Oceanly Escape

When you find a place in Nature where the mind and heart find rest, then you have discovered a sanctuary for your soul. -- "Eternal Echoes" by John O’Donohue

Family members from Arizona and California can't figure out how I can stand Minnesota winters. I answer that you can always put on enough layers to stay warm.

But this weather? Even if I went naked and shaved my head, I wouldn't be cool enough. The air is so damp that all that humid-wetness, combined with sweat and lack of a breeze, is unbearable to me. When I had a pool, I could jump in and cool off and go back to work or play.

Now, there is no relief except staying inside somewhere air conditioned. I know, I should be thankful I have air conditioning and I am thankful. But staying inside makes me cranky and I think I sometimes turn into a werewolf. I just want to crawl back in bed and stay there until things cool down.

Even the dogs are losing their tempers.

For those of you wondering why I'm not off enjoying one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes -- it's because only about 5 of them are good for swimming (mainly because of fertilizer runoff and human waste - I know, lovely). Cleaner lakes are about a 3 hour drive away.

Okay, so I sound a bit negative. I know some of you are toughing it out and bicycling and outdoorsing it despite the weather. Good for you. I'm a hot weather wimp.

To think that last week I was swimming in the ocean...

Okay, so that's not me, but I was there taking the photos... The weather was absolutely amazing in California while I was there -- 80 degree temps accompanied by an ocean-cooled breeze... Luscious!

Friday, the day before my nephew's wedding, we, the non-wedding party members, went to the beach for an afternoon of swimming, volleyball, football, eating, and sand sculpturing.

The seagulls and squirrels tried to join us. The seagulls were very confident about making off with something as they right away moved into a "V" (victory) formation.

The pelicans flew overhead, looking very prehistoric and majestic. 

We even looked on with amazement while dolphins swam past (whales went by too but I missed that).

The water was a bit nippy.

But you quickly forgot about that as you concentrated on not being swallowed by a wave.

I sucked in enough salt water to cause severe hypertension.

Being by the ocean always tweeks something in me. I think it's the "peaceful and utterly alive" button. I wish there was an ocean in Minnesota. Latte tries to pretend there is.

It's been a tough summer -- the first whole summer I've spent away from what was my home. I moved into my current house on July 23, 2010.

I comfort myself with words such as these. I hope they have the same uplifting effect on you.

A Blessing
-- from"Eternal Echoes" by John O’Donohue

May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart that something good is going to happen to you.
May you find a harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place. 
May you know the eternal longing which lives at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself. 
May your angel free you from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment, and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, mind you, and embrace you in belonging.

The Dance

"I Hope You Dance" by Tia Sillers

Lovin' might be a mistake 

But it's worth making 

Don't let some hell bent heart 

Leave you bitter 

When you come close to selling out 

Reconsider 

Give the heavens above 

More than just a passing glance 

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance 

I hope you dance 

As I watch the couples on the dance floor, tears gather in my eyes and I fight the spillage. Swallow, just swallow. It will be okay.

Newly romanced, the hopefuls, and the long-timers filled the floor. Some touching and synchronizing, others gyrating their individuality and exuberance.

I'm thrown back in time, to those awful junior high dances, standing wallflower, trying to pretend I don't care.

Why will no one stay and struggle through the more difficult steps? At least try to find the beat?

Don't think. Don't think. Don't think.

Did I step on his toes? Did I spin too far out of control? Did I close my eyes too long? Or lean too hard against him?

I watch the couples dance -- the secret looks, eyes meeting and becoming smiles, hands resting against a familiar back like it has for ten, twenty, thirty or more years.

I wanted that. It's all I've ever wanted.

My sister dances toward me, takes my hand, and draws me onto the floor where I smile, blink, and join the dance.

Glimmerings

Each time we go out, the world is open and free; it offers itself so graciously to our hearts, to create something new and wholesome for it each day. 
-- John O-Donohue, "Eternal Echoes"

I hear that having a vast number of interests is not that unusual for a writer. It’s part of the attraction of writing. You get to research so many topics, places, and lifestyles. If you don’t like the life you’re living, write yourself into another realm or make something that actually happened to you turn out a different way.

The problem is that I keep getting drawn away from my writing. Sure I blog, but I’m not doing the serious stuff to improve my skills and write the kind of imaginative, ironic stories that I want to write.

And in the midst of this, I’m trying to determine where the photography fits in. I want to take great photos but I don’t need to be as awesome as someone planning on creating a business out of their photography.

So I need to figure out how much energy to put into the sideline endeavors. And how much time to devote to the activities that I believe feed my stories – the hiking, time with the Brew Babes, trail riding, gardening, bicycling and traveling.

My doctor recently cautioned me that “You need more than five to six hours of sleep a night or you’re going to burn out.”

Who knew?!

So yeah, I need to learn how to better manage my time and put my limited energy towards the things that I feel most driven to do something with.

I’m writing about this because I'm going to be cutting back on commenting, tweeting, and Facebooking. Actually, I've already been unwillingly doing this and I just have to give myself permission to not feel so guilty about it.

I’m still going to blog, but it will come secondary to working on my stories – kind of like a reward… “if you write ten pages, then you can write a blog post”. I know I'll miss the blog world so it should be a good incentive.

The blog work I've done has certainly not been in vain as I plan to take some of my blog posts and rework them into story and poems. No, none of it has been in vain. I'm learning that. Everything I've been gathering on the way is going to take me to where I need to be.

I'm Melting...!

It's been a steamy weekend, those kind of days when you should just float around on some kind of pool toy. Instead, I rode Luke, the poor guy.

It's like we've had the hazy and crazy but where's the lazy of those "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer"?

In order to help you cool off a bit (if you're in the same boat), here's a little poem I wrote and some photos of some nice cool water...

Mountain Melt Down

Water fills my head

With the sound of wind

Running horses and

Love beads of rain

Liquid flight

A gushing destination

As cold solids

Become liquid mass

Coaxed to life

By sun

Sprung loose

In a gravity pull

A downward dive

Rock and earth

Stand firm

Containing the journey

But they can't dampen

Bubbling wonder

And sprays of silly string

Water is life

Earth's blood

My blood

Drumming in my ears

Tree Beings

You all know how much I love trees. Well, I got to see some great driftwood and tree-rock-flower arrangements while I was in Colorado, which I 'll show you in my Not Too Many Words Wednesday.

When I photographed this tree, I was thinking it looked like it was doing some kind of yoga posture. But when I looked at the photo on my computer, what I saw was a wolf. I'm wondering what you see?

I'm a sucker for one lonely tree struggling against all odds to grow.

And I admired the way this loner stood out against the darkening sky.

An octopus perhaps?

Creepy shape-shifting witch fingers that brush your neck as you pass by... 

There were places where my two favorite elements combined -- water and trees. Some were a raging combo.

Others joined in serenity.

And these sentries were just plain cool.

Java has her own appreciation for trees or bite size pieces of them anyway...

Current and Colorado News

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.  
~Albert Schweitzer

Talk about bursting into flame! My life seems to be taking off at rocket speed lately. I'm not sure though if I'm riding the rocket or running alongside trying to keep up.

But I am thankful for being so rich in the gift of people! And I keep meeting more amazing humanity every day.

Being away camping, somewhat stripped me down to the basics and helped me recognize at a deeper level what's important to me. I am struggling after the return to the real world (or is it real?) not to be drawn back into the pressure and politics and todoitness of it all.

One piece of reality is that it has been sweltering hot here lately, or is that sweatering? Poor Latte came in from our walk on Saturday and fell over in this position.

We went to Anoka Riverfest where Latte was an amazingly good girl. Going camping and being exposed to all the people at the campground and on the trails seems to have helped her not be so fearful of strangers, especially children. She let several adults pet her without any fuss whatsoever, a huge step for her!

I found these mugs at Riverfest.

The guy I bought them from said they were holding them just for me. He didn't know how on the mark he was.

The Riverfest outing came after spending the morning in Stillwater shooting 236 photos. It will take me awhile to sort through those but here's a sample.

I met up with the Minnesota Photography Club Facebook group. We were quite the sight wandering the streets together. Here's a link to David Parker's, photos on Facebook from our outing. He is way excellent and has a website here. My amatuerness is showing...

Despite the heat yesterday, I went bike riding with my friend (stable owner extraordinaire) around the area where Luke is boarded. We were going to ride horses after the bike ride but the horses looked so exhausted that we just groomed them instead. (Not to mention that I was so sweaty I would have probably just slid out of the saddle if I'd tried to ride.)

Last night there was a big storm -- crackling booms, jolts of light, sheets of rain, and lion roaring wind. My electricity went out, which put an end to the work I was doing on my computer. Having been a hot, steamy day, it was no fun trying to sleep without even a fan to move the air around.

The electricity was back on when I woke up, but I had to deal with the electrical aftermath and how worn out I was from a not so restful sleep. I still haven't figured out where the reset is for my bathroom outlets. And I found this in the back yard.

The Brew Babes were trying to help out.

Sort of...

But enough about real life. Let's head on back to Colorado, who's snowy mountains I am truly missing right now, as are the Brew Babes.

Latte turned into the tasmanian devil whenever we neared a snowbank. She went so nuts she managed to get away from us twice and played keep away for a bit, scaring me half to death -- I could see the headlines: "Terrier lost in Colorado mountains". But when I calmed down and knelt close to the ground and waited for Latte to come to me, she did come. Good to know...

Java was a bit more sophisticated.

But then she also told me "I'm out of here."

We were all pretty happy in the snow.

As was this little guy. Anyone know what kind of bird this is?

Here's a better view.

By the last day of our hiking adventure, we were worn out and had Java help us out by carrying some water bottles.

When we had to walk on a log to cross a stream, I took Java's pack off as I wasn't sure if she'd panic on the log and didn't want anything messing with her balance. I walked in front of Java so I wasn't looking at her and giving her the wrong worried signals. Java crossed just fine, as did Latte. My partner in crime (PIC) brought up the rear carrying our gear.

Here's something else I'm missing from Colorado -- the mega muffins from the nearby coop. A big yum!

There will of course be more photos and stories in subsequent posts. 

p.s. I was recently quoted about my first attempt at mountain biking in the online article "Learn the Sport of Your Dreams" by Melanie Haiken. Melanie has a blog called "Health Conscious Travel", which I enjoy reading. I was thrilled that information about our local event was included in her article.