Beauty and Truth

Wonder what those are?

They are Sandhill cranes

and these are snow geese

They winter together, peacefully, on (among other places) the 

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico

the geraniums are dead

Today is a beautiful, warm, sunny day. 
But the geraniums are dead. 
Blue purple pansies still bloom 
But the geraniums are dead 
The last of the leaves piled under the hose and by the back door have been swept away. 
The geraniums are dead. 
I watered both trees. 
Thanking them for their beauty and summer shade. 
This is the in-between time -- 
The last days between Halloween and Thanksgiving. 
The lull before the holiday marathon. 
So, even as I toss the dead leaves and geraniums 
Into the yard waste container 
I savor the quiet -- 
The warmth -- 
The gentle breeze. 
I try to absorb the peace 
And slanting light, 
Storing it up. 
Grateful

so much for arrogance

We are the most arrogant species – often behaving as if, even believing that, we are the whole point of creation. 

And yet.

 And yet when a beloved pet is ill – or worse, dies – we become acutely aware of our deep emotional attachment to at least one other specimen of one other species.

 Remington, my friend’s beloved dog died this week. Another friend’s dog, Cai, is in jeopardy. So one friend is bereft and the other scared. If you believe in that sort of thing, please send them both good energy/prayers.

My cats had their annual check-up/shots last week. Guinness passed but Herbie had to go back today for dental cleaning and a possible tooth extraction.

 When I brought him in, the receptionist gave me a form – authorizing treatment, anesthesia, blood work, and a dozen other things – and basically exonerating the veterinarian from legal liability.

 Not the kind of thing you want to sign for a being who has been with you for ten years.

 My instructions were to stop giving him food after 10 p.m. last night and to give him no breakfast this morning.

 I was to bring him in between 8:30 and 9 a.m. I didn’t have breakfast until 9:30. I couldn’t eat in front of him.

As a UU (Unitarian Universalist) I  believe in the interconnected web of all creation -- and today especially my deep interconnection with my cats.

[Herbie’s home now and fine, thank goodness.]

Anniversaries

The cats are integral to my days and most of the components thereof.

Mornings of course. I have learned to awaken carefully lest I roll onto one of them. Herbie is usually near my head; Guinness, in the curve of my legs. But not always. Sometimes they are spooned – the dark gray tabby and cream almost-Siamese like a furry yin yang symbol.

 They have learned to wait for breakfast. Most days they stay on the bed while I shower and dress. When I’m ready to go downstairs, I announce, “breakfast time.” Guinness meows a response and jumps down, racing to the steps. Herbie often raises his head then resumes his slumber.

 There are breakfast routines and lunch expectations.

During the day, our activities are synchronized. If I work at my computer, the cats perch in the study. If I work in the yard, I am supervised from window ledges. If I go out, they are there to greet me when I return.

It is no longer possible to keep an accurate cat toy inventory. Some are upstairs, some downstairs. Some in appropriate receptacles. Others, under furniture or the washing machine. I do try to play with them each day. If not before, then at bedtime.

Each day one or both of them does something that makes me laugh.

When I am ill or sad or scared, they spend more time with me, cuddle more closely.

 We’ve been together ten years now. Our relationship seems to be working.

* * * *
 [Ironically, I filed for divorce just before my tenth wedding anniversary. That relationship didn't work.]