Great post, Barbara! “I need to do things when the mood strikes me.” I think this is my new moto for everything. At least it explains exactly how I have been feeling for awhile now.
I am usually one to be very excited about Spring, but something is broken this year. A few days ago, a large tree fell outside my front bedroom window as I was sitting inside. We had a lot of rain last week, and the poor fella decided to uproot himself all together. He gave up his roots with a somber “whoosh.” No cracking of limbs or thundering of ground that once held him upright. Just a sad and lonely upheaval of dirt and loss of power for the surrounding neighbors. Entergy came to remove branches from the power lines. Piece by piece the tree was cut and placed into a city debris removal truck before it was hauled away to wherever they take fallen trees... it made me sad. I think I was the only one.
I started understanding in that moment how much I feel like an uprooted tree that has fallen over in someone else’s yard. How soon will it be before I’m cut into pieces and hauled away? Or will I grow wings where my roots once were and escape in the nick of time?
I suppose I could have written this into a story on my own Substack, lol, but here it is in your comments where I feel it will be most appreciated. Thank you as always, Barbara, for sharing little pieces of your life. I think I would love your secluded sanctuary. I can’t wait for the mood to strike you to paint again! I just know it will be beautiful. ♥️
Oh, Heather. This made me sad for both you and the tree. It's hard to describe to people who don't see themselves as part of Nature just how painful it can be to witness the loss of a tree. At least my landlords will probably just leave the White Pine that recently fell here, and she will be home to many creatures. But witnessing this in the city (or suburb) is a whole other thing. They seem to swoop in and tidy it all up, so you never know it happened. Except, of course, for the massive loss of shade the tree gave to everyone. Not to mention its energy.
I remember when I was living in an apartment building in Jersey City, and as I headed towards the door, the concierge said, "You probably shouldn't go out there now." She knew how much I love trees. We had ONE (perfectly healthy) small tree between the sidewalk and the cement courtyard in front of the building. She was beautiful. Two men were busy sawing her into pieces and throwing her into a truck. I lost it! Evidently, a car had parked in the courtyard and hit the tree, so they decided it was best just to get rid of the tree. I asked them why they didn't just dig her up and replant her somewhere else. They looked at me like I had two heads. They were "just doing what they were told."
And then there were the Willows by the river. I think I already wrote about them.
Anyway, my dear, I hear you on feeling differently this year. There's something in the air. I think I've been feeling the energy from the upcoming eclipse. They seem to affect me even though I don't really understand how or why. It's very uncomfortable, and every morning, I wake up with a feeling of dread.
Big hugs to you, and thanks for honoring me with this beautiful comment, Heather. There are a few people here on Substack who are "strangers," and yet I feel they understand me at such a deep level. I wish I could invite all of you to come and camp out on my little hill. Maybe one day I will. 🏠🌲🐻💚
I so love your posts... and I admit freely that I so envy you, with such a wonderful little home and that BARN IS AWESOME... One day I hope to have a home of my own! I would love that. Yes, I know it's where my heart is (inside me?), lol.
The warm weather could easily be manufactured, sorry to say it.
And I DO understand that hibernation thing, too-- you know it's the Bear within you, and dogs are in the same family as bears... ;)
And oh, I sent you something, so check your mail in a few days! xo
Aww, thx Jaan. 😊 I would envy myself, too! I think I earned it, though - I really do. It was a long time coming. Yes, regarding the warm weather, although people will say, "It's always been like that." The white stripes have been INSANE this week. I went to the spring earlier, and they were massive. :( I always think of dogs being related to wolves, but I like to think they're related to bears, too! :) And, oohhh...snail mail on the way! Thank you in advance! Have a beautiful day, Jaan. xoxo
I would have to run that by my landlords. Red?? NEVER! Lolol, my least favorite color. Unless it was a deep red like claret or burgundy. That bright orange/red is hard for me to even look at. My first chakra must need tuning. :) PINK would really be interesting. I always thought I'd find a goldenrod yellow or pink house! xoxo
Apr 15, 2023·edited Apr 15, 2023Liked by Barbara Sinclair
Oh, lol, I don't like orange/red nearly as well as a good solid Fire Engine Red. I can't help it! ^_^
But I also have preferences of shades for nearly every color, and you probably do, too. A yellow front door is lovely with brown or grey... And I LOVE LOVE LOVE red and pink together... I know, I'm sort of excitable.
Pink!! I wonder if you could get an app to play with the colors on your photo... ? Might be fun, even if you never actually paint it. ;)
Color excites me, and I can see it does you, too, Jaan! :) Some people just don't see the nuances. Sometimes when I'm painting, I challenge myself to use colors I don't really like. I used to hate the color orange, but after doing a lot of healing on my 2nd chakra, I started to love it! Well, certain shades of orange! :) In fact, I did a huge orange painting all about the second chakra. :) xoxo B
Oh, yes, we have much in common, I agree. Did you know that women have more rods and cones in their eyes than men, and that enables them to see more nuance in colors? And some women have EVEN MORE. I'm one of them, and I suspect you are, too. It's a gift that I enjoy every single day of my life. Color is a thrill, and it's FREE. ^_^
It has been an interesting spring here at best. So much contrast with the snowbanks along the edges of the woods and on the paths mixed with mud and greens! My yarrow is popping up in places too. I'm grateful for all of the volunteers showing up, not so excited about having my first tick today, but it is life where we are.
Yes, all of life is interesting right now, isn't it MJ? Ugh for the you-know-what showing up. I'm pretending like they don't exist. Thx for reading. Spring is here. xoxo
Hi, Pitta girl! 🔥 I'm mostly Vata, so I should love the heat. I don't like being cold but I've learned how to dress for it and I sleep with a hot water bottle. :) Happy Spring to all the Vatas, Pittas, Kaphas, and everyone in between!
Well, now that you mention being born in December, this makes sense. I was born in October, so that’s why I am always dragging my heels into the summer. I have detested the heat for so long, I can’t remember if I ever enjoyed it. Seems I remember boating quite a bit in my late 20s and early 30s, beer and cigarette in hand 😏 I agree with your friend, there’s always the farmers market. Maybe because you are living on the land, you feel that you have to be a gardener 🤔 I say relax and savor the moments, till dreaded bug season starts 😱 as that period will limit your outdoor enjoyment. Unless you get that space suit from NASA to fight the bugs 🤭 I’m w/ you, already exhausted from the heat, it was almost 90 here today and this evening, the entire neighborhood smelled like fabric softener 🤮 No wonder I love late fall/winter so much, so tranquil. In Spring/Summer people have to muck everything up! Great article!
Agree--loathed those hot humid, slow and draggy days during the summer. In this order: Autumn is Numero Uno, followed by early spring, then winter with it's desolate and distant aloof beauty and I have never liked the summer time. Most of my summers were spent reading in the coolest space I could find, maybe 89 instead of 118 ?? LOL
Yes! You got me, Lisa! Lol, picturing you on the boat, beer and cigarette in hand. 😂 My dear dad (funny how we're all talking about dads today) had an old turquoise blue motorboat that I swear he loved more than his children. When I was in high school, I would go fishing with him, only he would fish, and I would lay in the sun. :) I don't have a NASA suit, but I do have one of those mesh bug suits that make you look like a total idiot. Frank, the funny UPS guy caught me one day wearing it with my bathing suit underneath. 😮 Talk about embarrassing. They are hotter than hell and this year, maybe I'll just stay inside and write. Problem solved!
Thanks for reading, Lisa, and have a beautiful day! xo
Good Day to you, Barbara, it has been awhile since I wrote. Long story made short, I fell and was flat on my back for two weeks; painful? Oh yes, indeed and I haven't even started with the med. follow-ups yet, well just barely .
Sigh, it's a trap getting old so my advice to you is Do what you just wrote--take it slow and savor aging unlike me who, a vata-pitta and overburdened with guilt at not getting enough done each and everyday, tried to do too much.
Just like my Dad, who when he went in for heart surgery, the docs found out he had had a 'heart attack' previously, but he does not recall. Yeah, Dad, it more than likely happened when you had come home from the farm fields having put in 10 hours of tilling/sowing/cultivating or whatever the season and you had said, "I don't feel too well" and you laid down on the floor (cause god forbid you take a nap on the sofa dressed in your soiled farmers clothes) and took a well-deserved siesta...for about an hour, then off to the fields, you were back on the tractor finishing up. Up at the crack of dawn and during harvest, after midnight.
And this was not intended to be a paeon to my dearly loved but now departed father, but I am feeling a bit blue these days. We were alike in so many ways and I feel like i should have learned more by watching him. Persistence? Patience?
And It is still 47 degrees in the early morning here in the NW with sheets of nonstop rain and although I once loved the winter ( being born in the middle of Dec, as well and raised on a North Dakota farm), I am so cold, always freezing that if this 'climate warming' doesn't happen soon, I might just shrivel up into a husk and disappear like that paper wasp nest photo of yours.
So for the first time ever, I am anxiously awaiting the summer with it's burning fires in the mountains, heatwaves and dry gardens and a water shortage. Am I nuts or what?
It's been a hard winter--so go slow, savor the wildness, forgeddabout the garden (there is always the farmers markets) or grow only what you like or can't find (I have a huge garden in the front yard, but haven't done a thing for three lousy years due to cancer). I mostly miss those killer tiny tomatoes and my lettuce and Kale were tremendous until the bunnies discovered them.
I now am apparently raising birds/butterflies/ rabbits with some fawns that get left inside the fence line while Mom deer goes cavorting for greens elsewhere. It works for now. So I say to you enjoy your wilding (my word once more as it was the year before is REWILDING cause I didn't feel I fully got to rewild) and watch the birds more. I am 3 years older than you, feel like you might be a sister of the soul if not the blood; so lil sis, big sis says.........take your time and write or paint or plant some toms or nothing at all. You do you! Looking forward to your next post---I may not be able to respond but I do read every thing.
Aww, Jeanne, I'm so sorry you've been dealing with all of that. Sending you big healing hugs of love. I can relate to the back thing - resolving it takes a long time. And yes, I constantly need to slow my Vata or Vata/Pitta (I'm always questioning that) butt down. We like to MOVE! These days with all that's going on in our inner and outer worlds, I am just taking it one day at a time. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply in spite of your troubles.
And your dear dad...that would be me. I do everything in my power to avoid any interaction with allopathic medicine. Except I wouldn't have lasted 10 hours in the field. I have so much respect for farmers. Have a good day, Jeanne! xoxo
"We like to move" . LOL ! An understatement fer sure, but the one thing we vata types never have to worry about is being bored; nothing is too mundane for us to be learning about. I have always wanted to know about Ayurveda after working in an East Indian restaurant for 8 1/2 years in the 80's, but segued for some forgotten reason to macrobiotic cooking classes and never got back into Ayurvedic until the last 6-8 years, which is the main reason I liked your posts in the first place, plus you sound like me at times, curious about all facets. I love people like that. keep posting and I will keep learning. Oh and I do want to send you a post received in the mail today by a jo hanlon-moore from wiltshire, england. She is aging with great distaste, not as comfortable with her croneship, much like me, but she writes about that process. Maybe if the pair of us had gotten into Ayurveda as younguns we wouldn't be so distressed....do you think? Knowledge is all in my vata-rising soul.
OMG, Jeanne! Yes, we sound like two Vata peas in a pod. You sum us up perfectly. And I'll throw in a side of Sagittarius! I have read some of Jo's posts, and I think I recently commented on something she posted in Notes. I can't keep up! Scrolling is not so good for Vata!! :) xoxo B
'scrolling not so good for vataaashhs...........Gosh, o Gee, you can make me laugh a lot.
How about this.....when you go to the library to pick up 4-6 requested items, but you insist on browsing the book isles, like it's candy store and you leave with a second bag of books that had been 'recently published' and you just now have seen any of them?
And : for now I am deleting all note or references to notes from substack. As a recovering knowledge-seeking soul, working not-to-hard at enjoying doing no thing, just reading posts of my favorites being read by favorites---don't need my tribe getting too much bigger than that. I agree there with you as well--don't like the extra portion of food cause there is plenty --simple is the best way- and knowledge can be dangerous or so some say. Do you think that is a true Vata speaking, or maybe just getting so old you don't car?..... as that Jo from Wiltshire wrote......we Vatas are not uncaring, we just start to get brittle as we age--I got that from her and think that is true for me and every crone-heading women. At what age exactly are we considered to have entered into crownship or crone-hood or wise woman? 80 or less? What do you know on this idea?
I wonder if I'm thinking of a different Jo. I haven't found anyone else chattering about Ayurveda here yet. I'm 69 and consider myself deep into Crone-hood. 50-ish is usually when we transition into the Vata time of life but IDK if that's too young to be considered Crone material. :) We are funny, aren't we? Have you ever read or listened to "The Power of the Crone" that I mentioned? So good. All that knowledge we thirst for and then forget (at least I do.) Ok, gonna try to shut down for the night! How come Vatas have all the anxious kinds of dreams??? xoxo
I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I agree w/ you, there is always the farmers market. My father was the same, they found he had a previous heart attack, but he didn’t know when. Men of that era were such hard workers, not giving themselves a second thought, or their health 😔 I wish you wellness and sun shine, sure sounds like you certainly deserve it.
Amen to there's always the farmer's market. I go every single Saturday when it's open and I've gotten to know some of the farmers really well. It is such a blessing and I can get just the amount of veggies I need rather than a whole 25x25 plot of them! Have a beautiful day, Lisa, and thx for reading. xo
You nailed it--exactly. As a gardener since like forever, you will have to go to the grocers or a farmers market anyway, and that would be because whatever you grow will never include every ingredient if you want to cook with a 'tish bit of ingenuity.
EG Garlic doesn't get pulled until July and then you have to cure it a bit. You have a long shelf life for garlic but by Jan. it starts to sprout which then puts it in that bitter stage and as well as getting soft gets tossed. I try to keep only what I need, pass on the rest to neighbors. But this is just one veggie that has issues, think of the rest. So many variables--let those blessed farmers deal with lack of rain, insect infestation, too much rain, rabbits who al.so prefer lettuce from a French cultivar or deer who enjoy the iron-rich kale I grow for them , apparently...
.I have decided, after surviving cancer and told by doc to stay out of any place where you could get sick (white blood count low?) and for 3 years, now in remission from chemo and radiation- (yes that is correct--the cure is worse than the bite), that this is the opportunity of a lifetime, to redo he entire thing, to relax and do a more rewilding theme---simple, no care, and share with the mourning doves, the wrens sparrows etc. No. 1 thing to do is DO NO THING. I am going to haunt everyone I see including me and thee to slow it down........it should be grand........................
You are magnificent! When we survive a serious illness (or two or three!), we can either roll over or choose optimism and wisdom, which is what I sense you have done. Let's have a Do No Thing club. What do you say?? xoxo
Those Dads of ours--weren't they something else? They don't make guys like that anymore I am thinking. Hey thanks for reaching out, talking about your Dad. It does make me feel slightly better; I had moved here 50 years ago thinking well, I love rain and it beats snow and ice of the bleak nodak landscape any day of the week; but it's aging that is the big conundrum for me, again just like my Dad--should have learned something here as well, but nope---everyone has to learn these things anew.
So the sun feels amazing on my bones and I certainly needed the sun in my eyes but I am not looking forward to what I notice comes with spring. Living in a city provides ALL kinds of loud obnoxious people, sounds and behaviors..... I definitely like my windows closed and not having to hear everyone's music blaring at every red light. Bahhhh humbug🤣🤭 .... addendum... I too am taking everything slow from now on. Otherwise I just might not make it 🤣😉😁
Jamie, I hear ya hon! I'm listening to peepers at night here while it used to be loud drunks at 3am under my window in the city. Don't miss that at all! Hang in there. Big Love, my friend. xoxo
It's so interesting how different it is in different climates. Yes, to slow and easy. I keep reminding myself of what I wrote! :) Thanks for reading, Claudia. Much Love to you! 💗
Morning, J.R.! I miss that big beautiful Lake! I used to be within walking distance when I lived in MI. You're so right about never knowing when a blizzard might hit. Maybe we should ask the geoengineers?? Have a beautiful day. Gonna run my errands before it cooks up. I could never live in the tropic...
Great post, Barbara! “I need to do things when the mood strikes me.” I think this is my new moto for everything. At least it explains exactly how I have been feeling for awhile now.
I am usually one to be very excited about Spring, but something is broken this year. A few days ago, a large tree fell outside my front bedroom window as I was sitting inside. We had a lot of rain last week, and the poor fella decided to uproot himself all together. He gave up his roots with a somber “whoosh.” No cracking of limbs or thundering of ground that once held him upright. Just a sad and lonely upheaval of dirt and loss of power for the surrounding neighbors. Entergy came to remove branches from the power lines. Piece by piece the tree was cut and placed into a city debris removal truck before it was hauled away to wherever they take fallen trees... it made me sad. I think I was the only one.
I started understanding in that moment how much I feel like an uprooted tree that has fallen over in someone else’s yard. How soon will it be before I’m cut into pieces and hauled away? Or will I grow wings where my roots once were and escape in the nick of time?
I suppose I could have written this into a story on my own Substack, lol, but here it is in your comments where I feel it will be most appreciated. Thank you as always, Barbara, for sharing little pieces of your life. I think I would love your secluded sanctuary. I can’t wait for the mood to strike you to paint again! I just know it will be beautiful. ♥️
Oh, Heather. This made me sad for both you and the tree. It's hard to describe to people who don't see themselves as part of Nature just how painful it can be to witness the loss of a tree. At least my landlords will probably just leave the White Pine that recently fell here, and she will be home to many creatures. But witnessing this in the city (or suburb) is a whole other thing. They seem to swoop in and tidy it all up, so you never know it happened. Except, of course, for the massive loss of shade the tree gave to everyone. Not to mention its energy.
I remember when I was living in an apartment building in Jersey City, and as I headed towards the door, the concierge said, "You probably shouldn't go out there now." She knew how much I love trees. We had ONE (perfectly healthy) small tree between the sidewalk and the cement courtyard in front of the building. She was beautiful. Two men were busy sawing her into pieces and throwing her into a truck. I lost it! Evidently, a car had parked in the courtyard and hit the tree, so they decided it was best just to get rid of the tree. I asked them why they didn't just dig her up and replant her somewhere else. They looked at me like I had two heads. They were "just doing what they were told."
And then there were the Willows by the river. I think I already wrote about them.
Anyway, my dear, I hear you on feeling differently this year. There's something in the air. I think I've been feeling the energy from the upcoming eclipse. They seem to affect me even though I don't really understand how or why. It's very uncomfortable, and every morning, I wake up with a feeling of dread.
Big hugs to you, and thanks for honoring me with this beautiful comment, Heather. There are a few people here on Substack who are "strangers," and yet I feel they understand me at such a deep level. I wish I could invite all of you to come and camp out on my little hill. Maybe one day I will. 🏠🌲🐻💚
I so love your posts... and I admit freely that I so envy you, with such a wonderful little home and that BARN IS AWESOME... One day I hope to have a home of my own! I would love that. Yes, I know it's where my heart is (inside me?), lol.
The warm weather could easily be manufactured, sorry to say it.
And I DO understand that hibernation thing, too-- you know it's the Bear within you, and dogs are in the same family as bears... ;)
And oh, I sent you something, so check your mail in a few days! xo
Aww, thx Jaan. 😊 I would envy myself, too! I think I earned it, though - I really do. It was a long time coming. Yes, regarding the warm weather, although people will say, "It's always been like that." The white stripes have been INSANE this week. I went to the spring earlier, and they were massive. :( I always think of dogs being related to wolves, but I like to think they're related to bears, too! :) And, oohhh...snail mail on the way! Thank you in advance! Have a beautiful day, Jaan. xoxo
PS: Ever consider painting your front door? Red, or maybe a bright turquoise (our birth stone!)? Or maybe .... PINK? lol
Just a thot. ^_^ xo
I would have to run that by my landlords. Red?? NEVER! Lolol, my least favorite color. Unless it was a deep red like claret or burgundy. That bright orange/red is hard for me to even look at. My first chakra must need tuning. :) PINK would really be interesting. I always thought I'd find a goldenrod yellow or pink house! xoxo
Oh, lol, I don't like orange/red nearly as well as a good solid Fire Engine Red. I can't help it! ^_^
But I also have preferences of shades for nearly every color, and you probably do, too. A yellow front door is lovely with brown or grey... And I LOVE LOVE LOVE red and pink together... I know, I'm sort of excitable.
Pink!! I wonder if you could get an app to play with the colors on your photo... ? Might be fun, even if you never actually paint it. ;)
Color excites me, and I can see it does you, too, Jaan! :) Some people just don't see the nuances. Sometimes when I'm painting, I challenge myself to use colors I don't really like. I used to hate the color orange, but after doing a lot of healing on my 2nd chakra, I started to love it! Well, certain shades of orange! :) In fact, I did a huge orange painting all about the second chakra. :) xoxo B
Oh, yes, we have much in common, I agree. Did you know that women have more rods and cones in their eyes than men, and that enables them to see more nuance in colors? And some women have EVEN MORE. I'm one of them, and I suspect you are, too. It's a gift that I enjoy every single day of my life. Color is a thrill, and it's FREE. ^_^
Yesssss! 🎨
It has been an interesting spring here at best. So much contrast with the snowbanks along the edges of the woods and on the paths mixed with mud and greens! My yarrow is popping up in places too. I'm grateful for all of the volunteers showing up, not so excited about having my first tick today, but it is life where we are.
Thank you, Barbara.
Yes, all of life is interesting right now, isn't it MJ? Ugh for the you-know-what showing up. I'm pretending like they don't exist. Thx for reading. Spring is here. xoxo
Pitta girl, born in January 1961 in Fairbanks, AK. I love winter. Very much.😊
Hi, Pitta girl! 🔥 I'm mostly Vata, so I should love the heat. I don't like being cold but I've learned how to dress for it and I sleep with a hot water bottle. :) Happy Spring to all the Vatas, Pittas, Kaphas, and everyone in between!
Yep, I’ve got Vata too!😊
Well, now that you mention being born in December, this makes sense. I was born in October, so that’s why I am always dragging my heels into the summer. I have detested the heat for so long, I can’t remember if I ever enjoyed it. Seems I remember boating quite a bit in my late 20s and early 30s, beer and cigarette in hand 😏 I agree with your friend, there’s always the farmers market. Maybe because you are living on the land, you feel that you have to be a gardener 🤔 I say relax and savor the moments, till dreaded bug season starts 😱 as that period will limit your outdoor enjoyment. Unless you get that space suit from NASA to fight the bugs 🤭 I’m w/ you, already exhausted from the heat, it was almost 90 here today and this evening, the entire neighborhood smelled like fabric softener 🤮 No wonder I love late fall/winter so much, so tranquil. In Spring/Summer people have to muck everything up! Great article!
Agree--loathed those hot humid, slow and draggy days during the summer. In this order: Autumn is Numero Uno, followed by early spring, then winter with it's desolate and distant aloof beauty and I have never liked the summer time. Most of my summers were spent reading in the coolest space I could find, maybe 89 instead of 118 ?? LOL
Yes! You got me, Lisa! Lol, picturing you on the boat, beer and cigarette in hand. 😂 My dear dad (funny how we're all talking about dads today) had an old turquoise blue motorboat that I swear he loved more than his children. When I was in high school, I would go fishing with him, only he would fish, and I would lay in the sun. :) I don't have a NASA suit, but I do have one of those mesh bug suits that make you look like a total idiot. Frank, the funny UPS guy caught me one day wearing it with my bathing suit underneath. 😮 Talk about embarrassing. They are hotter than hell and this year, maybe I'll just stay inside and write. Problem solved!
Thanks for reading, Lisa, and have a beautiful day! xo
Good Day to you, Barbara, it has been awhile since I wrote. Long story made short, I fell and was flat on my back for two weeks; painful? Oh yes, indeed and I haven't even started with the med. follow-ups yet, well just barely .
Sigh, it's a trap getting old so my advice to you is Do what you just wrote--take it slow and savor aging unlike me who, a vata-pitta and overburdened with guilt at not getting enough done each and everyday, tried to do too much.
Just like my Dad, who when he went in for heart surgery, the docs found out he had had a 'heart attack' previously, but he does not recall. Yeah, Dad, it more than likely happened when you had come home from the farm fields having put in 10 hours of tilling/sowing/cultivating or whatever the season and you had said, "I don't feel too well" and you laid down on the floor (cause god forbid you take a nap on the sofa dressed in your soiled farmers clothes) and took a well-deserved siesta...for about an hour, then off to the fields, you were back on the tractor finishing up. Up at the crack of dawn and during harvest, after midnight.
And this was not intended to be a paeon to my dearly loved but now departed father, but I am feeling a bit blue these days. We were alike in so many ways and I feel like i should have learned more by watching him. Persistence? Patience?
And It is still 47 degrees in the early morning here in the NW with sheets of nonstop rain and although I once loved the winter ( being born in the middle of Dec, as well and raised on a North Dakota farm), I am so cold, always freezing that if this 'climate warming' doesn't happen soon, I might just shrivel up into a husk and disappear like that paper wasp nest photo of yours.
So for the first time ever, I am anxiously awaiting the summer with it's burning fires in the mountains, heatwaves and dry gardens and a water shortage. Am I nuts or what?
It's been a hard winter--so go slow, savor the wildness, forgeddabout the garden (there is always the farmers markets) or grow only what you like or can't find (I have a huge garden in the front yard, but haven't done a thing for three lousy years due to cancer). I mostly miss those killer tiny tomatoes and my lettuce and Kale were tremendous until the bunnies discovered them.
I now am apparently raising birds/butterflies/ rabbits with some fawns that get left inside the fence line while Mom deer goes cavorting for greens elsewhere. It works for now. So I say to you enjoy your wilding (my word once more as it was the year before is REWILDING cause I didn't feel I fully got to rewild) and watch the birds more. I am 3 years older than you, feel like you might be a sister of the soul if not the blood; so lil sis, big sis says.........take your time and write or paint or plant some toms or nothing at all. You do you! Looking forward to your next post---I may not be able to respond but I do read every thing.
Aww, Jeanne, I'm so sorry you've been dealing with all of that. Sending you big healing hugs of love. I can relate to the back thing - resolving it takes a long time. And yes, I constantly need to slow my Vata or Vata/Pitta (I'm always questioning that) butt down. We like to MOVE! These days with all that's going on in our inner and outer worlds, I am just taking it one day at a time. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply in spite of your troubles.
And your dear dad...that would be me. I do everything in my power to avoid any interaction with allopathic medicine. Except I wouldn't have lasted 10 hours in the field. I have so much respect for farmers. Have a good day, Jeanne! xoxo
"We like to move" . LOL ! An understatement fer sure, but the one thing we vata types never have to worry about is being bored; nothing is too mundane for us to be learning about. I have always wanted to know about Ayurveda after working in an East Indian restaurant for 8 1/2 years in the 80's, but segued for some forgotten reason to macrobiotic cooking classes and never got back into Ayurvedic until the last 6-8 years, which is the main reason I liked your posts in the first place, plus you sound like me at times, curious about all facets. I love people like that. keep posting and I will keep learning. Oh and I do want to send you a post received in the mail today by a jo hanlon-moore from wiltshire, england. She is aging with great distaste, not as comfortable with her croneship, much like me, but she writes about that process. Maybe if the pair of us had gotten into Ayurveda as younguns we wouldn't be so distressed....do you think? Knowledge is all in my vata-rising soul.
OMG, Jeanne! Yes, we sound like two Vata peas in a pod. You sum us up perfectly. And I'll throw in a side of Sagittarius! I have read some of Jo's posts, and I think I recently commented on something she posted in Notes. I can't keep up! Scrolling is not so good for Vata!! :) xoxo B
'scrolling not so good for vataaashhs...........Gosh, o Gee, you can make me laugh a lot.
How about this.....when you go to the library to pick up 4-6 requested items, but you insist on browsing the book isles, like it's candy store and you leave with a second bag of books that had been 'recently published' and you just now have seen any of them?
And : for now I am deleting all note or references to notes from substack. As a recovering knowledge-seeking soul, working not-to-hard at enjoying doing no thing, just reading posts of my favorites being read by favorites---don't need my tribe getting too much bigger than that. I agree there with you as well--don't like the extra portion of food cause there is plenty --simple is the best way- and knowledge can be dangerous or so some say. Do you think that is a true Vata speaking, or maybe just getting so old you don't car?..... as that Jo from Wiltshire wrote......we Vatas are not uncaring, we just start to get brittle as we age--I got that from her and think that is true for me and every crone-heading women. At what age exactly are we considered to have entered into crownship or crone-hood or wise woman? 80 or less? What do you know on this idea?
I wonder if I'm thinking of a different Jo. I haven't found anyone else chattering about Ayurveda here yet. I'm 69 and consider myself deep into Crone-hood. 50-ish is usually when we transition into the Vata time of life but IDK if that's too young to be considered Crone material. :) We are funny, aren't we? Have you ever read or listened to "The Power of the Crone" that I mentioned? So good. All that knowledge we thirst for and then forget (at least I do.) Ok, gonna try to shut down for the night! How come Vatas have all the anxious kinds of dreams??? xoxo
💕...precious.
I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I agree w/ you, there is always the farmers market. My father was the same, they found he had a previous heart attack, but he didn’t know when. Men of that era were such hard workers, not giving themselves a second thought, or their health 😔 I wish you wellness and sun shine, sure sounds like you certainly deserve it.
Amen to there's always the farmer's market. I go every single Saturday when it's open and I've gotten to know some of the farmers really well. It is such a blessing and I can get just the amount of veggies I need rather than a whole 25x25 plot of them! Have a beautiful day, Lisa, and thx for reading. xo
You nailed it--exactly. As a gardener since like forever, you will have to go to the grocers or a farmers market anyway, and that would be because whatever you grow will never include every ingredient if you want to cook with a 'tish bit of ingenuity.
EG Garlic doesn't get pulled until July and then you have to cure it a bit. You have a long shelf life for garlic but by Jan. it starts to sprout which then puts it in that bitter stage and as well as getting soft gets tossed. I try to keep only what I need, pass on the rest to neighbors. But this is just one veggie that has issues, think of the rest. So many variables--let those blessed farmers deal with lack of rain, insect infestation, too much rain, rabbits who al.so prefer lettuce from a French cultivar or deer who enjoy the iron-rich kale I grow for them , apparently...
.I have decided, after surviving cancer and told by doc to stay out of any place where you could get sick (white blood count low?) and for 3 years, now in remission from chemo and radiation- (yes that is correct--the cure is worse than the bite), that this is the opportunity of a lifetime, to redo he entire thing, to relax and do a more rewilding theme---simple, no care, and share with the mourning doves, the wrens sparrows etc. No. 1 thing to do is DO NO THING. I am going to haunt everyone I see including me and thee to slow it down........it should be grand........................
You are magnificent! When we survive a serious illness (or two or three!), we can either roll over or choose optimism and wisdom, which is what I sense you have done. Let's have a Do No Thing club. What do you say?? xoxo
xoxo..............as long as there are few to none requirements for joining, i'm in.
Amen to that!
Those Dads of ours--weren't they something else? They don't make guys like that anymore I am thinking. Hey thanks for reaching out, talking about your Dad. It does make me feel slightly better; I had moved here 50 years ago thinking well, I love rain and it beats snow and ice of the bleak nodak landscape any day of the week; but it's aging that is the big conundrum for me, again just like my Dad--should have learned something here as well, but nope---everyone has to learn these things anew.
So the sun feels amazing on my bones and I certainly needed the sun in my eyes but I am not looking forward to what I notice comes with spring. Living in a city provides ALL kinds of loud obnoxious people, sounds and behaviors..... I definitely like my windows closed and not having to hear everyone's music blaring at every red light. Bahhhh humbug🤣🤭 .... addendum... I too am taking everything slow from now on. Otherwise I just might not make it 🤣😉😁
Jamie, I hear ya hon! I'm listening to peepers at night here while it used to be loud drunks at 3am under my window in the city. Don't miss that at all! Hang in there. Big Love, my friend. xoxo
It's so interesting how different it is in different climates. Yes, to slow and easy. I keep reminding myself of what I wrote! :) Thanks for reading, Claudia. Much Love to you! 💗
Morning, J.R.! I miss that big beautiful Lake! I used to be within walking distance when I lived in MI. You're so right about never knowing when a blizzard might hit. Maybe we should ask the geoengineers?? Have a beautiful day. Gonna run my errands before it cooks up. I could never live in the tropic...
Very good point about thinking winter may be gone. We had a wild blizzard here in May, I believe it was 2005, near Chicago.