Month: July 2021

Changed Our Tune – Day 992

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I Dare You to Try Putting Me Out – Photo: L. Weikel

Changed Our Tune

Oh, how we changed our tune. The photo above is of a cat that is saying, “If you try to put me out, I will become feral in a way that you’ve never seen before. You will regret your decision and require stitches for the gaping wounds I intend to inflict upon you. You will rue your decision; of that, I am certain.” Don’t be fooled by that coy expression on his face. Trust me when I tell you, the flicking of the tail is deadly serious.

And it’s true. For the last four or five days, I’ve had to struggle to ‘put the cat out’ before I came to bed, and most of those nights I’ve failed spectacularly. Meaning I’ve given up and gone to bed, resigned to the fact that the beast will wake Karl up and demand to be let out when it’s more to his liking.

As I’ve written before, Cletus fancies himself a badass, Philly-style, and yet nothing could be further from the truth. He excels at getting his own way. And it’s not just with us. He wields his massive, long-haired tail like a scepter – or something more dangerous.

This Happens Occasionally

This refusal to take his normal dark-hour pilgrimage is initially perplexing. But it’s happened before, so it’ll likely happen again. After all, we have a lot of wild creatures living in our midst. And it only stands to reason that sometimes things can get a little scary for our handsome boy.

And yes, I do believe it’s his handsomeness that is making his nightly forays less desirable. He’s attracted a suitor and it’s not to his liking.

Karl and I both noticed his weird behavior as he approaches our kitchen door lately. Clearly, it’s that time of night and his wanderlust has once again risen unbidden. He wants to go out. He needs to go out. He begs, he yowls, he follows us around and asks to go out. He pulls the massive wooden door to our kitchen open with his paw, creaking as it swings open.

But when we walk toward the door? He backs away. He hisses at us. He acts as if it’s our idea that he go out and play with others. If I manage to corral him safely enough toward the kitchen door that I feel I can nudge him into outside, he furtively looks both ways as he almost holds his breath and plunges out the door. It’s the weirdest thing. He almost looks like a cop bursting into an abandoned building, his handgun cocked and ready for anything.

It’s quite obvious he’s been spooked and is afraid he’ll get ambushed yet again.

Could Be Anything – But I Think It’s Love

As I’ve mentioned, even just sitting here on the couch, I’ve heard foxes yipping and owls calling in to each other in the trees. Coyotes live in the vicinity as well – and there have even been a few bear sightings recently. Opossums routinely munch on the sunflower seeds.

But it was last night that I discovered a clue. I’ve made it a habit to turn on both the porch light and the garage’s floodlight before I let the cat out. Just in case, I want to scare anything away.

Last night Mr. (or very well may be Mrs.) Gorgeous was back on the premises. I saw it hanging around the garage.

Aha. It’s Pepé Le Pew! Cletus has a suitor! And a pungent one, at that.

Unsurprisingly, it all makes sense.

Gorgeous, Again – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-119)

Bugs – Day 991

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Meditative Bug Pose – Photo: L. Weikel

Bugs

“No bugs were harmed in the writing of this post.”

I came across this striking creature as I was sweeping our porch. For some odd reason, I’ve been noticing and appreciating the peculiar beauty of insects lately. There was something about the pristine, shiny blackness of its body armor and the way its legs come together. Its zen-like posture looked meditative to me. Even as I look at this photograph again, it reminds me of something that I can’t quite articulate.

Curious, I carefully flipped this guy over and was delighted to see the striking nature of its dramatic camouflage. Clearly, from above, this insect is designed to resemble the ‘eyes’ of a much bigger creature. In a way it looks a lot like some butterflies that employ that same natural strategy.

Cool Bug – Photo: L. Weikel

I’m guessing bugs that have eyes this big must taste especially nasty to birds. Either that or they’re simply perceived to be too large a mouthful for most of the predators that might otherwise be interested in eating them.

Anyway, true to my first sentence, I think this beetle (or whatever it was) was playing opossum. Once I turned it over so I could admire its back, it quickly scurried away, making it clear to me that it had a lot of life left to live. Or at the very least, its encounter with me was not the end of the road.

Sign of Late Summer

Last night I once again had our front door open while writing my post. Unlike several evenings before, when a blanket of silence had settled over everything and it seemed like everything in my world was holding its breath, the first katydids of the season announced their presence.

I love the jaggedy zzz zzz zzz of katydids. But alas, as we are constantly and sometimes painfully reminded, time is relentless. Their scritchety noises are a harbinger of the dog days of summer that are right around the corner.

(T-120)

Sunflowers – Day 990

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Look away?!  – Photo: L. Weikel

Sunflowers

I did a double take when I drove past a nearby field earlier today and saw row after row of towering sunflowers. Usually when I see fields of sunflowers I slow down so I can admire their bright and sunny faces. This time, though, it took me a moment to even realize the extraordinary sight I was seeing.

I drove past the field and found myself feeling like something wasn’t right. It was almost as if I’d witnessed something that simply didn’t compute in my brain. It was a mild form of that notion that when we perceive something either visually or aurally, but have no prior context or experience with this occurrence, our brains scurry to try to find something within our internal ‘data banks’ that make sense to us. Or else we ignore it altogether.

Most of us have experienced this at one time or another – and have heard our brains whirring within, trying to find a ‘match’ to help us identify the subject of our experience. I know there have also been research studies that have tracked how our ability to ‘see’ something is impacted by our expectations.

I actually think that’s why it took me a bit of a drive beyond the field to realize what I’d just seen.

Shunning

I did a U-turn to return to the field as soon as my comprehension clicked. Yup. It was a field full of sunflowers with their backs turned. I thought the entire scenario was especially odd since the sun was a good 90 degrees in another direction. What in the world were these sunflowers so fascinated by as to eschew their beloved sun?

It truly did feel as though they had turned their collective backs on the traffic driving by their field. They were shunning the traffic, perhaps?

I supposed that’s a possibility. But I likened their behavior more to the utterly appalling admission by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that they hadn’t even watched the testimony of the four officers before the House Select Committee yesterday.

Honestly, I find that level of disrespect for (a) the officers who showed up for work on January 6th, 2021 and actually worked to save these lawmakers’ lives; and (b) the process undertaken by our government to conduct legitimate oversight of and investigation into exactly what unfolded on that date, why it happened, and who was behind it, utterly inexcusable.

Disrespect

I do not understand how elected representatives can so profoundly disrespect the foundations of our government and the Constitution upon which our country was founded (and which they specifically took an oath to uphold and defend). Disrespect is being shown at every level and, quite frankly, I believe our hearts are wounded every day as we observe this taking place before our very eyes.

It is excruciating to stand by and watch those with the greatest power appear to remain unscathed by their betrayals of our country, our laws, and our norms. I shudder to think what conclusions our youth are drawing when they see adults – and some with very high status within our country (military, elected, and appointed individuals) – acting like petulant bullies and disgusting, uncouth vandals.

Sunlight

I wish we could be like the sunflowers I saw today and simply, collectively, turn our backs on these people. I’m afraid the only way for us to do that is in the voting booth.

What’s scary is that these bullies are doing their level best to undermine our belief in the sun of democracy: the voting systems in our country. They’re trying to fool us all by saying the sun no longer shines and fooling us into installing spotlights instead. Then, all at once, they plan to turn out the lights and allow chaos to ensue.

We’re at a huge moment in our country’s evolution. And we all need to be paying attention. Much as we wish we could turn our backs on the insanity and disrespect, we mustn’t. It hurts to watch it unfold, but we must not stand in denial of what’s unfolding before our eyes. We need to see it; we need to call it out; and we must do everything we can to reclaim the truth of the sun.

(T-121)

Smackdown – Day 989

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Who’s Fenced In? – Photo: L. Weikel

Smackdown

Well, so much for all the good feelings I was experiencing last night when I wrote about being an Olympics geek. Yeah, I do enjoy watching them and welcome the inspiring stories as a distraction from the utter insanity that’s unfolding all around us. But wow, I don’t know about you, but tonight I felt like a pro-wrestler on the receiving end of a smackdown – and no amount of distraction can help.

Of course I’m talking about the testimony that was given by the four police officers present and defending the Capitol on Insurrection Day. I’m not going to discuss that testimony nor am I going to link to any clips.

Suffice it to say, it’s heartrending to hear their first-hand accounts of the despicable behavior heaped upon them by their fellow Americans.

Appalled

And while I did watch the Olympics tonight, there was a sadness in the air, which made it much harder to use them as the distraction I’d hoped. I’ll probably write a separate post on the maturity, wisdom, and grace exhibited by Simone Biles. The lessons on our humanity just keep on coming.

But I’m sad to say I’m sitting here trying to write this post and my heart is fluttering a mile a minute. I just made the mistake of looking at Twitter, which had a clip of one of the officers who testified today, Michael Fanone, appearing with Don Lemon on CNN just this evening.

The clip contained an unredacted telephone message that was left for Fanone while he was testifying. And it is horrific. I’m linking to it here because we need to know that this is the type of stuff that’s happening in our country now. We need to face this head-on. This is how a police officer who testified to his personal experience of being brutalized, tased, and threatened with his own gun, all while defending our elected representatives, is being treated. And know this: this behavior is being actively stoked by Fox, among others.

It’s appalling.

A Gentle Reminder

I’m literally feeling short of breath as I write this. Never would I ever have believed people would feel comfortable doing what they did on January 6th, and worse, feel even more emboldened six months later. These home-grown terrorists feel so self-righteously empowered that they feel free to to heap this threatening and unhinged diatribe on an officer. For testifying to the truth as he experienced it.

Where do we go from here? I’m not sure.

But as simple-minded as it may seem, I keep seeing in my mind’s eye a photo I took just the other day of a deer standing right beside me as I walked along the road. It was probably the fifth or sixth deer I’d seen that day – two earlier had literally been ‘young bucks,’ with gorgeous furry antlers budding from their crowns.

Perhaps I keep seeing that deer in my mind’s eye because I need to bring gentleness to myself. I need to breath into my pain at witnessing such shocking hatred and ask for the wisdom of calmness in the face of abject fear. Not my fear. Their fear. The fear being stoked every day by right wing media and morally bankrupt politicians who will do anything for power.

Gentleness. Wisdom. Oh – and maybe I (we) should also call to mind the Protection offered in the card I chose for us the other day.

(T-122)

Olympics Geek – Day 988

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Experts in another form of breast stroke – Photo: L. Weikel

Olympics Geek

I’m a total Olympics geek. I remember watching them religiously every four years as I was growing up. For my entire youth, I seem to recall not only the Olympic jingle (for lack of a better word), but also ABC’s “Wide World of Sport” and “the agony of defeat” reminding us all of the risks of ski jumping.

Both summer and winter Olympics were essential viewing in our household. I can’t even claim to prefer one season’s competitions over the other. Like most of us, I have my favorites in both.

I don’t know, though. This year, watching the Olympics is even more exhilarating and cathartic. I’m surprised. I was not expecting to enjoy them this year.

I’ll admit I was feeling a bit ‘judge-y’ over whether or not they should even hold these iconic competitions this year, given the ongoing Covid risk. It’s appalling to consider that we’re collectively putting at risk the most elite athletes of the world, particularly as the Delta variant is spreading like wildfire. And yet it appears they’re taking the risk of infection seriously, at least – and are doing their best to keep people safe, and keeping attendees to a minimum.

But the – shall we call it robust fraternization – amongst the athletes in their ‘down time’ strikes me as extremely hard to regulate. Encouraging these (predominantly) teenaged and twenty-something people in the utter prime of their lives and peak physical hubris to keep their masks on and maintain social distancing seems a bit naïve.

At least it appears from the broadcast that protocols are being followed by athletes, coaches, judges, and the few other people permitted on-premises. It’s actually the celebrations afterward that are at greatest risk of turning into Olympic-sized super spreader events.

One Great Moment

If you’re sports-inclined, you’ve probably already seen what I want to share with you tonight. If you’re not, I nevertheless encourage you to check out the links below. Because as truly and utterly amazing as it is to watch people who are icons in their sports, such as the Simone Bileses of the world, it’s the unexpected, come-from-nowhere victories that capture my heart and imagination the most.

Two amazing instances come to mind that I want to share, just in case you haven’t been watching. The first was in the 400 m. men’s freestyle swimming event. An 18 year old from Tunisia, Ahmed Hafnaoui, qualified for the final event with the slowest time, placing him in the 8th (outside) lane. I read somewhere that the odds of his winning the event were 5000 to 1.

Of course, you can imagine what happened. Even better, here is a clip of his family and friends back in Tunisia as they watched the event unfold on tv.

This is the stuff that makes the Olympics precious to people from all over the world – and worth watching in these stressed out and worrisome times.

Another Olympic Tear-Jerker

Another such moment also comes from a swimming event: the 100 m. breast stroke. If you didn’t happen to watch tonight, here’s a split screen video of the race itself and the people in the winner, 17 year old Lydia Jacoby’s, hometown of Seward, ALASKA, reacting as they watched her pull off her Olympic moment.

Last but not least the reaction of Jacoby’s teammate, Lilly King, was an Olympic-sized class act. King was slated to win the event but took home the bronze instead. She hadn’t lost this event in five years of competition. The grace with which she responded to Jacoby’s stunning win was simply epic. (Pay attention to the last few paragraphs of this article.)

Finally

Before I sign off for the evening, I have to share a simply hilarious spoof gymnastics commentary. I hope you can access the link (if you can’t, try this). If you’re anything like me, you’ll get more out of it (between tears of laughter) each time you watch/listen to it.

I’m loving the distraction from the chaos of our political woes, existential anxieties, and myriad Covid crises stemming from fear, suspicion, rampant spread, illness, and death. I just hope everyone at the Olympics stays safe and healthy and all the athletes have the opportunity to realize the magic of pursuing their greatest dreams.

(T-123)

Late Nights – Day 987

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Swooping Cloud Owl – Photo: L. Weikel

Late Nights

I’ve had a couple of really late nights recently. I was up into the wee hours of the morning last night writing my post and yet I didn’t make up for lost time (if that’s even possible) by sleeping in.

While I did manage to squeeze in a walk – and a longer one at that – it nevertheless felt like my timing was off all day. For instance, most of the day there was a rather reliable blanket of overcast lurking above. It managed to shield us from the direct rays of the sun for most of the day, but yowza! When the sun did break through, the air instantaneously turned even swampier than a moment earlier. The air became so thick it was almost like breathing jello through a straw.

I waited and waited, keeping an eye on the weather and hoping something would shift enough to make a ‘walk-around’ an activity that would make either Spartacus or me keel over. Finally, as the afternoon became late, we decided to set out. We even decided, perhaps impulsively, to do a walk-about instead.

Naturally, I kid you not, as soon as Spartacus and I started down our flagstone path, a handful of fat splats of rain fell from the sky. Internally I shrugged. I’d waited long enough. A glance at the variations of darkness mottling the sky above me suggested that these were mere drops squeezed from the clouds above because there simply was no more room at the inn.

Chanced It – Worth It

We decided to set out on our walk in spite of those aggressively hefty raindrops nipping at our heels. It was a wise decision, as not a single drop fell upon us again for the entire four miles.

In fact, as we crested Fox Kit hill (I just named it for this lovely one from exactly three months ago) the skies had cleared and magnificent thunderheads were dressing up in the distance. One, however, looked distinctly like an owl swooping in on us.

I’m partial to owls, as many of you know. They, like hawks, are messengers of a sort.

Judging from the size of this Cloud Owl, I’d say if there’s any correlation between messenger and message, I’d better pay attention.

So I’m going to address the immediate message before me: I’m heading to bed. If there’s more to this message, I trust revelations will continue (if I’m lucky).

Here’s to all of us as we head into this final week of July 2021. I wonder what will be revealed this week.

Another Perspective of Swooping Cloud Owl – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-124)

Sideways – Day 986

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Settling In at the Drive-In – Photo: L. Weikel

Sideways

Today was a day. It started with a flat tire and progressed (regressed?) from there. We all have them, though. Those days when we wake up and feel a vague sense of anticipation – only to have everything go sideways in completely unexpected ways.

The stress only escalated when the ‘donut-spare’ was discovered to be flat as well. We seemed to be in the midst of a comedy of errors. Murphy’s Law seemed to be the operating principle for several hours. Eventually, though (after morning turned into lunchtime and then progressed into a hot and sticky afternoon before we accomplished a darn thing), we discovered that the flat was caused by a nail, thus rendering it easily reparable. Yes! I’ll take it! And call it a small, if significant, win.

Things Got Better

But you know what? We managed to salvage the day and retrieve our attitudes from the mulch pile where they’d been stuffed earlier. Saving the day was accomplished by indulging in the relaxing and nostalgic fun of going to a drive-in movie again. You might recall our foray into this ‘old-timey’ manner of enjoying the summer while in the safe (both outdoor and distanced) company of other people last year.

Re-reading that post and looking at the photos of the animation that danced across the big screen during the intermission between the main feature and the second movie of the evening makes me laugh all over again. I love that the Shankweiler’s Drive-In keeps those dated animated spots.

Honestly, it’s amazing to see how much more risqué and sarcastic a lot of early tv and movie entertainment used to be. Old-fashioned humor is often much more subtle than we’re used to now. In a lot of ways, in spite of the much more overt sexuality, violence, and profanity we see nowadays, sarcasm and naughtiness was every bit as present 50-60 years ago. Viewers just had to work a little harder to ‘get’ it. Or maybe it’s that we don’t expect it to be as odd as it actually was.

It was quite the dance… – Photo: L.Weikel

Grateful

I’m just grateful we were able to salvage the day.

In case you’re wondering, we saw Black Widow. I thought it was good; mostly I enjoyed the dialogue and personalities of some of the characters. I have to admit, though, I find seemingly non-stop ten minute long relentless footage of car chases or shoot-outs or aerial assaults extremely tedious and boring. Just because the special effects are available doesn’t mean we have to be relentlessly bludgeoned over the head with them. Then again, it is a Marvel movie, so it was in character.

The second movie was Cruella. I admittedly had pretty low expectations for it, to be honest. And given our experience with the second movie of the evening last year, we’d made a pact that if it really stank we’d leave early. Given all those doubts, it was pretty good. It had more recognizable faces in it than I was expecting and it gave an interesting backstory to the villain of 101 Dalmations.

All in all, the day turned out tremendously better than it started. Thanks, Tiffany, for the great suggestion!

“The Oldest Drive-In in America” – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-125)

Full Moon in Aquarius – Day 985

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“Protection” – Mystic Art Medicine Oracle Cards by Cher Lyn

Full Moon in Aquarius

Today’s full moon in Aquarius took place when the Sun was at 1 degree 26 minutes of Leo and the Moon was at 1 degree 26 minutes of Aquarius. Interestingly, in August the full moon will take place when the Sun is at 29 degrees 37 minutes of Leo and the Moon is at 29 degrees 37 minutes of Aquarius.

That means that there will be two full moons taking place in the sign of Aquarius this year. If these two full moons were taking place within the same month, the second one would be called a ‘blue moon.’ I have no idea whether there’s a special name for a second full moon in the same sign. But it seems like it should be significant; perhaps the qualities of the sign the moon is going through to complete an entire ‘full to full’ cycle are especially important to integrate.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know.

But if that might be the case, here’s a thought: Aquarius is the 11th sign of the zodiac. (I won’t even go into the significance of the number 11 as a ‘portal.’) The 11th house of the zodiac is associated with groups, social reform, social causes, global awareness. Some key words associated with Aquarius are innovation, originality, and social change.*

Two Aquarius Full Moons

It would seem to me that the presence of two consecutive full moons in Aquarius, highlighting the 11th house of the zodiac, will mandate we focus a great deal of our attention upon circumstances and issues that have greater societal importance than personal relevance. Certainly we will all be impacted personally by the collective realities that unfold on a societal level – but our primary focus will be on the bigger picture facing society itself.

To that end, I decided to ask for a ‘watchword’ for us to keep tucked in the back of our minds as we navigate the next 28 days. The deck I chose to consult was the Mystic Art Medicine Oracle Cards by Cher Lyn. The card I chose was Protection, which I will excerpt here:

Protection

“Archangel Michael is Spirit of Fire.

His sword of light offers energies higher.

His shield of Protection,

Averts illusion and deception.     

(…) In the painting of “Archangel Michael’s Fire of Transformation,” Hi aura/wings are golden light. You see an Eagle emanating through his sword of fire, no longer choosing to be depicted killing, as His essence is Love and Protection. The medicine of Eagle flies high into the heavens and moves easily between worlds, bridging earthly and spiritual power. He serves as the mediator and bearer of a new creative force. A Dove at the foot of His robe is the symbol of prophetic vision, balance, and peace within the maternal feminine. The winged Pegasus splashing in the waves of consciousness lifts you into higher realms of awareness. A cosmic stairway guides you on your journey to higher perception. The transformational fire blesses you as healing waters flow, blessing from the heavens above.

Archangel Michael is a powerful protector. When the card of Archangel Michael shows up, rest assured His energy is surrounding you… Should you ask, Archangel Michael will protect and assist you with the transformation of negative agendas or forces otherwise not of your highest good by connecting you to higher spiritual truths.

Choosing the Protection card could be a sign to step back and take inventory of whom or what you may be letting into your personal space. Perhaps He is inspiring you to enlist Him to cut some cords. Most likely He is inspiring you to raise your consciousness and connect you more with your spiritual essence. (…)”

My Take

It seems to me that there will be some major transformational energies at play over the next 28 days, energies that could easily cause major shifts in our perceptions of who we are and where we’re headed societally. Especially considering the first paragraph and the reframing of the Eagle, we could experience some major growing pains this month. The Eagle could easily be interpreted as the United States, or possibly even the ‘Western world’ in terms of how we think of societies on our planet.

It can’t hurt to call upon Archangel Michael or whatever Beings of similar protective intention we work with to help us raise our energies and protect ourselves, each other, and our highest intentions and ideals. Simply setting the intention of invoking protection and aspiring to create a higher expression of balance, awareness, and peace could shift the forces that we’re going to be called upon to collectively face.

I feel this card is yet again reflecting our year-long challenge of radical transformation posed by Saturn squaring Uranus (three times this year). We’re not out of the woods yet.

We can do this. We must not be afraid to cut away that which no longer serves us – yet we would be wise to invoke protection.

*Astrology for Yourself – Demetra George and Douglas Bloch (Note: affiliate link)

(T-126)

Snarfing Down a Carrot – Day 984

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Snarfing Down a Carrot – Photo: L. Weikel

Snarfing Down a Carrot

As I’ve said a vast number of times before, it’s the little things in life that make it all worthwhile. Yeah, I’ve written about a lot of the ‘little things’ in my life over the past 983 days, even accidentally titling three separate posts (here, here, and here) ‘Little Things.’ But I’ve never titled a post ‘Snarfing Down a Carrot’ before tonight and yet the snarfing was most definitely another example of a tiny moment that made my day.

In point of fact, and upon reflection, almost every post has been about something most people would view as utterly inconsequential.

Alas, perhaps that’s one of the lessons I’ve learned through this exercise I dubbed my ‘1111 Devotion.’ My life is a tapestry of inconsequential moments; opportunities to assign personal meaning to the shape of a cloud or to realize joy in the midnight song of a catbird.

Or to experience delight when pigs, responding to my calls, run from their pen to greet me with smiles and appreciative grunts. It got even better (in my book) when the swine that snagged the biggest carrot used decidedly covert and deliberate tactics to hide her coup from the other two. Not only did she know she’d scored, she was determined to hide it from the other two.

She knew what she was doing! – Photo: L. Weikel

Laughter and Joy

I’m grateful for the laughter and joy my ‘three little pigs’ brought me this evening. It was quite a juggling act, taking their photos while feeding them carrots, singing their praises, and making sure Spartacus stuck by my side.

But I hope you’ll agree, these photos capture at least a little of their ‘cheek,’ and surely elicit a chuckle.

I was going to pick a card for us to contemplate on tomorrow’s full moon in Aquarius. Instead, I became distracted by my lovely and loving little porkers.

Maybe I’ll pick a card tomorrow.

Or maybe not.

Shhhh! It’s our secret – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-127)

Grim Discovery – Day 983

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Closeup of Northern Ring-necked Snake – Photo: L. Weikel

Grim Discovery

I made a grim discovery on our walk today. Sadly, the snake pictured above suffered an untimely demise. Given its injuries, even though it was discovered on the road, I have to wonder if it was shaken to death by a dog or perhaps even more likely snagged by the claws of a raptor and then dropped. If hit by a car, I suspect it would’ve been much more smooshed.

As it was, I was shocked to see its bright orange underbelly. Before this evening, I’d never seen a snake with this coloring. Its top was such a uniformly beautiful charcoal gray color, it reminded me of a seamless suit of armor.

It wasn’t until I picked it up to take it to the side of the road that I noticed the ring around its neck. It was so pretty and distinctive – this single ring of pale orange at the base of its head, blending with and complementing the definitively bolder tangerine of its underbelly.

I’d already taken a photo of the slight little serpent when I discovered it. I wanted to document its striking coloring. But then I took a few more snaps of its distinctive markings before curling it up in the grass on the berm of the road. I made an offering of a few strands of my hair as a gesture of respect for its life.

PA Herp Identification

Once again, the wonderful site known as Pennsylvania Herp Identification (or PA Herps for short) came to my aid in identifying this beautiful creature. It’s a Northern Ring-necked Snake. They’re apparently ubiquitous throughout Pennsylvania, but in all my 62 years, I’ve never seen one before tonight.

It’s funny – in looking at the photos of other Northern Ring-necks on the PA Herp site, I wasn’t at all surprised to see many photos of people gently holding the slender creatures in their hands. I was surprised to feel a similar inclination when I picked it up off the road. Yes, I know, it was already dead. But I felt a distinct sense of gentleness from it.

It was still very supple when I discovered it, too – which made me sad to realize it had probably died only minutes before we discovered it. Its sweet little face wasn’t the least bit scary or intimidating. I felt a real sense of loss.

Grim Discovery – Photo: L. Weikel

Snake’s Message

As I’ve written a bazillion times a simple and obvious intuitive interpretation of such a discovery might be that change is afoot. Snake often shows up when we’re being encouraged to undergo some type of transformation; perhaps a major opportunity to let go of who we’ve been (our outer identity or ‘skin’) and grow into a whole new iteration of ourselves.

Had this Northern Ring-necked Snake been a venomous serpent, I might have pondered whether I was supposed to transmute some poisonous thought, idea, attitude, or belief within or about myself or my circumstances. But that’s not what this felt like.

To be honest, until I started writing this post tonight I never even considered that it might be bringing me a message. (I know; hard to believe. But it’s true.) I was more focused upon simply identifying its beautiful self and sharing my discovery.

Full Moon On Friday

But now that I think about it, I’m willing to honor this creature’s life by interpreting its death, and my discovery of it, as a message to me in my own life. As we approach this full moon on Friday, it might serve me well to take a little time to contemplate what I want to shed in order to move forward in my life. The orange underbelly could be a hint that it has to do with creative endeavors. Perhaps the ring around its neck might represent something (a belief? an attitude?) that’s been keeping me captive. Not poisoned – just…limited. It’s possible.

While shedding is often a task undertaken as we approach a new moon, it feels right to consider what has reached its fullest expression in my life and can now be let go. We’re always in a state of flux; a state of beginning, becoming, or shedding.

It’s sad when any creature meets with an early or untimely demise. I hope on some level that treating this Being with respect and expressing gratitude for its appearance in my life somehow added to the balance of all things.

(T-128)