hard and dusty work on the dancehall project, the sight of all this natural beauty has refreshed and renewed my aching body and brain more times than I can count.  I am grateful to all the winged wonders that have crossed my path during that time, and in so doing have brought their living color into my life and lightened my load in every way.  Below are some of the "flying jewels" that I have managed to photograph and video during the last couple of months.   These are actually Queen butterflies at the Arivaca Library :)
Read more