Can we just move on and start living now?

 

Good Morning!

Rise & Shine!

I have been outside early getting in that sunrise light.

It will be a beautiful day here today and boy do I have tons of

chores that I have left slacking...

Bags of clothing to drop off, chicks to get outside in the grass,

general cleaning etc...

That looooong weekend plus being away yesterday was 

needed but it threw me off my usual schedule and I have been

trying to keep to a more scheduled day.

It is good for me to parse out my time in blocks that allow

me to be productive and also gives me gaps to rest.

I wish I had learned this years ago.

Days flow seamlessly this way.

******************

So, while I do post here a lot

 I do not always post everything obviously

about life that may be happening.

I lost Beauty this weekend.

It is the 3rd loss this month and my heart is sore.

She was a beauty...my grandson named her shortly after

her birth last year. She was blind and had many other issues

but she also lived a lovely life in her own coop she shared with her

*spouse* Apple Cider my silkie roo. He is lost without her.

I am trying to see if he will join in with the other girls right now.

It really is up to the flock who comes into it... I do not force.

For now, he free ranges with them when I am out there to watch.

I will miss her....

So yeah, this month has had it's sadnesses.

I choose to focus upon the good though.

I am not a wallower, I mean how selfish is that?

Life continues on and I know that for sure

my mom would tell me not to squander a moment of it, even in loss.

There has been so much to be grateful for. 

Mothers Day, my birthday and this loong weekend with 

my grandson being the highlights.

We took in the zoo. 

And I must say that I have been going to this zoo for decades and

only now just felt the joy and happiness in seeing the animals.

I mean,  I always loved them but this visit was different.

I connected with so many.

What surprised me was the flamingos which I never really cared for before.

Gosh what beautiful creatures!

Their color is just the most perfect mix of salmon & pink.

Truly gracious and lovely as they just exist....

and we marvel at how amazingly beautiful they are!

The deer was magical. 

She was so peaceful  just standing there in the mist of the early morning forest.

I connected with her immediately.

If I could have a heard of these deer that lived in the forest around me I 

can only imagine how much calmer I would become.

And wow... that lion was magnificent...truly.

He reminded me of a few  people I know who stand their ground.

 Direct eye contact with every patron standing at the fence,

 protecting his female ( she was also amazing) and his home.

 Brave and bold.

Just wow.

Nature + me ...we go way back.

Before people started disappointing me, I went into nature to 

escape the noise and irritation of a world dedicated to selfishness & greed.

Nothing has changed. 

Nothing. 

Me.

Or the world.

 I do not affiliate with any position or man made *box*.

In any way, shape or form.

For me,

common sense & the ability to think on my own feet

 is the recipe to a  successful and emotionally mature  life.

So I have always had mentors who did as much

 and followed that guidance for my life.

Lately, I care no longer to explain myself to people

who demand me to be whatever they envision me to be to fufill

some vacant hole in their lives.

It is only a recent thing.... having to defend who we are to 

those who carry no actual weight in our lives.

Justifying everything we do so we can then appear worthy

in their eyes.

Ugh... it is gross.

God is my only accountablity.

And when I speak of God I do so with so much reverence .

Most have no idea what my back story is.

That is fine. 

We all have been through our own stories.

My faith is solid, has been for most of my life.

It kept me from the grief of deep despair & loss.

It healed me and has been THE ONLY thing

that I could grasp upon when the $hit hits the fan.

I wish I could say it better or explain how nature and faith

and God and light are all entwined in my life.

But I can not. 

So I go on always being misunderstood.

I was born feeling like this.

I am sad for those who make such a huge deal over

peoples differences and not on what brings us together.

But I also know when God moves, he clears out the unnecessary

underbrush keeping us from being our best selves.

In this period of immense growth and clearing in my life, I am hugely aware 

 how blessed I am even on days when it can make me weary.

Connecting with and healing with nature while co-existing with it

it is how I heal. 

I raised my family this way .

It is not new to me. 

It is not a trend I have just recently embarked upon.

In that vein, 

I will be focusing on nature based ways

we all can use in the weeks ahead.

Slow living is the focus of this summers series and that includes

ways to disconnect from the madness we have been coerced into

living. There is a better way, gentler ways to employ wellness

into our lives that I have actually tested out for you all

and for which I will be sharing.

Last year we did kind of the same in our Summer Camp series.

This year during the Slow Living series I will bring you into my own

life here at Stone Hollow where you can see what I have been

working on to make our lives healthier for us people and for the animals

that I care for and those who visit us through the day and seasons.

Unlearning is step #1.

We will start Friday June 20th, 2025.

My heart is sore and I am slightly weary over 

the many losses I have encountered this month.

It has been a month where I examined what I was doing and if I should 

continue doing  it.

I prayed for answers.

Oh but...

The answers are always right in front of us....

For me it is that tub of baby buff Orpington chicks in my breezeway

 that gives me the hope and promise for tomorrow.

Right back where I started my chicken journey 10 years ago.

That is my answer.

The lesson for me in all of this: loss of beloved pets and disappointment 

in humanity is that I must continue on knowing it will all work itself out.

The true crime would be to stop, stagnate and refuse to grow

 That is where the bitterness and resentments fester.

Light is the universal disinfectant to darkness in any form.

May you all have a great Wednesday.

Much love,

Raven

xoxo