Heartbeat of Home

Down between the polished wood floorboards
in the dank sweetness of moist ageless earth
My heart beats the rhythm of my chosen home.

I stood one August on the grassy slope by the apple tree
stared at the staccato mountain peaks looming over the roof
and claimed this piece of the world to be mine for awhile

Mine, shared with the teeming life under and above the grass that grew wild
My home, among dandelions, squirrels, skunks, junipers, apples, plums and birds
I staked my claim and began to build my world
Here.

At first we felt like outsiders
Arranging, exploring, planning
Working, returning tired to unfamiliarity
Waiting for "home" to arrive

Seven years of breathing have changed the air in the house
Breathing my breath onto the woodwork, garden paths and paint on the walls
Breathing in the breath of trees, cat, dog, bunnies, husband, grandsons
Breathing out my dreams and desires
Breathing in their gradual fulfillment

Dented, worn dining table remembers family feasts of thanks-giving
Quiet meals of mourning
Candles spilling wax in glowing darkness
Art projects dripping glue, and that little gouge mark
Gatherings of bright-eyed friends birthing plans onto paper
Annual drying of a dismayed cat after her bath
And always newspaper mornings with tea

I light a fire, straighten my favorite painting, sweep the walk again
I no longer notice the click-hum of the furnace
Backyard graves of furry beloveds nourish the new spring growth
Fox and deer know my routines as I know theirs

The earth knows my heartbeat, here in my chosen home.

Snow Bunnies

What do rabbits do in the snow? Not this zero-degree ice, mind you, but the lovely fluffy snow we had a week or two ago. What do bunnies do in the snow? They romp, scamper, dig, lick, leap, twirl and invent mid-air acrobatic moves to express their delight. With their fur coats and thick fur slippers, cold only stimulates their systems in a happy way. For evidence, check out these photos of Ziggy (white with black-brown-gray) and Sandy (sandy) enjoying every second of their snow day.

Arctic Rest

High in a cottonwood tree’s spindliest branches, a redtail hawk brazenly rests. A raucous circle of glossy crows surrounds him. They battle for winter survival. The sub-zero air sparkles with frozen crystals – seeds that will become snow if the sun warms things up some.

Our back yard looks like a field of Bushes A La Mode – dollops of vanilla snow pile up on every surface. Fox footprints embed themselves in a deep white trail from northern clothesline to southern fence. The footprints are far apart and single file. This fox was in a hurry to hunt some mice and get back to her warm den. She should check our garage, where they’re hunkered down in a nest of packing peanuts under the cold cement steps.

Life is lived at a quieter, more desperate pace when an arctic blast arrives. Our rabbits stay in their room most of the day, fluffed in a two-part ball of sleep. When mealtime arrives, they gorge. We humans nap by the woodstove, softly snoring the cedar-warmed air.

I dream only of winter rest.

2006 in Review

Here in Wandering Willow land, I plan to celebrate the changing of the year by re-posting my favorite writings from each month in 2006. This is especially important since my computer crashed and forced me to develop this new blog and abandon my old one.

For today, here is my look at 2006 and its various features.

WHAT I DISLIKED MOST ABOUT 2006

G. Bush and cohorts in our White House

Problem-ridden electronic voting machines still being used

All TV sitcoms and dramas depicting the popular culture of lying, deception and cruelty

PBS booting Bill Moyers out of "Now"

The politics behind the war in Iraq and media coverage thereof

The movie version of “The DaVinci Code”

The latest movie version of “The Pink Panther”

The little white jets that fly overhead leaving crosshatches of white trails that spread out and turns our blue skies gray. (Contrails don’t do that.)

Dealing with a limiting injury for an entire year

Crutches!!

Not having medical or dental insurance

The sudden death of my constant companion and coworker, Gypsy the Dog

Slowly saying goodbye to my 20-year best friend, Puff the Cat

WHAT I LIKED MOST ABOUT 2006

The rain returning to Colorado!

The song “All Will Be Well” by Gabe Dixon

My new CD of Vladimir Horowitz playing Rachmaninof

The book “The DaVinci Code”

The movie “The Secret”

The movies “Pirates of the Carribbean” “Walk the Line” and “Ray”

Internet radio version of San Francisco’s radio station KFOG

The alternative news service www.nhne.org , where I get my news from

PBS and its wonderful programs, despite its new executives

Everything ever written by Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber’s radio interview show “Integral Naked”

Finding a genuine perspective in which life on earth is completely wonderful

Visiting my family and playing with my grandbaby

Eating fresh food right from the garden

Trees, rocks, blue skies, sand, wind, water, fire in the woodstove

Healing from my injury, and starting to hike again

Writing my book at last

The discovery that using diluted peroxide as a mouthwash whitens my teeth

Realizing how many people considered my amazing and beautiful dog Gypsy to be a real personal friend of theirs, and how many people truly appreciated her

Spending Puff’s last weeks in a camaraderie celebrating our decades together