You can see that the trees are starting to show some fall color. The tree turning orange is the maple on the far side of the house. There are splashes of red, orange, yellow and brown on the property. Yesterday was a beautiful day, nearly 80 and warm – but not too warm. Today will be the same. You’d better believe we’re appreciating this while we can.

Neither of us slept well last night. I’m sure you’ll understand why, especially if you watched Rachel Maddow. It took me a long time to get to sleep and then I woke up for long periods of time throughout the night. So we’re both feeling a bit ragged this morning.

I’m reading The Library Book  by Susan Orlean, all about the Los Angeles Public Library and the fire that nearly destroyed it and the mystery that surrounds the fire to this day. I’ve had it in in my TBR pile for over a year and after finishing the Louise Penny, I was reluctant to start any other fiction. It wouldn’t be fair to the new read. Best to read some nonfiction as a palate cleanser.

I did a little work on the dollhouse the other day, using some scrap wood that I had on hand. It’s hard to get a good photo as it’s the ceiling, but I added some wood beams.

The shadow doesn’t give the true color of the ceiling, but it’s ‘sea glass.’ There are five beams, plus a corner support in the corners of the room. I am close to running out of the scrap wood, so I stopped at five beams. I’m trying to use what I have. Next up will be the floor – wide planks, I think.

I signed up to do phone and text banking for Biden. There is a training session for both – my first training session is this Saturday (via Zoom.) Don has signed up to do phone banking and one other thing that I can’t remember at the moment.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Don and I were having a bite to eat yesterday. We were on the porch, sitting on the glider (it was a gorgeous day.)

I started to talk about last week’s experiences with the black bear and the monarch butterfly, trying to find words for the power of those two connections, both of which took place in the span of three days. We are coping with two major things, all of us. The pandemic has overwhelmed us; grief, loss, fear, a complete change in daily life, a leader who lied to us about it and who simply doesn’t care. A *president* who is corrupt, evil, a mob boss, a criminal, a liar, a malignant narcissist, and a sociopath. A cabal of elected representatives who fall in line with whatever he says, who have abandoned their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution. A corrupt Attorney General who has talked about charging protestors with sedition. I could go on and on.

My point being: I realize now what a gift these two encounters were. They were transcendent. We were allowed to move above and beyond everything that weighs us down on a daily basis to something powerful, wonderful, frightening, and intimate. Our encounter with the bear was intimate. We stared into that bear’s eyes and he/she did the same. Time stopped. We witnessed the transformation of a chrysalis into a monarch butterfly. We saved his life more than once and our concentration and connection and emotions were laser focused on this being. Everything else stopped. We were outside of the everyday. We connected with two beautiful creatures and they weren’t in a zoo, on television, or in a photo on Instagram. We shared the same space.

Transcendent.

I looked up bears as spirit animals this morning. They represent several things: strength and confidence, standing against adversity, taking action, healing and providing healing to others. From the spirit animal website: “The spirit of the bear is a strong source of support in times of difficulty. It provides courage and a stable foundation to face challenges. When the bear shows up as a spirit guide in your life, it’s perhaps time to stand for your beliefs and truth. This power animal will provide for support and strength.”

As for butterflies, we know they represent transformation, metamorphosis, renewal, rebirth, lightness of being, elevation from earthly matters, tuning into the emotional and spiritual, our souls. From the same website: “The butterfly is a symbol of powerful transformations. By analogy to the development of this animal, the meaning associated with the butterfly emphasizes the ability to move from one state, perspective, lifestyle to another.”

Normally, I don’t think to look into this kind of thing, but given the proximity and power of those two encounters, I felt the need to do just that.

I am so grateful that we went through those three days (also symbolic, if you think about it.) I am just now seeing beyond the immediate encounter to something beyond. As I move forward, especially in this next period leading up to and beyond the election, I am going to hold those memories close.

Today, Don and I are taking action. We’re donating to Act Blue and to the Biden campaign. And we’re going to volunteer for something that we can do here; phone banking, making sure people are registered to vote, whatever is needed. I was in such a state last night after watching Rachel and a bit of Lawrence that I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. So it’s time to DO something rather than worry all of the time. I’ll keep you informed as we figure out just what that something is.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

A cold morning here, but warmth is on the way. We are exiting this way-too-cold-for-September 3 or 4 days and we’ll be back to more seasonable temperatures for the next couple of weeks. The sun is shining and that makes me happy. No rain, of course – our drought continues. I sure hope autumn brings some much needed rain.

I finished All the Devils are Here  last night. Stunningly beautiful, a mystery written with heart and grace. I didn’t want it to end. In fact, I re-read the ending this morning when I got up. I simply love Penny’s books and now I am in that position of not wanting to start another book because I need to hold this one close to me for a while. If you are a fan and haven’t read it yet, I envy you a little! You will love it. If you’ve never read her books, oh my goodness, you should! Start with Still Life, the first book in the series. There is an ongoing story that continues through all of the books in this series so it’s best to read the books in order. I have a lot of favorite authors writing today, but Louise Penny reigns supreme.

Yesterday, which was supposed to be a low-key day, was not. Things happen. And late in the day we decided to go grocery shopping because we needed just about everything and didn’t want to put it off any longer. Never again. It was so crowded in the store. In terms of social distancing, it was nigh on impossible. We had our masks on, of course, but there was this one older guy who we kept encountering in the store and even in the parking lot. He had a mask on, but he had it pulled down from his nose. What the heck is the point of wearing a mask if you don’t cover your nose? It drove us crazy. We were also in an aisle where a woman fell, with her cart landing on her. We asked if she was okay and stayed there to make sure she was, but in these times of COVID, you wonder just how much you should do. She was able to get up and assured us she was fine, but shaken. Don righted her cart for her, but he was uneasy for the rest of the time we were there because he’d touched the cart. When we got to the car, I told him to use the hand sanitizer immediately so he’d feel better about the whole thing. The need to help someone out vs. COVID. I’m glad he helped her. And we were, after all, masked. So was she.

The trees are starting to turn color around here. Most are still green, but as we drove home from the store yesterday we saw flashes of brown and orange and red.

Today will be a day to rest. I have insisted. Last night we agreed to do nothing but relax, no outdoor work, no raking the paths, no nothing but reading and playing the guitar and the usual daily making of the bed, a quick run of the vacuum, etc. This morning, I sat down next to Don on the sofa for our second cup of coffee and he said, “It’s a beautiful day. Maybe I can find some chores to do outside.”  What? NO. A big fat NO. He reluctantly agreed.

Happy Birthday to my late beloved father-in-law, Oscar Lee Sparks. He was such a good guy. Every time I spoke with him, I was charmed by his Oklahoma accent, still retained after many, many years living in Southern California. In fact, his voice kept running through my head when I coached the national tour of Oklahoma! He was my guide.

We’re going to light a candle for him today.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.