neither here nor there

WV Fall 2011

 Today as I was driving my old blue Dodge truck through the winding mountain roads lined with brightly painted Fall foliage. I drove with my windows down inhaling the crisp air. I got a sense that there was something calling to my soul place. I think my two dogs felt it too, as both of them had their heads completely out the window, noses to the air. eyes squinted, ears flapping.

It calls me in quiet ways, just underneath my awareness as I looked up at the mountains covered in color. It is both distant and familiar and sprinkled with a touch of melancholy. I suddenly get the urge for some fresh apple cider, and candy corn. Funny how seasons can bring you places. All at once it just creeps up, and there you are... little, in a big pile of leaves, stuffing your scarecrow.

There is something else manifesting that is not so quiet. It feels more like a roar, a howl or a bray, or some sound that calls out with great passion, right past me, right to the ancestors and back again. Something that gives me the goosebumps which touches closer to my awareness now today as a woman here in the WV mountains. Fall, is the time for me to say good-bye to the carefree warmth of Summer days, feet in the green grass and picking fruit time. Instead, I now am bringing in the last harvest, preparing for the cold.

I watch the leaves blow by me as my mind is suddenly looking ahead to the Winter.

It is the in-between time. The end of the growing cycle and the beginning of the dark times. Taking the cue from nature, it is also the place on wheel of the year when the veil between life and death is thin. When people honor loved ones who have past. When the living and and the dead meet. Some call it Halloween, All Hallows Day, Samhain, and The Day of the Dead. Although some of these celebrations may seem bizarre in American culture, It is quite normal in others. I tend to be open to others. I will set a place for my deceased grandmother and leave her a few offerings. I woulds like to think her spirit might smile, where ever it is. If you ever want to speak to a loved one who has transitioned, in the coming weeks, will be the best time of the year. Perhaps you will see a "sign" and that will allow you to say a few words, ignoring for a minute what you believe about death and the afterlife.

I can feel it coming. Hibernation, and a quieter time, conserving energy and reflecting inward seeking a heightened sense of knowing, then finding it easier to connect to the all.

In other words... it is Spooky time people! ;-)

a pretty maple tree on my property

looking up

Enjoy your Fall, or if your are reading this from Down Under, I wish you a Happy Springtime.

wild, wonderful, woman ~crow
Press the arrow to hear my very good friend singer songwriter, Casi Null part of the Clementines. I love their rendition of this song. West Virginia, Oh my home.

West Virginia Oh My Home

meatless monday

I have pondered the idea of going vegetarian, as we harvested our dear pig Sling Blade, as well as some chickens. We grow our own food so we know our food comes from happy and healthy animals, who are not raised in cramped quarters being fed growth hormones and antibiotics. I am not sure my family and I could not eat meat, but I am sure we could go vegetarian once a week.

I stumbled across this article today in the Huff Post Green.  I now declare that I will subscribe to a Meatless Monday and talk my family into joining me. We can be part time vegetarians, and if we encourage others to join this movement, just imagine the positive impact on ourselves and others.

How?

Becoming vegetarian (even part time) can lead to better health practices. From obesity and cancer to heart disease and diabetes, eating more vegetables and consuming less meat is a huge step towards health and well being. When your Mother told you to "eat your vegetables" she was helping you to be  healthy. Listen to your Mother!

Another aspect of Meatless Monday is also for better health for the environment. Industrial meat production uses large amounts of grain, water and fossil fuel.  I was very surprised to find that a 400-page United Nations report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the livestock sector is "responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions "The production of cattle to feed and clothe humans stresses ecosystems around the world, and is assessed to be one of the top three environmental problems in the world on a local to global scale." Most of us do not even think that our food, is contributing to our environment.

Imagine that.

Join me and others as we participate in Meatless Monday Check out there website and "like" them on their Meatless Monday Facebook page.