The Powers of Green

Tale of a Tortie

Well, this cold-snap, otherwise known as a temporary deep-freeze, made our stray female cat brave (i.e., desperate) enough to come to food in a carrier so that I could get her to the vet to be spayed, etc. This pretty Tortie was left behind by the previous owners of our house, and once our cats had settled in, not to mention the dogs, she made herself quite scarce these past two-plus years (we only caught the very occasional glimpse of her in the woods). We're pretty sure that Bojangles (our rescue from this past summer) is her kitten. However, no more kittens for her -- and no more being stalked by Tom either! Abundant food, fresh water, and more tolerant cats-in-residence means we may now have another member of the family; we'll see how it goes.

Stray Tortie

Mr. Bojangles

Bo Jangles

Bo Jangles in the Amur Maple

Maybe?

We have a possible new addition to the family - a kitten. Five days ago, I found a feisty little blond kitten in our garage, hiding in the under-carriage of my car. The kitten is skittish, for sure, but beginning to trust me. Now if I can just get the elder cats (14 and 17) to accept the kitten instead of chasing it!

I think I know who the kitten's momma is; ever since moving in, we've seen a tortie-colored adult once in a while and last year I saw her briefly with a kitten. The previous owners of the house had been feeding what they said were two strays, but left them behind and our cats aggressively chase them away. I don't know why momma-cat would have abandoned this little kit, though -- maybe she was killed or a Tom-cat separated baby and momma as soon as he was weaned? Haven't seen a sign of her, though, since the kitten's been with us.

This little one was terribly skinny so I've been feeding every few hours -- which is also helping him/her to trust me. Because of how thin it is, I'm thinking it may be a little older than I first thought. Will know more when I can get it into a vet's office without traumatizing it too much.

Needless to say -- for those who know me -- I'm already in love with this charming kitten.

Flower Therapy for Cats

The Goodness of Guinevere

She stared, unblinking,

a one-eyed gaze

that held the world in peace.

For 13 wonderful years,

deepest love and gratitude always.

Reflections on Absence.

Suddenly Gone

read his story: Khepra aka "Rocket-Butt"

Oct 25, 2004 to Mar 3, 2012

now we rest

Now that all my 'friends' are finally out of their boxes . . . 

the rest of us can relax,

and curl up . . .

with a good book!

Changing

A lovely morning out in the yard with Otter and Gump, our feisty, opinionated indoor/outdoor cats. These two are quite the characters and, although they love attention from people - and even enjoy interacting with the dogs - both of them as they matured became increasingly aggressive with the other house-cats. We racked our brains and finally came up with a solution we are all happy with--the indoor/outdoor cattery/kennel! Now that winter is passed, Otter and Gump, sister and brother, are thrilled to be able to once more roam the yard and hunt; Otter catches bugs and butterflies, while Gump goes for the bigger game of mice, voles and birds. I don't enjoy the hunting, and often find myself warning away various creatures, but when I'm not quick enough, I try to just look the other way and let the cats do what they do naturally!

This morning, much earlier . . .

Feel Her surging through me, 
Gaia strong and clear,
knowing Her power and love as She is near,
honest feelings ebb and flow
as I breathe calmly, deep and slow,
let float a smile into the air
where all can feel it roaming there 
and here and everywhere!


Let loose the worms and frogs and birds
that toil and carry all their words
from sea to shining sea and me I
share what words I carry through the night
and scatter them in dreams upon the world
maybe they will root and then unfurl 
into the moonlight-sunlight-shadow
full and strong with all I know
yet leave the openings all around 
for all I've yet to learn abounds!

Singing to the trees I feel a freedom
heady in its joy, for they embrace what comes
and they accept on Her behalf 
whether they are full or cut in half
or downtrodden to the mud
yet in Her embrace they rise above,
living breathing glowing changing
all of life . . . always rearranging.


My ears pick up part of a conversation, or I catch a glimpse of a headline, and I want to say...

Skip the hype descending from all angles and the fear and anger, let it go, too! No place for you, Dear Fear, to live here, for I embrace you, love you and set you free to become so much more than the little darkness that seeks to hide and control. Instead I take you in, let you visit, and love you, heal you, then set you free. We don't need to sit in the dark at the same table day after day, Dear Fear, drinking bitter memories and nibbling on terrible fears of future. Put in the sugar, drizzle the honey of life's bliss, sweeten the cup and allow Her love to overflow into our mouths and bodies and hearts and Spirit! Feel Her soaring within! Her sweetness made all of the uglies beautiful by transforming -- transmutation! Just as the plants transmute one element into another and create more than they started with, so can we!


So many beautiful energies always near to touch and feel and become One with. No need to dwell upon the forces that come in like opportunistic parasites and try to take hold. Give them a moment, for all have validity, and then pull them off, let them go, set them free to continue a journey of transformation having provided their piece of the Infinite puzzle of Life. 

Like a labyrinth we travel always to Her when we maintain our focus--the path is clear, winding but clear, obstacles but not insurmountable. Only becoming a maze when we allow mind and fear to control our journey, lashing out or reacting without reflection; a maze with its dead ends and crushingly narrow turns and confusion that builds, growing so tall we can see nothing except our fear and fear of death. Trim the hedges, clear the walls, break through and travel the clear labyrinth once more to Gaia and love and healing and the beauty of all potential awakenings...

Just yesterday, I looked around, opening to Her, wanting to make sense of what I could see ...

Soil and leaves and organisms within, 
where does death end and life begin?
We rake the leaves and clear the lawn
of all the detritus from the past -- now gone.
yet letting nothing remain behind
is to close our hearts and loose the mind
to control all that we see and feel, 
and disallow Her Grace to bind and heal.
Clear the palette thinking 'how pristine'
yet all we do is hide the pain, unseen.
Shoved aside and carried away, 
where are the piles of leaves in which to play?
Gone the natural humus of the soil.
Gone the rewards of how all Beings toil
and share themselves when they are through
so the rest of Life can begin anew.
Instead we substitute a falsity, delusion,
in thinking we know better, yet all is illusion.
"Look how clean" we say with pride, 
but what about all those who died
and whose gift of life transformed?
We have removed them, life balanced no more.


Yet I didn't dwell but let it all go, enjoying each bud, each green leaf, each playful scamper.
Gaia is always willing to shine Her light for me to follow...

Egg

SoulCards(c)

Egg.
Fetal.
In my own little world. 
"In my own little corner, in my own little chair..."
Weekday mornings are serene and I feel so contented.
Routine is comforting--reassuring--allowing space where there seemed none before . . . before the day takes off and the mundane joys fly in spreading their pleasures around in pieces, I relish the quiet moments of peaceful solitude after the dogs have been out and the cats have been cuddled and all have been fed, then we curl up, each in our own way, and contemplate the sweet connections between and all life.
Stubborn leaves refusing to release flutter dryly outside the window wearing their old brown coats in striking contrast to the deep white snow that shows milk up as yellow.
Toenails click upon oak floors, tap-tapping the path of a dog across the room seeking her spot on the couch. Sitting in modified lotus in the chair that only I like so it is usually available I smile in reflection, watching. Rolling cat, tossing and stretching on her back reaches out to bat the dog's nose gently and a tail wags. One-eyed feline stare wins and the couch remains hers.
Not much to think because this is the quiet time, the non-productive, in-dwelling space of stillness.
Nothing / Everything
Future undetermined and non-affective to the Now.
Egg.
Shell strong or fragile in its delicate degrees of flexibility dependent upon species as it simply holds--the container for what will be or not, whether life will grow or merge back into Gaia for another try later. Fertilized? Have there been enough nutrients? Where is the ember, the spark? Did it ignite? Become that which eats or that which is eaten? Decorated or plain, embellished or simple? Crack or Create?
Where will the journey continue and over what moments will I step to get there?
"Ding!" a distant computer calls out its version of the famous "you've got mail." 
Pooka licking his toes noisily.
Sitting. Peace. Breathing in and out, Nadi Shodhana without hands compelling the balance, leading, opening.
Mind starting to scurry. Quiet morning yet already the Big World is reaching its long fingers into my nest, moving the eggs, feeling the weight, measuring the circumference to see where I fit in -- small, medium . . . jumbo?! Will I be removed from the nest before I'm ready? What will be my fate?
To be done to or to emerge from my shell and be the doing? Choices--always. Can I be the egg as well as the actor? What role? Songbird hailed by one and all as remarkable? Turtle with its hard shell and slow-moving manner? Spider weaving her web? Possibilities!
Funny how I have options when I stop to consider--when I pause to reflect, contemplate, and respond from a center openness rather than just react like one of a hundred thousand factory-farm chickens hatched from eggs with no future and with bills snipped and wings clipped and unable to move in a cage so tiny the wire prevents me from turning around . . . 
_____________
Where did that last sentence come from? It feels almost angry, certainly frustration bubbling. Interesting how it came only at the very end of the writing, slipped out before the pages ended, like a last ditch effort to be heard. Ian Watson, a wonderful healer, talks about how the most insightful information of a consult can often come at the end when the client's hand is on the door knob and a last remark is tossed out in apparent nonchalance . . .  This is one of the absolutely beautiful aspects of contemplative writing or journaling; to become immersed in the process so that unexpected vibrations are heard and energetic shifts occur without conscious direction. Fascinating.

Khepra Catching the Morning Light

And I have to share the following video because while I was writing the song came to me; I prefer the one sung by Lesley Ann Warren but couldn't find the full version of it (although I did find a reprise along with "Impossible" -- and now I'm feeling the need to watch the whole thing). :-) Since LAW's "Cinderella" is the one that 'grew up on', she will always be MY Cinderella and it is her voice I hear when I imagine that song. Anyway, a bit of nostalgia . . . "in my own little corner, in my own little chair"

Samhain 2010

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle; easily and often breached. Yet, still we would live no other way."

- Irving Townsend

This year has seen the death of three of my beloved feline companions. As I spread their tiny white bones and gray ashes upon the Sedum bed, as the remains of their manifest form return to Mother Earth, I know that their Spirits fly free upon the wind into the ether and we are One in Love. Among all the bones, only Demeter's skull remains intact. Demeter was Mother Earth 'felinized' and so it seems proper that her bones were strong and solid, resistant to the intense fires of cremation just as she was resistant to chaos around her. The longest bones are those of Imhotep's legs. And so, I honor our lives together, the love we shared, and their many gifts to me. Candle, sage, water, salt, blessings, prayers; elements and spirit joining, purification, charging, consecration. I am eternally grateful that they chose to be with me during this earthwalk; they are in my heart and memory forever, as are all the others that have come and gone before them. So many and I am so blessed.

In many traditions, the days around this time of year are ones spent in reflection - upon the ancestors and loved ones who have died. In Wicca, tomorrow is the beginning of the New Year, and Hecate guides us through the crossroads. The veil between worlds is thinnest, and we can become thin ourselves, opening to the connections across time and space. I welcome whole-heartedly the wisdom of those who have gone before. These moments/days are beautiful reminding us of birth and death, and the deep knowing that life is eternal.

For what is it to die, but to stand in the sun and melt into the wind? And when the Earth has claimed our limbs, then we shall truly dance.

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Thank you Demeter

I lost a dear friend and companion of twelve years...

Demeter was a cat of abundant love and nurturance; she epitomized all of the kind, giving nature of a mother, willing to sacrifice all she was or had to others. Scarcely a cross 'word' ever escaped her in the twelve years we were together; certainly none that I can recall. A foster cat with kittens originally, I felt like I didn't name her -- Demeter, a great mythological mother Goddess, simply was who she was.

On Saturday, September 11th, our sweet and huggable cat Demeter died in my arms. Demeter was eating and good until Friday morning; within 36 hours, she was gone. I feel honored that she waited until that moment of togetherness to depart this world of form; each time this has happened, when a beautiful soul chooses to be with me when they let go, I feel like I have been given a tremendous gift - one that I will treasure always.

I have found cats to be particularly good at hiding serious illness; in Demeter's case, though, I feel like she consciously chose to give us a very special year extra. Last year, she experienced what seemed to be a 'stroke' of some kind; with lots of TLC, Reiki, Flower Essences, and Homeopathy, she recovered beautifully. This past weekend, though, she seemed to have a similar one, but it felt very different to me. Indeed, she only waited until the evening until I was relaxed with her cuddled in my arms to transition all on her own. Demeter left as quietly and gently as she had lived; no fanfare, no drama. She leaves a huge space in our hearts and home.

To see more photos and read about the lovable, remarkable and devoted Demeter, click here.

p.s. in hindsight, I see that on Friday I posted about aging, acceptance, and death, so a part of me must have sensed that Demeter's dying time was near...

in the beginning

In the beginning were the animals... well, at least in MY beginning. I still have my stuffed toy puppy-dog from my crib, and from then on it seems like there was always an animal around me! They are my joy and my solace. I finally completed each one of my current companion's web page so thought I'd share that bit of personal information in case you wanted to hop over and meet them at KITSNK9S! The image here is my beloved Kiki; long gone but never forgotten.

Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.

Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

belly breath softer than dusk

Grandmother sits on my lap

Comforting by being comforted

Her claws prick so lightly

Barely touching my skin

Her purr raspy and eternal in love

Belly breath softer than dusk

She brings forth peace

Her gaze direct, she sees my soul

And holds nothing back

He Who Comes In Peace ... has gone

Mo’s departure was sudden and entirely unexpected; the situation caught both Ron and I completely unprepared emotionally, and so has been particularly difficult. In addition, Mo has always been a lead character in our day-to-day lives; from the very beginning, he inserted himself into the very center of our home and hearts -- and settled in deeply.

I can scarcely grasp that he will no longer drape himself across my neck to sleep at night as he has for almost ten years; no more to follow me around, to jump on my lap when I sit down to read, to carry on long conversations with Ron or I, to be the first to the food dish, carry a toy to me while yowling loudly or snuggle with me whenever and wherever possible. He was mellow, friendly and seemed to rest in a deep faith that all would be well no matter what; in fact, he was so calm that we could run a vacuum right next to him and he would just watch, or when the dogs would hear a noise and go crazy with barking, again he simply observed while the rest of the cats scattered to hiding places. We called him Mo and a host of other nicknames, but his proper name was Imhotep - Egyptian for 'he-who-comes-in-peace'. And he lived that name.

I know that everything happens the way it does for a reason but I confess that I failed this particular lesson in 'loving detachment.' Without any mental or emotional preparation to losing Mo, I lost a bit of myself as well. And yet, I feel so honored and blessed that he came into my life, and I will treasure every moment we shared together, even as my heart aches with the absence of his physical form and voice. Mo was peace - a being who brought light, love and laughter into each and every moment of life.

Read more about our miraculous Imhotep ...

Adopted March 2000; Died March 2, 2010

Good-bye Juliette

We lived together for almost 15 years and I'll miss her lively presence. This morning as I prepared my breakfast, and each time I rattle a dish or open a cabinet door, I expect to see her leap to the counter hoping for a snack - or hurry to her water dish so that I'll fill it with fresh warm water just the way she prefers it. And I know that the next time I return home after being away a few hours, it will be odd not to see her waiting in the window, watching for me; she didn't do it every time but often enough that it became habit for me to see if she was there.

Juliette was the last of the "Colorado Cats" -- those who were rescued while I was living in the Rockies - so it feels sort of like the end of an era, the true loss of connection to a particular phase in my life that was filled with tremendous growth.

More about the Lovely Liette...

Adopted in 1995; Died February 10, 2010

Chin

A tiny chin rests ever so lightly upon my cheek,

Weight nearly imperceptible,

Soft as velvet, the dark hair caresses.

The faintest touch of breath on my skin,

Warm from nostrils exhaling,

Body snuggled into my neck,

Lungs swell and sink in rhythm.

Beneath satin-like ebony fur

My larger chin rests gently upon his side.

In Memory of Sophia

Sophia departed this earthly life while lying cradled in my arms this morning. It was quite clear that she had decided the time had come for her soul to depart; she only waited until I held her and then she quietly left. I'm happy for her that now her wild soul can run free, graceful and agile, something she was unable to do with the legs she was born with. We will both miss her quiet dignity and I am grateful for the lessons she taught me about acceptance and living in the moment.

_____________

Hobbit-Sophia (Sophia's Story)

6/97 - 3/8/09

Litter Box Antics

Cats are crazy

with their litter box antics

Sometimes they share

at other times they're frantic

With boxes galore

They each want their own space

Or one box adored

And all poop in one place!

(Can you tell I just finished Litter Box Duty? LOL)

Contemplation

Navarre was sharing with me a pretty good example of contemplation this morning as he silently observed the dawning of a new day. Unable to be distracted from the scene displayed before him, he was truly in the moment and just ... Being. Has he been reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? Hmmm, I thought I saw little paw prints on the cover...