STILL ENOUGH HAIR LEFT TO CUT AT AGE 94

STAYING COOL IN THE HEAT

Although we knew it was outside waiting for us, the humidity once again ambushed us as soon as we set foot outside the door this morning.  Kelly went into work for a few hours & I, like a big softy, stayed in where it was cool.

TOOK THESE PICS ON OUR WAY TO VISIT MY UNCLE THIS AFTERNOON

Sold our mini-van today.  When we bought the Jeep a week ago I immediately contacted our friend & neighbor Bruce who lives here in the park.  I knew his small standard shift pick up truck was not in the best of shape & I also knew Bruce's lower back problems were not getting any better.  He spent too many years flying in Canadian helicopters off Canada's east coast in a search & rescue capacity.  It took a toll on Bruce's back.  Our mini-van is automatic so there is no having to push on a clutch all the time.  That is definitely not good for an injured back!!  Comfortable seats & power this & that make it a back friendly vehicle to drive.  Ran the idea by Bruce a week ago, & today he dropped by to say we had a deal.  Bruce is also a handyman so the van is perfect for his tools & projects.  He has done some excellent renovations in our RV & looks after our place in the winter.  Having Bruce own the van kind of keeps it in the family so to speak & he said we can have visitation rights.  Always makes me happy when a well intentioned plan comes together in a good way:))

OUR MINI-VAN IS SOLD

Kelly & I slipped down to the Ritz Villa in Mitchell today to visit my Uncle Harry.  My Aunt Jean from Florida was there & we were able to make further arrangements regarding Harry's ongoing care.  He has pretty well lost all mobility in his legs now but we were able to get him up & sitting in his walker while Kelly cut his hair.  It is always so sad to see loved ones deteriorate in their Senior years.

STILL ENOUGH HAIR TO CUT AT AGE 94

We left the nursing home in a thundering rain storm but soon drove out of it & were disappointed to see it had not rained at all back home.  Computer weather shows a good healthy dose of water headed our way tonight though.

RAINING HARD WHEN WE LEFT THE NURSING HOME

Some of you folks may remember a few weeks ago when Kelly & I encountered an injured Great Horned Owl on the trail.  Despite our efforts & the efforts of others the little fellow didn't survive.  A few days later, Gypsy from ON THE ROAD AGAIN sent us the following email which she had just found in her email account...............

'Wisdom of the Owl'
Owls are the holders of wisdom, capable of seeing the unseen. With keen eyesight they glance into the soul and are totems of truth.  For as long as humankind has recognized animals as teachers, wise men and women have recognized traits worthy of respect in both wild and domestic creatures. The cultural and spiritual significance of certain animals transcends geographical boundaries, unifying disparate peoples. Not so the majestic and mysterious owl, which has over many millennia served as the focal point of numerous contradictory beliefs. Though owls have been regarded with awe and fascination, they have also inadvertently served as agents of fear. Since owls are nocturnal, human-owl encounters tended to occur at night and likely when the bird was swooping silently down to earth to grapple with prey. Yet even as some shied away from the owl, calling it an agent of darkness, others recognized the depths of awareness in beautiful owl’s eyes.

In the classical Greek tradition, an owl could often be found perched on the shoulder of Athena, goddess of wisdom, while owls could ward off bad luck in Roman lore. It is in Native American mythos, however, that the owl attains its own unique identity. Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom, and they are capable of seeing the unseen. With their keen eyesight, they can glance into the soul to discern meaning and motive, and they are totems of truth. Unlike our distant forebears, we may never encounter an owl in the wild, but we can nonetheless internalize the wisdom of the owl by attuning ourselves to its most venerable qualities. Fully integrating the medicine of the owl into spiritual existence is a matter of considering how we might open ourselves more fully to the wisdom that can be found in the larger universe.

Should you find your efforts blocked as you commune with the owl, remember that it was not always revered as an icon of wisdom. This denizen of the nighttime has overcome many prejudices in its long association with humankind. To reveal those hidden elements of the self that impact your life for better or for worse, you must often make your way through the darkest parts of your soul as if you yourself are the nocturnal hunter. There is indeed darkness both inside the self and outside the self, but like the owl you can transcend it by drawing nourishment from the insights you receive when you penetrate it.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I think health nuts are going to feel awfully stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.  And, in keeping with that theme, did you know good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. (I don't write these things folks, I just pass them along)

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened

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