Category: Hope

Dog Found Me – lost dog

Well, I had quite the surprise this morning.

My routine is that when the sun comes over the hill, I get up, let the dogs out, and pee … In that order. On nice mornings, like this am, I leave the door open so any of the dogs that want to come back in, can.

After I pee, I get back in bed. Sometimes I go back to sleep, but mostly, I don’t. This morning, I heard a dog next to my bed, looked down to see which one it was, and was surprised to see a new face greeting me. Surprise, surprise …

This is the face that greeted me this morning:

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She is very skinny and covered with tics. She is very sweet, comes up to me, whether I am standing or sitting, and immediately sits. I fed her two cups of dry food, which she scarfed. She would have eaten the whole bag, but I don’t want her barfing, so I’ll give her another two cups later this afternoon. We are working on the tics.

She is a border collie mix, possibly with terrier, as her coat is wiry, not silky like a BC. She has a collar, but no tags.She does not bark, and seems to come from a one dog household, as she snarls whenever one of my dogs gets near her. She has very long legs, but probably only weighs 20-25 lbs – not sure as I haven’t tried to pick her up. She is patient with the tic picking, so far, and doesn’t object, at all.

If anyone recognizes this dog, please call me at 831-818-8026. I am sure there is a heartbroken owner somewhere. She immediately took to me, so she seems to be well-loved – or just so grateful for a place and food out of the wild. Pass the word. I will post this to FB and Wild Big Sur, also, so it can be easily shared. Much as I am taken with this dog, and would easily add her to my pack, I am happy to reunite her with her owner.

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9/11 weather report

4:00 pm – reports of both thunder and sprinkles in Paso Robles, coming in from the NE, he thinks. I seem to be living between the high, low clouds (fog) and the low, high clouds today.

10 am – While this is the 10th anniversary of the horrible terrorist attack, other than this quick mention, I prefer not to dwell on that infamous day. I spent pretty much a week in bed in abject depression from watching it unfold, and I cannot do that again.

Instead, I am keeping an eye on the sky. Here, I had rain/drizzle last night – enough to settle the dust a bit, revive a drooping Thompson seedless, and give a fresh taste to the air. It was less than 1/10th of an inch. I woke to chill.

Today, it continues to be overcast, thunder storms continue to be a possibility, and fires continue to rage through much of Fresno County, although there was rain, along with high winds on many fire areas last night, helping the firefighting effort.

Unless we I get reports of significant lightning, or I see it, I won’t be reporting much today, as I have work to do. Enjoy your Sunday, and try to remember the importance of this date, without dwelling or residing there. Come back to today, and what you can do to make your life and the lives of your loved ones better.

Rebuilding after the Basin Fire – the Love of Community

11 days – for 11 days, a group of dedicated professionals put their own lives and livelihoods on hold while they helped one of our own. I wish I knew all of your names, so I could honor you here, but I only know some that I recognized from the photos. But I also know, you did not do it for the recognition. You did it to help a neighbor in need. And because — that is who you are and what you do. I honor you. We all do.

Shortly after the Basin Fire ended, Coast Property Owners Association (CPOA) set out on a mission – a lofty, and difficult mission to raise the funds to help Don Case rebuild his home. His home was built in the 60’s, I believe, and the only one lost in this horrific fire that was not insured. And so, CPOA began a quest to help our neighbor, Don Case, and his family.

Mike Gilson, Dick Ravich, Butch and Patte Kronlund, Lisa Kleissner, and Ned Callihan, all the Board Members of CPOA, made it happen. Daily donations of lunch from the Big Sur Deli, courtesy of Kurt Mayer, gave all the volunteer carpenters what they needed to work all day. And Gabe Case is doing an extraordinary job as Project Manager.

The framing is done, and recent donations have made the installation of the roof sprinkler system possible. Everyone is on a break for about a month, but next is the installation of the doors, windows, and siding. Here are some photos by Joyce Duffy of Day 11, yesterday, Friday 7/1/11.

The House, by Joyce Duffy

Standing by the Phoenix Fireplace, by Joyce Duffy

At the Apex, by Joyce Duffy

Never has the term, Namansté (I salute the divine in you) held as much meaning for me as when I was writing this post. I salute you all, and I salute a community who creates this kind of wonderfulness. I don’t know how I got so lucky to land here 26 years ago, but each and every day, I am thankful I did.

What better way to celebrate July 4th?? It’s not just a BBQ – It is a HOUSE RAISING!!

Happy Mother’s Day

While some believe this is another “created” holiday for more commercialism, the roots of this celebration are much deeper than that.

Spiritual Origin of Mothers Day
Only recently dubbed “Mother’s Day,” the highly traditional practice of honoring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past rites typically had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones; societies tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols rather than actual Mothers. The personal, human touch to Mother’s Day is a relatively new phenomenon. The maternal objects of adoration ranged from mythological female deities to the Christian Church itself. Only in the past few centuries did celebrations of Motherhood develop a decidedly human focus.

Goddess Isis – Early Egyptian Roots
One of the earliest historical records of a society celebrating a Mother deity can be found among the ancient Egyptians, who held an annual festival to honor the goddess Isis, who was commonly regarded as the Mother of the pharaohs. Her stern, yet handsome head is typically crowned by a pair of bull horns enclosing a fiery sun orb. She is most often depicted sitting on a throne.

So, for our ultimate Mother – Mother Earth and Gaia, Happy Mother’s Day. And for the female energy, blessings to you and yours.

Be The Light Fundraiser

I have heard wonderful things about the benefit this past Sunday night for Rachel Short, the local photographer injured in an auto accident on November 1st, 2010. It is amazing the way people are pulling together to help out in any way they can. Her care and recovery will be a long and expensive road for her and her family. She is clearly adored by all who know her.

Here is a link to a video of her story. It is a vimeo video, which I have only been able to see a bit of. My slow internet works best with youtube, which I can load in the background. Be the Light on Vimeo

There is a great article in the Monterey County Weekly Food Blog (with photos) of the event here: MCWeekly

And photojournalist Nic Coury of the MCWeekly has a great photo album of the event on his FB page: Be the Light Album

And lastly, I found a wonderful album of Gina Weston’s on FB of the event here: Gina Weston Photos

For many of us, we can only hope there will be more opportunities to attend events such as this to assist her, but don’t forget, donations can also be made. There is a donation page here that makes it all easy with paypal, credit cards, instructions on where to send checks.

MLK’s Mission

47WhiteBuffalo put out a challenge to bloggers – “Would you blog for peace?” Today, given the message of Dr. King, it seems appropriate to answer her challenge.

Believe in Peace

Happy Veteran’s Day

To all my fellow Veteran’s out there – thank you for your service, and welcome home!

And for the forgotten “heroes” – the warrior dogs. (Thanks Z for sending me this.) This memorial honors 25 dogs killed during WWII on Guam. They also served a big role in Viet Nam, and we have heard of the many roles they have played in Iraq, as well.

Just because …

This is just one aspect of the magic that is Big Sur. This lonely little columbine is one of the few remaining.

When I saw this, I had to stop and capture it. The dark, the contrast between the one bright spot and the shadowy green called me. I shot it dark in the camera, and unlike most shots, I only took one, and was happy with what I saw in the LCD. I was even happier when I saw it larger on my computer. This is straight out of the camera, exactly what I witnessed. Mother Nature’s gift. And interestingly, I violated all the cannons of composition by placing the subject dead center, and still, it works.

Columbine & Ferns

Just because … Mother Nature’s beauty cannot be enhanced.
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On a completely different note, Gideon has been sick since Saturday, and was at the vet’s Tuesday, and again today, when he was admitted to the hospital. News tonight is that he is improving. His fever is going down, and his pain has been lessened by an inflammatory drug. We are hoping he will come home Friday. Dr. will call again tomorrow morning. I am a tad distracted from my blog, but had this one prepared to go up. I’ll be back when Gideon is home again.

Memorial Day

Remember, today, of all days, the members of our Armed Forces who have died in service to our country.

* Memorial Day was was first observed on May 30, 1868.
* Memorial Day was originally called “Decoration Day.”
* Memorial Day was originally created to honor Union soldiers who’d died while fighting in the Civil War. Because of this, southern states did not observe Memorial Day until after World War I, when the holiday was expanded to include soldiers from all wars.
* The red poppy is a traditional symbol of Memorial Day (many veterans wear them to commemorate the day).
* The poppy was inspired by (World War I-era) John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields”:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
* The “though poppies grow in Flanders fields” in the poem is thought by some to refer to the blood stains from shallow graves where soldiers were buried.
* In 1924, an artificial poppy factory was created in Pittsburgh, PA, and employed veterans who needed work.
* Memorial Day observance peaked in the first part of the 20th century, when aged Civil War veterans attended parades in towns across America.
* Memorial Day observances were at an all-time low in the 1960’s, then experienced a resurgence in the 1980’s.
* On the Thursday before Memorial Day, soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They patrol the cemetery 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.
* This tradition, called “Flags In”, has been in place since 1948.
* In 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years. This coincided with the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.
* Memorial Day traditionally marks the start of summer, while Labor Day traditionally marks the end.
* “Memorial Day” did not become the holiday’s official name until 1967, when federal law declared it.
* In 1968, Memorial Day was moved from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May in order to ensure a three-day weekend.
Happy Memorial Day to everyone…and thank you to all the troops and families that sacrifice so much for us.

A Big Sur Christmas

Tonight, around 6 pm Stacey, a reader of this blog, posted a notice about 2 lost dogs on my “Let there be peace” posting. Strange, I thought. Those sound like my neighbors dogs. In the next hour or so, I called my neighbor, went to his house, twice, determined my neighbor was out of town, and the dog sitter said the dogs were missing. He was just sitting there, doing nothing. He wasn’t looking for them.

I notified Stacey that the dogs were indeed my neighbor’s dogs. She knew my neighbor, and worked with him. So Stacey and her husband went out on Christmas Day evening to look for the dogs, and thankfully, found them and took them home. This is probably the best Christmas gift my neighbor got this year. This is what Big Sur does. We take care of each other, and our fur kids. Thank you Stacey for caring and taking the time on this holiday to recover my neighbor’s fur kids for him.

On another note, the photos below depict what often happens on a Big Sur Christmas — gifts of Jade.

Thank you, CK. What Christmas is complete without the Big Sur Jade?