Garden Contrast

October 31, 2018.  Never mind the date and the hue – this is not a Halloween post.

It’s a response to what’s been stirring in my backyard for the past few days, and today’s nudge from Sam Allen at www.peacockpoetryblog.wordpress.com – she suggests a poetic look at one scene through two lenses.  That’s what I’ve been doing in the yard – admiring the butterflies, admiring the cat, conflicted over the proximity of such  different energies.  I am awed (and relieved) at how adeptly butterflies react to presence of cat …

I was unsuccessful trying to photograph Brie leaping for a butterfly, hence the collage.  These butterflies were among this afternoon’s many visitors.  They are indulging in the blue mist that stands three-to-four feet above ground (and cat).

 

Plea To The Chances

October 23, 2018.  Once a year the Lone Star Flute Circle (Native American flutes) meets at Austin’s premier garden (and more) center – The Natural Gardener.  Unique flute voices float out from the porch of the main building, hovering over ever-changing seasonal plants and yard sculptures.  Husband Gary stays on the porch, taking turns with the others, contributing several of his flute voices.  I wander the grounds, returning intermittently to the porch, listening to flutes all the while.

Except – as I approached the labyrinth in the back corner of the property, flutes were overridden by a raven calling, calling, calling.  The stark shift in tone from flute to caw jogged my thoughts back to words read earlier – glass half full – calling as insistently as the raven – commencing a labyrinth walk focused on capacity to add more to my glass.

Referenced: RobertOkaji.com – “Letter to Harper From Halfway To The Horizon”

Peak Curiosity

October 14, 2018.  Out in the yard, pruning back an overgrown Jerusalem Sage, I noticed a small hole at the edge of a stump previously obscured by dense sage – thought nothing of it – UNTIL I noticed my year-old cat Brie trotting away, head held high, looking for all the world like a mother cat carrying a tiny kitten!  I went for the camera, and found cat nose-to-nose with rat, each waiting for the other to make a move.  Not wanting to watch what seemed inevitable, I went back to whacking on the sage.  But I was quickly interrupted by Brie at my heels meowing loudly.  I followed her back to where the rat should be (her perspective) but no longer was.

 

Guessing she blinked first.  Her first rat, but maybe not the rat’s first cat?

 

Look closely, follow Brie’s nose … and you’ll see a tiny rat staring back at her.

 

Why Gather To Meditate

October 6, 2018.  Today the U.S. has taken a turn many of us deem disastrous.  But why sit home and follow the predictable senate vote?  Better to brave traffic tension, spend the hours with meditative peers.  Not a word uttered about the politicians’ games.  From the silence, I’ve come away determined to keep a beginner’s mind, to follow whatever comes next with curiosity, to remember that nothing happens in a vacuum, nothing escapes eventual change.

This verse formed in my head as I drove toward today’s gathering – an intention mantra of sorts.  The image is yucca seeds, gathered temporarily before separating to spread yucca essence beyond original setting, mixing into varied landscapes.