Little Miracles

Yesterday was a true Gift. I've been blue for a while now, as my pals the Kitteh Klan would say, I Haz a Sad.

But yesterday, I saw a bit of the Little Miracle.

Do you remember the very first time you met a wolf? (or HC wolfdog?) Do you remember that moment when you met eyes, and the world just ... stopped, and there was just you and that wolf? I do...

I was in 9th grade, a freshman at El Capitan High School. There was a *Wildlife Presentation* so, of course, I had to go. I finagled my way up to the front of the crowd, sitting down on the basketball court, that wood slick and shiny with the bottoms of many a young school chum. The bleachers were full, the auditorium was packed.

And in they came. I don't remember a darned thing about the handler except that he was a man, and he was kind. He let me follow the entourage like a puppy all the rest of the day. And my Teachers were very understanding, and gave me *excused absences* for the rest of the afternoon, knowing it would be useless to insist upon my presence, I wouldn't *be there* anyway...

There was an old lion, with a lovely dark brown mane, and a severely broken canine. He was so handsome! And very sweet.

There was a Golden Eagle, SOOO majestic! his eyes so bright and sharp and keen.

And there was a wolf. My heart just stopped.. My breath just disappeared somewhere in my chest, somewhere between my little lizard brain and my heart, my breath just vanished. I couldn't take my eyes off him. My eyes must have been the size of saucers and I bet my mouth never did find the hinge to close... I knew in that moment that I would forever and always be totally in love with this magnificent being.

The man talked about each animal, about their preferred habitat, about the dangers they were facing by unplanned developments. About how wolves were very nearly extinct. Then he walked all the animals one by one all around the diameter of the auditorium, walking slowly so we all could get a good look at them. I was in the front row, as you will remember. When it came to walking the wolf around, he got halfway through the semi-circular walk, until he got to where I was sitting. He stopped in front of me, stared at me with those so-intense yellow eyes with his head slightly lowered so he and I were eye to eye, face to mask... And then he sat in my lap.

And there he stayed. The handler tried to get him to continue his walk, but he would have none of it. He laughed a wolfy laugh, and made himself comfortable in my lap. I was in seventh heaven. I just floated away in sheer and utter delight, I could feel my heart pounding away in my chest, racing about like a bevy of meercats. And my cheeks ached from the big wide smile plastered across my face. After an eternity and a day which might have lasted 20 minutes, he decided it was OK to finish the Grand Tour and thrill the other side of his adoring fans. My life would never be the same.

I followed them around the rest of the day, as the man took the three Ambassadors from classroom to classroom. The wolf hung back and walked beside me for a while.

Fast forward 40 years.

So yesterday one of my regular customers at work came over to pick up some trees she'd purchased with her daughter, and her daughter's GodMother, who is from Germany. The GodMother (I can't believe I forgot to ask for her name!) noticed my necklaces, and said "OH! You must like wolves!" and I smiled, chuckled a bit, and said, yes, I share my life with wolfdogs. She said "What do you mean?" so I told her my Kidz were wolfdogs, part wolf, part dog. Her eyes flew open wide, and you could see the luminosity around her eyes, like a halo of the face... She said she'd always loved wolves! And she'd never met one, and had always wanted to... I asked her how long was she in town, and she told me she was leaving for Germany tomorrow morning. I felt urged to offer, so I asked her if she would like to come over and meet my Kidz. :~)

Mariam, her daughter, and the GodMom just left after a nice visit.

Since Dianne's Kidz are the first that everyone sees when they drive up, we talked about them first.. How Thunder was one of the tallest Woofers I'd ever seen, and how *we didn't mention Stormy's weight around him out loud* shhhhhhhh (they laughed :~) and how Shawnee collects boys, and how she is the Queen of all she surveys... They thought Dianne's Kidz were extraordinary. (which they are)

Then we went in to visit with with Spirit, who schmoozled all over them, many photos were taken. NIhki took treats from me, and was VERY interested! But was still a bit hesitant to approach. They loved it ! NihkiRoxie is quite the looker!!


Then I took them over to meet America. America just LOVES visitors! He schmooozled them all! He adored the GodMom, and kissed her and licked her arms, and tried to lick her face, but that was a tad bit too much for her... :~) I can certainly see the point, them's mighty long and sharp pearly whites nibbling on my nose. But you could see the light in her eyes! She just BEAMED!!! She looked like she could just float away .... I halfway expected her to start crying! I have seen that happen before. I'VE done it before...

I just made someone's year. :~) It really feels so good to know that all that hard work and dedication about socialization is paying off with such wonderful dividends... It still astounds me how amazing he is. And America just LOVES the attention, he is such a schmoooze.. :~) I love my Kidz....

I really am quite fortunate with all my Kidz...And one other thing this incident brought to mind... When you live with miracles every day, miracles become common place. Watching this lady's face as she interacted with her first wolfdog made me remember what a truly extraordinary Gift I live with every day... It brought the miracle of it all right home in my lap, so to speak :~)

>^,,^<

In The Arms of the Angels

I have music rolling around in the back of my head, I am almost grounded...somewhat rested..
In The Arms of the Angels

My heart is mangled with unresolved sorrow
Mourning for so many all at one time,
Denied a sufficient grieving for the Lost Beloveds
Now they all bear the same face in facets…
One side furry, one side winged sweetness.
I still hear the music they both made.
One side a husband, the other my red-headed friend
Good friends, Tribe. Chosen Family.
Childhood friends saving one anothers' lives repeatedly throughout the years
in one form or the other.
To lose so many so young.. When did we get that old?
And now every song holds a special meaning,
Every wing beat holds a special lesson,
I cannot help but internalize the pain, the loss, the sorrow.
And when I try to sing it out, my voice curls up inside me
Like some small wounded beast fluttering within my heart.
Its' small sharp teeth gnawing away
with only a small squeak of tears emerging from the darkness of my heart
And that’s where the music has always come from.
I miss them.
I don’t believe it.
It cannot be that they are gone. It cannot be.
They are still here with me.

>^,,^< 8-25-2011


Because I love you always..
It's been 52 days since my Dear Friend Sam Goldstein died. I think I am almost ALMOST ready to write about it.. To allow the depths of my despair, my sorrow, my loneliness, my heartsickness to trickle through the *cyber ink* of the words I shall choose to release. And also to finally FINALLY attempt to reach out to the Joy, the Flight, the deep and abiding Love I have and will always have for my Friend.

It's amazing, Sam. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya.

Sam Wheat's quote about love ... From Sam Goldstein to Sam Malstead... and back again...

Red Tail Hawk above us


In August, my Dear One Kevin lost his battle with cancer. He died two days before I got down to San Diego for Sam's Memorial.. I had planned to visit with him wile I was down there.

Kevin & Francie on Cookie Day

But as another friend told me, Here Comes The Sun

>^,,^<

Just Signed Up for the Green Challenge

Just Signed Up for the Green Challenge at the Business website: McGregor's Nursery. As it's a business website, I decided to bring the Challenge HERE, cuz it's MY website, and I can write what I wish. I'm welcomed to my own opinion here ! *laughs*

So it IS a Challenge I believe in, and the Business does many many things the "green way". We don't use many chemical fertilizers, we use a great deal of organic soil supplements such as liquid fish, liquid kelp, and the organic meals for fertilizing our veggies. We don't use chemical herbacides, but rely on hand picking those pesky weeds, spraying with vinegar and ammoniated soaps of fatty acids, and corn gluten meal as a pre-emergent. We try to be very very careful of what we let run out into the water table because we care about our Community, and we care about our Customers, our neighbors, and we care about the land and our environment.

So, I challenge you all to try to be aware of what we put into Life, and what we ask of it. Let's all try to be aware, and to make good choices! If you're interested, look up these folks. I found a lot of interesting ideas here! One Green Generation Although I have to add a little musing here: This isn't for just one generation. My Great GramPops was an environmentalist before the term was coined. Every place we ever went, it was the Family Rule that what you packed in, you packed out... PLUS ONE ITEM. We all had to pick up at least ONE piece of garbage/trash/junk/weirdness which was not left behind by us, but someone before us. Pops was awesome that way. That's where it started for me. Where did it start for you? I'd love to hear your stories!

>^,,^<

People in Spirit

And I mean "people" as in fur people, skin people, feather people... This past month of July has been a very tough one for Wolfdancer Creek. My baby boy, Teeghkii, died very suddenly ... On July 5th. The day after one of my best friends and Ray of Light, Sam Goldstein died. 4th of July. The Family didn't find his body until the 10th, I think it was...
I laid me down next to his body and let the tears flow freely .. Here it is August now, and still I cry at the drop of a hat. I miss him so much.. and I miss Sam more than tongue can tell..

He loved Lil Roxie Nihki La Rue, but she pestered him unto distraction...

I put him in with Rhi when Bear died, because Rhi was inconsolable. Teeghkii was so very gentle and good with everybody, I knew he would be company, if not a "True Love" candidate.. Now Rhi is grieving again... We put her on CalmEase for 3 weeks to get her past the immediate grief. I wish it were as easy for me.

I am going back to San Diego for Sam's Memorial, where those of us who loved him dearly will be singing him Home to God. I leave on the 11th. It's going to be a tough week. But it'll be a healing one.

Go To God, My Dearly Beloveds. And for those still here, let me not forget to tell you how very Blessed I feel that you are in my life. Sometimes I am lonely, deeply lonely ... But I know I have Loved, and that deeply too. Hug the ones you love. Don't let another day pass by without telling them you love them.

>^,,^<

The Great Quiche Experiment. Fun with Chickens!

Last year I boarded a couple of Bloodhounds for a friend. He also had five chickens which I took care of. When he found his new home, he asked me if I wanted the chickens. I said *SURE!* So I named four of them after the Golden Girls, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Buffy is a bit of a snob, you see. But the Golden Girls are REALLY sociable! There's Sofia, a light red Rhode Island Red hen, Dorothy, who is MUCH darker red, and also a Rhode Island Red. Buffy is an Ameraucauna, she lays blue-ish green eggs that are really pretty! Easter Eggers, they call these hens..and Blanche and Rose are black hens of extraordinary beauty. I believe they are Australorps. So after I lived with these five, Greig came home "with a new beak for Wolfdancer Creek" a Black Star pullet we named Belinda, the Chicken Who Saved Oz. Then I bought two more Black Stars, Grace and Faith, because Buffy -who was low hen in the pecking order - decided she just moved up a rank, and she really gave Belinda what-for... So I thought having 2 more pullet hens would make life a little easier for Belinda.
A bit about Belinda. Her name came from the Wizard of Oz series. L. Frank Baum wrote several books about Oz. In "The Road to Oz" we are introduced to "Billina the Yellow Hen". I didn't remember her name right, I remembered her as "Belinda". Billina saves Oz from the Goblin King. Turns out the Goblin King is deathly afraid of eggs, so Billina pelts him with eggs, and saves everybody. So Belinda is the Chicken Who Saved Oz at Wolfdancer Creek.


So, then I had all these eggs.. EVERYbody was laying! I was getting a dozen a day! Luckily, I am a member of Certified Naturally Grown, a grass roots organic certification program, so I can sell them as free ranging spoiled rotten "better than organic" eggs... But still... What to do with this many eggs? Enter the world of quiche!
My first quiche

preparatory to being popped into the oven.
OK, well, my first TWO quiches




They were delicious! And despite what they say about real men and quiche, Greig gave them the "Two Forks Up" award for Nummyness.

Sadly, a coyote came in and killed Dorothy and Grace. Rose got broody, so a friend of mine gave me six little mixed eggs (Rhode Island Red/Delaware/Red Star) that Rose has been a'settin' with great glee. She is a GOOD Mommy, and every day I go and sit with her and rub her neck behind her head while she "cooos" at me... It is a strange sound, not a *bawk* but more of a murmur. I think she will be a very good Mommy when the babies hatch. We're trying to figure out where the 'yotes came in from, and will be fencing off yet another parcel. Greig mowed so the 'yote can't hide in the tall grasses anymore. So far, so good... But 'yotes are smart, and this one has my number... So I might have to shoot a coyote, something I am SOOOOO not looking forward to doing... But I have to protect my little Ladies!

In Memory of Dorothy, a chicken of rare beauty and strong personality . A True Golden Girl! Her namesake would have been proud of her. Depending on how many hens I get out of my six eggs, I think I shall name them Grace, Hope, and maybe, if there's a really strong personality in this clutch, I shall name her Dorothy. I look forward to my new babies!

>^,,^<

Living Goes On Spring Is Springing

Yesterday at 7:30 ish am, my MauMau Gramma Tiger went to see her Sailor Man, PowPow Mac, my Mama's Daddy. My Maternal Grampa. MauMau was PowPow's True Love, and his second wife. My Grammy's first husband. They divorced when it just wasn't "done". They were very very bad for each other, my Grammy and PowPow. They really brought out the worst in each other. There is a great deal of alienation, hurt, abandonment that I am feeling. Jealousy, even. Alot of it. If I allowed myself to wallow in the dark, I could easily feel the loss, the abandonment feelings.. But I do not allow those feelings to live. They are like cockroaches, those bad ol' feelings, and they must be drug out kicking and screaming into the Light where they have NO POWER to hurt. I shall stomp them into cockroach jelly, these bad ol' feelings! and make 'em into compost.

MauMau & PowPow they were DYNAMITE together! They laughed together, played together, loved together. It was wonderful to watch. MauMau had Alzeimers, towards the end of her life, and Cousin Alicia, Buggy as we called her back then, *wry chuckle* The Golden Child, and her Family has been looking after her since PowPow died last year. Alicia is an incredibly sweet soul. MauMau's with PowPow now. She was missing him terribly. I am glad he went first, tho, to make sure the way was clear. I can see them now, playing and laughing her head on his shoulder, the sparkle in both of their eyes. These two grown-ups GIGGLED ! Giggled, I say, it was just adorably cute to watch them together! I know that some people believe that when you die, you die.. and when animals die, they die. Period, end of story, let in the worms. I do not believe that a God of Love would make it so. It is a huge comfort to me to believe that when our pets die, they await us beyond the Rainbow Bridge. It is a huge comfort to me to believe that I have *angels* on my shoulders looking after me, that the people I have loved, I shall see again. I do not believe that God would begrudge this small comfort to a grieving soul. Therefore, I will Believe.

The baby Ancona ducks got here a week early, this past Friday, but hey, why not? They are in a crate in the living room until such time as it gets a bit warmer, and we can build an escape-proof amoeba-proof duckling pen where the owls and rats can't get to our wee feathered fowl friends... I would have liked to have resized the pics, but this ol' computer is batsh*t crazy and has decided that it doesn't wanna open up my editing program. "Open, please", "NOPE, Not gonna wouldn't be prudent." *bah* The ducklings are waaaay beyond cute.

Box o' ducklings


We are One With the Water




AND I got my Walla Walla onions in! along with the Sugar Ann bush peas. The derned birds I saw in the garden had BEST not have been pecking up my pea seeds, or it's SQUAB for dinner tonight, Honey!


The first day of Spring. One door closes, one door opens. So Be It.

>^,,^<

Paws for Japan

I keep seeing the man's face and that's me, I see it now, we are all one.

World Vets is putting on a Blog-A-Thon in order to drum up help for their relief plans for Japan, and for the animal survivors there. If you should be able to donate, please click the link just above here. They are doing a very good job.



I, like most of you, have been watching the terrible stream of tragedies which has devastated Japan over these past weeks... Losing sleep over the faces I have seen on the web, worrying about the nuclear fallout... Will it come here? It's "just across the pond"... Weeping along with the people of Japan, both in terror, and in joy as they find pieces of their old lives, in particular, as they find their loved ones...

I just got word that my dearest Heart Friend Larry and his wife Yan have evacuated safely for weeks? months? they are unsure but safe. Holding them close in my prayers!

And there's this cat who lives with his Family named Maru whom I have been watching for some time now on YouTube, and one night I awoke in my traditional "middle of the night wakie wakies" thinking OMG! I wonder if Maru and his Family is OK? I asked on FaceBook, and sure enough, someone had heard from them! Maru was afraid, they said, and continues to be nervous about all the shaking about that the Earth is doing, but they are doing fine, and are safe.

And then there is Cat Island, or Tashirojima, which is a "paw pad" shaped island off of the Japanese mainland. This Island's population is almost entirely elderly with cats. LOTS of cats. They are in pretty dire need of the basics, but they survived the tsunami by being on the "right" side of the island. Here's another post from Love Meow

This woman refused to evacuate because the authorities wouldn't allow her to take her dog. She and her wee sheltie friend, Yosuke, shivered and huddled together for three days before rescuers came for her. I know there are some folks who would say that was silly, but that's me, there... There is NO WAY I'd leave my Kidz behind, NO WAY. They are all the "Children"-type Family I have. I'm with you, M'am, save me, save my pets.


I don't have television, so I have not seen the images of water and fire enveloping Japan, nor have I seen the explosions at the nuclear power plants. I suppose I could hunt up videos on YouTube, if I needed to see the damage, but I won't... The pictures in my mind are terrible enough.. The hurt I suffer empathically is vivid enough to do me without watching it unreel before me. I just can't watch it. But I can write, and hopefully, someone will read, and be moved to donate some needed monies to the huge undertaking of helping our neighbors.

When I was in 6th grade, I did a report on Japan. I immersed myself in the learning of the culture. My Daddy had gone there while he served in the Navy, and while I was in the 6th grade, he was in Korea, fighting. It made me feel closer to him, doing this report. I still have the geisha dolls he sent us. The world seemed so gigantic, so very impossible to conceive of its' hugeness, its' expanses back then. Daddy seemed so very far away, a galaxy, a universe. When I need serenity, I think about the Zen of living. How so many people people crammed together in such a small space, yet ... Freedom is in the Heart, they say without a sound spoken. Now I find myself doing another report on Japan, a mere 42 years later and the World is tiny, accessible, "just around the corner", "We Are All One", thee and I .... This one is just from the heart. If you can help, will you? Dozo and Domo Arigato.
The Rescuers

>^,,^<

Bloom Day !

My Sweet Honey bought me the most romantic Valentine's Day Gift! A Nikon CoolPix 12 megapixel digital camera! OMG *bounce* It is AWESOME! Has macro, zoom, and VIDEO !

In celebration, I went wild at the Garden Center. So thanks again to May Dreams Gardens and Bloom Day Feb 2011, here goes:

Sea Thrift


Donkeytail Euphorbia


Zebrina Mallow


Pansy


Winter Honeysuckle


Kerria - Japanese Rose.. (sorry the image is sideways, my computer is giving me fits! I'll try to correct it later as the 'puter allows)


Vinca Minor


English Daisy


Snow Cap Rock Cress


Erisymum en masse Again, sorry for the sideways image *grrrrrrrrr*


Erisymum


White Flowering Currant


Knautia Macedonica


MYSTERY PLANT! Help me identify this beauty, will ya? VERY VERY hugely loverly fragrant! A light sweet "White Shoulders" kind of fragrance.. Could this be my missing Witch Hazel?


Primrose double orange


All these delightful beauties are at McGregor's Nursery! Sure would love to see you!
http://mcgregorsnursery.blogspot.com

Happy Gardening!

>^,,^<

I feel it ! I feel it !

But I know it's not here yet.. Spring is peeking around the door, tho...


>^,,^<

An Adventure!

Greig took me on an adventure yesterday! He called around Noon to tell me he was "turning left instead of right". I asked what he had in mind? He said he was going to go find the snowline. *pause on my part* "With me?" "Well, I can't think of anybody else I'd go driving around for...."

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! He's sooooo romantic!

So he came to pick me up, and we turned left instead of right at the bottom of "my" hill. We drove about an hour or so from my house, into 1 foot stuck beautiful snow. he got to polish up his "snow skidding" skills ("Don't worry, Creampuff, I'll get us home safe.") We almost made it to Bagby Hot Springs, but it was getting quite dark, so we put chains on and he got to practice snow chain installation, un-entanglement, and removal skills.

I even got some new pictures. I'll put them p as soon as I get 'em back from the developers. I even discovered that my camera has a "timer" setting and I HOPE I got a rare picture of us together!


He's not a "Cat Man", but the cats adore him. And when he thinks I'm not looking, he gives them kitty loves. And, of course, doesn't mind being a couch when it suits cold kitteh feets to be so.

Even the Song Dogs love him.

I had such a loverly adventure! It was so wonderful to explore a wider part of my Community, I hadn't even gone that far yet. It's so beautiful ! It was so wonderful of Greig to take me away...

>^,,^<

Howls

Time for bed, me. The storm(s) have been pulsing through in waves, a land-locked estuary..this latest with lots of wet and wind... The wind is howling through whichever screens it can wrap its' gnarled and whispery fingers into.. It moans into the very air I breathe.

The Song Dogs join in, adding an amoebic element to the night's kareoke. Their songs rely only upon their personal ranges Alto, soprano, baritone, tenor, and their own style. Song Dogs, like Humans, have preferences. Some are jazz singers, their voices scatting and free. Some are Country, with a deep throaty "whiskey whisper" tone, and some are Classical, with their formality and power.

The songs of the Song Dogs are always filled with passion, and with a tender sorrow tinged with unutterably joy. The song of a Song Dog is like a verbal description of a sunset on a clear, yet snow-bedazzled day to a blind woman. It is like a kenetic
energy translated into the verbalization of the pumping of heart's blood.

Keeping the Season in my Heart

The older I get, the more I understand why people can begin to feel depressed during the HolyDaze. I call them that on purpose: Holy Daze. This is the time, from the end of October till the following year, where we gather our Families together, where we Honor our Dead, our Elders, our Ancestors. This is a Holy Time, when the plants and Mother Earth nestle deep within the Dream, when those who can, hibernate. When those who cannot, struggle to find Rest.

And consequently, during all this gathering up, there are holes. Some are still gaping, some are healing, but all are missed. Having *Angels* on my shoulder is comforting in many ways, but OH these are times when I wish I could laugh with my Grammy again, when I could bake her favorite cake, sit down with the Family all whole and healed. And not just the human holes in my heart. I miss my Tundra, I miss Mr. Bear Britches. I still miss my Puck.

The longer you live, the more holes in your heart you wind up with. These are holes which will never be filled, will always be "just that particular shape" of the Missed. And I wouldn't WANT them to be filled. The band-aids my heart is filled with keep me connected to the World.

And this is the Season where we forgive. When we forgive ourselves, first... That's been my toughest lesson, learning to forgive myself... And then forgive the important people in our lives whom we have disconnected from for one reason or another. Because after all, I don't want the holes in my heart to crust over from the things I wish I'd said, from the things I wish I'd forgiven while I had the chance. I don't want to remember that the last thing I said to an Important person in my life was negative, or hurtful, or neglectful.

So, for today, JUST today, JUST for RIGHT NOW, I forgive myself. I invite you all to forgive yourselves. I invite us all to cast forgiveness like the fallen leaves of Autumn which make for the compost of Spring. Have you seen the way the sunlight dapples across the faces of the leaves as they flutter in the wind? I cast forgiveness like those leaves, to flutter in my heart until they find a nice warm place to make compost.

I met and spoke at length with Wallace Black Elk once, who told me to ask myself, when confronted with adversity, "Does It Grow Corn?" Is what you are struggling with going to generate a positive outcome? If not, throw it in the compost pile. ("The question “Does It Grow Corn?” – is a Native American [sic] standard by which to scrutinize new models and approaches")

So May the Spirit of the Season find a warm place to grow in our hearts. For today, I am going to smile, even if it starts with me taking my fingers and forcing the edges of my lips up.

>^,,^<

An Amazing YES Life! Little Miracles

And may I never hear the *skreee* of a raptor and not stop whatever I am doing to say "YES! Thank You!"

Yes is a pleasant country

And may I never drive down my steep hill when the moisture clings to the river's way and the spines of the pines pierce the cat fur blanket of fog, when their sweet heads are bathed in honey sunlight and not *gasp* in astonishment as that panorama unfolds before me...

YES!

Daily miracles, we but need to open our hearts to see....



>^,,^<

Memorial Trees: Fall is for Planting

Autumn is a melancholy joy, such deep and abiding beauty, and behind the gauzy veils of Fall's Bright Tresses, sits Lady Death, She Who Weaves, She who takes in this thread, and cuts another. I see Her rocking at my pond side, counting the leaves, and as Dr. Clarissa says, tapping her foot and folding and unfolding her gloves.

When I was around eight years old, we moved out to the Country, to a big house with a scorched earth policy. They had scraped the top of the High Chaparral acre clean and clear of every shubbery and plopped a square white house on it. But it was "in the Country", and I loved it. My Grammy took me for a walk one day, with a shovel and a small bag and walked us down to the property line and unveiled a small Brazilian Pepper tree sapling. She told me to start digging a hole. When it was big enough to her satisfaction, she showed me how to tickle the wee tree's roots, and nest it into it's bed securely and safely, tamping the soil over the top. When we were done, she stepped back, looked at me, and said words that will follow me forever: "This is the Kathy Tree."

That tree is still there, Lo! These 40+ years ago, huge, magnificent, healthy. I moved from that house long and long ago, but the tree still calls my name in the breeze, if only I listen carefully.

When Grammy bought the house next door, we proceeded to plant the Unca Richie Tree, (an eastern redbud) the Auntie Lorrie Tree, (a Parlour Palm which was supposed to only grow to 8' tall, but when we planted it, beneath the patio at the corner, loved the site so much, that it pushed the roof. We eventually cut a hole in the roof, and the tree grew to a grandiose height of 25' tall. I moved from that house, where I took care of my Grammy, six years hence, but those trees are also still there, and also call my name on nights when the warm winds comes up from the South.

For Chrsitmases, I always bought a live tree, and planted them wherever I was living. San Diego is dotted with evergreens from my many residences, before I came home to take care of Grammy.

And now, the leaves are turning and Fall is brushing her long luscious locks, shaking her hair out. Fall is for planting. I bought a pink dogwood for Jerry Lipetzky, and I have his hole all dug out and ready next to the pond. The Jerry Tree. I think he'll like it there, listening to the ducks and the Great Blue Heron. I bought an Eastern Redbud tree, and I shall plant that next to the aspen tree, to shed dappled dancing light and shade into my living room during the hot hot spells of Summer. She shall be the Grammy Tree.

It will be like coming Home.

>^,,^<

To Jerry Lipetzky

The World lost an Advocate of Laughter last month, and today, everyone who knew him will either be at El Monte Park, or will be there in spirit to remember him, to laugh with him again, and to share what the man meant to so very many.

Jerry's Celebration of Life

Legacy Page

Jerry's Art (Besides the obvious!)

I hear Teachers say "I took this job because I wanted to make a difference", and Jerry truly did. He took a 9th grade required class, and unscrewed our parched mind and hydrated us with thinking, with vicarious living, with safety, with Nature, with the simple joy of breathing and laughing. He was Gallagher before Gallagher was Gallagher, smashing watermelons to demonstrate the audacity of maps, peeling oranges to show how they got that weird round blue marble onto a flat surface, squishing a sow bug to show what Europe looks like. He was most of our first glimpse into haute culture, preparing escargot, loving the smell, but unable to get past the fact that Johnny kept telling me he'd seen an antenna frantically squirming from between my lips "Help Me!" nibbling on small pieces of limberger cheese and crackers, pinkie extended, don' ya know..

And the extracurricular classes like the Bike Club where I joined the elite of Alpine at the Peugeot Plunge, adding my Subhuman monster to the collection of twisted limbs and spokes in the Malstead Mash, and later in the Season of the Vaqueros, the Lake Henshaw trip, where I was clipped by a trucker, and proved my ability to bounce bodily like a big rubber ball, and where that night, I caught a volkswagon bug on its' way into the gas pumps by jumping through the open driver's window and steering it -just barely- to the left where it hit the curb, but missed the gas pump. Picture it if you will, it is dark, and I see a volkswagon trundling straight at me, no lights on. "OH aren't you funny!" Wait, I can't see who is driving.. Goodness! They are shorter than I am ! Odd.. Maybe the dog is driving.. No wait.. No REALLY, wait now.. NO DRIVER??? uh oh .. What do I do? OK, do something to make car 1 not hit gas pump 2 and go boom. Yes, that's right. Go ahead OW!! I hit my noggin!

And the Summer of Archeology with Jeff Abshear at the Bancroft House where I suspect they still have our journal on display, Jeff with his outrageously delightful illustrations and me with the gift of gab and goofiness. We discovered three extraordinary finds! A proj point obviously used for brontasauri, an incredibly rare leaverite, and grape stakes from the orchard. Finding the joy in dirt, sweeping each dusting of the past away to reveal the puzzle pieces of that past. In this case, a rather interesting juxtaposition of Native peoples, Spaniash peoples, and Western European peoples.

Yes, Jerry was pivitol in our lives, in all our lives. He gave us a safe place to think and ponder, a safe place to question authority, an exciting and safe place to explore. He also gave many of us our first glimpse into living sustainably. Some of us needed this safety. Some of us needed the space to open our wings. Some of us went along for the ride, and what a ride it is! Thank you Jerry, for every smile, for every brush stroke, for every laugh at the absurd, for every Gift of yourself you gave us. Thank you, Jerry for being such a wonderful Teacher, Mentor, Delight and Inspiration. Thank you, Jerry, for your time.

With All My Love and Undying Admiration,

Kat Malstead
Class of '75

Heat Advisory on SOOO many levels !!

Man it's a hot one and it's gonna get hotter ! Trying to keep all the plants and animals and peoples hydrated will be the Challenge de Jour.

I need more pictures ! I need more words! I want more life !

Off to prepare my watery sword 'gainst the dragons of heat


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The Book of Changes

By the look of the date of my last Blog post, I shouldn't wonder if all believe that I have disappeared into a puff of blue smoke. Au Contraire, Mon Amis ! I am still quite lively and still making terrible landscaping mistakes in the Pacific Northwest.

At this moment, I am drenched with a goodly or Godly, depending upon your viewpoint, amount of good ol' fashioned PNW clay, and Teufel, about evenly mixed and measured with weeds and grasses stuck between my toes. I have been working vigorously upon the "New Do" of the Perennial Winged Garden. Greig moved one of the "lost bath tubs" into the garden, and in a group effort, the Good Folks of Wolfdancer Creek hoisted it up on blocks with a slight incline towards the drain hole, stuffed several buckets of river rock and then 4 squished peat pots covered with bags of Teufel and Black Gold. Then I stuffed it with plants! The vholes and the crack grass took over my last attempt, so this time 'round, I thought I'd mix it up with big containers. I planted Zagreb Coreopsis, one white double Crazy Daisy, and then some Firebird Penstemon along one side to help hide the exposed cast iron innards, and planted a deep purple cup and saucer Campanula Canterbury Bells, a cluster of three Delphiniums, a line of different types of Rudbeckia - Irish Eyes and the standard Black-Eyed Susans- then along the back, Echinacea, Liatris, Queen Victoria Lobelia, Cosmos, and a Joe Pye Weed(Eupatorium maculatum) a striking bee attractant along with Monarda, Joseph Kline and Blue Stockings. The front of the bath tub will have a curry plant, a silver Artesmia, and a bunch of pansies and violas. I figured I'd hope for a naturalization thing. :~)

Along the side of that planting, along the next blank space after a butterfly bush which will REQUIRE! heavy pruning this year! I stuffed a bunch of petunias in a Radio Flyer red wagon, and in a broken fountain. The fountain also has dwarf trailing snap dragons in it. First time I've purposefully planted annuals.

I'll take pictures. I have a new camera, and am trying to learn how to use it.

:~) We're Sanctuary here. :~) Life is Good. Bright Blessings!

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Spay Neuter and Free Pregnant Cats?????

In response to a post I read on a wonderful Blog:
/free kittens free older kittens free cats free pregnant cats???

Thank you so much for this Blog post! I have 16 cats now. I came to this state with 5 cats -all spayed and neutered- 2 of my Grammy's very elderly cats, and three ferals I had rescued as wee small tinies whom I bottle fed (and spayed and neutered) Then I found Puddles starving -literally- in my orchard. And while I was unable to catch her and get her spayed before the coyotes got her, I DID manage to trap her three litters and have THEM all spay/neutered and vetted. Then came Mimi -a pregnant non-feral dumpee- and her three kittens. The last is Velcro, yet another cared-for dumpee, who has yet to be neutered, but he's quite young yet (I figure only 2 & a half months old yet) Merp is spayed and an outside kitty who sleeps in the motorhome at night for protection. That leaves one wily ol' Tom who has thus far eluded the live trap.

14 cats inside, and 2 outside cats. I had so many promises of homes, but surprisingly, nary a one was interested in the kittens when they discovered that my demands included spay/neutering.

WHY??? If you love your sweet kitties, why in the hell's half acre of demented thinking don't we teach our people to value their lives by spaying & neutering?

hmmm /vent off. But thanks again for this thought provoking Blog post. Adding your link to my Blog now.

For those of us in Oregon, I highly suggest this FABULOUS organization to be book marked. They have helped me tremendously in my efforts to get the ferals in my area spayed and neutered. The Oregon Spay and Neuter Fund

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Painting 101

OK< here's the first installment of my very first Painting. I am using the layering techniqu, since it is more forgiving for the steep learning curve I have ahead of me.

The first underlayer of white


The second underlayer of burnt umber


Got some greens in for the background


Added in some yellows for shadings


Here's my first layer of the fur, in burnt umber mixed with black


That's it until I get the next roll developed. I am actually delighted, it seems like some REAL artist is channeling through me, because it's turning out pretty nice ! Obviously, as I go along, I have to change where I photograph this painting, AND subsequently, where I paint, as the light hits the paint and just vanishes it in glare.

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Painting 101

REALLY steep learning curve, I had to start a journal as well to write down my successes and failures IE: my lessons... Still have so many to go! so much to learn..

For instance, what are the benefits and weaknesses of going from light-to-dark paint, VS dark-to-light paints?

I find that the InterNets often don't have the information I require, OR I don't have the questions phrased correctly enough for Google to Google.

Sketching in my second canvas. The first one is coming along well. Since the subject is mostly dark, I have been painting dark-to-light. If I tried light-to-dark, I'd have these eyes staring out from deep within the recesses of dark fur, quite over whelming them, methinks. I want the eyes to dominate the picture.

Obviously a SHORT blog post, I get to go to dinner with my Sweetie. For Valentine's Day. *beam* Happy Chocolate Dreams !

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