My Freaky Alien Garden, Trippin' with Sade and Saying Goodbye.

Spring has arrived here in NW Washington state!  As the sun stubbornly hides behind grey cloud for days on end, I have found strange alien-like life forms in flower blooms....

Yea, baby! 

And my new favorite....A blue poppy when the sky is blue.

P. Dog and I are about to head out on an adventure. And as we prepare for a 12 hour drive south to look for a new home, I think of Sade. The music has traveled with me through time, bringing  comfort in ways that I find hard to articulate.  Along for as many life travels as I can remember, and many of those times in deep solitude.  The place where I tend to lose focus.
Sade herself, like a member of my own family has always offered me a new prospective while effectively denying me the self-prescribed pill of black dog (or crow) that I tend to hardily swallow by the handfuls.  No, it's not like I feel I know her, but in some way I do feel appreciative just knowing she shares the planet I'm on...I imagine her life to be very different from mine. It's another reminder of how I think the "not knowing" may be better than reality.  But, sometimes I think it would be so cool to just sit down and have tea with her.  Even cooler if she would agree to go hiking in the forested Washington mountains with us.  Alas, she would probably be checking her watch for the next flight out of small town america.  (Maybe I'd have better luck with Sir David Attenborough for tea and a hike?)
As I pack my bags and some boxes, the rain begins.  I hear an owl calling across the field in the trees I helped plant so many years ago.  The quietness of the country side seems to pester me for the blues. The traditional style blues of which I have a nice collection. This time I bypass the urge and pop in the latest Sade CD to relax the tightening fibres of obsession over silly unimportant details. I laugh when I think of the crazy girl crush I had on the sax/guitar player, Stuart Matthewman back in the 80's. The couple of years of tenor saxophone classes I took to try to sound like him. In my rented living room where the neighbors must have been going crazy as I played one measure a million times...Over and over trying to figure out what notes they were. I did earn a seat in a jazz band....It's a good memory and I still have the sheet music.
Sade's outdoor concerts circa late 80's in California. Fantastic. I still have a program for the "Promise" tour in my treasure box.
Sade,
wherever you are and wherever you'll be, please think of us too sometimes.  The tiny specks on the map whom you'll never meet. You continue to live on in their hearts.....Wherever life takes them.

And so we say "Goodbye"

To the fields in which we played, the mountains we climbed, the waters we swam, (and one time nearly drowned), the grass we ate, the beautiful state of Washington.  Crazy, beautiful, cool and windy. Many memories, but new experiences await.  The pets don't know the move is coming.  P. has had so much fun here in her 4 years of life.  I'll do my best to take care of everyone going forward.
Southern Oregon and northern California await exploration. Will write more as inspiration and time allows.               "Can she tame the beast that is her fear?"  -Sade
Yours,
M.

Farmer Whisperer and a bird of a miracle.

I'm about to share a story with you.  A story captured with pictures.  I was at home alone when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cat run by heading for the bathroom where he released his occasional mouse offerings. I knew he'd drop the item in the bathtub and it may be in various stages of consciousness.  So, I grabbed my trusty mouse container and prepared for possible live capture.  Only this time, it was not a mouse. It was a tiny and fragile hummingbird.  My heart sank to see it laying upside down and only shallowly breathing.  I removed the cat, closed the door, and opened the bathroom window.  I figured I'd give it some time to collect it's barings and hopefully fly out on it's own, if it was able to.  However, at first glance, the situation seemed hopeless to me. 

Then farmer C. arrived. I mentioned the event unfolding in the bathroom.  He disappeared from view and then I noticed C. sitting outside with the hummingbird held tenderly in hands.  Something quiet and peaceful about C.'s concentration and this little hummer.   

 

Something told me to keep watching. Something special was happening.

 

 

I suddenly realized that the contrasts in this scene were

inspiring me. The size of man vs. tiny bird. The roughness of the farmer's hands vs the fragility of this soft bird. The sacrifice of compassion vs the will to survive. 

 

 

 

I stood in my hidden spot, watched and waited....









And waited.
And watched.


Until I couldn't watch anymore.  I left and came back periodically to check on them.

It was almost as if C. was trying to heal and encourage the bird.  Giving it a safe and warm place to gather the confidence and allow the life it had before. 




A private whisper for bird
from man.











Then after about 20 minutes just after I took this picture

It buzzed off!  A miracle!
Overjoyed, I ran outside and told C. how I had been inside taking pictures all along and how fantastic I thought that the hummer flew off, when I noticed C. had tears in his eyes....
I didn't mention it again until a few days later.  I asked him what had occurred between him and the bird during that time.  He only said, "I was concerned." I knew he had been a black belt martial arts teacher years ago and asked him if that's where his concentration was learned.  "You could say that." He replied.  "Was it a male or female?  Do you know?"  I asked.  "It was a male."  Hmmm, I thought. Maybe he was so mysterious because it was some sort of male bonding thing?   I'll never know...

Inspirations, Dreams and recipe for Po'man's soup

 

When the world is ice cold and seems to push against her; she just puts a smile on her face and gets out there. 

 

 

Be sure to check out both sides of the fence and choose your side with care.

 

According to R., we are living in the age of "peak everything".  In a nutshell, the planet can not support the population with it's limited resources. "The fallout has already begun." He tells me.
"The ship is sinking. We are on a speeding train heading towards collision with an unknown date."  He points out examples of raising gas prices and food costs, corporate takeovers, political corruption,environmental degredation, on-and-on. 
"If it is already too late", I asked him. "What can we do about it?"
"Get prepared.  He replied.  "Pare down your lifestyle.  Learn some basic skills to survive the rough. times ahead."  I listen to R.'s recommended radio shows with authors of books who were former college professors or scientists who back his words as if by order.  They also push their books in subliminal ways and in the same breath tell you how making money will be of no use in the future. They go on to say that all our interactions will be limited to a local level using mostly a barter system and integrated community support.

So I begin to commute by bike. In my sleep, I have dreams of designing an enclosed rainproof cover to use my bike more as I do a car.
The chicken coop.  We can always eat eggs and <gulp> chicken and share them with others...The coop will be ready for spring chicks.  I wonder if I can hang with some cute chicks and not think of them as friends, but as a source of food.  It would be odd indeed to think of eating something that shot out of your new friends' backside. I suppose that's better than from a complete stranger.  

Hmmm. This brings us to the next episode of

Dispatches from BFE To The City, episode two

 

Today's topic:

 

HOW TO MAKE PO' MAN'S SOUP
 

 

 

"Please sir, can I have another treat?"

 

Presented to you by: Dog Tired Times and Naptime Productions

                                (A sustainable, local and all-around lazy company)

 

So, you don't have anything in the fridge?  Do you have an onion and garlic clove? 

 

 

 

Dice and Stir fry onion and garlic in oil to your desired texture and crispness.

Add water according to how many people you are feeding.

Any leftover meat or bones?  Add.

Add any vege(s) you got left over from your fridge in order of density and bring water to boil. (carrots, root veges/potatoes in first)

When these begin to soften, add frozen/or canned veges, if you have them. Add beans or left over pasta if you have it

Add fresh veges and/or

go to your yard and pick some dandelions or other edible green weeds. (Remember, you'll need to know before this situation arrives which ones are edible)

Basically, add anything you got at the right time...

Add spices from your kitchen herb garden, remove the bones if any in there and voila! 

 

A Po' man's soup, to warm your soul. 

 

 

 

And as we look due south, a silver lining...

 

Until next time......