Author: Lisa Weikel

Beauty – ND #133

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Rhodo Bloom – Photo: L. Weikel

Beauty

The beauty of this rhododendron today begged to be shared. I can’t imagine any of us are immune to the horror we’ve all witnessed over the last several days. How awful is it that the Buffalo massacre on 14 May 2022 was followed merely one day later by two more shootings (in Houston, Texas and Laguna Woods, California). And the horror of yesterday’s massacre at an elementary school is more than many of us can take.

There’s a part of me that’s holding out hope that the outrageousness of so many recent assaults on our fundamental values of freedom, equality, and the sanctity of keeping our little kids alive and safe at school will galvanize us as a nation.

My skin crawls when I hear these talking heads of Authoritarianism chide and deride Democrats for ‘politicizing’ the gun issue when 21 people were just murdered in a 4th grade classroom. Or when I listen to them tell us all we need to do is ‘harden our schools’ to make them safe.

What utter bullshit.

Grief

I can only barely register the grief being felt by the families in Uvalde, Texas tonight. I say ‘tonight’ as if it will subside within a few days or weeks. Surely we all know in our hearts that their lives will never be the same. Just like the Sandy Hook parents. The families of Uvalde will live with this forever. But the thing is, so will we.

We’re all traumatized. We’re all reeling from the senselessness. We’re all horrified by the knowledge that our government is stocked with at least 50 Senators who place more value on lining their pockets and furthering their careers than they do on protecting their fellow citizens and constituents.

There’s the trauma. And there’s the grief.

Hope

I wanted to write tonight and lead with some beauty because we must not give up on each other – or ourselves.

Our country is falling apart at the seams. But we’re the ones who can and must mend it or create a new one.

Look at these photos and drink deeply of the beauty. Take heart. Gather your courage. We must act on behalf of all our babies.

Petal – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+133)

Total Lunar Eclipse – ND #132

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Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse – Photo: L. Weikel

Total Lunar Eclipse

Standing in the middle of the vast expanse of fields and forest a few minutes ago, I was awestruck by the fact that the clouds were literally parting before my eyes to reveal the total lunar eclipse.

How many times have we sky watchers dare I say religiously trekked outside to bear witness to eclipses and meteor showers and all manner of celestial events, only to be thwarted by cloud cover? Too many to count, including quite a few missed opportunities documented right here in this blog. But not tonight.

A Big Deal

The myriad articles I read about this particular eclipse promised it would be especially spectacular. Tonight’s full moon in and of itself was special, as it is in its perigee (closest to the Earth in its orbit) and thus is considered a ‘super moon’ and should appear larger than usual. And the color of the moon when it enters the shadow of our Earth is supposed to be particularly ruddy due to lingering detritus in our atmosphere from an underwater volcanic eruption in January, off the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai.

This was one of the easiest eclipses I ever remember witnessing. I didn’t have to stay awake until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. (or worse, get up at 4:00 a.m.). The weather was unbelievably pleasant, and the chorus of all manner of peepers and tree frogs wrapped around me and provided a surround-sound of reassurance. I kept telling myself that their astonishing resonance was proof to me that, at least as of this moment, our biosphere is healthy.

I did note a surprising blanket of silence from the rest of the creatures* that usually engage in midnight chatter or posturing. But the amphibians were totally into tonight’s ‘blood moon,’ and the companionship they provided me was truly a gift.

Total Lunar Eclipse – closeup – Photo: L. Weikel

Had To Share

I hope it goes without saying that I could not stare up into the vast reaches of space contemplating the Big (and Little) nuances of our existence without a yearning to share it with you.

We’re now right smack dab in the center of the first eclipse season of 2022. As if this total lunar eclipse isn’t powerful and significant in its own right to suddenly reveal things we may need to jettison from our lives, there are some additional aspects occurring this week that only add to the significance of what we’re all experiencing personally, nationally, and globally.

That said, while I’m sure I don’t need to remind any of my readers, if you live in PA make sure you VOTE in the primary on Tuesday. Make sure our voices are loud. And clear. Remember: this is a Blood Moon.

*Although at this moment, a fox has begun shrieking in the field across from our house. I guess the show’s over!

(T+132)

Just Can’t Even – ND #131

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Things are getting pretty damn dark – Photo: L. Weikel

Just Can’t Even

I just can’t even. That’s a weird sentence, isn’t it? And yet I bet all of you knew not only exactly what I meant – and also why I said it.

Our country is careening toward the cliff of theocracy. And we worried about the Taliban?

If anyone had even the slightest doubt recently about where our country is headed – led by a minority of well-organized fanatics – let the fog be lifted from their eyes now. Of course, I’m speaking of the leaked first-draft opinion of the Supreme Court that takes a sledgehammer to Roe vs. Wade, and which very well may become the ‘law of the land’ in June.

And yet, just what does ‘law of the land’ even mean, if this disgusting opinion that essentially relegates women to chattel in the eyes of our government takes effect? It means the ‘law of the land’ means nothing. It means no one can rely on Constitutional rights as determined by the highest court in the land beyond the next lifetime appointment by a president not even elected by a majority of Americans.

Constitutional Rights Stripped

There are so many things falling asunder in our country at the moment, it’s hard to even keep track. Everywhere we look, the tenets we were raised to believe were the hallmarks of our great nation, the so-called Great Experiment that has served as a beacon of democracy and freedom to the world, are being bulldozed. Razed. Demolished in a fever-dream of minority rule that makes a mockery of everything we stand for in the world.

If the concepts propounded in this leaked draft opinion become the rule of law in this country in June, you can rest assured that every other right you have come to believe is as fundamental to your life as breathing air will also be ripe for being ripped out from under you.

I’m talking the right to use contraception in the privacy of your own home.

The right to marry a person of another race.

The right to marry a person of the same gender.

And throughout all of this, the right to vote.

Imagine

Imagine, my dear male readers, if the government decides to punish you for spreading your sperm in any other manner besides ejaculating into a female. And I’m talking even when you’re all by yourself. You know: in the privacy of your own home.

No; I didn’t think you could imagine that. None of us should have to imagine it as an example to try to bring home the enormity of this potential decision. And yet, we could even take this analogy further and not be guilty of hyperbole. Women will die.

Our country is facing some very dark, dire days. I hope it’s not too late to save us all.

(T+131)

Special New Moon – ND #130

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More Turkeys – Photo: L. Weikel

Special New Moon

While my primary intention is to talk about the especially special new moon this Saturday, I’m actually going to include a photo of the turkeys I saw again on my walk today. This flock was kind enough to meander in the field a bit closer to me today, enabling me to improve at least a little bit over yesterday’s photo.

And since Turkeys are a gift, I’d like to off this post to you as a reminder to pay attention to the phase of the moon this weekend, for there are some powerful aspects taking place above our heads.

Black Moon

I learned something new today. While I’ve heard of a ‘blue’ moon – which is a second full moon happening within the span of a single month, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a ‘black’ moon. There’s a Dark Moon – which is sort of related, given that it stands for the phase of the moon when it’s completely new (hence ‘dark’). But a black moon is – you guessed it – the second new moon happening within the span of a single month.

I’m not sure, but it seems like a black moon might be a bit more rare than a blue moon, which is ironic if true, since we use the term ‘once in a blue moon’ to mean something is quite rare. Ah yes, I did find confirmation of that suspicion here. Somehow, though, ‘once in a black moon’ doesn’t sound quite as, umm, colorful.

Partial Solar Eclipse

The other astronomical phenomenon that’s occurring in connection with this Saturday’s new moon, which reaches its full ‘newness’ at 4:28 p.m. ET (that sounds like an oxymoron), is a partial solar eclipse. This phenomenon reaches its peak at 4:51 p.m. ET, although we won’t be able to see it from here.

This partial solar eclipse kicks off this year’s first eclipse ‘season,’ as eclipses occur in usually two or three successive phases of new/full/new moons.

The next eclipse in this season’s series will take place on May 16th. Technically, the beginning of the eclipse process (which we’ve all witnessed by now at some point or another over the past three or four years, right?) will begin at 9:30 p.m. on May 15th, with the moon’s face being completely engulfed in the shadow of the Earth at 00:12 a.m. ET on the 16th.

But the significance of that eclipse is for another day.

What’s It Mean For You?

The partial solar eclipse, which occurs this Saturday, may well kick off some especially powerful new beginnings, sweeping out the old and heralding the new in more dramatic fashion than we might expect. Here’s at least one astrologer’s (Chani’s) interpretation of how this new moon in Taurus, given a boost of pizzazz by the eclipse, might manifest or play out in your life.

Remember to read both your sun sign and your ascendant (rising) sign. See which one feels more relevant to your experience on this especially special new moon.

Flock of turkeys – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+130)

Avian Extravaganza – ND #129

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Red-Shouldered Hawk – Photo: L. Weikel

Avian Extravaganza

While I may be indulging my more reclusive tendencies lately, all of you are never far from my thoughts. So when this blustery, cloud-crowded day proved to be an avian extravaganza, I knew I’d succumb to the temptation and share a few photos of my encounters.

The photo above is a Red Shouldered Hawk – one of several nesting in the trees lining the fields around our home. Yes, they’re nesting; but it’s the mid-air swoops and daredevil dives amidst screams of passion (and sometimes what seems like relentless badgering) that makes their mating the most notable activity.

I only distinctly noticed and accurately identified the Red Shouldered Hawks in our area a year ago. In fact, I wrote about the first relentless mating calls, discernible through closed doors and windows, here just last year. I could’ve sworn it was at least two years ago, but nope. Lucky for me, I have my searchable blog posts at my fingertips to remind me of the exact dates when I started writing about these winged messengers.

Eagle Approaching Nest – Photo: L. Weikel

Eagles, Too

After I managed to sneak up on the Red Shouldered just as it took off from the wire it was perching on, surveying the field for a four-legged snack, I headed down River Road. There’s a place along the Delaware River where a massive eagles’ nest sits wedged in a proportionately gigantic sycamore on the New Jersey side. It never ceases to thrill me to see the heads of eaglets and, more obviously, the white heads of the parents, popping up from that compact-car sized conglomeration of sticks.

Just as I pulled off to the side of the road to see if I could catch a glimpse of these majestic birds of prey, one of the parents hopped up and plunged from the nest. Its broad wingspan scooped the air and it soared upriver, eluding my efforts to catch a photo of it in flight. I was excited by the sighting – I’ll forever be a child of the DDT era, when all our raptors were in serious threat of extinction – and decided to wait to see if Mommy or Daddy might return pretty quickly.

My patience was rewarded! I don’t think I had to wait longer than five or ten minutes before I caught sight of its return. And while I’m sharing the best ‘still’ shot I can manage, I wish I could upload the ‘live’ shot that captures this gorgeous bird sweeping upward and landing in the nest. It may be hard to discern the eagle because of the outstanding way in which its coloring blends so well with the sycamores and other trees lining the river.

Turkeys: “On your marks, get set, GO!” – Photo: L. Weikel

Yet Another Gift

Later today, the pups and I were cramming in a quick walk before it started sleeting. Lo and behold, four turkeys were having a little coffee klatch in the middle of the field when all of a sudden they decided to take cover. Never underestimate the speed of a running turkey. They are hilariously fast on their feet.

But when Turkey shows up in your life, it’s often heralding a gift that you need to recognize and be grateful for receiving. The turkeys I saw today reminded me of just how incredibly lucky I am to receive the gift (Turkey) of a message (Hawk) from Spirit (Eagle). And the message was probably to savor the richness of the avian extravaganza surrounding me.

For while I’m only including photos of these three species (and none of them doing justice to their subjects), I was also graced with the presence of geese, black vultures, turkey vultures, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, sparrows, goldfinches, cardinals, starlings, and fish crows. And while it was a tad too cold today, I actually had my first hummingbird visit my porch on Sunday.

And the only thing better than receiving the gift of having all of these birds show up in my life all in one day, was the message – the reminder – from Spirit that I have friends with whom to share my joy.

(T+129)

Reflections – ND #128

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Photo: L. Weikel

Reflections

There’s something about photos of reflections that captivates my imagination. It’s almost like playing the game of whisper down the alley. No, that might not be it. Perhaps it’s akin to looking at a scene through old-fashioned European rolled glass; the kind that’s sometimes used in stained glass projects.

I’ve taken a few photos of reflections that I could sit and stare at for hours. Sometimes the water appears totally calm, yet the shift in the whole texture of the reflection makes it obvious that there’s movement we might otherwise miss.

I love this – Photo: L. Weikel

The photo just above is one of those that I could stare at and lose myself within. There’s something about it – I think it exudes the vibration of a watercolor. Or maybe some kind of textured painting? Not being an artist nor having any education in the field, I will confess to knowing nothing of which I speak, other than what I feel when I look at these photos.

This captivates me every time – Photo: L. Weikel

Two other photos – reflections off the surface of the Tohickon (as opposed to a big puddle) – also spring to mind. I captured them in this post (but have included one of them above).

There’s a peace, a calm, that I feel emanating from them. There’s also an aliveness conveyed that feels almost more juicy – or is it ethereal? – than the objects themselves.

Perspective on the Reflection – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+128)

Chocolate Lambs – ND # 127

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Chocolate Lambs – Photo: L. Weikel

Chocolate Lambs

This will be a quick pre-Easter post. I couldn’t believe my eyes the other day when I saw these chocolate lambs (with their tails dipped in white chocolate!) gamboling in the field behind our house. Naturally, I stopped my car and rolled down the window to take their photo – and couldn’t believe my eyes when they both immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me. I don’t know what it surprised me so much, but it did.

It sure looks like these two could be identical twins. They couldn’t be cuter. And the two donkeys that share the field with them agree wholeheartedly, braying their approval.

Just another sign of the arrival of spring. Babies. Lambie-kins. Heck, I even saw sparrows getting frisky today underneath our feeders. Actually, the male snuck up behind the female and made her jump three feet in the air! Boy, did she give him a beak lashing.

Quick Pacha and Brutus Update

We’re all feeling the torture of not being able to play outside together. One has to stay inside while the other gets to frisk about outside. It’s especially torturous now that this warm weather has arrived. I wish I were quicker on the draw with my phone camera. Watching the pups try to catch bugs is simply adorable.

We’re all eagerly awaiting the end of this quarantine. The bright side to this, though, is that it does give Karl and me special one-on-one time with each pup that we rarely enjoy.

In the end, this ‘heat’ season may be bringing us all closer.

One thing I am not enjoying is the onset of tick season. Ugh. I just found two crawling on me as I wrote this post. Bleccch. I’m sure this warm weather is causing a tsunami of eggs to hatch. Ugh. Just the thought makes me shudder…

Just too cute – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+127)

Usual Critters – ND #126

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Young Opossum – Photo: L. Weikel

Usual Critters

You can tell it’s spring. The usual critters are busy being born and meandering out to explore the world.

We narrowly avoided a lesson in “who you sniff and don’t sniff” the other day on our walk. As you know, on our walks lately we’ve been rather preoccupied with keeping the biological imperative of Brutus from successful exploration. But they are wily little devils and make a game out of criss-crossing in front and occasionally in back of us. Tangled leashes are a constant source of entertainment.

But Pacha made a beeline toward the side of the road as we were going past the former home of Princess. Both Brutus and Pacha are always looking for her as we walk past her field. (Yeah, that’s a sad story…we can only presume she will be part of some people’s Easter repast. She’s been gone for at least two weeks. )

I didn’t really think about it when Pacha headed toward the tall grass at the side of the road until I caught sight in my peripheral vision of the poof of fur haphazardly laying amongst the dead leaves. Pacha was pretty far out on her leash – I think I was on one side of the road and she was moving rather rapidly toward that thing that quite obviously resembled a decent stuffed toy – when it suddenly dawned on me what I was seeing.

Suddenly, in an effort to get her to stop in her tracks, I hollered out to Pacha, “No! Come here!” I hoped she’d hear the urgency in my voice and obey it. She continued toward it, albeit a bit more slowly, giving me enough time to reel her in.

Youngster

Me being me, I pulled Pacha away, but at the same time, I walked toward the fur ball myself to see whether it was roadkill or just playing opossum.

Sure enough, this little creature opened its eye slightly and looked right at me. I told it I was sorry it had become frightened, and we would be moving on. The only thing on its entire body that moved was its eyelid. I did, of course, ask to take its photo so I could write about it.

Its fur looked really beautiful. My sense was that it wasn’t full grown – or at the most, this was its first full year. It seemed to be on the small side, compared to some of the very hefty ones I’ve seen hanging around our feeders in other years. Frankly, it was adorable.

(Which reminds me – I just took Pacha out to water the garden tonight and wasn’t an opossum waddling quickly away toward the dark shadows behind the house as I set her down? Luckily, she listened this time, too.)

Another confrontation avoided – whew.

(T+126)

Jupiter-Neptune Conjunction – ND #125

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Planetary lineup in the Southeast sky (above the horizon after dawn) – Sky Guide app

Jupiter-Neptune Conjunction

One of the major astrological aspects to occur in 2022 happens today (12 April 2022) at 10:42 a.m. EDT, with a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction. As you know, when planets are conjunct each other when they’re occupying the exact same place in the sky (from our perspective here on Earth).

These two planets only come together every 13 years, and of course each time they do, it’s in a different sign of the zodiac. This year, they’re both at 23 degrees 59 minutes of Pisces, and the last time Jupiter and Neptune were conjunct in Pisces was in 1856. Rather amazingly, in February of 1856 Russia lost the Crimean War to France and the Ottoman Empire. How weird that Russia is in a war over that same area 166 years later!

What’s It Mean?

In the simplest of terms, Jupiter is the planet of expansion. Wherever it goes, it tends to make things bigger or cause attributes to take on a more powerful presence. Jupiter is also the historical ruler of the sign of Pisces, which is a mutable water sign. Pisces is often known as the sign of mystics and dreamers.

So even if Jupiter were just traveling through Pisces on its own, we might expect dreams to play a bigger part in our life, both individually and on a collective (worldwide) basis. And when you consider that Jupiter is meeting up with Neptune, it’s likely that dreams (and possibly even illusions or delusions) could become much more pronounced.

It’s interesting to note that Neptune is also acutely connected to water. Once Neptune was discovered, it became the ruler of the sign of Pisces – and of course Neptune was the God of water, so this particular conjunction of planets in this specific sign calls forth a remarkably huge connection to water. And it’s good to remember that water is often associated with emotions.

Photo: L.Weikel

What To Do

While I’m giving the barest of basics with respect to what’s going on above us today, it seems important to watch how big and volatile our emotions may play out today. We also may realize, or perhaps finally decide to begin manifesting, our biggest, boldest, most audacious dreams. It’s also possible that we may realize that some of our dreams are, in fact, delusions (of grandeur, Jupiter might say). It seems like it might be tricky to navigate the waters of thinking grand thoughts for the future, while keeping them within the realm of possibility.

Since these are huge, slow moving planets, the effect of their conjunction is not as ‘flash-in-the-pan’ as, say, a Mercury transit. Mercury (or even more rapid a mover, the Moon) zip in and out of the signs and the various aspects they make with other planets. Jupiter and Neptune, meanwhile take their time, and their influence, while gradual, is often much more profound and long-lasting. And since they’re so slow moving, don’t feel you have to have all your aspirational ducks in a row as of 10:42 a.m.

Give yourself permission to feel the expansion of your greatest dreams. Ask yourself what you want to feel (and bring into your life) over the next 13 years. And if you need some inspiration, here’s something to listen to as you consider how this week may unfold for you (and us all). (Remember, we’re approaching a full moon on Friday!)

Certainly we’re beginning a new cycle of seeding the expansion of our dreams – a cycle that will take 13+ years to culminate. Remember: nourish your dreams well.

(T+125)

Biological Imperative – ND #124

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Finding Zen in the CC – ND #124

Biological Imperative

In case you didn’t get the veiled reference I made back in this post, our little Pacha and Brutus aren’t babies anymore. No, it would appear eight months of age heralds that magic moment when puppies (our puppies, at least) begin feeling their oats and desiring, with a biological imperative of epic ferocity, to sow them.

Yes, yes. Their plain old, standard issue crate has gradually morphed from being labeled the ‘Red Crate’ (so named since the last week of April) to the ‘Chastity Crate’ last night.

While Pacha felt a bit punk and confused over the bodily changes that started almost two weeks ago, she took a lot of comfort in bonding with me. All of a sudden, our notoriously rebellious and sassy Pacha became Mommy’s Girl Pacha – a role that surprised both of us. She stuck to me like Velcro. And to be clear, it wasn’t because she was trying to get away from any of the males or felines in the household. None of them were bugging her. It was simply a case of her needing to be understood without having to say a word. In other words, she needed some girl time a la The Red Crate*.

Brutus asking, “What????” – Photo: L. Weikel

And Then Everything Changed

As far as her flowering womanhood went, Brutus was curious and a little puzzled why she wasn’t seeming to want to play as much. He knew something was ‘going on down there,’ and he was happy to make sure she wasn’t dying. And while we did of course have to call him off (and her off him), the tackling of each other wasn’t happening overwhelmingly more often than it ever did. The two of them have always wrestled and messed around.

As it happens, I ran into a friend at Pet Smart yesterday and told her that Pacha was coming into her womanhood. (Becoming a bitch, while technically accurate, definitely holds far too much judgmental baggage.) She proceeded to tell me a story about her dad and how he thought he’d built some excellent pens for their dogs when they went into heat. Well. Their males apparently became so infatuated with their biological imperative that they literally ripped boards off the sides of the pens to be with their girls. Long story short: in no time there were 40 puppies.

She laughed when I said we seemed to be keeping them away from each other without much trouble.

I swear, I got home and what I’d sensed shifting that morning had become utterly manifest while I was out shopping (at Pet Smart, for one). Brutus has suddenly become a relentless rut-seeker. He is more single-minded than I have ever seen any animal be. And it has suddenly become a two person job to keep him off her.

It’s astounding.

Brutus not liking the CC quite as much as Pacha – Photo: L. Weikel

Enter the Chastity Crate

And so now the Red Crate had become the Chastity Crate. They take turns being inside it, since we don’t want it to feel like a punishment to either of them. Neither really seems to mind, although they’re both obviously sad and miss playing with their best friend.

When the lust becomes too much, there is some whining and digging at the CC. But they don’t get anywhere, so they eventually get tired and fall asleep.

To be honest, Pacha seems to enjoy being in the Chastity Crate more than Brutus, presumably because it’s a respite. Brutus simply looks forlorn and seems to wonder why his world has changed so drastically when all he wants to do is L-O-V-E his Pacha.

Sigh.

I feel you, Pacha-girl – Photo: L. Weikel

*affiliate link

(T+124)