Pearls of Wisdom

"All moments are moments of contentment. When they are not, it's because the mind has made a mess of them."

"Nothing is a big deal. It's whatever it is and then it's something else."
Sylvia Boorstein

Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

I've been reading several books by Alan Watts and will be offering more of him when I have time to get into my winter writing mode. But I wanted to share one of his takes on life.

From: Does It Matter

"Life, like getting an erection, is a spontaneous process which collapses when one tries to force it to happen."

Is it O.K. to say that in public? Well, I thought it was cute (and true).

Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Winter's Here

It has started to snow and they promise, well predict, 24 hours of snow. I certainly hope they're right this time. I could really get into a good snow storm, all cozy inside with the wood stove radiating it's fiery heart. I get inspired and moved to clean house, bake bread, throw together a soup or stew, bake cookies, write and take pictures. If I get one of these tasks fully completed I will be pleased with myself.


It is 6 degrees this morning. Nothing is moving as I wait for the frozen sun to melt it's way into the pre-dawn sky. It had snowed continuosly for 30 hours leaving us with what looks like about 5" of snow. The dry powdery nature of the moisture (is that a conumdrum?) can compromise your expectations.

Within a half and hour the tempurature has dropped to zero as the sun rises. Now the blue jays have come to leap-frog over each other in competition for the feeder. A coyote crosses the dam and pokes his head around in the snow. It should be good know they are doing their job hunting varments, but there is a bounty on coyotes. At the same time rancher's deplete their food supply by killing off the prairie dogs which leave holes for the cattle and horses to step in. So occasionally the coyote, in packs, will scavenge a calf. And the cycle continues.



Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Fall Favorites - Ducks

The widgeon with his blue bill adds some color.



I just wanted to mention ducks for a little while. I derive great pleasure from witnessing the Spring and Fall Migrations. With a pond just fifty feet from the deck in back of our log house, the scene is bucolic, entertaining, and soothingly reassuring that the ebb and flow of the seasons is to remind us that all the everchanging energy in and around us does have rhythm and continuity if not stability. They come and they go; the seasons, the ducks, the energies; waxing and waning like the moon.

The hooded merganser sticks out in a crowd as the white head and chest are so bright.

The pintail, aptly named for it's sharp looking tail.
The northern shoveler is sometimes confused with the colors of the mallard but he is equipped with the heavy "spoonbill" for scooping around the bottom.

Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Every bird in the county decided to drop in this morning. The ducks were falling out of the sky into the pond, a dozen at a time. The geese glide down with wings and landing gear set like graceful B-52's in formation. Blue jays are chortling to share the sunflower seeds and corn on the porch in the blue steel feeder Clark welded out of scrap iron . (This feeder is not going to blow off in the raging Wyoming winds) The female downey woodpecker is jack hammering on the tree by the porch when not hanging upside down on the suet cage. The whole scene is blanketed with thousands of speckled starlings, swarming to settle occasionally on the fence, in the trees, and in the grass. The landscape is alive with the screeching cacophony of white speckles on blue/green/black irridescence. To fill in the remaining spaces are a few black throated sparrows who just stopped by to see what all the commotion was about.
Then SILENCE
The air becomes a canvas for the Escher-like patterning of the en-mass departure.




Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Here I go again. Got the bucket of pears canned! I absentmindedly bought two pears at Safeway for about a dollar. Had to choke them down just because I spent the money. I went down to the basement to check on the pears Harry and Saundra had picked at her family's place in Oklahoma and thought "It's now or never" The skins were unappetizingly brown speckled but the fruit, still intact, was crisp and juicy. Tomarrow I will get the apples in the freezer, some chopped and some as Best-Ever-Apple Crisps.



Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

The Cattle are Lowing Or...

Let the Bawling begin.

We decided to wean the calves today. This is always a noisy event and we have to predict a period of time when we can survive a few days of sleep derivation. With the mothers on one side of the house and the babies on the other, and with the aluminum barn as a sounding wall, the air is filled with a Stravinski-like orchestra of bovine vocals.
Actually this year we lucked out . Harry, the neighbor across the road, bought ten of the weaners right after sorting so he actually gets to enjoy most of the music in his back yard. He says he likes it; the sound of money. I've heard reference to the "smell of money" before so I guess he will get to enjoy all of his senses, last but not least, the taste!



Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Night Lights

Last night at 9:45 pm MST I stepped out on the deck on the north side of the house to view the moonless sky just to see the glittering stars and the Milky Way. I got much more than I bargained for! There was a bright beam of light emanating from the dark mountains. I could tell it was non-local and as I investigated further, I could see it was actually an arc which landed on the eastern horizon, an albino evening rainbow.

I was still a bit stunned to see this unusual occurrence and ran in to get my coat. When I came back out the show had begun. Rays of light had started shooting up into space and the arc had taken on the effect of a moonbeam (sun?)set. The rays dimmed and brightened in different arrangements of shimmering and undulating patterns. By now I had decided that I must indeed be witnessing the Aurora Borealis!

I just had to go in and wake up Clark to share the wonder of it all. The glorious display had brightened and spread more widely across the sky. There was even a tinge of red to the east. I became vaguely aware in my peripheral vision of ethereal beams of light overhead. If you looked for them or at them, you could not see them. But if you just gazed up, there they were, shimmering like light playing on the top of water, you underneath. I had to lay down on the grass to relax enough to take in all of the subtleties of the lights.

I tried to give up the concert of lights several times when I realized I was getting cold and the brilliance was fading. But each time I came in and took off my coat, I would take one last look out of the darkened kitchen window and see another glowing area with different plays of light. Finally, about 12:30 am, I looked straight up overhead on the deck and witnessed mists of light particles splashing over the house.

I feel extremely honored to have been allowed the experience of witnessing the great light show of the Gods. - Aurora Borealis
CCharged particles precipitating along the magnetic field lines create the aurora. The emission is caused by the radiativ t originate from the solar wind.harged particles precipitating Charged particles precipitating along the magnetic field lines create the aurora. The emission is caused by the radiative deexcitation of atmospheric constituents, that were ionized by collisions with the precipitating particles that originate from the solar wind.Aaafhglkdjfalong the magnetic field lines create the aurora. The emission is caused by the radiative deexcitation ofaonstituents, that were ionized by co
Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Clark is out elk hunting and I have a free day to get ahead, or should I say catch up with the produce situation I have two 5 gallon buckets of apples and a 5 gallon bucket of pears. The tomatoes on the vine in the basement are all turning red at once. I could pick more celery leaves, parsley, mint, marjoram, and savory to dry. And the cilantro is still producing in the garden.I think I'll freeze some apples, can some pears, cook a lot of "killer tomatoes".
Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn

Star Date Nov I 2004

As I stare at the slide show on the screensaver of my PC I realize how truly blessed I am to have such a diversified range of existence. In music and books and art and nature I am entertained by so much that the world has to offer.
Text © 2004 Mona E. Dunn