Yesterday we watched Mama Raccoon fetch two kits from the hollow in the Locust Tree (I was wrong–it isn’t a walnut). The second kit was really antsy and looked ready to climb down after her. She was back within short minutes to get Rowdy. This morning, I think she carried that one down before the other, because the one we’ve seen so far was large and schuslich. We saw the other one peeking down as she took Rowdy down the tree, but she’s been gone a long time, and Timid must have gone back to bed in the hollow. I imagine Rowdy must be giving her a hard time down in the woods, wherever she’s taken them. I wish she would hurry back. Who knew wildlife watching could be so anxiety-riven? And I thought it was hard to move a toddler and a baby from the car to the house. I mean, that WAS a challenge, but at least I wasn’t leaving one high up in a tree while carting the other to a safe location, then having to trust that the first one wouldn’t run off while I went back for the other. And we’re pretty sure she has three.
I find that I am anthropomorphizing the jays, who seem to be anxiously watching with me, checking to make sure that everything turns out okay. Not so. The jays want the raccoons away from nests and eggs. Jay is telling the neighborhood where the egg-eater is.
Gratitude List:
1. The liveliness in the air before of rain after a hot day: the impendingness of rain.
2. There are whole parallel worlds and communities of animal and bird-folk living their lives around us.
3. I cleaned and tidied art supplies yesterday. I know where things are now. I made a little book. This summer’s art might tend more toward book-making than painting.
May we walk in Beauty!
“Solitude is not an absence of energy or action, as some believe, but is rather a boon of wild provisions transmitted to us from the soul. In ancient times, purposeful solitude was both palliative and preventative. It was used to heal fatigue and to prevent weariness. It was also used as an oracle, as a way of listening to the inner self to solicit advice and guidance otherwise impossible to hear in the din of daily life.” —Clarissa Pinkola Estes
“The way I go is
marriage to this place,
grace beyond chance,
love’s braided dance
covering the world.”
—Wendell Berry
mel·io·rism ˈmēlyəˌrizəm/
the belief that the world can be made better by human effort.
“Watch out for each other. Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself. Forgive your anger. Forgive your guilt. Your shame. Your sadness. Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart.” ― Jim Henson
“Humans make patterns as trails to understanding.” ―Joy Harjo
Mockingbird Chronicles 