Morning

Fortunately I am a "morning person". Morning is my very favorite time of the day. Shasta always gets up from wherever she's sleeping to greet me . . . often rather enthusiastically kissing my face. 

The ceramic pot was made by Chris.
The plant arrived from DeAnne
in Peoria, AZ.

On one of my morning walks with Shasta I thought to myself it would be great to have a Thanksgiving cactus plant. Continuing that thought process I decided after all the holidays passed I would venture out and see what was for sale. Or perhaps check online which is my habit for purchasing items. Now no need since DeAnne purchased one for me at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Lucky, lucky, lucky me!

Reading today's 364th entry, Morning, in 365 Tao: Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao was a reminder just how much  I, possibly we, take for granted. 

"All we need is the morning. 

As long as there is sunrise, 

then there is the possibility 

that we can face all of our

misfortunes, celebrate all our blessings, 

and live all our endeavors as human beings. 

Spirituality is something 

that has become necessary 

in these troubled times. 

Yet it is inherently superfluous. 

We need it to remind ourselves, 

to bolster ourselves, 

to integrate ourselves,  

to fulfill ourselves. 

If we could simply acknowledge 

the mystery of night and the glory of morning,

 we would need neither civilization nor spirituality.

At its simplest, life begins with dawn. 

That it is blessing enough. 

That is happiness enough. 

All else becomes fullness immeasurable. 

At dawn, knell down 

and give thanks to this wonderful event. 

We may think mornings are so common 

that they are unworthy of veneration,

but do you realize most places 

in the cosmos do not have mornings? 

This daily event is our supreme goodness.

Greet the dawn. That is your miracle to witness.

That is the ultimate beauty. 

That is sacredness. 

That is your gift from the heaven.

That is your omen of prophesy. 

The is knowledge that life is not futile. 

That is enlightenment. 

That is your meaning in life. 

That is your directive. 

That is your comfort. 

That is the solemnity of duty. 

That is the light of the ultimate."

Look at what Shasta's Auntie T
ventured into her studio and created! 

Certainly 

    Definitely

        Surely

            Undoubtedly

I am ever so blessed to have such wonderful friends. 

Indeed I do celebrate . . . honor . . .  make whoopee . . . for all of my cherished friends; and of course my constant companion:

Shasta Girl, as I call her

As I look outside the sun is shining with some fluffy clouds dotting the sky. I realize how fortunate I am to be living in this cozy cottage with Shasta. In spite of my heavy heart at this holiday season, I am able to

           

 

Dense

This morning  and the previous several ones I awoke to dense, dense, dense fog. I was so dense that I was certain it had rained. However, when I check the rain gauge no rain was recorded.

When I looked out upon the patio all the indentations of the slate was filled with moisture. It is hard to come to grips that this is all the result of dense fog. 

When Shasta and I have taken our morning walks with this dense fog, all the trees were "dripping", the roadways very wet as was the sidewalks and grasslands we walked past. I have to admit I am not an enthusiast of fog as are many I encounter on our morning walks.

And for those of you who have contacted me about the wood chip pile remaining in the ditch in front of my house, the pile is, as I write this post, being moved by my neighbor to the West. 

 

As I did, when this property had grass in both the front and back yards, I applied for a "lawn rebate" from the city of Cotati. My neighbor did likewise. He has been waiting for  confirmation which just yesterday he received. Thus today he is moving the remainder of the wood chips in the ditch in front of my house. WHEW! Just in time because I got a notice from the City yesterday that if the pile was not removed by noon 12/14/2023 they would do so.

My neighbor's plan is to mulch his yard then plant natives as I have. He and his wife will use my plant list to go shopping at California Flora Nursery.

Now I would like to "give a shout out" for my long time friend's book. It is now available for purchase . . . $12.00 on Amazon. A word of caution: be sure to buy his book on Amazon rather other sites. I found the cost to be $2.00 to $3.00 more on a number of sites that sell books.

EVOLVE: A Modern Wizard's Apprenticeship with Merlin

Rob is such an interesting human BEing. He has cut my hair for eons, except of course when I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We have such amazing conversations while he is skillfully cutting my hair.

I am hopeful that the sunshine will eventually burn off the fog. It is late morning here in Cotati and dense fog has yet to be dissipated. So I enjoy, as I invite anyone reading this post, to 

Upcoming Holidays

This is front door for
my Cotati, CA home.
The vine on the left is 
Clematis ligusticifolia
(Western’s virgin’s bower).

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. On December 25 billions of people around the world observe this religiously and culturally. Celebration occurs in varied and meaningful ways depending on the country's beliefs and practices. 

While living in Northern California Dwight and I had always spent a month in the Eastern Sierras over Thanksgiving. On returning home we could stop and cut a Pinyon Pine which we then put up and decorated together. Last year I chose to ignore the holiday altogether. 

This year however I got down all the boxes stored in the garage to take out things to display. My neighbor put up lights in the bare of leaves maple tree in my front yard. I feel ever so fortunate to have such a wonderful neighbor! And when I plug in the lights and enjoy the sparkle, I am filled with gratitude for her generously giving of her time so I could have this pleasure each evening.  

The Winter Solstice occurs on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, at 10:27 EST. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the first day of winter. This day has the fewest hours of sunlight of any day throughout the entire year.

Winter Solstice Blessing

May you have a warm heart,

open hands,

a creative mind.

May you experience inspiration and brilliance,

clarity and focus.

May you laugh richly and deeply.

May you circle and celebrate,

may you change and grow.

May that which is waiting to be unlocked be freed.

And may you soar with the knowing

that you are carried by a great wind 

across the sky.

I have friends who celebrate the Winter Solstice rather than Christmas. Others, who are Jewish, commemorate Hanukkah (Chanukah) which begins at nightfall on December 7 ends on the nightfall of December 15. And then I have a few friends who are very "bah humbug", like the infamous Scrooge, ignoring any December holiday observations.

Having grown up in Iowa where I cannot remember a Christmas without snow, I herald snow in December. Below are a couple of snowy pictures taken in the Bridgeport, California area.

I have to say that I do miss snow at the time of the year. Perhaps it is best to say that snow makes Christmas for me. It is one of the reasons that I enjoyed living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, durning which each Christmas we spent there was snow. Viewing the snow flakes through the lights strung around the edge of the portal was just such a lovely sight

And another picture sans snow of our Pinyon Pine being securely fastened to the roof rack for its trip to Cotati, California. Shasta is just awesome with her supervisory abilities as well as her inclination to remain with us rather than run off after critters.

And when Shasta's Aunti T visited us while we were living in Santa Fe, we took her to Chimayo (where there was no snow) primarily to visit Santuario de Chimayo.  Please enjoy the display of ristras in the pick up truck she is standing near. 

As we discovered while living in Santa Fe displaying ristras is very popular in New Mexico. Vendors popped up on many street corners to sell them during the month of December.

The Pinyon pine Christmas tree
in our Santa Fe home
when Aunti T visited us.

It is rather pleasant in my home to have some festive memorabilia out of the boxes stored in the garage. However, I chose not to have a tree since I so prefer Pinyon pines as Christmas trees. 

No matter where you are living, whether you have snow or  sunshine, or put up decorations for Christmas or not, or even celebrate this holiday, may this month yield ample opportunities to