Sunday, January 20, 2019

After a weeklong string of days with freezing temperatures and icy rain, the sun appeared and offered a new weather cycle, this time a captivating melt that glistened into highlights on tree branches and leaves. Everywhere, softening ice coatings began to drip. On heavy chains dangling from rooftops, melt streamed down still-frozen links.

“Spring feels near,” neighbors said to one another, nodding, “It’s still gloomy, yet much warmer.” An icy passage through which I lead my horses to and from a neighbor’s pasture began melting while a walkway nearest the pasture remained frozen, unsafe without cleats.

Last night, from my bed and through a window, I could see new snow falling. Its early drops were light suggesting snow that quickly disappears. Gradually, despite the warmer weather, and beyond my window, those drops thickened and began looking like they could stack and stick.

Before dawn I stepped outside to assess the situation. Some snow had accumulated and that which still fell appeared vigorous and strikingly beautiful. I breathed deeply the damp freshness and felt a sudden urge to go to my horses. They’d be in their loafing shed, and I wanted to be near them, warmed by their winter fuzziness, scenting their heat.

It’s a mystery that what’s very difficult, requiring large amounts of energy and effort, might have great drawing power. Big snows for example, at least, force strapping-on of cleats, and at worst need shoveling and snow-blowing. And horses! Aside from beauty and fun, they’re large, needy, expensive responsibilities.

Yet, I’m standing outside dreaming of walking forward, straight into a silent whiteness and clear out to where the horses (I like to think) await me. It’s as if a special purity and warmth draw me onward and perhaps toward genuine solace. Simply put, that’s how it is and I don’t know why.

Dear Readers, have a wonderful day, Diana.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Last evening, I paused for a moment during dinner in order to capture my meal before it disappeared. This was a thoughtful dinner combining fresh salmon, rice and mixed veggies with naan bread. These foods were a perfect backdrop to several similar-minded folks sharing their personal experiences, observations, and opinions. Meanwhile outside, the weather did its own thing with an ongoing mix of drizzle and snow that didn’t diminish the blaze of a wood fire that heated our space.

This occurred at the home of nearby neighbors on one of those evenings when a weather pattern makes one pause and rethink the wisdom of venturing outside. But my travel distance would be short, and as it turned out, the event was fun and in an evening well-worth having drawn me out despite inclement weather.

To me, there’s little more satisfying than spending time with others and talking. I mean really talking. This happens among folks who are mature in their thinking and comfortably may exchange personal experiences and thoughts. A pièce de résistance is that they understand how to listen. The best exchanges occur when people exchanging ideas and opinions needn’t worry about someone becoming entrapped by a personal conflict that disrupts the balance and flow.

Last night, our kind and considerate hosts allowed themselves and their guests to really talk. We discussed who we are and how we became so, and some associated perceptions, for example, about the future of Bend, the progress of America, and how it seems that science and art go together hand-in-glove.

I arrived home with a gift from my neighbors, a ceramic mug filled with chocolates. Thankfully, my dogs (they’d waited inside the house!) were warm, happy, and hadn’t destroyed anything. I paused to enjoy a cup of coffee and some chocolates, managing by the way to catch an excellent PBS documentary on the life of American Playwright, Lorraine Hansberry.

The whole evening was pleasant and satisfying.

Dear Readers, enjoy your day, and learn something new and interesting, Diana.

Friday, January 18, 2019

A little-traveled road draws me into this photograph. If it were possible to stroll along and see where it goes, I’d move slowly. I’d pause frequently to observe rock formations and plant groupings. I’d move close to the trees to study their varieties, bark structures, branching arms, and leaf formations. Surely, a stroller making an effort to see and absorb much of what’s available would feel transported into the Heart of Nature.

This photograph perfectly reminds me of that inviting, meandering road that I found while pausing near a highway. I’d stepped from my car to breathe country air when the road caught my eye. Its attributes and curves invited a dream that’s ongoing and may someday become a reality. It this dream I leave my car and walk away toward the deliciousness of an off-road ramble. I’m filled with curiosity about what this path offers, eager for what’s within sight and beyond the curve ahead.

If I stay in this moment of examining the photo, it’s a reminder of the pictures I’ve most enjoyed. An excellent photo by planning or a lucky capture shows, or implies, a path that the eye must follow. A scene’s strength is its ability to catch and move a viewer’s eye throughout several times. Its path satisfies and generates curiosity as to content and meaning. Excellent pictures make viewers wish for more and call upon their imaginations to comprehend more fully a scene’s possibilities.

A terrific photo like excellent movies and books remains in our thoughts and implies mysteries that keep us wondering. These are impressions both shareable and discussion-worthy, they gradually have elevated photography to an art form. Genuine art draws on and generates interactivity of visual and technical skills among creators and viewers alike.

It’s an emotional trip to discover among our photos captures that by planning or accident are unforgettable and powerful in their abilities to jolt memories and create dreams.

Dear Readers, have an excellent day, Diana.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

A wintery sun lowers over the Cascades as my donkey, Pimmy, approaches my horse, Rosie, and confidently leans toward the horse’s dinner. Rosie rarely objects to Pimmy, or if so its momentary, for Pimmy always eats with her. The donkey eventually ambles twenty-feet away toward a different pile of hay belonging to Rosie’s sister, Sunni. Pimmy eats awhile with Sunni before casually returning to Rosie’s hay. In other words, Pimmy does as she pleases.

The horses are full sisters who behave differently. Rosie the oldest has the temperament of a lead mare, she allows no interferences from Sunni. Herd rules give Rosie the first choice of hay piles. Sunni must stand back watching Rosie eat or go find her own pile. If Rosie decides she wants Sunni’s food and heads toward her, Sunni lets Rosie do as she wishes before heading for the hay that Rosie left behind. In feeding sessions, this is pile-switching. It may happen several times, Rosie taking from Sunni and making the younger mare seek food elsewhere.

Their behaviors reflect the social order among wild horses. Wild herds are ruled by stallions and lead mares. A herd consist mostly of mares and offspring too young to be on their own. Many horses prefer being in the middle or at the back of a herd. The lead mare is tough, for she must protect an entire herd if its stallion becomes distracted. The top mare must gather the herd, force it into a united group, and lead it from danger.

In Rosie’s little herd, she’s a bossy lead mare, while Sunni is happy as a middle-of-the-herd mare. Sunni keeps a distance from Rosie, but sometimes they’re physically close, like while grooming one another. At times I might be inconvenienced by their relationship, but can understand and work around it. What’s really cool is seeing Pimmy understanding herd mentality and working around it.

Pimmy succeeds because she knows her place. Her role is herd tag-along who neither challenges nor threatens the mares. They let Pimmy do as she pleases and tolerate her physical presence. They have limitations, however, for occasionally Pimmy manages to bug a horse. A faux kick directed at the donkey means, “Knock it off!”, and for awhile she does.

My equine trio demonstrates a social order in a fragmented herd. There’s a lead mare, a middle-of-the-herd mare, and a herd-follower. I never tire of watching the three interact with their roles lodged firmly. My biggest and most constant challenge is forever reminding Rosie, who’s pushy, that between us two, I’m the lead mare.

Long ago, someone said to me, “A horse is unlike any other pet.” It’s so true.

Dear Readers, have a great day, Diana

Good Morning, Wednesday, January 16, 2019

My house tops four acres sloping away in all directions. When I moved onto this property, except for having a house on its one level spot with a paved downhill driveway, the place was weedy, rocky, undeveloped. There was space for horses about 100-feet from the house. After fencing that area, I built a barn. To care for my horses, I had to drive a mile, circling the neighborhood and re-entering my property at the barn. Finally, I built a road from my house down to the barn–a mitzvah! No more circling the neighborhood. Since then, multiple times daily, I’ve traveled up and down my road on foot and in vehicles.

This convenient road while often lovely sometimes becomes mega-challenging. During early evenings in fall, incredibly bright, gorgeous moons peer down, greeting and drawing me toward them. Regardless of how tired I may feel, a yen to hug the glowing orb eases my upward mobilization. In contrast to such moonlit moments, Central Oregon also receives heavy snows that make navigating my road difficult.

Vehicles that travel over my road during and soon after snows leave tire tracks. The snow covering these imprints in periods with varying temperatures melts and then re-freezes. The tracks become slippery and make my road dangerous for walking. I’ve learned to poke along the road’s less-trodden edges, wielding hiking sticks to identify the least slippery spots.

This blog’s header photograph shows an early evening and new snow covering my road. The sky is heavy and obscures the moon. Atop the hill from within my house, an inviting lit-up window seems moon-like. It suggests a ready fireplace and a mug of honeyed hot tea. I move toward it.

Some evenings I feel too tired for the trudge uphill and pause wishing I’d strung a rope to pull myself up all the way. In those moments, I try to rearrange my outlook and seek an inspiration that entices me upward. Certain visions inspire, like dinner ready in a crockpot, something I’m eager to watch on television, having to fulfill some kind of commitment, and above all, a source of light that draws me like a firefly.

Dear Readers, have a great day, Diana.

Long ears and sad eyes, hanging out with a couple of horses. People driving past my place know her. They look for her, often circling, returning, and if they spot me out at the barn, pull in to ask questions about my donkey, Pimmy.

“Do you enjoy her as a pet? What do the horses think of her? What does she eat? Is Pimmy available for adoption? Where could we get a donkey?”

Pimmy is a great pet and totally bonded to her constant companions, my two horses, Rosie and Sunni. When I’m hauling off with one horse, Pimmy baby-sits the other. If I’m loading both horses to go someplace, Pimmy comes along. Usually, while riding on trails, I’ll be on one horse and leading another while Pimmy follows us loyally. For years and hundreds of miles, she’s tagged along behind. If another rider approaches, I make it known that a loose donkey is behind me. Horses that never have seen a donkey might become frightened of or aggressive toward Pimmy. She quickly grasps moods and knows to be careful.

While driving past my own property and glancing over at Pimmy, she seems like a slightly lost creature with sad eyes and long ears that capture the imagination. She appears a little sleepy maybe or even stupid. Actually, Pimmy is highly alert, smart as a whip, and fully aware of everything happening around her. She’s a quick learner and much more so than she likes to let me know. A simple carrot wave that captures Pimmy’s attention turns her into an all-action, highly-focused creature.

I respond to inquiries about donkeys as pets by explaining what I’ve learned during years with Pimmy. If I could have only one large animal, I’d happily choose a donkey.

Dear Readers, have a wonderful day, Diana.

Blow on a dandelion puffball and watch as bits of fluff, floating upward and out, carry seeds into the distance. I’m superstitious and often pause to blow on fully-seeded, easy-to-reach dandelions. I first close my eyes to wish for something, and then like the plant’s airborne fluffs, words begin floating from deep inside me. Sometimes they seem random and other times suggest patterns. Those random words, from somewhere deep inside, are like dandelion seeds springing from plants with roots that extend fifteen feet underground.

We can’t plunge into our own depths to understand why various random thoughts pop up. Are they from ancient memories or recent experiences? People may satisfy a question with a symbolic act, like wishing on dandelions, a plant that’s existed for thousands of years. For most of that time, humans have grown, harvested, and eaten dandilions, and made wishes before blowing its puffballs apart.

The superstitious part of me that wishes on puffballs is rewarded by upward floating words that resemble the plant’s fluffy bits. I try to capture these words, maybe they’ll hint at a cohesive idea. I’ve learned to think quickly about my fluffy-like words and conjure stories. This begins by retaining the first word that pops into my mind and adding as many more pop-ups as possible. I jot into a notebook every recallable word to seek the possible nucleus of a story.

Several years ago, a friend gifted me with a small box containing 1,000 magnetized words. She said, “These will help you write poetry.” The instructions called for randomly placing words on a magnetic surface, like a refrigerator, and then, rearranging them into a sensible order. I’m no poet but got the drift and enjoyed playing with that word set. It’s akin to blowing on a puffball for words that may suggest patterns and strings of thoughts.

Making a wish helps to start me on a path toward logic.

Dear Readers, have a great day! Diana

I remember my long-ago slip-of-the-tongue while attempting hurriedly to describe an unusual butterfly flying in my backyard. Before quickly correcting myself, I called it a flutterby. That slip struck me as so appropriate that ever since, to my mind, all butterflies are flutterbys.

That particular butterfly was a Swallowtail and to me a new variety. Having recently moved from the midwest to Southern California, I was discovering new sorts of flying wildlife on and near my property, and trying to absorb as many and as much as possible. Upon that Swallowtail’s close appearance, I followed it from spot to spot, to observe its behaviors, landings, and how long it remained in each place. I rushed into the house for a camera (this was before cellphones) to capture and learn about that lovely creature.

The Monarch butterfly that’s pictured above is a “Painted Lady”. Months ago, my camera captured it in a wilderness area while my dogs and I were out roaming near a small body of water. Butterflies love water. One of my nicest surprises in the summertime while out on horseback, is coming across mud puddles nearly hidden by grasses and populated by large flocks of colorful butterflies.

This winter, I discovered a Monarch Butterfly hibernating in my garage. Not sure if it’s a Painted Lady, for it’s absolutely still with wings upright and clenched. I found it upon removing a wall clock for battery replacement, and left the clock off that wall to avoid disturbing the unmoving butterfly. That critter stayed put another week before our weather began producing a string of warmer days.

Monarch Butterflies become paralyzed during freezing weather, unable to fly, unless their flight muscles become warm enough. One late afternoon, our temperature approached 55 degrees, and right outside the garage, I found “my butterfly” standing–upright, breathing, attempting to stretch stiff wings, and needing to move onward. But oncoming night would return local temps to freezing.

I lifted the butterfly, aware of a myth taught me as a child, that human fingers can disenable flight by removing powder from wings. Even now, I touch little as possible of a wing. I set this Monarch into a bucket for overnight, hoping the next day would be warm and sunny for a release. Shortly afterward, upon peering into the bucket, I saw the butterfly, flat on its side and absolutely still–damaged? From my finger-hold?

Fortunately, by morning, the butterfly had self-uprighted and we awaited a warmup. Yesterday was good, but I became distracted and busy. Today at midday, if all’s right, I’ll set the little fellow or gal outside to warm up, flex those wings and flutter on by, toward another clime where hopefully, if needed, it again may safely pause.

Dear Readers, have a wonderful day, Diana.

Sometimes a path feels cloudy. So it’s seemed since I began thinking of using another platform to compose my daily blogs. Yesterday, after initially shifting onto the Word Press platform, I received questions from readers about how to sign-up and continue receiving blogs. Word Press adds to the confusion by associating “Diana’s Morning Blog” with my earlier writings as “Trail Rider in Central Oregon”. Early today, I invited morning blog recipients to begin following me on Word Press. Here’s hoping the invitation will simplify signing-up. Regardless, we’ll figure things out. Remember that change by its nature evolves as a work in progress!

Speaking of cloudiness and change, my 87-year-old sister phoned the other morning to announce sadly that she weighs only 80 pounds. Her continuing story included her having fallen out of bed, having experienced hallucinations, and having great concern about failing to pay taxes, to ensure the safety of her Arizona house. I reassured her about the taxes and house, but feeling concerned over other parts of her story, went to visit her.

A stop at the nurse’s station assured me that my sister weighs almost 93 lbs., at least far better than she’d reported. The caretakers said she’d neither fallen from bed, nor to their knowledge hallucinated. After entering my sister’s room and correcting her as to weight, she argued insistently that she weighs only 80 lbs. She remembered saying nothing about falls and hallucinations, but recalled my assurance of her home’s safety. Despite all this mishigosh, my sister remains incredibly alert.

As I was leaving, a manager fell into step beside me to describe an agreement she has with my sister. For the facility’s Valentine’s Day Dance, she’ll bring a fancy gown that my sister has promised to wear, and to attend the dance! I explained that years ago, in those times when my sisters and I were losing our mother and eldest sibling, their dementia had quited them. This sister is a completely different story! The manager nodded and laughed, “Yes, she’s the Energizer Bunny!”

That superb visual is an apt description of my now-eldest sister throughout her lifetime.

Have a great day,

Diana

Dear Readers, for years I’ve blogged every morning, using gmail as the platform on which to compose and send. Over time, this blog’s mailing list has grown, making it challenging to send via gmail, which often blocks my sends and forces me to copy to yahoo for re-sending. While yahoo cooperates, it also has limitations. So I’m transferring my blog-writing to the Word Press platform.

I’ve hesitated, worried that changing platforms might be problematic. This particular change requires each recipient to tap the link (below) which takes you to the WP site. To continue receiving my blogs, there’s a required one-time sign-up. I’m hoping you’ll use the link to sign-up and will stay with me through this change and beyond.

Another change is including a photo, taken yesterday, of Sunni enjoying her hay on an unusual, almost-balmy winter afternoon. I’ll include photos, occasionally or daily, depending on a blog’s contents and certainly on reader feedback. I steadfastly follow several bloggers who frequently use photos to highlight key points. I always appreciate their visuals as much as observations in words.

The basic premise behind Diana’s Morning Blog won’t change. Blogs will go out daily before, or as near as possible to 8:00 a.m. (Pacific time). The friends who kindly keep an eye on this retiree know upon receiving my blogs that I’m on my feet, all’s okay, and there’s no need for someone to help care for my animals. I can’t say enough about my appreciation of friends who long have reassured me by their presence and caring.

So, let’s move forward. Please sign up to continue receiving these blogs, ask questions, provide feedback. Let me know your preferences and I’ll do my best to accommodate. It’s exciting to start a new chapter, and especially that we can do it together.

Have a great day!

Diana