We have a very large old jar with twigs, a vase filled with milkweed and until quite recently a hungry monarch caterpillar. My daughter and I have been feeding her for a week now. Yesterday we discovered that she had put out sticky gossamer threads upon the side of the jar instead of on one of the leaves or twigs we had for her. Today she turned into a cocoon. We missed witnessing the actual changing. I am trying to trust the process, but am a bit concerned for her being perched against the glass. I hope she can shift and change in there without the glass being an impediment. I am wondering if anyone else has had this happen?
I read that it takes 10 to 12 days for the butterfly to emerge once the cocoon is formed. I will definitely post back when she emerges.
Washburn neighborhood, in La Crosse, Wisconsin held its first annual rain barrel painting contest and silent auction. The event was sponsored by Green La Crosse and the Coulee Sustainability Organization. Sharon Chavolla sponsored the rain barrel that I painted for the event. The theme was “All Natural, All Local”. Read more about the event, the rain barrels and watch some video footage (see the barrels in the auction) at one of our local news station’s site– here.
All the rain barrels on display were really great –and fun to see. A highlight of the event was seeing one of the youngest entrants, perhaps 8 or 9 years old, win the drawing for a magnolia tree and 100 dollars. She entered the contest as a novice, someone who has never painted before. It was inspiring to see her receive a gift for her effort and for a good cause.
My heart and soul embrace sustainability, earth, resources, nature and all within it. Being given the opportunity to combine my art with that passion was so enjoyable. I created my piece with love, gratitude and child-like joy. I found it interesting then, when my daughter, who is 8, pointed out to me how the children were drawn to my rain barrel and were excited about it. If you have looked at my art on my other site-”Love, Hope, Make Art”- then you know my art is inspired and grows with that child like wonder and excitement that can make all things seem new. I find that quality important, especially in the midst of so much tragedy and crisis.
Here are some pics of the rain barrel I painted for the silent auction, along with descriptions:
(Click on a thumbnail to enlarge it.)
-
- My daughter, Samara, helped me plan out this idea of an earth flower blooming near a sun/moon radiating in a metaphorical sky.
-
- The earth flower is hopefully not a passing flower, but a lasting mystical flower of great beauty and worth.
-
- The frog, mushrooms, ant, spider, bees and butterflies came from joy.
-
- It is meant to be whimsical, symbolic and mystical.
-
- I offer Thank You (Love & Gratitude) for the rain barrel, the rain and all life.
-
- The sun offers Namaste to all life.
-
- The details of little insects offer reverence for those little beings who are intregal to this life.
-
- Hummingbirds represent joy, love, fidelity and magic.
-
- Adding death to the images of love and gratitude completes a cycle of life, with seeds of nourishment in the midst of the loss.
Plastic pollution in our oceans is a cause of grave concern for all life. The amount of plastic and the slowness with which it decomposes, if ever, creates an overwhelming crisis for all who depend on life and sustenance from the ocean.
Dr. Nichols, a research associate of California Academy of Sciences, and relentless champion for our oceans and the life within it, offers a comprehensive yet succinct article, detailing the issues of plastic pollution and movements that may possibly make the difference. Nichols’ article is featured here at PostStar.com.
Dr. Nichols states that plastic is the overwhelming pollution plaguing our oceans, specifically: “plastic ropes, fishing nets and traps, plastic bags and bottles, plastic food containers, bottle caps, rubber ducks, flip-flops, plastic syringes, toothbrushes, diapers, tampon applicators and condoms, plastic cigarette filters and lighters. Gazillions of nurdles—those little tiny pellets that are the raw industrial material for many molded plastic items…”
As many have seen and heard, ocean life (such as, sea turtles, albatross and whales) die from consuming all of the plastic inundating their lives, — some consuming many whole plastic objects, others consuming tiny plastic particles mistaken for plankton. Dr. Nichols shares his own eye witness account of this alarming emergency the ocean is experiencing:
“Recently, on a research expedition to Indonesia, I witnessed a line of plastic on remote island beaches that are nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles. I saw walls of burning plastic sliding down cliffs into the sea. I found plastic fishing gear wrapped around reefs. Plastic bags clogged the intake of our outboard motor every fifteen minutes.”
If that doesn’t get your attention, and motivate you to change habits and choices, what will?
Whether a person lives near the ocean or not, makes no difference. We all depend on the health of the ocean and her inhabitants. We all are connected and are effected by the health of all the waters of this planet.
The North Pacific Gyre, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Pacific Trash Vortex, or The 8th Continent…the plastic pollution in the oceans goes by many names, and it is one of the most pressing crises of our time. Solutions and conscious, eco-minded actions/choices are dearly needed right now.
Hopes and current work for solutions rest with the recent globally attended meeting in Washington DC regarding research on the problem, entitled “A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris”. Dr. Nichols adds that biodegradable plastics are being developed and others are currently available for us to purchase. Also, Mother Nature may be able to evolve just the right kind of bacteria to gobble up plastics as well, but that could take too long.
Finally, Dr. Nichols identifies some biodegradable brands to shop for and other solutions to make a difference for our oceans and all life:
“EcoTainer, NatureWorks and Worldcentric and can be easily found on-line. Encourage local leaders and businesspeople to follow China, India, Ireland and dozens of U.S. cities, by banning certain disposable plastic items and taxing others. Reusable bottles, utensils and shopping bags are a simple solution. Wax paper is a good choice for many household and lunchbox needs. Avoid plastic “to go” containers. See if you can make it through a single day without using any disposable plastic. It’s not as hard as you might think.”
Also, visit www.oceanrevolution.org/
to join forces with an organization dedicated to the health of our oceans.
And at LIVBLUE, you can spread love for the earth and oceans with blue marbles, start having good fun that creates positive change, go to bluemarbles.org.
Love and gratitude to all life, to our oceans and all who care deeply and seek to act consciously!
namaste,
Chandra
Earth day today and every day:
All life is Sacred. Love this global family with cosmic awareness and compassionate action. Greenpeace is a great place to start.
namaste,
Chandra
This is in response to the report regarding the US Catholic Bishops ban on Reiki, link HERE.
As the article shares: “There is a radical difference between Reiki therapy and the healing by divine power in which Christians believe: for Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique,” the bishops said in a statement.
And this is what I know: Reiki has roots in mysticism and the Japanese art of Qi gong. Reiki is not a technique. It is an attuning to/alignment/amplification of the energy that we and all the universe are made up of, –and for someone who believes God is permeating the universe and also beyond it (panentheism) then, that universal life force is Sacred and a living, flowing part of God. Jesus came from God. Jesus’ ability to heal was from God.
The first tenant of Reiki is that the flow of energy can do no harm. When sharing Reiki, we never use our wills, we are an instrument for the energy to flow through, and we are aligned with the greatest good, the common good and unconditional love. Faith is involved for those with a background or roots in faith. For them, Reiki is an extension of prayer and surrender to God. For secular Reiki folks and others, it is simply and wonderfully the chi flowing strong. Either way, the energy is always seeking balance and healing, just as our bodies are. It is a harmonious, complementary tool for healing. There is no superstition involved.
I am a Usui Reiki Master, and I have witnessed and experienced profound and lasting good results from this art.
“And then there’s the fact that “neither the Scriptures nor the Christian tradition as a whole speak of the natural world as based on ‘universal life energy’ that is subject to manipulation by the natural human power of thought and will,” the bishops said.”
“To use Reiki is to operate “in the realm of superstition, the no-man’s-land that is neither faith nor science,” the bishops warned, urging Catholic health-care institutions, retreats and chaplains to ditch the therapy, which originated in Japan in the 1800s.
And this is what I know-–Reiki is never shared in a manipulative or willful manner. If it is, it is no longer Reiki, but someone abusing their power. What the Bishops announced just isn’t true, or rather is a skewed interpretation of the art of Reiki. Moreover, Reiki could be likened most to St. Francis’ prayer, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
Reiki is able to relieve pain from growing pains to chemotherapy (and many other challenges and pains of the body, mind and emotions) and gives a deep sense of peace and relaxation without any manipulation or intrusion to the body. Another key point is that Reiki empowers those who give and receive it. Just as Jesus sought to heal and empower all whom he met and came into relationship with, Reiki elicits some of the same gifts.
In addition to this, one of those US Catholic Bishops (in Madison, WI) recently fired a woman in a masters program for writing a paper encouraging inclusive language for the Church.
These are good examples of why I left the Catholic Church. Still my heart is and has always been catholic, with a little ‘c’. While I love many people who are Catholic– they are my family, friends and beloved community members–and it is a part of my foundation, –it is no longer my home–and I look at this development with great sadness and disappointment all the same. I am glad to have stepped away from the oppressive, steel hold of the Catholic Hierarchy. For me, it was like staying in an abusive home. It is not like that for everyone, it is for me.
I feel huge gratitude and cherish my ecumenical community here. Many people will simply ignore the Bishops. Others will follow their decree without questioning. That’s how it is. I wanted to offer what I know about Reiki, because it is important.
I am simply a Christian now, who believes in an ecumenical world and faith life. I am affiliated with Catholics, I attend a Lutheran congregation, I practice Reiki, and I learn from other faith traditions as well. Maybe I don’t really belong anywhere perfectly. Maybe I am on the fringes. I think I always have been. It is alright to be just that. Jesus was on the fringes. It can be a sacred place to be.
I have witnessed countless miracles of healing and good fruits from Reiki, this is what I truly know. There is no denying, in my realm of experience, that Reiki is from and of God, the living God, who I trust my life with. I have received too many affirmations to deny this. If I did, it would be a grave denial of the Holy Spirit, and I will not do that. I offer my love and prayers to my friends and family who are Catholic or not, and to all who are effected by these kinds of decisions.
There is a nest on top of our front stoop light, that has been there in some shape or form, for as long as we have lived here; about 9 years now. The robins find that since the light is under the eave of the house, they are sheltered and safe from many things. The light, I imagine, brings warmth to them as well in the evenings when it is on.
I feel a deep fondness for them, having witnessed many generations grow up in our yard. They know me too, the ones who decide to stay. I often feel a tangible connection and awareness between they and I, as we have negotiated the front door territory and fresh water nearby, consistently through the years. We have found mutual trust and respect in sharing our homes.
This spring I found that someone had stripped down the nest to the bare bones of it. Last week it sat atop the light, simply a dry mud shaped cup, awaiting something. I assumed at first that it was the robins, eager to begin again, even though it is early.
Because the nest has stood the test of time, they have had to work less and less, allowing them to really delve into their creativity with decorating. There have been some extravagant and lavish designs they have woven around the clay cup, really works of art. I wish I had taken up photography earlier so that I would have documented each one through the years. At times, it was so much decoration that it spilled out onto our mailbox and the front stoop. When we would step out of the front door, and turned to look up, and see where it all was coming from, we would stop in our tracks and exclaim, “Wow! That is really beautiful and wild looking!”
That is not what is happening this Spring though. Not yet anyway. What I discovered was that two mourning doves had moved in and laid eggs already. I chuckle at them, and those of you who have witnessed mourning doves trying to make nests, will understand this more.
Mourning doves are not known for making fabulous nests. They are notorious for making the flimsiest, sorriest excuses for nests of just about any bird, and in terrible and sometimes mind boggling locations as well. Luckily for the ones living near me, we have two amazingly generous old yew trees that are home and hearth to countless birds year round– from mourning doves, sparrows and grackles, to catbirds and finches.
Usually the mourning doves have stitched together a thin liner on the crux of some of the Yew tree’s inner branches. We have peered in at them as they have sat like wide eyed children upon their new little babies. I chuckle now at their stroke of genius to use the robin nest, and to make it their own. After stripping it bare, they have begun the day and night task of taking turns warming the eggs. Also, they have begun decorating. This desire to decorate a found nest must be something that satisfies their impractical, whimsical nature.
The latest generation of robins are here too. They stayed all winter, in fact. It is easy to hold a deep admiration for all the birds right now. I look out at them all through the picture window and say to myself/to them, “You are all survivors.” They lived through a deep, long, bitterly cold winter. I watched them do it, hunkering down in the yew trees when it was 20 degrees below zero, night and day for weeks.
I didn’t always offer seed either. I couldn’t, because of how expensive it has gotten. I took comfort in the fact that I offered them a heated birdbath. I know this is a precious gift, as most birds die in the winter from lack of water, not food.
The robins are watching the mourning doves. I told them a few days ago, as they sat perched on the trellis near the front stoop, watching their family nest being used by a different kind of bird, “Be patient. They will be done with it soon and you can begin your two or three cycles of broods that will carry on into the summer. You will have your time in the home you grew up in. It is still early.”
They are trying to be patient. Mourning doves don’t stay in one place too long it seems. I am pretty confident they will raise their young quickly and move to a slightly different location, as they have before. Hopefully the robins and the doves won’t need to fight it out.
In the meantime, I am their quiet companion, witnessing their lives unfolding, and lovingly supporting their home life in the midst of my own. They are inspiration and hope perched on the light at my front door.
The fervent songs of all the birds here lately have burst outward, like waterfalls cascading in a tropical paradise. This is their way to celebrate warmer weather and their survival through a difficult winter. The enthusiastic songs this weekend were absolutely amazing, magical sounding and robust. It is not something we humans could survive, a winter like we’d had, without heat, homes, blankets, hot water and long underwear. The birds sing like beacons of light showing what survival’s rewards can be.
Their singing and the chance to see how creative they become when some of the hard work has already been done for them, is pure joy. It must be a little how our ancestors may feel, watching us progress in creativity, precisely because so much dedicated and hard work has already been laid out as foundation for us.
This is the robin waiting, looking up at the family nest, presently occupied by mourning doves.
Here are the decorations the doves have added so far. This is quite elaborate for a mourning dove. Though, not quite as lavish as some of the robins have created.
This mourning dove is not done decorating. He thinks their new home can be even more beautiful. The female is on the nest keeping the eggs warm while he works on finding more embellishment. He will stand on her back and hand her the new pieces, and she will decide where they belong.
For more info on mourning doves and other birds visit “All About Birds”.
I have been reading Claire Nahmad’s book, “Your Guardian Angel”. She talks about meditating on a rose in connection with guardian angels. She mentions the following in chapter 4, “In contemplating the rose, we may directly comprehend the mysteries…the rose is able to lift the soul above the confines of earthly understanding. At the heart of every rose is a circle of golden stamens. It is a sigil…of the ‘mind in the heart’, that seat of consciousness, which is not….limited, calculating, ego-rooted intellect, but rather the intuition…which bears the gifts of inner seeing and spiritual percipience, and within which can be found the true self….the rose dwells within us, within our heart center, and is our very heart of hearts.”
In addition to this insight, my husband and I were listening to Eckhart Tolle explaining why comparing- souls awakening -to flowers blooming- is so appropriate. He said something to this extent: that flowers are so delicate and full of light that they are the closest translation to the soul’s own lightness and high vibration when in consciousness/awakened/in the now.
I post here, a photo of a beloved rose that bloomed at my home a couple years ago, in the spirit of these contemplations. My father in law, Ray, was a gifted gardener, having dedicated his retirement years to the creation of an eden and sanctuary for both animals, birds and family. After he died at the beginning of 2005, Spring came and with it his plans for the garden. We inherited the climbing rose that he had ordered. It roots itself very preciously in our lives, in our midst, reminding us of Ray’s legacy and love for us and the earth. That first season the roses bloomed with gold, coral and pink. Ever since then they only bloom a deep solid pink, adding to the mystery and wonder of spirit/soul and life.
The idea of the stamens representing our soul’s ‘mind’ resting within the heart center is magnificent to me. This knowing offers joy, peace and profound light.
blessings of the greatest good,
Chandra
