Low key celebration of the New Year here! Chickens roosting in their house; we three on the sofa soon to be in bed. For 2013 I am adding a morning Qigong class on Fridays. I am thinking about, I most probably won't, cutting out dairy. It's just that I fear even the little I do imbibe (like a bit in my morning cup of tea) only compounds the stuffed nose I suffer in winter. I think I ought to at least try doing without, to test the hypothesis. I am learning to live without Art from the Lost Planet Blog; I am hoping very much that it will go up on their return from their annual winter travel. I know their readers are sad too.
Efforts in the new year include: working for a ban on Ar-15s and on ammo clips holding more than 6 bullets; maintaining the ban on uranium mining in VA; electing Democratic Governor in VA; writing and art and Loose Threads; doing qigong and homeopathy.
Here's to miracles and to the blessed world that houses us.
I never cease to be delighted by the thoughtfulness and humor of my children and their spouses! Ezra and Jen created a most apt mug and t-shirt for me after another of my impromptu homeopathic lectures. The mug reads: "Let's talk about homeopathy" and the t-shirt: "Trust me, I'm a homeopath!" I fill with giggles when I look at the mug and shirt and wonder if I am a bit like a used car salesman in my rants on homeopathy, trying to sell a discipline which has sadly been upstaged in America by glitzy pharmaceuticals. I've attempted to tone down my passion, failing mightily on occasion. At best I can recognize that I am getting carried away and apologize and even laugh! A very Merry Mary Christmas or whatever.
Well, we started innocently enough, playing soccer in the front of the house; then, carried away by the salubrious day, we followed a deer trail up the mountain a short way to take pictures of the house. Then P. got the notion that we'd hike all the way up and I followed, at times on all fours! It was a good trek to the top, dogs delighted to bound ahead of us. I did talk her down the more gentle slope!
Yesterday afternoon I was on the phone when I heard a thud and recognized the sound of a bird hitting the glass door. It was decimals higher than usual, no chickadee or gold finch. I looked out to see on my doorstep my cat, Katrina, staring into the face of a small hawk who was leaning back on his talons moving his head back and forth almost in a twitch. I opened the door quickly and quietly and scoped up bird, who did not fight my stealth. I kicked the door closed as I turned to my cabinet with Arnica and Aconite and other remedies for just such an occasion. Managing to hold this small beautiful raptor with his (or her) bright yellow legs (which I take as a sign of youth) with one hand, I unscrew the Arnica vial and touch the dropper to the beak. Then I look for a box to place him in for a rest. I see only the sky blue bucket which is a close fit. As he rests I put some water in a saucer so that I can add Aconite. But when I pick up the hawk, he opens his wings and it is all I can do to hold him from taking off inside. I walk to the door, open it, step onto the deck and lift the bird up, loosening my fingers. Hawk takes flight - makes a circle and is gone.
I can't find a picture of the bird in my small guide, but on line I find him:
It is bleak this morning matching a pall that covers this nation after the absolutely senseless killing of 20 first graders and 6 adults at an elementary school in Newtown CT.
I am with our President; we have GOT TO change. Guns with repetitive loads of ammunition do NOT need to be available to the public. Period. AK47s or weapons mimicking them should never be sold to the public. It is insane the amount of weaponry available in the United States. I am tired of the argument that guns don't kill people, people do. But people can't kill so many without a gun. I'm signing petitions. I want to raise money to buy back semi-automatic rifles and their accoutrements and see them destroyed - recycled into, if possible, beneficial items.
The only way that I see that we can "stand" with the tragedy in Newton, is to pass legislation NOW. Really, we should have done more after VA Tech. The NRA is, indeed, a paper tiger which we need to dis-empower. ach...
The last puli in the hollow has gone on to where all good dear dogs pass and we miss her. Irie or E-ya lived the longest of all the pulik and even survived cancer in spite of being OCD and having a rock fetish. She was my first grand child! Just crazy sad is what the state is of missing dog. I am bereft.
Mr Lee and I circumabulated Red Bud in Irie's honor; I kicked a few rocks on the narrow path in remembrance. It was my first hike about the mountain this fall, since the underbrush has allowed for an easy ascent. We have now many more dogs buried than alive and this place such a fine spot for dog. The ticks, however, are making a dog's and, for that matter, a human's life a bit more difficult. Doesn't stop me from the land walk. I want to like, Irie, walk to the river the day before I die!
