Complete Wildness

Yesterday, as I was taking my Utah dog for a long hike in some California snow, we happened upon something very exciting. We saw a coyote sauntering down the trail in front of us.

People often think I'm strange when I say I get excited when I see a wild animal. Don't I get scared? Don't I think I'm going to be eaten? No, I politely say. If humans were targets of wild animals, people would regularly be disappearing. To be honest, I'm more terrified of some crazed serial killer than I am of a mountain lion or a black bear. But I digress.

When I see a wild animal, I feel alive. I feel renewed. Somehow, knowing there are creatures living untouched and ungoverned by man makes me feel free. There are some things that aren't tamed, that aren't fenced in...that are living a life outside of our civilized sphere. To me, that sense of complete wildness brings a sense of joy. It reminds me of my place in God's creations. That the world is an enormous, wonderous place of which I am just a part.

Did you know they call coyotes "God's Dogs"? Well, I'm sure He was happy, watching me walking slowly in the quiet beauty of the canyon, watching His creations doing what they love.

Wildness

Yesterday, as I was admiring my Utah dog enjoying some California snow on a long hike in the canyon, I saw something amazing.

True happiness

doesn't come from external things. I know this. But can I just say a few things make me really happy? Of course, number one being my family. Fact. I love them with an eternal, undying love. Besides loving my family, however, I love live music. More specifically, I love David Gray. Why, you may ask? He is a fairly average looking, short Welshman. But there is magic in his music! I love its poetry, its tone, its atmosphere. There is insight, and passion and a sense of elation and creation.

I'm typically not so obsessed with celebrity or other musicians. However, he matters to me...in a way I can't say why. When he sings, he gives every part of himself to the music. And he wears tailored suits. Go figure. Its amazing he came to Sacramento, when I couldn't even get tickets to see him in San Francisco. I just respect and admire him for his tenacity and particularly for his passionate creative style. Merry Christmas to me!

that was easy...

i figured it out. go figure. i am a figureouter type of girl.

interesting...

my previous post somehow spurred Google Ads to post some seriously interesting ads...now my problem is how to undo what I have done. Namely un-ad my blog. I will try to figure that out. In the meantime, I will just post this cool picture I took while driving to Medford, Oregon to visit my bestest friends. Yes, it did snow on the top of Mt. Shasta very cool! It rained on the road which was a nice change of pace during a hot summer day. Can't wait to go again.

starry starry night

In the night

Midnight quiet
I tiptoe outside to my aerie perch overlooking the vast valley
A shimmering sea of lights
Half moon
Illuminates the scope of eternities laid before me

Piney boughs at my head
Lush wet grass at my feet
The lowing of cattle
The rush of the stream
The luscious breeze on my waiting skin

I am a maiden, bound to the bow of a ship
“plowing the stars”
Eyes wide in anticipation of movement
Celestial navigation

The rush of travel
I grip to feel the weight of earth
I am a spinning star all my own
Wanting to take my place in the firmament

Journeys end, breathless I smell the boughs, feel the grass
And rise
Return to my bed and wait another day for my journey
In the night

god bless america and homemade shirts

another amazing hometown 4th. spend the day with the glaziers...robert, debby, christian and lucy. we are so happy to have cousins so close! we ate, swam, watched the auburn parade and fireworks and had an all around relaxing, lovely day. doesn't get much better than this.

its that time again...

time for another week of girls camp. it may seem strange, but i love it. it takes me back to the days when everything was right with the world. can i please return to those days? the days when a snipe hunt was the epitome of a great night out. when your big sister snunk into your tent and covered you head to toe in toilet paper. when your best friend would walk with you to the bathrooms in the middle of the night even though she was more scared than you. when your leaders had all the answers and you knew the name of every star. ahh...now i get to see Maddy enjoy it which brings another level of appreciation for me. but i can't help wishing i was 13 again, and that i was rehearsing a skit and song and making dutch oven dinners. and walking through the woods wondering when my real life would begin.

wondering why...

by the shoe tree.

sometimes there is no answer.

sometimes there seems to be.

rainbows are created by the refracted light...yada yada yada.

i prefer to look at them and not try to understand why they are so amazing.

they just are.

moments of brilliance, moments of absurdity, art and profundity.

life is like that.

fleeting, amazing and then gone.

unless you're like the shoe tree which keeps getting bigger every year.

open your eyes and enjoy something amazing today.

Monday, May 11, 2009
get your kicks...
Tandem with Kate
Random found object art in Prescott with one cool chick!
Russel Johnson's environmental art piece
Yucca AZ. Isn't this where they tested the bomb? Is that related to the belief in aliens? I'm just sayin...
Embedding myself in the art...can you feel the love
No Explanation needed.

Trip to Prescott...drive 3 hours. Sleep in Fresno (or "the burg") at Grandma Marlene's posh B and B. Wake up .... drive 9 hours. Drop stuff at The Motor Lodge..."hip, chic and comfortable!" Eat, sleep, play, learn, eat, sleep, play, learn. Tough stuff.

I was so much more laid back about the colloquia (a conference, actually, but someone likes fancy scholarly words) this time. In Feb. I stressed about the schedule, the people, the process. Of course that is how it is when its your "first time." Now, you would have thought I was an old timer. I've got the thing down, seriously. I like my friends, the place I'm staying, the environment, and also the fact that Kate, Mom, Patty and Lynn were there. That was cool. I really enjoy the connections that are made and the new ideas, information and processes I am learning. It informs the way I look at the world. Only 6 more to go!
Fun experiences: Tandem bike riding with Kate, 108 degrees in Needles, eating constantly, walking down Montezuma with Mom, Patty and Kate, Lemon Lavendar cookies from the Crossroads Cafe, having lots of bonding time with Kate in the car
Best class I went to all weekend: I actually went to a Thesis Presentation about Popular Songs and Disasters where the artist performed songs about floods, fires, train wrecks, blimp wrecks, Hurricane Katrina and the San Francisco Earthquake. He was so nervous, he kept drinking out of an empty coffee cup. Poor guy...but he did have mad guitar skills. Where else but at Prescott College? :-)
Other best class: Environmental Art. My favorite artist (period) is Andy Goldsworthy (check him out if you don't know him). A discussion/survey of history of said discipline and then headed outside to make some art of our own in the creek behind the school. Loved it. Seriously, I'm a complete lunatic and love having a community of learners that supports my lunacy.

Trip to Newcastle...drive 9 hours, sleep in Fresno wake up....drive 3 hours. Home sweet home.

Get your kicks...

on a roadtrip along historic Rounte 66. Fun was had by all in Prescott, Arizona. Unfortunately for me, I actually was there to do some work (much of which was left undone thanks to my child and family). I am still happy I am a grad student at Prescott College, although sufficiently out of the honeymoon phase.

the flying girl

is me. go figure(yeah chagall!) the first time i saw this, i thought...there we are! i'm off, and brook is letting me fly, just not fly away. i appreciate him for that. really, he is the foundation of our happy life. and i get to have all my adventures with a safe place to land. i think he is amused by it, flights of fancy and all. this week, off to prescott az with kate for conference weekend. time to fly away!

my hero

...he is the al jarreau to my neko case. 18 years--i'm the luckiest woman on the planet!

Just stop...

growing up so fast! Maddy has blossomed (isn't that just an embarrasing mom word?) into a beautiful young woman, inside and out. I admire her quiet confidence, intelligence and compassion. She is a loyal friend, sister and daughter. She loves to read and discover new things...and is trying hard not to be a typical 'teenager'. Every once in a while, the urge to sulk hits, but she is so wonderful I have to cut her lots of slack. She starts Placer High School in August...amazing! I love you Madz!

Eat your heart out, Sephora!

Natural beauty has little to do with expensive packaging and high tech ingredients. Add a little color and water and Viola! Perfection. Kate and I got lucky on a perfect day at Cronin Ranch outside of Coloma, CA. This was the location for "Love Comes Softly" a Hallmark movie. It is about a 2 mile hike to the South Fork of the American river, one of my favorite places on the planet. Kate made some 'organic' makeup out of rocks and water. She is one of a kind!

i'm a bit of a freak

for books. the sight, the smell, the feel, imagining where the story will take me. You say obsessed like its a bad thing.

maybe it's a little early,

but this is my 40th b-day wish. We've all got to have something to look forward to, right? Wouldn't I look cool taking my Vespa to the trailhead?

mini me's

i know i'm crazy, i just didn't know i'd pass it on so completely. its true, it runs in the family.

seahorse love

secrets and light...all in a days work

The fun never ends

Having a blast with my sidekicks, loving the fresh air, brillant skies, and the lush greeness of spring.

Easter Adventures

This has been a blessed week. A trip to San Francisco for chinese food, a jaunt to Big Sur, loving life in Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. Having fun with my sidekicks (every adventurer needs a sidekick, I have two! Lucky me). The sky relected the joy we felt as we wiggled our toes in the sand and were in awe of nature's beauty. It never ceases to amaze and delight.