Get Out Of The Way, Crazy Girl!

2012 is upon us and another year has passed. Already.  Time is moving like a runaway freight train and we are along for the ride--like it or not.

While I have accomplished a lot in this life, there is much more to learn, experience and explore. Because I want to have time for so many things, it will require being more selective about how I spend my days.  You know, to make sure I can fit in all of the good stuff. 

Just as Nervous Bob warned me when I was straddling the tracks trying to take this shot, it's time to "get out of the way."  Yes, get out of the way of the should do things in my life and start the want to portion of the ride.

Look out, it is 2012!

Dreams of Mermaids

 

 Every little girl dreams of being a mermaid.  

May all your dreams come true!

The Light

We asked for light during the Winter Solstice ceremony and the request was immediately granted.

As the day ended, the sun's size appeared to be much larger than usual.  This huge orb set off a rich tapestry of colors in both the sea and the sky not normally witnessed on a cold winter's day. 

Thanks, Mother Nature!

Go to the Light

On the eve of the darkest day of the year, it time once again to celebrate Winter Solstice.

Give thanks for the year's precious moments, victories and challenges which make this life so poignant,

Let go of old habits, grievances, and stories (you can even write them on slips of paper and burn them),

Light candles to banish the darkness, 

Bring home white flowers to place with the greenery, 

Feast on food which nourishes both body and soul,

Turn your heart toward the future,

and ask for light and love to shine on you in abundance.

 In this time of crazy holiday expectations, this special day can refresh and renew your heart and soul.

The Crab Lost

 

Legs here, arms there, an upturned shell and plenty of footprints lead us to believe a skirmish had taken place earlier in this very spot.

O' Christmas Tree

"What the heck am I doing here?  When I was "harvested" from my roots, thrown on a truck and driven away from the forest I was understandably upset.  Then, with sugar plum fairies dancing in my head, I remembered it is Christmas.  I began thinking about being inside looking out at the snow.  I imagined festively wrapped presents under my branches as I smelled the cookies baking in the next room.  Everyone entering the house would proclaim my magnificence.

Instead, I stand here trying to look as majestic as possible between an empty park bench and a trash can. Undaunted by the 90-100mph wind storm,  I have also endured the 28 degree F cold snap.  I am well anchored though and most likely won't blow over and roll around the parking lot in an undignified manner.

I shouldn't complain.  Local families have decorated my limbs with ornaments built to withstand the wind and the rain and many folks turned out for my ceremonial lighting.  I even have a view of the Pacific Ocean from sunrise to sundown, not many trees can boast about that.

I have just one wish.  All I ask  for Christmas is for PEACE in this quaint town.  For small minds to be replaced with open hearts who really care about their neighbors.  

Join me as we all celebrate this place we call home!"

Moon Over Spring Lake

The bright full moon was rising over Spring Lake last night when I captured this photo.  Just a few hours before a lunar eclipse, we were both excited about the clear skies forecast for the early morning event.

Alas, at eclipse time, the usual grey clouds had set in.  Our hopes of seeing the spectacle set into the Pacific Ocean were dashed.

Cold Stones

It's not very often you wake up at the beach to 28 degrees F and heavy frost covering everything...including the rocks.  I recommend drinking hot coffee by the crackling fire until further notice!

A Pirate's Life For Me!

"He sat upon the rolling deck

Half a world away from home,

And smoked a Capstan cigarette

And watched the blue waves tipped with foam.

He had a mermaid on his arm

An anchor on his breast,

And tattooed on his back he had

A blue bird in a nest."

Langston Hughes

Waiting For A Ghost

It was one year ago this weekend I first stumbled (literally) upon the Emily G. Reed shipwreck.  December 5, 2010, is a day etched in my mind as you can see from my journal entry from that fateful day...

Today is an unseasonably warm December day on the Oregon Coast. As I stroll along the beach, I am nearly alone. The few people I do pass have their coats tied around their waists as I do. The sun shines on my face as I think about how many times I have walked across this sand in the past fifty years. It is a familiar, safe and comfortable hike. That was about to change.

Shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun on the wet sand, I see something ahead in my path. Huge square beams are exposed in the sand like the ribs of a skeleton. What in the world could this be? I blink my eyes a few times and continue squinting in the same direction. It appears each timber is nearly 12 feet long and a foot in diameter and they continue 80 feet down the beach.

My mind searches madly for an explanation. I listen as it goes through its checklist trying to make sense of the information coming through my eyes.

These weren’t here yesterday. Check.

Yet, they are buried in the sand so they must have been here for a while. Check.

No one else seems concerned. Check.

The wood looks as if it has been hand hewn. Check.

The huge bolts holding them together are bright orange with rust. Check.

My mind--which is very fertile ground under the most boring of circumstances-- has unleashed itself and is galloping towards some wild assumptions. Its wildest theory is that I have discovered a shipwreck. Not just any old ship, but a pirate ship cast ashore during a fierce storm carrying treasures from the Far East. I glance around for gold doubloons or jewels to confirm my zealous assertions. But find only sand and black pebbles. My mind stays vigilant for Blackbeard, Captain Kidd or Black Bart the Pirate.

Desperate to maintain reality, I explore every inch of this wooden relic. Later, an older couple wanders down the beach and stops briefly. Almost as an aside they say, “Oh, this must be the remains of the “Emily G. Reed.” She was shipwrecked here on Valentine’s Day in 1908. Every 35 years or so, when the winter storms wear down the sandy beach, you can catch a glimpse.” Seemingly unimpressed, they move along down the beach.

I, on the other hand, I am jumping around like a two-year old with a new toy. It IS a shipwreck! What incredible tales of far away adventures lie within? What happened on that fateful day?

Full of excitement at this discovery, I cannot believe during my years in this sleepy coastal town, no one has ever mentioned it. Yet, here I stand here next to her hull, just the two of us on this bright winter’s day.

Now as the winter storms slam down upon the beach, I eagerly check to see if she will show herself to me once more.  I can only hope and wait.

Hello Nancy, Rockaway Police Calling

"Oh great, another night in the pokey," was my first thought.  Then the nice officer explained this time it was just a courtesy call.

Today's perpetrator was our fence.  You know, the one  the locals said would blow down. It blew down.  A section of the fence couldn't withstand the storm's 100mph gusts this week and the posts snapped off at the concrete footings. Whole panels were tossed about the yard, in an amazing display of wind power. 

I would like to say that no one was hurt, but that's another story.  As you may have read, I have been having a very difficult time getting artichokes to grow here.  Everyone says, they grow like weeds, but not for me.  After two long growing seasons and five tries, I gave up.  Hearing my defeat, one of the artichokes sprung forth new shoots and has been growing like crazy just to mock me.  I didn't care, at least I had an artichoke in the garden.

Then during the "onshore breeze" which took out the fence, the orange Adirondack chair was apparently picked up, went sailing 40 feet across the yard and landed right on top the artichoke plant.  Nothing else in the garden was touched.  Just that single artichoke was flattened by the landing--it hurt me more than you can imagine.

Both of our egos bruised, Carpenter Bob has since cleaned up the mess and declared a war on the elements with a shake of his fist. He has refused to let me publish photos and sits by the fire plotting his next move.

Do we remind you of people who buy another trailer in a tornado zone with their insurance money from the first one?  I was afraid of that.

When Trees Get Revenge

This tall tree in the Oregon Coast Range "took one for the team" and stopped a log truck.  Well done!


Photo Source: The Oregonian

I Am Thankful...

(a partial list in very random order)

for pot roast and yorkshire pudding

I am not afraid of spiders

for finding my voice

I know how to swim

for my family and all of the children who are so grown up

that one out of the five artichokes I planted survived in spite of me

I am healthy

for being a little crazy

for the sound and the scent of the ocean

I am a girl and can dress in fancy clothes

for work that makes this world a better place

I married a man who loves to dance

I am warm and dry at night

for my little sister who thinks I made a difference in her life

I am frugal but not cheap

I can't remember the last time I was bored

for the feeling of sunshine on my face

Johnny Depp keeps making movies

for good friends who don’t judge me

I don't have to commute to work

that every year I get a little wiser

for nature in all her splendor

I can laugh at myself

for old movies, good books and decadent desserts

my hair likes the rain

I am still learning

for our homegrown tomatoes which last until Thanksgiving

I am so loved!

Stained Glass Tree

I stood under the canopy of this old neighborhood tree and looked up through the stained glass mosaic of it's vibrant burgundy leaves.  It was an honor to do so.

The Heart of Fall

The late afternoon sunlight transformed these delicate  

Chinese Lanterns and they started to glow from within. 

Struck by their similarity to the human body, 

I sat quietly and watched for a heartbeat.   

Moon Shadows

Startled from a deep sleep last night, I looked around to see what had awoken me.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except the power was off due to an earlier storm and at the Oregon Coast, power outages are not exactly out of the ordinary.  Surprised by the amount of light coming through the window though, I got up and looked out.  There were no lights on as far as the eye could see.  When I looked up, I saw the skies had cleared-- except for a few soft white clouds, several stars were shining and the big full moon was directly overhead.  There was no ambient light coming from town and the moon was the sole source of illumination.  Wandering about the house, I peered out each window looking in all directions.  There didn’t seem to be any other humans or animals stirring.  

The light from the moon was so bright it made intricate shadows on the ground crisply outlining the trees and plants.  The same moon that I had written about in my evening blog was indeed putting on a show on this rare night.  Perhaps I had mocked Mother Nature and was now invited to get a firsthand look at her 11-11-11 ritual. 

Then I noticed a tree in the backyard was ablaze with light. The birch tree, which had lost all its leaves, is now adorned with huge puffs of lichen.  Tonight, each puff of lichen appeared to be glowing from within with a hot, white light.   When the moon temporarily went behind a cloud, the tree returned to normal and then as soon as the cloud passed, the tree lit up again with hundreds of bright lights.   I gazed at the spectacle for a very long time ruminating on all sorts of possible explanations, while not ruling out magic.  My eyes finally became too droopy and it was time to return to sleep.  

When I got up this morning, the power was on, the coffee was brewing, the sky was obscured by clouds and rain and the town folk were busily going about their daily errands.  The world I had witnessed a few hours earlier had vanished.  It is, however, a night I will never forget.

11-11-11

What's the significance of this date?  Is it simple good luck or something more?

Today some believers decided to get married, others delivered babies, some sat in silence welcoming the beginning of a great transformation for the human race.  Concerned Egyptians even closed the Great Pyramids today to keep people from performing rituals.

To add to the intrigue, it is also a full moon.  I captured this moonrise coming over the coast range. Perhaps Mother Nature is performing a ritual of her own in celebration of the mysterious 11-11-11.

Whack-A-Mole

 

For those of you who enjoyed playing Whack-A-Mole as children, Gardener Bob would like to extend and invitation to visit us any time and bring a sledge hammer.   Our garden has dozens of these mole "mountains" and more pop up each evening.  They must be pretty big moles because they are pretty big piles of dirt.  He keeps wandering around, shaking his head and mumbling under his breath at them.  He just can't understand why the nearby vacant fields have NONE--not one--and we have scores.  So stop by anytime and take out a little aggression. Please!

Note: For those of you who were sheltered as children, you missed out.  Here is a little background information

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

 "The Earth laughs in flowers" - Emerson

It apparently also chuckles in sand and sea foam! 

We found this happy face while beach combing one afternoon.

I Left My Heart in Rockaway

Perhaps I spent a little too long in San Francisco this week, because this sunset photo makes Rockaway Beach resemble that beautiful city (without the little cable cars, of course).

Ours Is Not To Reason Why

How can the immense power and energy of waves 

be so calming to the human spirit?

Trick or Treat

It is either Satan rising from the underworld or 

Halloween Bob trying out his scariest look in the campfire smoke.

You decide!

Don't Hate Me

No, this isn't the Oregon Coast or any coast for that matter.  Business required me to travel to the desert to talk about producing green meetings in a land where water is scarce and sunshine is not.

While in Palm Springs, I took the opportunity to photograph a few desert plants and trees. They are so very different from the natives at Saltair Station.  I also took the opportunity to soak up the sun and take in the view from a hammock.

From time to time, when the wet drizzle gets to me, I will publish one of the photos as a reminder the sun will return.

Twins Of The Same Mother

Are we all connected?  

The shapes, colors and intricate details of sea foam bubbles and the Carina Nebula, strikingly similar in their translucent beauty, seem to answer the question, YES!


Photo credit:  Carina Nebula, Hubble Telescope, NASA, Smith, N.

I Am Seeing Red

 

 The colors of autumn dance in the wind.

Things That Make Me Cranky

1. It is currently 55 degrees F here in Portland (where my body is on Monday) and 67 degrees F with sunshine in Rockaway Beach, Oregon (where my heart resides).
2. I have been listening to the sound of the surf in the distance as if I am at Saltair Station only to become aware it not the surf but the droning freeway noise when a siren goes by.
3. There is very little chance I will be sitting by a campfire at sunset watching the birds migrate to their winter homes.

Thanks for listening!  I feel better.  Now it is time to stop this self-indulgent whining and go back to being grateful for all that I have. 

And The Finishing Touch

Mother Nature also fashioned this exquisite, colorful necklace to complete her outfit this weekend.  

I'll bet the mermaids were jealous!

All Dressed Up

"Waves are Mother Nature's delicate, lacy petticoats,"

proclaims Fancy Nancy Z.

Occupy Poop Rock

"Hell no, we won't go!"  was the chant coming from these seabirds on Poop Rock*  even when a mighty Coast Guard helicopter was bearing down on them.  The helicopter dipped, swirled and generally kicked up A LOT of wet wind and not one of these birds took flight.  Not one.

I am not sure what issue they are protesting for (or against) but they won this battle.

*Full disclosure: Poop Rock may not be the sanctioned name for this rock, but we call it that because every summer it turns completely white with bird poop and then in the winter, the rain and wind wash it back to green.  Seen here in fall after a few storms, it is nearly green again.

Terror Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

When I took this shot of a blue heron coming in for a landing on the dock in Wheeler, I was reveling in its grace and beauty as it soared so effortlessly.

Now when I look at this photo either on the monitor or on paper, my response is, "Yikes, grab your children and small pets there is a pterodactyl circling overhead!"  Scary stuff.

It must have been one of those you had to be there moments which didn't quite transfer to film!

Poems Pelicans Recite While Fishing

 

One fish,

Two fish,

Red fish,

Blue fish!

I think they may have Dr. Seuss to thank for this rhyme, 

but that fish spotting in such an organized manner is all theirs!

Living on Easy Street

 

Literally, you can live on Easy Street in Rockaway Beach, Oregon.  I desperately wanted to live on Easy Street street and write oodles of letters with such a return address.  The only house for sale on the street when we were looking was a small, dank, rundown shack that Practical Bob quickly took out of the running.  I initially protested wildly, but eventually gave up knowing he would have to do all the work to make it livable again.

The town streets are named alphabetically from Highway 101 to the east.  Each letter of the alphabet has an ocean or nautical name such as Coral, Lagoon, Keel, Harbor...you get the idea.  But the town settlers must have decided life was a little rough so close to the sea and therefore, when it was time to determine the letter E, an Easy Street was in order. 

Hard At Play

Some days, learning to allow myself to play is hard work.

Songs Blue Herons Like To Sing

"So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay

Watching the tide roll away 

Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay 

Wastin' time"

by Otis Redding

Intrepid

The next time you convince yourself you just can't do something, remember this intrepid little guy and think again. 

The tiniest green bud has broken through the thick, rough bark of a 70 foot evergreen tree determined to serve as a nesting place for birds, a playground for squirrels and shade for our hammock.  It couldn't have been easy.  Undaunted by the older and larger branches, it popped through and found a place in the sun.

It gives new meaning to the quote hanging above my desk, "What would you attempt if you knew you would not fail?"  

Is It Just Me?

The rusty metal pieces sticking out of this bank at the beach are actually box springs.  Yes, very old box springs twisted and warped from time, weather and waves.

They are laying horizontally about three feet above the sand and six feet below street level.  Two-thirds of each frame is still embedded in the bank.

Why,  or maybe more importantly, how did they get there?  How long ago? Where did they come from?  Was it planned or an abandoned hotel?

How, or maybe more importantly, why am I constantly surprised by the discoveries I make at the Oregon Coast?

Some people engage in crossword puzzles, others test their mental ability with sudoku, I apparently gaze around and ponder this crazy world of ours.  I heard today that Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes fame is leaving the show.  His opening line, "Do you ever wonder why...?" has always resonated with me because I do wonder why...a lot.  Businessman Bob is encouraging me to apply for his position so I can make oodles of cash for what is already swirling around in my mind.

Celebrate Art

"Nature is the art of God."

 - Thomas Browne, 1635

Bloomin' Crazy

In May, I brought this orchid plant to Saltair Station.  It basks in the sun in a window facing the ocean and drinks in the humidity and salt air.  I water it every couple of weeks and otherwise my only job is to admire its incredible beauty.

Here it is the end of September.  Not only have none of the original flowers dropped off, just this week two more buds have developed and opened into full blooms. Since the plants arrival, it has a total of seven additional blooms.

Now I realize this is a nourishing, happy place, but WOW! 

A Lesson From My Garden

The garden is filled with healing plants like one of my favorites is this sweet Echinacea known for it's positive effect on the body's immune system.  The breeze here is filled with the healing qualities of the salt air and the beauty of nature surrounds me.  Is it any wonder why I am drawn to this place?

I seem to be drawn to all types of healing: my teachings as a Reiki Master; continuing course work in energetic and Whole Hearted healing; and the Tai chi practices I love, all a part of my life and my learning.  Even my professional work where I spend my days trying to move an industry to leave less of a footprint upon the Earth.

Until this very moment, writing this blog, I had seen these as very separate aspects of my life, not as the focus of my soul.  Ahhh, all of the pieces of the puzzle fall together and wisdom is gained.  Amazing!

"And then the day came when the risk to remain in a tight bud 

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"  

- Anais Nin

Cowabunga!

There it is!  The town cow has been found wandering around a lumber yard in Tillamook.  As you might remember from earlier blog posts this poor cow statue has no place to call home.  According to the loading dock worker at the yard, it is temporarily staying here until a suitable location in Tillamook County can be found.  The good news is, there is now a person gainfully employed to move it around.

Rumor has it, the cow will be moved to Nehalem--the worker's hometown.  He isn't too excited about the prospect.  

What a delightful scavenger hunt this has become for me though!

Late Summer Sunshine

"Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower."  

~Alan C. Kay, American Computer Pioneer

Watch That First Step

It is so thoughtful of the local school district to install a new handicapped parking area.  I am not sure how you would get your car/van up on to this parking pad.  If successful, you would need to be very careful walking around the vehicle to make sure you didn't fall off and say, twist an ankle and end up handicapped.

Easily Motivated

It is much easier to get up, put on your shoes and head out the door for a morning walk when this is the view.  Just sayin'...

It Is Yes Day

When the kids were little, my girlfriend and I used to take them camping each summer in the mountains right next to a picturesque lake.  Just two women and four children under the age of 8.  Each day during our week-long trips we would have a different theme such as:

Backwards Day where everyone wore the clothes backwards, talked backwards,we served dinner for breakfast and so on.

Parade Day where the kids decorated the bikes and themselves with whatever they could find or make and then merrily parade around the campground enrolling all the other children.

On Color Day we drew a color out of a hat in the morning and then we all had to find clothes that same color to wear, make food that color, create posters and use the word whenever possible.

But the favorite day of all was YES Day.  On YES Day,  "the mothers" had to say yes to anything the kids asked.  We never announced this day, but when all of their requests were granted they would usually figure it out by noon.  It was pretty safe as they were young and their requests were things like no vegetables at dinner, eating candy all day not just at the evening campfire and playing in their tents instead of outdoors.  It is a vacation story they still tell often.

These memories came flooding back to me yesterday.  Camper Bob and I were sitting outside, basking  in the sun and quietly listening to the ocean    When all at once he blurted out,  "Is it YES Day?"  Apparently he had heard the stories and was interested in reviving the tradition!