musings from the mountains: March 2010

Go Outside and Play!

“Go outside and play!” said God.
“I have given you Universes
as fields to run free in!
And here—take this and wrap yourself in it—It’s called:
LOVE
and It will always, always keep you warm.
And stars! The sun and the moon and the stars!
Look upon these often, for they will remind you
of your own light!
And eyes…oh, gaze into the eyes of every Lover.
Gaze into the eyes of every other
for they have given you their Universes
as fields to run free in.
There.
I have given you everything you need.
Now go, go, go outside and play!”

‘Go Outside and Play’ © 2007 Em Claire

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A CONSERVATIONIST DREAM COME TRUE...

Feeding Our Eagles

Comox, B.C., Vancouver Island

In January the weather got so cold that the bald eagles were cruising over our houses looking for helpless cats to make a quick meal. Some kind souls decided to feed the eagles down at Goose Spit so they would survive the cold spell. Here's what happened...

A former teaching colleague took these photos in front of his home... they are incredible!

A beautiful morning feeding the eagles.

No zoom lens used here! I was this close!

Here are the men who were feeding them, pretty amazing to get this close! It was not too long ago, that the American Bald Eagle was an endangered species... !

I wish I could take credit for these photos, only the black eagle and eagle-on-a-rock-in-the-water are mine! I don't know who the photographer was but a heartfelt thanks for sharing them with the world...

Saturday, March 20, 2010

HAVE A GREAT SPRING DAY...

Sure sign of Spring are the Robins, rainy days, spring bulbs, and rainbows...I love rainbows, everytime I see one I think it is just for me...

Sunday, March 14, 2010

FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE...

A Friday night favorite at the local jam session...Ashokan Farewell...as played on the guitar:

Written by Jay Unger in 1982, Ashokan Farewell is a favorite among fiddle players and those of us who love the haunting sounds of Jay's fiddle as it plays of the lament expressed by the songwriter

Monday, March 8, 2010

THE ETERNAL PROMISE OF NEW BEGINNINGS...

MOTHER NATURE NEVER LETS US FORGET...

The delicate and beautiful crocus is the first bulb that bursts forth in early March, reminding us that Spring is just around the corner...

Sunday, March 7, 2010

THE MORE I SEE OF MEN...

THE MORE I ADMIRE DOGS....Sevigne, 1626

Loyal and loving friend to my son for 14 years.

You will be missed by many who loved you.

RIP Spike

SPIKE (aka. Spiker to me)

Australian Shepard

14+ yrs. old

Rescued off the streets by John

AGE OLD WISDOM...

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

well...hell...you're probably a dog!
~Author unknown

LIVING THE WISDOM OF THE TAO...

One who would guide a leader of men in the uses of life will warn him against the use of arms for conquest. Weapons often turn upon the wielder.

Where armies settle, nature offers nothing but briars and thorns. After a great battle has been fought, the land is cursed, the crops fail, the earth lies stripped of its Motherhood.

After you have attained your purpose, you must not parade your success, you must not boast of your ability, you must not feel proud; you must rather regret that you had not been able to prevent the war.

You must never think of conquering others by force. Whatever strains with force will soon decay. It is not attued to the Way. Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon.
~Lao tzu
Tao Te Ching

PRAYER

Lord, make me an instrument of Your
Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow
love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt,faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to
understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we
receive;
It is in pardoning that we are
pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal
light.
St. Francis of
Assisi

(1182-1226)

musings from the mountains