Stories

Pull up a chair and relax. Let me tell you a story...



It's August in the midwest. The days are hot. Corn is tall and reaches hungrily for the sun.



Train tracks cover the hills that surround my home - reminding me of days gone past.



Trains hold a special place in my heart.

My great grandparents had train tracks in front of their front yard. When I was small, when my family would visit, I'd wake in the middle of the night to the windows rumbling as the trains drove by. The sound of trains has always been soothing to me, reminding me of my grandmother's big old house. I can still smell her house, hear her laugh, see her sipping tea in the kitchen.

One day, my great grandmother led me out in front of her house to the tracks. With great mystery, I watched her lay a bright new penny on the shiny track. Then we would wait for the roar of the horn, and the rumble of the windows.



I ran outside to find Lincoln on my penny smashed flat and smooth, still warm from the weight of countless wheels crossing over it. A special penny. A lucky penny.



Maybe it's no accident that there are train tracks all around the new ranch.

I hear them in the distance now. But they are still soothing to my soul. It feels like I belong here.



Trains are such a cornerstone for the U.S.: from their literal history of transporting goods from one side of the country to the other, to employing hundreds at the turn of the century, and, even today, to the graffiti that tells another story from another side of our society.



And trains are a cornerstone of my childhood.



The hills that surround the new ranch tell stories...so many stories.


An old barn a few miles from the new ranch



I can't help but wonder what went on around here. Farms and valleys roll like tapestries in the distance in either direction, telling stories of years of arms hardened from field work.

Wild flowers grow here.


Wild-growing sweet pea near the train tracks by the new ranch

I look forward to writing our own chapter in these hills and valleys.

Namaste.

"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst.

And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows
through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every
single moment of my stupid little life..."

Lester Burnham from the film, American Beauty

I am really best in solitude. I needed some solitude the other night. I had been working outside all day on a project (for another post), and I was dirty and in bad need of a shower.

Instead, I headed for my boat and the lake. I paddled strong at first. A dragonfly skimmed along the water beside me, pacing itself at the same speed, as the hull of my boat met the setting sun.



I slowed my pace as the sun dipped lower behind the trees in the west, and I floated upon this little flower. The light was low, but I paddled ashore just to capture this bit of beauty.



As I got back into my boat, I realized I was at the same part of the lake I was at last summer when I got the news from my doctor that an abscess was quickly taking over my abdomen (see that post here). I had no idea then how my life was about to change.

The same message I heard from nature then rings true today: let go.

Physical healing is measurable; emotional and spiritual healing is timeless, immeasurable. What can take weeks for the body to heal can take months or even years for the spirit to heal from.



I am still recovering. But I have moved to a place of letting go and healing emotionally now. And I have decided to make some changes - simple things, like eating holistically, giving up aspartame, and foods that contain high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils - that I hope will enable my body and my spirit to return to optimum shape. It comes at a time when I am trying in all ways to living closer to the earth.

The thing that heals your heart is also what heals your soul. It's no secret: I wear my heart on my sleeve.



The thing that heals my heart is beauty. And there is so much beauty, if we just let go, with loving kindness, and accept that things are unfolding exactly as they should.



Namaste

Diamond Dogs House Warming

To finally celebrate this dream come true, I had planned a long-awaited house warming party at the new ranch.

I never dreamed it would be 94 degrees! With those temps, I certainly didn't need the house to be any warmer.

I actually contemplated canceling the shin dig. With the humidity, the temps were expected to soar into the high 90's; and thunderstorms were expected, complete with a flood warning.

Ah, but what's a little bad weather among friends, and mushers, no doubt! Like any good musher, we marched forward despite adversity.


The new ranch: where kids and dogs are happy and free!

And rain it did. A downpour.

But as the sun set in a smear of pink on the horizon, the sky opened up, revealing the splendor of what lied within.


The Big Dipper



There were little girls singing karaoke on the back deck until the wee hours...



And, oh yes! There was a bonfire, despite the earlier rains!



There was music and there was poetry...



There was good food, good friends and good beer.


My favorite beer in the whole world, Fat Tire cannot be purchased anywhere in Ohio. My best friend, Kim, sent it as a most wonderful house warming gift!

There were even cats!


Decorated mouse and mole killing hero, Boy, sits in a field, taking a reprieve from his hard job to enjoy the revelry


And lazy Stripes sleep on her head. Can this possibly be comfortable?

In the morning, there were blue skies, and three birds heading west.



And the most special gift from my good friend Amanda: this beautiful photo frame.



I am blessed with such company, and the birth and realization of such a beautiful and fantastic dream. The beauty here is unexplainable, but more than that, the beauty of such friends warms my heart and has definitely warmed this house.

Namaste, and thank you to everyone who made it out to celebrate with us, and all those who are far away who couldn't make it. You are in my thoughts.

Love list continued...

It was harder than I thought it would be to shut the door to our old house for the final time.


Our old address

But the beauty at the new homestead overshadows any sentimentality I could feel for the old ranch.

New loves at the new ranch, part 2: love # 493
Sunsets



The sunsets at the new ranch are, pardon the cliche, absolutely amazing. Stunning, really. They linger on and on, well past 9 p.m. One night at 10:30, I could still see a sliver of pink on the horizon from the setting sun.



There is so much beauty here, I really do feel like the luckiest girl alive.


Can you spot the fireflies in this photo?

Slowly, box by box, things have started coming together here. I have been so busy doing projects, unpacking and settling, I have hardly picked up my cameras or sat down at my computer.


Foxy making herself at home in front of the french doors

We have celebrated a little.


Apropos, "Doghouse" Merlot given to us as a housewarming gift from my best friend, Kim, went down smoothly after doing so much work.

But the last few days, I've forced myself to slow down, pick up my camera and document some of the beauty here.

Love #494: "Z barn"



I just love our barn. It has so much character and beauty. If the walls could talk!

Love #495: the loft of the barn



Love #496: waving to local people while driving past them on country roads

Love #497: driving fast up and down the hills of those country roads so it tickles your belly like a rollercoaster

The list goes on and on.

Oh, and love #498: watching my kids get creative entertaining themselves:


Sophie painted Elise's face like a "cat"


Sophie painted her face like a "dog"

Namaste

Grace

n
Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.

A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.

A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.

Mercy; clemency.

A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.

A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.

Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.

The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.

An excellence or power granted by God.

A short prayer of blessing or thanksgiving said before or after a meal.

Life has seemed so hectic lately. Cleaning out the clutter of the last six years in my old house, preparing to move, then getting stalled on the move.

In the attic, pieces of former lives were unearthed:

An old sweater that belonged to my first dog.

The baby monitor used for my first child.

A newspaper from Montana - The Missoulian - from October 11, 1998.

A card written to my grandmother in the hospital before she died.

Photographs, copies of manuscripts, letters and cards from people I no longer hear from, receipts, pay stubs, signs of life.

It all became overwhelming and, surprisingly, emotional. I decided to take a reprieve from all of this for a couple days. One evening last week, I took my camera out to our new place, slowed down and looked around. What I saw was definitely inspired by grace. These are some photos from our soon-to-be new home.


A little nest partially made from husky hair at our new place

Amazing beauty and amazing grace were everywhere, in every blade of grass and every bit of light.


The setting sun behind a field of thistle

I feel, in so many ways, like the luckiest girl alive. Dreams are coming true right before my eyes.



Sometimes I almost shake my head in disbelief that this long awaited dream is actually happening. There is so much space here.


Lillies light up the hillside in front of the house like fire, leaning toward the sunset

Flowers cover the fields around the house. Everything seems so open and smells so good.



It makes us all happy.

Especially the dogs, who love to free run all over.

The garden is completely planted this weekend. Two kinds of squash, two kinds of tomatoes, corn, eggplant, five variety of peppers in my salsa garden, cantelope, carrots and lettuce, to name a few. I can't wait to savor the bounty from the soil that produces such beautiful flowers.

Namaste!