A Remembering for Michelle

 This, in the season of Michelle's passing.

Not many words needed.

I miss her, we all do.

Each one of us with our shared and more personal memories and meanings.

Friends.

May we gather 'round to remember, honor, cherish our Dear Michelle.

Please scroll down, letting your own heart wrap around her, around us.

A candle has been lit. 

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                                  The life of the dead is placed in memory of the living.

                                                                                       -Cicero 

 

We Remember Them

In the rising of the sun and in its going down,

We remember them.

 In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,

We remember them.

 In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring,

We remember them. 

In the blueness of the sky and the warmth of summer,

We remember them.

In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn,

We remember them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends,

We remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength,

We remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart,

We remember them. 

When we have decisions that are difficult to make,

We remember them. 

When we have achievements that are based on theirs,

We remember them. 

So long as we live, they too shall live,

For they are now a part of us.

As we remember them. 

 

-RABBI SYLVAN KAMEN AND RABBI JACK RIEMER

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Autumn Leaf Person by: Michelle

 

Marking Time~ Finger Crocheting during down time

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"The death of a beloved is an event that rings and rings through life:

   bearing it is not a problem to be solved, but a long, slow piece of music to listen
 to. And mourning, like music, is best listened to with others."    

~Sarah Miles 

Holding Time

 

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May we hold one another in loving arms

May we grieve in song and remember in love

May we live in time and in love

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2021 

Taking Care of Business

Off we went to vote in the recall election today. We in CA are dearly hoping Newsom 

stays put, right where he is. It is a terrifying thought of the way things could evolve.

 

 On the way we noticed these cacti in full bloom.

Aren't they amazing?!

 This beautiful giant evergreen below smelled so good!

The scent of the crunchy needles carpeting the ground below reminded me of camping trips in years gone by. Perfect.

 

We also took a moment to peek at the animals we could see (the 'barn' area is getting work done) - so just two could be easily seen.

There was another plant J. wanted to show me, so, off we went around our neighborhood looking for beauty.

J. wanted to show me this great prickly pear! What a beauty. 

I thought of you Marti ☺

Next it was a short drive up the canyon I used to walk. At the end, this huge pine, filled with pine cones. I loved how they looked so stark against the sky.

This Beauty Drive only lasted about 15 minutes, but really filled me. On the way back down the canyon, I told J. about all of the spots and places I used to know there, back when I walked it a lot. I said I have a lot of personal history with this place. Where do you have personal history? Where feels like home to you? Can you still get there? Go, if you can.

The Beauty Drive was a splendid way to balance the weight of this recall election.

May you take care of the business at hand

May you find the beauty, even in the hard times

May you live in the moment, while taking actions to protect the future

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2021   

9 Patch Number 2

More Communication...

Little notes from Liz to tell me of the fibers she sent. The silk cotton has such a great feel to it and Fiona's hand-dyed fiber reminds me of a sandy shore. I found it so interesting how her fiber worked while weaving and the lumpy look of it when done.

Messages on the reverse side of  "Free - Enjoy!" tags - something I haven't shared much of, but when I saw this photo, I thought who are these messages for? Me? A stranger who finds this? All of us right about now? I don't know that there's answers. If I have already said this part following, please forgive my forgetfulness. Each one of these 'messages' is different, no two alike. Many of the first ones had to do with Nature, as I've mostly left them at trail heads. Some have been written like Fortune Cookies or are a song lyric or a tiny quote...some were just silly.

Maybe in some way, all of the messages have been a little bit of me shared with my local world...a little bit of what I need, that others may need as well.

That large skein of green has made 9 CMB so far and there's still lots left!

I can't say how much this weaving has been needed...and enjoyed too.

Today we went and planted all 9 of these. I was going to wait till the whole skein was used up, so I could take a photo of all of them together, but I couldn't wait ☺

I don't usually like to put my photo here, but tonight I thought I'd share my silly, string 'em up like a bunch of fish gag.

There were many people there, mostly riding bikes. I tried to be sneaky, but there were folks in the parking lot who may have wondered. Oh well. Anyway, we went to the Christmas Stocking - Bridge trail head, but instead of turning left from the shaded area where the man was stretching...we turned right and walked way down the walking & bike path. I tried to hang them in visible places on the curves, where they may catch someone's eye.

Here they are, 1 through 9, waiting...

It was hot, about 101 degrees

Grasses dry

Sky So Blue and Old Trees Green

It felt good to be out

Today I was interested in the yellowed plant life, the imposing power lines and the long pipe hung and supported like a bridge. Funny how I'd never noticed that before. Perhaps it isn't as visible if you travel left, towards the bridge, the way we usually go.

Here at home, the plant life is Green, with a capitol "G"! The little avocado plant you saw recently is now about 8 inches tall...with the most teeny, skinny stalks and the Biggest leaves. The biggest one is about 8 inches, which gives the whole thing quite the goofy look!

May your good wishes for others come right back to you as well

May you find beauty in the dry and the green

May you keep continuing, however you do

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2021  

September 1, 2021

It is September already...can you believe it? Little grandson, tucked away in his pack. Nowadays, his arms, legs & head are much more visible as he tours the world from his perch. Big grandson, peeking from behind the tree has now moved out to his own place, to be living the next chapter of his life. Very big changes. We're thinking of him.

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 Like Dee had mentioned, I too have drafts saved...both here in the blog and also in my email.

Like Dee had said, please excuse me if I am repeating myself.

Today's writings come from old found August drafts, where I seemed to have season and communication on my mind.

Typos were corrected, no editing was done.

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When being with babies, one learns that an early conversation may be a game of Peek-a-Boo. Baby covers their eyes and adult says in an exaggerated excited invitational voice "Peek-a-Boo"! Baby responds with squeals of joy and covers the eyes once again. This reciprocal back & forth exchange continues, thus producing a conversation of sorts.

It goes along this way as long as both parties are engaged and interested. Sometimes baby would like to converse way longer than their adult, in which case a way to end the conversation must be thought of and implemented.

But, this is the way of conversations, isn't it? A beginning, a middle and an end created by engaged parties.

I worry that in our current world of screens and isolation, the art of conversation has abruptly been changed. I liken it to to a game on the tennis court. Person A begins by hitting the ball over the net to person B. Upon receiving the ball, person B hits it back again. This is the routine, the pattern, the map of conversation. This is really the only way it works, for if person B does not hit it back or Person A leaves the court for an extended period of time, before returning the ball in a lopping arch, it is not a conversation in the sense of the word I am considering. If person B turns their back and lets the ball roll about the court or person A sits down to begin some chalk drawing, it is not a true and meaningful conversation. If person A leaves the court or stands quite still, willing to receive, but person B just keeps hitting the ball over the net, again and again...ball after ball, changing balls constantly until the court across the net is covered in loose balls, hit only by one person, it is not a conversation, but a monologue.
So, it is an art you know, a conversation. One has to run from one side of the court to the other in order to keep up. They have to pay attention to one another in case the conversation goes from a gentle volley to a vicious smashing blow, barely clearing the net and almost knocking that partner out of the court. In the best scenarios, the ball is gracefully, thoughtfully hit over the net where the other person can consider it and return it in a like manner, like a baby's game of Peek-a-Boo.
~8-3-21

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The cactus out back has a new, fat, green "paddle" - what does one call a cactus leaf?

A beautiful shade of new life green in the afternoon sun.

What does August mean to you?

Sleepy childhood memories

of barefoot nothing and everything to do

  

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It seems that communication is like confetti these days.

Folks just throw it out there and see what sticks.

Maybe some of those words will land on your shoulder and glimmer in your thoughts for a few days, at least until they slip off in a slight breeze, only to become a distant memory.

There's another new paddle growing on the other side. J. loves the way this cactus curves and bends. I like how it hold the light.

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May you hold the light for all of the prickly situations bombarding our world at this time.

May you keep  others in your heart in their time of  darker.

May you do the same for yourself.

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2021