Settling or Settled

 

3 short honk-barking sounds...over and over

Big black bird hops from spot to spot

On the old cottonwood tree

Enhertu Side Effect Experiment: Removing Emend | MBC Update, a Reading, + Upcoming Alaska Road Trip.

LINK 12:54 minutes

I've been watching Kim's videos for a year now, ever since her "The Beginning of My End" popped up on you tube and I clicked on it. What I discovered is a beautiful person with the abilities (spoken, written, through photography) to express herself so eloquently through the many ups and downs, joys and deep sorrows of life. I came to know someone who could capture with her camera the world's amazing wildlife and more...seeing nature through her eyes. You can see her vision too on her website: HERE or more videos: OVER HERE. Her photo of Lake Tahoe hangs in my kitchen, where it fills me with joy each day as I look at it. 

In this video (above), she shares her reality and heartfelt words. I would only do her an injustice to try and summarize that here, so I do hope you watch the video.

You can also follow along on her journey above or HERE at her Untamed email list.

"Who you are is what you settle for, you know?" ~Janis Joplin

I'm recently considering the word "settle". The above quote came at the right time for this. What is the difference between settling for and be settled in, as in comfort and acceptance of a particular reality? Do you see this as a positive or negative? 

I've also been listening to a lot of the generational music...the 1960's - 1970's...the good stuff. At night I fall into the rabbit hole of memories of eras in my life. It is priceless and deeply bittersweet. The other night it was the "strong women" (as my tween daughter used to call them). Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Carole King, Joni Mitchell...among others. I'm not including those with a more "country" focus and forgetting other names at the moment, but you get the idea. I could literally spend hours in this space.

You can probably guess some of those songs/videos will show up here on the 'trail' soon!

I've also picked up the needle and thread again. I'm still gluing, but will also be stitching on leather again. I'm grateful to still have some, as I will most likely not purchase it again. But, we'll see. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, as the saying goes. 

Where do you feel settled in? What have you settled for? How do you recognize the differences?

 

May you know your dreams

May you know your boundaries

May you  settle "in" or "for" - as appropriate

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026

Learn - Act - Do

 

Many new homes on the horizon. So many questions about infrastructure, water availability, traffic or fire danger...and so on. Progress? Huh. Who can afford these new homes? So many questions or concerns. Everywhere.

Country-wide crimes, corruption and conditions become worse at every turn, it seems. I wonder what has become of decent humanity? Was all of this unrest and violence there all along, just going unseen?

These are not easy videos to watch. View or pass by at your own need and/or discretion. 

What Happened Inside Delaney Hall Last Night Is Horrifying

LINK 29:18 minutes

How does this information hit you? In a world overrun with traumatic news, where do you put your thoughts and energy? How do you care for yourself at the same time?

If you watch ONE story from America today, let it be this one.

LINK 14:33 minutes

Parkrose Permaculture has been doing a lot of humanity based political coverage over the past year+, in addition to her usual permaculture and home-centered practices. 

Status Coup News has been doing so much on the ground reporting. Really important, difficult work. 

More information in this episode of Democracy Now.

I'm sure you have your own resources and can do your own research...your own ways of engaging, acting, supporting...learning. One of my ways has been sharing what I am learning, as I am doing today. 

Flying very low, straight towards us: a very large turkey vulture...barely seen.

What have you discovered to be hiding in plain sight? 

 

May you act in ways you feel good about

May you reach out to others

May you hang on 

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026

I Went Away

 

Joshua Tree, CA ©2011

Away I went, into old photos in search of a few in particular...and what joy in finding the one above. I always liked this shot and the fact that I left the people in, allowing them to add so much to the overall feel. There were so many folks there appreciating the sunset. We did too.

Then I went away on a you tube video trip. This time going someplace I will never see in person. It was beautiful. The cherry trees are something else!

A quiet road trip through western Norway

LINK 20:44 minutes

On the other hand, today I went away to take a small walk at the Little Free Library trail. The last time we were there it was filled with goats making an easy task of clearing brush on the hillsides.

I Still Have No Idea

LINK 14:32 minutes

The hills before us on the road were lush, a variety of butterflies and dragonflies were everywhere...a large raven(?) and turkey vultures (above)...warmth on the back of my neck...a place to relax.

 The purple sage was in glorious bloom and smelled so good! The evidence of the goat's work was obvious.

Today I think: thank goodness for nature and art. Both have the capacity to soothe and teach, for they both are reliably always there (soothing), but also always changing (teaching). This is a good balance for me.

What things support you when you need it? 

 

May you allow yourself to be taught

May you embrace being soothed when needed

May you hold what is important to you in heart & hand

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026

Faded Beauty

 

This is kinda where its at, where I'm at...walking in the building and seeing the above roses out front...I was sent down the thought trail of noticing fading beauty. The pale, yellowing & fading color, the fact that these roses are in some form of dying, decaying...coming to the end of their life cycle...AND are so very beautiful. Gosh I loved falling into this moment. 
I've long seen the beauty in such lifespans of plants and people. I have photographed dying pomegranates still on the tree and flopped over sunflowers - hanging on to their last moments...dried up thistles, still standing tall. Beautiful.

We finally stopped in time for me to grab a photo of the profusely blooming purple sage on our Thursday short drive. The hills have held so much purple sage recently. On this Thursday, there was a large hawk in a small tree too.

The Siddis of Karnataka and the dying art of making Kawandi quilts | Documentary Film | THE WEEK

LINK 9:50 minutes

The little bridge compass was still there, just over the railing, on the ledge. It still works.

I opted not to photograph the empty nest. But, I also opted to bring the binoculars with me to check the nearby trees for owl relocation. I could not see anything to suggest owl life in the dense oaks and cottonwoods near to their old home. The bridge felt a bit emptier knowing this time is over. 

It was also quite empty of people today. We had a lazy stroll to the 'fence change', counting lizards as we went. There were also many swallows, busy ants, crying hawks and a very low flying turkey vulture. The temperature was perfect for a walk.

Here is some owl information I found after Tina suggested that maybe the owls had moved to a new spot.

*Owls generally do not change nests during the same breeding season once eggs are laid, but they often leave or change nests if they are forced out due to safety issues, such as a falling, deteriorated nest. While they typically reuse successful sites over multiple years, they often relocate if the nest falls apart or is destroyed.

*Forced Relocation: Because many owls (like Great Horned Owls) do not build their own nests, they use old, repurposed nests from hawks or crows. If these nests fall due to wind or damage, the parents are forced to abandon them, sometimes requiring human intervention for "re-nesting"

*Fledging Behavior: As owlets grow and become more active, they may "tumble out" of their nests before they can fly, causing them to move from the original nesting spot to branches nearby.

*Yearly Reuse: Owls tend to return to the same successful nesting territory year after year, but not necessarily the exact same nest structure if it has deteriorated.

*Parents often push their young out of the nest through passive neglect after a few weeks, encouraging them to fledge. 

~ All sourced from google AI, which links to FB groups or Reddit conversations...because I'm too tired or lazy to do this any better than that today. The same is true of the info below.

I also learned that owls can recognize faces (people), so I thought of Grace's comment that they know me 🙂 Perhaps.

*Yes, owls can recognize individual humans. They are highly perceptive birds that distinguish between trusted people (like regular caretakers or local residents) and strangers. They rely on facial features, posture, voice, and overall silhouette to identify individuals

*Key Details on Owl Recognition

• Facial Memory: Owls can memorize specific human faces and associate them with past experiences. If a person is calm and non-threatening, an owl may tolerate their presence or even allow closer approaches.
• Visual Triggers: Because their eyes are fixed in their sockets, they rely heavily on the whole picture. Drastic visual changes, like a sudden haircut or a massive change in clothing silhouette, can confuse an owl and make you look like a stranger to them
  .
Vocal Recognition: Owls can learn and respond to the specific voices of people who interact with them frequently

We saw a very cool old Ford pick up truck. A 1954 or perhaps 1956? I love this color blue! When I was a young mom, we had one from one of those years (I never can remember). It was bare bones, sitting out front in various stages of rusting & refurbishing - that would never be even close to complete. Never. If it had become something, we planned for it to be for our son, who is now 45 and has not known or sat in it since he was 5 months old. Time is like that.

I've cleaned out and shredded some old paperwork, installed a new shower liner curtain and done more work in the new glue book...I've been listening to music of the 1970's which makes me want to weep with the memories of days gone by.

These are just a few pages. I'm not ready to post the others yet. Each of them has a story. A good, or at least decent enough story. I'm enjoying finding them.

I'm just finding my way this week. Good enough. How was your week?

Where do you want to go this next week? 

 

May you hear the stories

May you find your way

May you recalculate as needed

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026

Another Surprise

 

We went back to the end of the river we visited yesterday, with the goal of exploring the path on the North side. First we had to walk over the bridge, which is on the nearby main road. It was hot, 94° today and very loud. But, it was pretty cool to see a middle of the river view from this viewpoint. However, It was not my cup of tea.

We could see the access road leading up to the water tower that we see each time we visit (from the usual end of this path). We could see so much plant life and stands of trees, along with swaths of sandy, mossy river bottom. We could easily see how bad the air quality was. It's been bad for a few days and we're not even into the big heat and thick of summer. Grrr...

While we enjoyed the North side a lot more than the South side, it did not have the same 'pull' that The Bridge does. At least the plant life here smelled so earthy  and familiar (blue sage, California sage and the Camp Kinneret scent), there was barely any trash and folks on this side seem to pick up after their dogs - which after two days in a row where that was not the case, was quite refreshing. The views of the trees was amazing.

We went as far as we could for the day, not quite as far as yesterday. We tried to figure out the trails and where each one went. It veers off to the right and also continues under the road ahead, where it veers off in two more directions. I didn't go that far, but J. went ahead a bit to check it out. I stood in the shade with the sage 🙂

On the way back we paused to watch the ducks in the swampy pond and admire the thistles in the bright sun. I don't know that we will come this way again. It was a bit of a walk, just to get to the walk. I didn't like walking right on the road just to get there, even if we enjoyed it somewhat.

Then we headed over to the bridge again. I was excited to see if the nest would hold two juveniles, like yesterday or the mother and baby...or all three.

But, when we arrived we noticed right away that nest was completely empty. Imagine my surprise! No owls were home at all. I have to admit that I was so shocked and saddened by this discovery. We wondered what had become of the owl family. Was it the circling hawk we saw yesterday? Did they just move on? The babies did not look ready for flight yet. I truly felt a big hole in my heart not seeing them, even while knowing that this is the way of nature. sigh.

The empty nest was also still empty, tidy...but no one home. That was expected and no real cause for concern.

On the way out, I paused to watch the crow(raven) on the wire.

There will always be so many mysteries, so many unanswered questions and things I will never understand. I'm practicing being okay with that.

What touches your heart these days? 

 

May you explore new places

May you come home

May you keep a loving heart

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026