Category: Morning Meander

Dripping from leaves.

Today I am fallen-on-my-knees grateful to live in the woods.

They welcomed me.

Total strangers (but then some became familiar), total strangers gathered to share words. What an absolute delight.

Thanks, Words!

The sky was full of pale, pale amethysts this morning when I stepped out.
They had been ground fine enough to hang in the clouds, no more massive than a bit of water vapor,
casting purple – or the hint of purple – across the sky and my eye and the day.

That was lovely.
Here’s to a lovely thing this morning.

It is a beautiful frost!
There must have been another one because I found ice, but I think I slept through the sparkle –

Now it is white fairy touch on gold-bronze mortal autumn.

Is it today?

The dogs and I walked in a world of black and white and grey and it was magnificent!
Familiar things in an elegant mode.

It’s October and the First Frost (not Robert, older) will come soon.
I don’t think it was last night, there lay no sign on the grasses this morning.

But soon.

Things are still blooming in the meadow – hardy things, whose names I do not know.
One of them called to me – a tall-ish stalk that split into three long-ish stems the top halves of which bore little flowers like starbursts along the length – in the manner of lupines or delphinia but in miniature, do you see?

Of course in the dawnlight, these flowers were grey or white and could have been any color paler than grass.

This morning I fell under the enchantment of a fairy-wand plant, emitting starbursts, growing in threes all the better to do magic.

Why is it hard?
I get it, leaving cozy blankets and pillows and house is hard,
but the reward is fresh and deer tracks and mist on my face
and happy dogs.

I’ll keep trying, that I promise.

Though you break your vows a thousand times, come yet again, come.

~ Rumi

Marvellous, fantastical, otherworldly mist this morning
I breathe.
As deeply as I can.

Moist and magic heal nose, mouth, throat, lungs, blood, muscle, sinew, bone.

Grey, grey, my beautiful grey lifts up gold and bronze and orange and salmon and red and just-over-the-line-unbelieveable-red-that-makes-me-think-of-purple. What color is that, that shade of red? The color of the tupelo leaves?

Grey, grey, my beautiful grey lifts these up and reveals their numen.

The leaves are dripping onto each other wetly, but I wonder if they are telling a fib.

The sky is so clear and the stars are so sharp and the air is so crisp that I could embroider on silk with this morning.
Orion, Big Dog, Little Dog right there above me, clear, clear, clear sky limned with dawnlight.

Wait.

First, have I told my dogs about those dogs?? We might need Dog Storytime tonight – it’s Friday!

But second, he has two dogs, Big and Little – I have two dogs, Big and Small. In Orion can I see my reflection? Even in part?

It’s the Dark of the Moon, and Things Happen during the dark of the moon, ye ken well what I mean.

Very well, then. When the Hunter Moon rises fresh, I will learn, study, read, write, follow, discern, listen to the lessons of the Hunter in the sky. My goodness.

Something very, very woofable was out there this morning.

We walked particularly early, particularly briefly, because the mundane world somehow filled up our Thursday.
Ridiculous world.

But, world aside, something very, very woofable needed woofing.
I must admit that I am not terribly convinced of the rightness of that statement, as Big Dog went two ways and Small Dog went two other ways with their sure and certain woofings.

If they didn’t know where it was… then… was it there?

Perhaps it was A General Woofing, Such As Might Demonstrate the Qualifications of the Woofers.

Here nor there, it was too damned early to be woofing and the Samoyeds next door answered, possibly waking my dear neighbor; then the collection of dogs across the street chimed in, possibly waking those dear neighbors.

I am truly sorry that you were wakened.
I think that they woofed for no reason, because that amount of woofing usually means “Deer in the meadow!” and we heard no retreating hoofbeats.

To paraphrase a wonderful writer, “This dog comes equipped with a woof.”

The stars went early to bed this morning.
In no way was I frightened by this – they were not stolen, nor had they abandoned ship, they just all collectively yawned and pulled cloud-blankets up and rolled over and snuggled down.

Who doesn’t like a good early-to-bed on a rainy day when the power has gone out?
And when the ekkeltricity comes back, and the neighbor’s generator is finally silent again, I turn the lights back out and unplug the fridge for a few minutes to re-capture the delight of the silence which is our natural inheritance.

To nap in grey blankets. Not too long, remember the fridge.

It’s a beautiful day, Mama, clouds over all the world.

Stop, she said.
Be present and witness, she said.

I’ll be here and now, then, thanks for the reminder.

Autumn changes, smells and colors, turkeys in the woods,

I just caught myself thinking ahead – to good things, yes, lovely things that should be planned for but not right now.

Right this moment is for right this moment.

We walked the meadow this morning, down and around and up,
Visited staghorn sumac
And there is one maple tree with amazing personality, multiple trunks, sometimes a roost for turkeys and it issues invitations to read novels in its shade.
I passed the time with it…

And the dogs found a spot where the grass was irresistible,
right on the margin where lawnmown path meets meadow growth.

They ate it, they licked it,
And at first I assumed that they were thirsty and wanted this delicious dew.

Then I occurred to me, and I will lay a nickel bet down on this,
I’ll bet that’s where deer stood last night, browsing the meadow,
Leaving their scent like a ghost for flavor-hungry dogs.

There he was, after months away with only one glance across millions of miles in the middle of the night when we each had something else we had to do.

This morning, there he was, right outside my door, strong and bold,

Orion.

There was more than enough moonlight for us to take a walk,
and talk,
and his dogs and mine ran together

Until dawnlight called all the dogs to breakfast.