TRUTH #32

 It was true pre-corona, 

It will be true post-corona 

IT IS TRUE EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY

Behavior

 
Stepping back, resisting the (human) inclination to 

draw "conclusions" or 'pass judgement' 

about someones'
behavior
appearance
attitude
 actions,
or choices

is a

a monumental act of human kindness

It's not about them deserving it (or not)

It's not about you being right (or wrong)

 What it is, actually. is a gift you give 

to that person (family, friend, coworker, stranger)
It's a gift you give to the world at large
(one less negative bit of karma slinking around)

Maybe the bewildering/annoying/obnoxious people
 have a reason for
(fill in the blank with whatever they are doing that's annoying)
(or maybe they ARE just  total ass*oles) lol

Either way
May as well keep your eyes on your own paper 

Cause I'm pretty sure you're not gonna change the A*holes
 And if someone IS in the midst of a soul crushing crisis
Odds are there's little you can do
to alter how they're coping with whatever they may be facing

It's for sure not easy
I'll admit right here, right now that some days I do better than others lol
But I keep reminding myself of something I really do think is true:
 Any time you choose to take the higher road...

  it's a little bit of a gift you give yourself too

'just sayin......

Remember

I love this picture

It reminds me that no matter how hopeless it seems

No matter how little control I may have
No matter how discouraged I feel 

No matter how much others may not see
(or agree) with my choices, my actions, my directions

This picture reminds me Aristotle was right.....

Criticism is something we can avoid easily

by saying nothing, doing nothing,

and being nothing.

Aristotle

Age, Social Security And AP

 

So lengthy the list, so many concerns that the world
holds to worry over...

 

The massive (and unexplained) right whale die off.
Perhaps only 500 remain.

(perhaps if we'd not allowed them to be whaled into near non-existence
as a society of humans they'd not now be imperiled)

An article published eight hours ago by AP exclaiming Social Security
and Medicare are quote: 'shifiting money from younger generations to older ones'

Perhaps it should be mentioned in the article just how many thousands of
dollars each working adult was obliged to pay into these programs
And now, much like a deposit bank account seek only to access those funds.
Not to live as royalty.
But to live modestly.
To avoid eating cat food
(did you know elders are one of the higher poverty groups)?

 

I wish the article would have mentioned that a large (and larger) portion
of each elders' Social Security payments are
dedicated to paying numerous taxes.

*school taxes (benefiting the young not the old)
*taxes for WIC and CHP (benefiting the young, not the old)

 

Monies that were deducted (from every single lifelong paycheck)
returned via Soc Sec payments pay county taxes and state taxes

for roadways, snow clearing, improvements
libraries, fire and police

Services that benefit young and older adults.
Some that benefit younger adults more.
Road use for example as non-retirees are on the roads more than retired adults.
Much of what Soc Sec payees continue to support with their small checks
assist young adults, building their lives, heading to work
shaping and living their lives as those, now older, did.

 

I deeply wish AP would have mentioned that those
who have reached the milestone of Soc Sec and Medicare
are simply (as promised) accessing  those funds
  demanded of them from a lifetime of paychecks.

The fact this current retiring generation is large means that
there is more need. It also means there was (for decade upon decade)
more taken in, gathered, collected, stockpiled than any other generation.
The math should work. We, the graying, had no control over how
the funds were managed, handled, invested, borrowed or otherwise controlled.

Getting older, being older, should not be a cause for blame.

We, inching our way closer to retirement who have done as demanded
paid and paid and paid. With the agreement it would be there for us at a
predetermined age. It shocks and wearies me to find AP (or any group)
pointing to the aging as the villains, harming the younger, by now being old.

Easy tho we are to 'blame'

 

These are the mornings, the days when I gather my camera and my thoughts

and walk among the trees and fields. The sprouting crops, the nesting birds.
The blooms.
 

No accusations are called out. The young animals move more quickly than the old.
Young mother cows, goats and birds feed their young. The older graze, looking on
now in a different phase of life.
Neither thinks itself better or worse, more or less of value.
They contentedly co-exist.

I love these acres, this farm, these truths.
The cycles of life are understood here.

No anger. 

Just each life taking its turn.

 

Every living thing grows older
Grows old
Grows weaker

Needs a bit of help

 

In animal nature, the younger of the herd, doesn't begrudge
the elders their share of green spring grass
or their spot in the shade of the trees in July.
Nor their place in the barn in the winter.
The elders don't blame the young that they will die
or become freezer food for winter. Or food bartered for firewood or
a tractor repair or seed or manure
for next spring.
 

How tragic it will be if that can not be said of humans. If the young and old do not each support the place in life that we both currently occupy without resentment.
 

In Patagonia they suspect that one of the reasons the right wales are dying
is because recently the gulls have taken to pecking (and consuming) the backs

of the right whales (adults and calves) when they rise for air.

There is no known reason the gulls do so. It's a new behavior.

There is enough food, enough space for the whales and the gulls according to
the marine biologists who study this cruel new gull behavior.

There is a proposition to kill the gulls

to save the right whale mothers and calves.

  

I worry. I hope.
For the right whales.

For the gulls.
For all ages of humans.

 

Right whales rise to breath air.
Gulls scavenge.
 Humans live a full life and grow older every day.
With luck we all do what nature intends and live a full life.

 

We're all part of the intertwined cycle.
Part of the circle.
None escape age.

 

I wish AP, journalists, communities, humans in general
would talk of and write about the entire journey of life.
Of compassion. Of seeking solutions rather than pitting
gulls against whales, young against old(er).

If only there were discussions regarding the full and entire truth.
Elder social support is essential because everyone is (eventually)
going to be older and move slower. Sleep more. See and hear less clearly.
Hope (and need) to step away from work
 (opening up a job for someone younger). 

There is a quote that says we are only as good, as worthwhile
as we treat animals, those in need, those weak, those young and helpless,

sick and infirm. To that I would add also, those of age.

 

Advanced age is a doorway each of you reading has walked thru
or is heading towards...
There is no sidestepping it.

Points to  ponder as we have the opportunity to influence
our government, our representatives.
Points to ponder as choices and votes on Soc Security and Medicare

are put forward. Decisions made now that will touch each of us.

  ~~~

Now I'm heading out with my camera to take some pictures
and find some peace.

 

Thanks for reading....

 

Gratefully, Luckily Safely Thru Hurricane Sandy

First, thanks SO much to those who emailed

to check on me and the old girl - it meant more than I could say...

I'll be catchin up on email replies these next few days - but reading

your notes brought warmth and strength to the past few days.

 

Fate was kind.

Tho I'm certain this isn't the first fierce

storm the old girl and her barn have survived, it was still

a long and tense few days as Sandy passed thru.

Heavy HEAVY non-stop rain began Sunday and has just now

ceased (Tues evening). Monday was the worst of it - horizontal rain

with steady winds, gusting to 70 (tho not sustained at that rate).

 

A walkabout tonite found nothing major amiss with the farmhouse, barn, woodlands

outbuildings or neighbors all safe. Not even a loss of electric. My immediate and area counties in NY were spared every large and small heartbreak that so many others in the US are coping with.....

And even as I whisper thanks to the powers of nature for leaving me unharmed I know how lucky I am to be on the finished side of this storm no worse the wear other than a lack of sleep.

 

So - Monday Museday is of course quite delayed - but I'll have it posted soon

(I was saving battery power on the laptop just in case the power did go)

 

I hope each of you who reads/comments here, each important to me,  are doing well

and this finds you safe. If not, if you are facing hardship and heartbreak, I'm keeping you close in thought and heart and wishing I could do so much more...

 

Superstorm Sandy: How to help

 

Back soon.....



Striving To Be Like Charlotte

 

 

She had promised Wilbur she was going to save his life and Charlotte was determined to keep her promise. Day after day, she hung from her web and waited patiently for an idea to come to her.   ~Charlotte’s Webb~

There are moments when I suspect the standard measure of success and failure is a bit off....
I say this because there are times, circumstances, events that are beyond control, outside
our reach of determined influence.

It set me thinking of Charlotte ~ and that success (or failure) ~ should also consider and count effort. The depth of  intensity, determination and perseverance extended. Outcome may be beyond reach. But if a person truly sets a goal, does his/her deepest 'best effort' (and you know in your heart if it's aye or nay) with courage and commitment shouldn't there be a rung on the ladder of success/failure for heartfelt intention and efforts? 

I see/hear/read the words of so many very very good people who do all they can with all they have to repair problems of all ilks for themselves and for others. But if the end result/outcome is beyond their efforts no matter how determinedly they have fought, they count themselves to have failed.

It haunts me, this clear divide of success and failure, this either/or, with no accounting for nor nod to the beauty of intention, for grace of the effort, for the care and concern that still surround and comfort those in need of aide (or to the credit of those who step up) even if the goal remains elusive or unattained.

There is something I can't quite capture in words about "the Charlottes'" of the world ~ those who stand steadfast beyond strength and reason for themselves, for others, for causes.  Their determination, their dogged persistence to see thru a promise made, to do what is right, what is best when needed.

Charlottes' posses kindness and courage of the heart.

No matter how small the selfless act, the truth is that any time you reach beyond yourself it's not small.  Every effort to do the right thing, outcome be damned, in your own world matters (if to no one but yourself). Even the smallest of effort or care on the behalf of another (should) count because it happened. There should be some verbiage inbetween success and failure to signify standing tall, strong and honorable in your own life regardless of whether the goal was/was not achieved. There need be, I believe, something that denotes someone having picked up the banner of kindness and having taken action (successful or not) because they cared about something/someone besides themselves.

Yes. There should be something that rests between success and failure. A concept and word that denotes effort, honor, kindness, outward giving even when the goal remains unachieved.

Tho I'm uncertain it will ever be so, there is one thing I am certain of... And that is this:

 

I'm striving (daily) to become more like Charlotte.

It's Been One Of Those Days....

1) The toilet filler valve was leaking - replaced

2) New one fills so slow seasons change between tank fills

3)Replaced again with another new filler

4) See two

(no, I'm not kidding)

All set to paint and now, just as I have days free to paint

it's going to

rain

Sort of a twist your shorts day for certain

I'm going for a walk in the low pasture

amid views like this

(how they've survived this drought I know not)!

And whilst I walk
I'll re-re-re-re-remind myself of the difference

between real problems and simple knicker-twisting annoyances

The toilet will fill properly eventually

More paint will be put on, just later than  I  had planned

 I'm off to the low pasture now ~ taking my camera
(for more pics ~ would you like to see)?

PS *I'm now officially done whining, lol*

Thanks for listening :-)

Farm Elementals

                                                           FARM  ELEMENTS

                                                        Fire, Water, Earth and Sky

                                                                     WATER

Every now and then nature reminds us 'who's in charge'.  She re~schools us in the concept of  'balance'. All things in proportion are best.  She nudges us (or if you know NCIS? she gives us a Gibbs/DiNozzo head slap, lol)  Lest we forget, that no matter how clever we are, no matter what science or tech at our disposal, SHE controls the deciding vote, the 51% ownership. SHE is the one who calls the shots. SHE gives life SHE denies life. SHE is the one who must be obeyed.  Killing snow in April, Killing frost in May, Killing drought in June and July.  She's reduced me to turning the water off while brushing my teeth ~ a farm water well survival skill.  She's prodded me into using dish pans (one to wash, one to rinse) which in turn allows for more water for laundry (a task carefully thought out and planned in drought, lol).  Happily this farm has a small creek that flows all year, even in harsh drought. Not helpful for drinking and cooking, but sustaining for plants, animals. Hand carrying/distributing water for any need is (I suspect) how Advil came to be invented, roflmao.  Rain barrels also are a marvel of 'found' extra water (tho only if it rains!)

* If ever you seek a farm strive for good source(s) of all manner of water ~ for people plant & animal*

It seems that today, for whatever reason, SHE decided we'd been sufficiently reminded and gave us rain - it began in the night and has lasted thus far all day - rain, glorious & wet, ever disappearing into the land as fast as it falls.  I may throw caution to the wind and run the water the entire time I brush my teeth and wash my hair tonite  :-)  Even as I considered such behaviors I do believe I heard HER say, "remember who's got the power here"!  and then she laughed and added 'just sayin'...

“He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the land in, the more he was filled up with all the details of the land. He was not empty. There was more than enough here to fill him.

There would always be more than enough.” 

Ray Bradbury 

Never Lonely

I'm always a bit surprised when people mention to me that living on a farm

must be isolating, lonely, worrisome.  I suspect a certain portion of

that reaction comes from the obvious ~ compared to the city or

suburbs the vastness of nearly 50 acres (tho very small by true farming standard)

is so unfamiliar that the pure distance and space around me strike them as significantly

'alone'

Then there is the very real connection of 'life to living' in that on a farm you are required to interact intensely with the reality of your day to day needs (and those of your crops and livestock if you have either). Tho wells and pests (aka varmints) and large broken equipment  are not unheard of in city or suburbia they are somewhat, or totally, dealt with by others. A phone call to landlord or repairman.

So to be certain, whatever degree of farming/equipment/livestock/water/building repair there is in a farm it is almost always something you deal with directly. Hiring someone is often impossible and if found the ongoing costs would break the bank.

So you learn, you read, you watch, you try and fail. Try and succeed.

You quickly learn the words 'budget' and 'save' and 're-use'.

The phrase let nothing go to waste from water to material to time becomes a mantra for survival.

But lonely? No not at all. 

The amazing thing about people who always have or eventually choose to live close to the land, to be close to the seasons, watchful of water from rainfall and rain barrel, winter melt to rain-shower embrace the concept and practice of commuity. The sharing of it all.

Neighbors are not the next people down the road. Neighbors are people who care. Who teach. Who ask how you are and then actually listen. Neighbors in farmland share news about fox sightings if you have chickens. We all show up to help each other with roof jobs. We loan equipment, we find (and leave to be found) things on each others' porches that are useful or needed or to give a bit of cheer in hard times. Yes, there sometimes is the bad person, bad event. Such is life anywhere.

But day in, day out, season after season, the mentoring, the laughter, the shared stories of hard work, big barns, talk of fox and bear, worries over rain and wells are the norm. Kitchens in Ag districts in the middle of nowhere sill fill with the aroma of handmade bread. Laundry still floats and drifts on clotheslines rather than in dryers with softener sheets.

Days pass quickly, nites pass quietly.

And when there's time to visit, to talk, to learn to compare notes while visiting it's heartfelt and wonderful. The people here have hearts as big as the acres that surround this farm. I am so far from lonely because I sit right in the middle of acres of caring kindness. Life here is good. Hard work with tremendous responsibility, but filled with good people.

A Saturday Morning Farm Joy

A warm cup of coffee
A moment of sun

Three Barn Swallows
Exploring the sky

This morning they were swooping

over the cornfield with precision and beauty.
And unfettered joy.
Watching them the farm again

whispers to me

"The world of man whines and clamors of disaster

but life moves forward, unaffected, based upon

the real, true, honest things"....

The farm is old, wise, sometimes tired.
She is gentle and she is harsh.
She is life and death.
She is sorrow and she is joy.

She is both fulfilling and exhausting.
The farm is a demanding dream.

But always she is a teacher

for

the

willing

student.

Alternatives To The Toxic

I'm far from 'uber-green' in lifestyle
Yet I strive towards better choices

No matter where you reside

city, suburb or farm

there's equal opportunity to ponder

the effects of endless layers of chemical(s)

upon the land, the sea and all living beings.

(click skull for image credit)

  Without fail each day upon the farm

amid bird and bee, drinking water that flows
directly from the land well & watching the crops rise

from the earth I am yearly more aware.

More aware of the close and abiding consequence

of each and every decision, choice, action taken
(or ignored).

That shared and said, I thought I'd pass on this link
While I can not vouch for the truth or safety of each suggestion
(and I was not asked to nor compensated in any way for sharing the link)
it strikes me as a good reference of alternative non-tox cleaning uses for
baking soda. A wide array of versatile enviro-friendly applications and

as an added bonus baking soda is much more cost effective

than commercial cleaners.

No doubt I won't immediately (if ever) employ all 51 suggestions :-)

Yet I am equally certain any I do employ will be for the better.
Better for the water in the well, the bees, the veggies, the birds

 for me and each of my neighbors.....