Friday, April 28, 2006

Foxes

Here are a few pics of a den of foxes The Ohio Wildlife Center is monitoring. Are they not just toooo cute!


Momma


Pups (Kits)


Awe

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Hide in Plain Sight

For Tree:


Look at the color and pattern of this owls feathers. It looks remarkably like a Tree.



Owls spend twenty or more hours per day sitting perfectly still, blending in with the trees for protection.



Owls are common all over the world, but very rarely noticed.
Maybe that's why they are associated with Magic and Mystery.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

What a Hoot!



We have a new baby at the Wildlife Center. This is Woodsey, a baby Great Horned Owl. Woodsey fell from his nest and was brought to the center for treatment. She will not be released because the poor thing was born almost completly blind. The good news is that she has imprinted on us humans as foster parents, and is happy as a lark.


Woodsey will live a long and healthy life as an ambassador for Ohio wildlife.


My daughter Shelby introduces herself to her new friend.


When Woodsey grows up, she will look like this:

Check out those Talons! Whoa!
I remember the first time I had a Great Horned on the glove. The power of those feet took my breath away.


No bird has as much myth and mystery surrounding it than the owl. Owl is a creature of the night and has been symobolically associated with prophecy and wisdom because it can see what others cannot.

As power animal, Owl encourages you to develop your intuitive abilities and inner senses, and to seek the knowledge that is hidden. Little Woodsey may not see as well as other owls, but Im sure this baby will develop great intuition over time.

Owls fly silently and teaches us to go about our business quietly. They are expert hunters, and rarely miss the prey they target. This teaches us to keep a sharp eye on our goals. Woodseys goal is to be the poster child for her species by educating humans to respect and protect wildlife.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Chuckle of the Day

Over at Waking Ambrose where guests are asked to define words using satire, O'Ceallaigh defines the word "Genesis" as "The Serpent Anti-Defamation League's principal object of scorn."

Too Funny!

Check out the site, and if you are the satirical sort, e-mail the author and request to be the next guest.

Mindwalk

Garnet recently asked me if I had seeen a film called"Koyaanisqatsi. The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance." The film is an apocalyptic vision of the collision of two different worlds; urban life and technology versus the environment. The musical score was composed by Philip Glass. Glass also composed the score for Powaqqatsi and Mindwalk. (Click the link to view the movie trailer.)

I LOVE Mindwalk! I have watched this movie over a dozen times, and still find myself in awe each and every time I view it. It is not really a movie in the conventional sense. It is a distertation on systems theory, politics, poetry and life, caught on tape.

Adapted from Fritjof Capra's book, "The Turning Point," a poet, politician and physisist discuss old and new models of the universe, from the mechanistic model of Newton, Gallellio and Copericus, to the new ideas of systems theory, quantum physics and evolution. They quote poet Pablo Neruda and politician Julius Nyrere. They talk Descartes and Jefferson, Blake and Nostradamus. They go from macro to micro and back again. In "Mindwalk" the theme of this ongoing conversation is no less than Everything.

If you enjoy brain aerobics, this movie is a wonderful workout. (And for you feminist thinkers, it portrays a female as an intellectual, highly respected scientist, who never once kisses the hero, needs to be saved, or dons a bikini.) The woman in this film uses her ideas to make the world a better place for future generations. She venerates nature, speaks her mind, and is the embodyment of "wisewoman."

View the trailer, watch the film, Read the Book. You won't regret it.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Being Peace



I am proud to promote the efforts of one of my readers; soul sister, Vennila nr Kain:

"To mark the third anniversary of the official declaration of the War on Iraq, artist Vennila nr Kain sets up her prayer flags (for peace) in Times Square.

The installation is a delicate network of crisscrossed prayer flags similar to the Tibetan prayers flags strung over sacred spaces. The wind carries up the prayers from the flags to the realm of gods, or as blessings over land. This window installation is part of the ongoing series of ‘being peace’ art created by the artist."

Vennila is an actor, poet, yogini, performance artist, humbly committed to the Gandhian philosophy of being the change she wants to see in the world. Support her efforts at http://www.vennila.net

Spring Break

Liz Straus got me dreaming of Florida with her imaginary vacation posts. So when spring break hit, we packed up the car and headed south! We rented a boat and took her out on the Gulf to Anclote Island. Anclote is an uninhabited island on the nature coast of Florida, filled with whispering pine trees, sandy shores, and eagle nests.


I taught my son how to drive the boat, read channel markers, navigate the ocean, and use the fish finder. Ya-all should have seen him! Cap'n Zac. My little man on the Sea!

We had big fun quoting lines from the movie "Jaws."

"Quint, Shut Down the Engine! She Can't Take any More!"
"We're Gonna need a Bigger Boat!."
""It's a twenty Footer."
"Twenty-Five..."
"I used to be afraid of the water."
"Funny, I can't Imagine Why."

and singing...

"Show me the way to go home
Im tired and I want to go to bed
I had a lil drink about an hour ago
and it got right to my head
whereever I may roam
by land or sea of foam
you can always find me singin this song
show me the way to go home..."




The sea breeze cleansed our spirits, and the lapping rhythm of the waves had the effect of a mother patting her babies gently on the back.






We also spent a day at my FAVORITE place in the whole wide world...Weeki-Wachee Springs.


Now that we are back, I have a million things to do, but it's comforting to know that our footprints might still be in the sand.