cheerfulmonk.com

I’m not talking about Florida or down here, I’m talking about up on the land. We haven’t had it for a couple of weeks now, and there’s no telling when we’ll have it again. The idea was to change our battery system so it required a lot less maintenance, and the change was supposed to start happening about August 26th. Hopefully they will work on it again this week. More about that later when we know what’s happening.

In the meantime I had been waiting for the internet to come back before going up to the land, but the fall colors weren’t waiting for that. So I went up Friday.

It’s been a patchy fall, but there were some bright colors.

A set of colored pencils came before we left here to go up, so I brought them along. I used one of Annie’s pictures for inspiration,

and I drew this:

It was a short but good trip. We left early because we had appointments to get our flu shots down here that afternoon.

October 14, 2024
 

This morning I forwarded an online newsletter, highlighting this quote:

If you are anxious about the election, skip this morning’s espresso — the latest batch of polls showing a tightening race will provide all the jolt you can take.

I added this. (Click on photo for higher resolution.)

I’m glad I bought Clancy.

He’s a hugger and so am I.

Years ago I read that people who get at least ten hugs a days are happier and healthier. I can check that off my box.

I’m also inspiring my inner kid with an abundance of art supplies to play with: water colors, colored pencil sets, and water color pencils. The emphasis is on play, not on finished products.

Escaping from the problems of the world? Not at all, just feeding our souls to increase our chances of dealing with those problems with a little more strength and courage.

October 13, 2024
 

Kaitlin sent this message today about their attempts to see the Northern Lights,

Last time they came around we asked our neighbor up the street (in the new development so they cleared a lot of trees) to tell us if they saw them. He sent these last night around 8:30, so we leashed the girls and walked up there, but by the time we got there they were gone.

That’s too bad they missed the lights, but it was worth a try.

October 12, 2024
 

Our local paper had a picture of the Northern Lights as seen downtown last night. Huh, really? We were clueless and didn’t know it was going to happen. This morning Kaitlin sent a screen shot of the lights from the Valles Caldera webcam.

It was fun seeing the pictures, but I’m not sorry I didn’t see it in person. My life is full right now, not busy, just leisurely and rich. In Vacation and Life Style Change? I said I wanted to take time to enjoy how the uncluttered apartment looks for 30 days. That part seems to be working. It’s now easy for me to keep that uncluttered look, and I’m continuing to reorganize, recycle, and toss out parts of my old life to make room for art supplies that I’m starting to play with. Not because I want to create finished products, but to feed my soul as Kurt Vonnegut says. And, of course, I’m still doing a lot of physical therapy exercises that I’m integrating into my life. At the moment it’s all tying together nicely.

October 11, 2024
 

As Rose mentioned in a comment, Sandra is all right. In Sandra made it through Rose says Sandra wrote to her and said there was some minor damage but it’s not bad. They are without power so Sandra wants to conserve the battery in her phone. Please don’t write to her now. If there is more news Rose will report it as soon as she can.

Thanks, Rose!

October 19, 2024
 

everyone else in Florida. Pray for them all.

From the National Weather Service about 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time this evening.

October 9, 2024

Andy and I both said that in the past week or so. He was walking from the car to the apartment when a buck and a doe walked right in front of him as they were going to the back of the apartments. They didn’t seem to notice him.

I was walking to the post office in the evening, and as I was passing the pond a doe was nibbling the grass inches from the sidewalk. She noticed me, stopped eating, and quietly looked at me. I stopped, told her I wasn’t trying to bother her, then continued walking past her. She took a couple of steps back but clearly wasn’t afraid.

They would have made great pictures.

October 8, 2024

Ann wrote about some little strawberries growing in her yard. She tried one but it didn’t taste good. I was curious because I knew they couldn’t be wild strawberries. Those grew up on our land before the 2011 fire, and Kaitlin and I looked forward to eating them every year. It turns out Ann’s are called mock strawberries, or Indian strawberries, false strawberries, or wood strawberries. They aren’t poisonous but they don’t have the sweet flavor of wild strawberries.

…there is a misconception about wild strawberries. People will tell you that they are not only inedible, but that they are poisonous to consume.

That last little bit? It couldn’t be further from the truth and likely has caused quite a few people to miss out on tasting a wild strawberry or two.

As a matter of fact, wild strawberries are not only completely edible, they are actually highly nutritious, too. But it is easy to be deceived by a look-alike, a fake: the mock strawberry.
—Can You Eat Wild Strawberries? (And How to Identify Them)

You can tell the difference because wild strawberries have white blossoms, mock strawberries have yellow blossoms. Also mock strawberries point skyward while wild strawberries dangle down on the vine.

Mock vs Wild Strawberries, tasteofhome.com

And if there’s still any doubt, crush one. Wild strawberries have a sweet smell, mock strawberries have no smell at all.

Thanks, Ann! And again, bless the internet for its wealth of information.

October 7, 2024
 

Yesterday Pixie said she loves this Mary Oliver poem:

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

It reminds me of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata in 1927. almost 100 years ago:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Amen to that.

October 6, 2024

By Mary Oliver.

I Worried

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

October 5, 2024