Oh how I wish you guys could see me and my Beloved sitting here, looking our absolute best worst dorkiest most original. Happy Pants, ratty old sweatshirts, horribly unfashionable (but new!) all cotton knitted cap (that would be me, he just finished two of them, per my particularly specific specifications, and I keep jamming them onto my head at random intervals), in socks and scuffy slippers (him this time, not me). No, there will NOT be pictures. Just imagine him yanking his hood up over his disastrously messy hair and grinning, “oh is THIS what we’re doing now?!” making sure we both look as incredibly SPECIAL as is physically possible.
We went for a winter wander earlier today and are now in the process of settling in and warming up . (Trudged a bit more than 4 and a half miles, in the periodic rain and intermittent windy gusts.) It wasn’t actually cold (stayed around 50 degrees) but the grabby breezes were almost frosty feeling, and the constant dampness sort of soaks in after nearly two hours. (We were dressed appropriately, as best we could be.)
We wax poetic for blocks at a time, examining the terrain, topography, and entertaining architecture, when we are not speculating about our neighbors or making up entirely fictitious story lines to explain our observations (like this time out, a woman in the kitchen we can see through the window, crap stacked in the side yard, uber creative fencing, or yard art like the picture below).
There is a flamingo in that shot, in this yard there are several of them. I’ve tried to capture this house’s intriguing sensibility maybe three or four times, I WANT to be photographing it nearly every time I go by, but there is always some reason it doesn’t work. Mostly there’s people in the yard, or the angle is wrong, or I’m driving and there’s some antsy ass behind me, or in the case of the last few attempts, my flash messed me up. (If I HAVE successfully shared this before, pretend I haven’t.)
We headed uphill this afternoon and went off into another part of our area that we’ve not walked together before. He’s run up that way and I’ve driven it lots over the years, but we’ve never hiked those streets in this configuration prior to today. It sparked many more conversations and of course, some very judgemental declarations (kind-heartedly though, because we aren’t just mean).
As best as I can type a startled choking sound made low in the throat, here is precisely what Dan said as we came upon the rental home in the above view, “aungh! HOLY SHIT that’s an ugly house!” I couldn’t argue with him, but that might be due to the fact that I was laughing so hard. He just BURSTS out with crap like this, and over 30 years later, I’m still surprised. And then morbidly delighted.
He and I do have serious moments, and this last shot was one of them. As we went along, we noticed some weather-related damage (minor, entirely minor, in comparison to what’s happening around the county and farther afield in the rest of our soggy state). This was a tree that had come down because it was dead and the ground around the roots was flood-level saturated. It spanned that ditch and crashed all the way across the street, the debris was evident farther past the curb and sidewalk even.
We do joke a lot (a LOT), but it’s sobering when we see places like this, not too many blocks from The Burrow (just up from Charlemagne Immersion/Fox Hollow Elementary School, for those of you interested in that type of local information and details). Yes, it rains here, and often the ground simply can not soak up any more. Trees die, trees get blown over, trees fall into roads and on top of houses. Life is dangerous, that’s a fact we all live with. It’s also something that both of us are never unaware of. Maybe that’s WHY we laugh so much. (Or, we just ARE that ridiculous.)
We only saw one Foreign License Plate, but it was a great one. (Ready Megan & Co and Karen B?) It was New Jersey! And here’s the best part, I can spot those bastards from a week away now. I saw it way ahead of us, and I KNEW, before I could even read the letters.
One more vital order of business, then we’ll get to our message from the Universe. It’s a well documented fact that I’m a big-time water drinker (I have TWO bottles with me every second of the day, except for the sleeping and outdoor movement hours). Since starting the EasyWeigh, I’ve noticed that the number of times I’m refilling my containers has dropped off significantly. One of the “food packages” that Allen feels is most important is fruit. I’ve been eating more fruit than I had been before I read the book, but not THAT much more. I don’t know what this means, I’m just reporting in.
Our daily draw is from the same category as the last one in this deck, and nearly all the rest we’ve seen lately. (Theme theme theme!)
“Creatures Of The Air:
Eagle, Raven, Owl, Humming Bird, Parrot, Peacock, Butterfly, Bat, Spider, and Bee.
By different means all these creatures escape the confines of earth. They soar above material cares and worries and counsel that it is time to let go of our cares, to leave the past firmly behind you where it belongs, and to look for a new future where anything is possible. Spider uniquely makes her gossamer home in the air, connected to earth by silken threads almost too fine to perceive. She counsels that as you go forward in life you should remain attached to your past, but not be dominated by it.”
“Spider ~
Travel will open up new possibilities and one special connection.
Spider flies on silken strands through azure skies and brooding storms, and know that the time has come to expand your horizons. Travel, be it to faraway lands or a flower-strewn meadow, and see the world through new eyes, with the deep understanding that nothing is impossible.
Spider sees her world through touch, not light, translating vibration into knowledge. Take wisdom from what you cannot see and if the fleeting touch of another affects you, acknowledge that connection and allow it to flourish.”
Today’s Deck:
Animal Messages – Seek Inspiration From Your Animal Guides by Susie Green
