in no particular order (or perhaps in the order of importance which is below my conscious awareness?), first the glass
i always am barefoot
yesterday i was out before dawn walking with Teyla (who's getting quite ancient; as a non-small dog over 14 years, every moment she remains able to accompany me is a gift now)
i had my cellphone, but i can't bear to break the darkness
we were on the usual section of the rail trail here in town
but i suddenly had fear
i didn't *know* what i might be stepping on in the dark
and while the trail is usually kept quite clean, the fear that someone might have smashed a glass bottle (i used to be that person when i was drinking beer as a teenager, taking joy in "sign hunting" (throwing empty bottles out of a moving vehicle at roadsigns and feeling some satisfaction (boy was that shallow and empty (now in hindsight of course, at the time i though i was experiencing joy and a sense of accomplishment!)))
so i turned back instead of going around a longer loop
for many decades as an adult i've gotten so upset at broken glass (usually picking it all up carefully when i find it)
it's really insidious
i know as a barefooter how evil it really is
it's possible to be cut by that unnatural sharpness without even feeling pain
the natural thorns which exist (and are also capable of piercing my flesh if i step on them) are designed to hurt -- it's how the plant is protecting itself
so walking carefully will allow one to feel the prick and then not put one's full weight on that foot
but glass is different
it can also (especially clear glass, which is not what you included) hide visually as well
if there's no glint in the sun to warn one, then the possibility of injury exists
i suspect many people would consider me foolish for insisting on not wearing shoes so often
but i really love the mindfulness which comes from feeling directly the ground i walk on
foolishly as a child i wished there were fewer (because i considered them a bother)
monarchs have always been my favorite
one year, living in Boston Corners, NY, where i'd build a hoop house greenhouse behind the house we were renting, the monarchs were a family treasure
our oldest daughter (who was then i think not quite or almost a teeenager) really "embraced" the hunt for caterpillars (which i'd been taught in grade school in upstate NY) on milkweed plants
and she would bring them into our greenhouse
that fall, there were dozens of pupae, each constructing a chrysalis there in the greenhouse (which was open on the ends except in the winter)
a magical thing to see so many, in different stages
with her sharp eyes, my daughter was capable of finding caterpillars which were so tiny (and in those situations, there would be a bunch nearby, all hatched from the same cluster of eggs layed by the mother butterfly)
it's been a thing for us
and now her daughter (our granddaughter) is learning how to look
which is far more of a challenge than it was a generation ago
hell, there are far fewer milkweed plants! and so so few monarchs
but hopefully a resurgence will take place, though i'm cynical (with how ubiquitous our dousing the world around us with chemicals is, as we try to prioritize our comfort (and respond to what is maybe a "natural" revulsion at bugs of all sorts, due to how many do cause us discomfort))
i'm now quite different in my relationships with mosquitoes
not that i love them
but i rarely put on bug spray
though sometimes i will (i refuse to use the "good stuff" which works much better (with DEET in it) just on principle, as there are natural concoctions which do a good enough job, even if i need to apply a lot more often)
anyhow, i'm running out of time for the rest
but i'm really glad that you chose to "break your rule" (no i did not see the tiny boot, but i'll go look for it later)
and i can't wait to see you (and likely others, some of whom i also now take joy in reconnecting with whenever we are there with you, as i consider them friends too) in less than 4 hours for _Coming Home_
Wow!
So amazing (as always...)
Just sharing my processing without giving my brain time to "over" process, and instead let it be raw...
in no particular order (or perhaps in the order of importance which is below my conscious awareness?), first the glass
i always am barefoot
yesterday i was out before dawn walking with Teyla (who's getting quite ancient; as a non-small dog over 14 years, every moment she remains able to accompany me is a gift now)
i had my cellphone, but i can't bear to break the darkness
we were on the usual section of the rail trail here in town
but i suddenly had fear
i didn't *know* what i might be stepping on in the dark
and while the trail is usually kept quite clean, the fear that someone might have smashed a glass bottle (i used to be that person when i was drinking beer as a teenager, taking joy in "sign hunting" (throwing empty bottles out of a moving vehicle at roadsigns and feeling some satisfaction (boy was that shallow and empty (now in hindsight of course, at the time i though i was experiencing joy and a sense of accomplishment!)))
so i turned back instead of going around a longer loop
for many decades as an adult i've gotten so upset at broken glass (usually picking it all up carefully when i find it)
it's really insidious
i know as a barefooter how evil it really is
it's possible to be cut by that unnatural sharpness without even feeling pain
the natural thorns which exist (and are also capable of piercing my flesh if i step on them) are designed to hurt -- it's how the plant is protecting itself
so walking carefully will allow one to feel the prick and then not put one's full weight on that foot
but glass is different
it can also (especially clear glass, which is not what you included) hide visually as well
if there's no glint in the sun to warn one, then the possibility of injury exists
i suspect many people would consider me foolish for insisting on not wearing shoes so often
but i really love the mindfulness which comes from feeling directly the ground i walk on
and broken glass is such a bane...
the monarch
i mourn with you
so many fewer than there used to be
so many fewer bugs of all kinds
foolishly as a child i wished there were fewer (because i considered them a bother)
monarchs have always been my favorite
one year, living in Boston Corners, NY, where i'd build a hoop house greenhouse behind the house we were renting, the monarchs were a family treasure
our oldest daughter (who was then i think not quite or almost a teeenager) really "embraced" the hunt for caterpillars (which i'd been taught in grade school in upstate NY) on milkweed plants
and she would bring them into our greenhouse
that fall, there were dozens of pupae, each constructing a chrysalis there in the greenhouse (which was open on the ends except in the winter)
a magical thing to see so many, in different stages
with her sharp eyes, my daughter was capable of finding caterpillars which were so tiny (and in those situations, there would be a bunch nearby, all hatched from the same cluster of eggs layed by the mother butterfly)
it's been a thing for us
and now her daughter (our granddaughter) is learning how to look
which is far more of a challenge than it was a generation ago
hell, there are far fewer milkweed plants! and so so few monarchs
but hopefully a resurgence will take place, though i'm cynical (with how ubiquitous our dousing the world around us with chemicals is, as we try to prioritize our comfort (and respond to what is maybe a "natural" revulsion at bugs of all sorts, due to how many do cause us discomfort))
i'm now quite different in my relationships with mosquitoes
not that i love them
but i rarely put on bug spray
though sometimes i will (i refuse to use the "good stuff" which works much better (with DEET in it) just on principle, as there are natural concoctions which do a good enough job, even if i need to apply a lot more often)
anyhow, i'm running out of time for the rest
but i'm really glad that you chose to "break your rule" (no i did not see the tiny boot, but i'll go look for it later)
and i can't wait to see you (and likely others, some of whom i also now take joy in reconnecting with whenever we are there with you, as i consider them friends too) in less than 4 hours for _Coming Home_