Last day of 2015

We headed out to see the otters and sadly we didn't see them. As 2015 comes to a close, I wish that I could say I'm fully recovered, but I can't.  I am feeling pretty good most days, but another health issues has taken over where the lyme left off.  I am grateful for feeling better and I plan on moving forward everyday and getting myself to 100% wellness. Hopefully my latest issue turns out to be nothing.   I had a wonderful year with my family and friends, for which I'm very very grateful.  Nature was very good to me as well, and helped me keep my head above water when I felt my worst.  May 2016 be a year blessed with good health.  My only resolution is to take very good care of myself and find my way to a healthy body, mind and soul.  Goodbye 2015 and Welcome 2016.

More Happiness!

No words needed! Photo by Kevin Kreischer. 

Sit Spot

I've finally done a sit spot for many days in a row. There's nothing like sitting at the edge of a pond watching 4 otters. It's been incredible. I have to be honest this has been one of my greatest nature weeks ever. What a huge birthday gift to me. I just realized that  the animal hanging on my dream catcher is an otter. Life in nature never disappoints me.  I'm so blessed to have found my bliss. 

Another Blissful Hour

I've now been up to see these guys four times in a week.  Each day I've spent a blissful hour watching them.  These photos are Kevin Kreischers.  I met him out there one of the days.  

Today while on a dog hike I saw a Towhee.  

Nature never disappoints

I headed back to see the otters again this afternoon.  There were only two out at a time fishing, and two hidden behind a rock playing. I watched them eat dozens of small fish.  One came so close I could hear him chewing.  Just as you think your nature experiences are over for the year with Winter fast approaching, you end up with amazing experiences like this.  Nature never disappoints me.  There is always something to see.  After I left the otter pond I headed back up to Cascade Lake to see if I could spot the Beavers, I stayed about a half hour and had the place to myself, but no sign of them. 

On the home front I had a lone Pine Siskin today.  Always a nice bird to see.  I'm on my second 25# bag of Thistle since the Fall began.  I am feeding about 50 Goldfinch.   

River Otters

Photo by Matt Zeitler

Photo by Matt Zeitler

Photo by Matt Zeitler

Photo by Matt Zeitler

Over this past weekend my  birding friend found a family of 4 River Otters.  This afternoon I headed out to the location and was able to watch them for an hour.  They played on logs, rocks, the shore and we also watched them catch and eat multiple fish.  What an amazing experience to see otters in the wild again.  They are such incredible creatures so full of joy and energy.  They wrestle with each other constantly.  I didn't want to leave and will be heading back to see them every chance I get.  What a gift. Nature fills my soul like nothing else.  I am so blessed to live where I do. 

Walking in the rain

Marbled salamander larvae

 

I took Monty for a late afternoon hike.  It is finally cold and blustery out.  We ambled past my favorite vernal pool.  It is covered with a thin film of ice.  It occurred to me to check for Marbled Salamander Larvae, as we had the perfect Fall for them to lay eggs. The pools dried out during the Summer, then filled back up with a good rain storm at the end of September.  To my great delight, there were many healthy beautiful larvae on the edge of the vernal pool!  Marbled Salamanders are in the mole salamander family, they spend most of their lives living underground.  The females come to the dry vernal pools in the early Fall. They lay their eggs under the leaves and logs, and then protect them until a rain comes and fills the pool back up.  They then leave and head back to where they live. The eggs hatch and the larvae develop over the Winter and are quite large by Spring.  They will prey on the smaller Spotted Salamander larvae that hatch in the early Spring. Nature never fails to fill my heart.  Just as I think I'm thru seeing amphibians for the year, I find these amazing little creatures.  I'm so grateful to out there hiking.  

Forgive

For more then 20 years I've been very angry at someone for a lifetime of pain that they caused our family.   I've decided to forgive that person, to allow them back into my life.  Unfortunately this has hurt a few other people, who don't want to forgive them.   I can no longer be in the middle of their anger against that person.  It's hurting me in so many ways, and in turn I'm hurting another family member.   I'm sorry I disappointed people I love dearly, but I have to do what is right for me.  It's time to forgive and let it go, to free my heart.  I want to be love....no more hate, no more judgement. 

Good day

I started my morning with a phone call from a friend who alerted me to three River Otters  that he was currently watching. I was able to get in the car and go watch those amazing creatures for an hour.  They are beautiful animals with such a zest for life.  We even watched one catch a large fish. There was also a gorgeous Red Fox on the opposite shore. What a gift. It brightened my spirits  after a couple of rough days. I decided  to look for more nature gifts. While out walking a dog I came across this beautiful little garter snake that was in the road. Afterwards I stopped up at the Hawk watch and watched two bald eagles, breathtaking!  Next onto Wickham lake and I just sat on the dock and looked at the water and went into a complete relaxed mode, that alone was a huge gift. It always amazes me how much Nature fills up my heart and makes me feel better. I need to stop forgetting to get out there when I don't feel good physically or emotionally.  I spent too much time inside this week it didn't help my mood or stress levels.  This past week while out walking dogs I did get to see another coywolf. Wildlife is everywhere if we open our eyes and hearts to the gifts of it.  

Otter Medicine:

Otter’s medicine includes woman’s healing wisdom, sensibility without suspicion, guidance in revealing ones talents, psychic awareness, faithfulness, recovery issues, understanding the value of playtime, primal feminine energy, joy, playfulness, prognostication
There are 2 kinds of Otter, the river and sea otter. They are linked to the primal feminine energies of life – the elements of both Earth and Water are present in Otter medicine.
Otters are regarded as the masters of play by the Native American and Celtic cultures. Observing an individual otter or a family of otters shows us that it’s possible to view life as a game to be enjoyed, rather than a burden to be endured. Living is not painful, it’s a gift. Life is too short to worry so much. When you were younger, like most children, did you feel like you didn’t want to become old and didn’t want life to get serious, or maybe you wished you could grow up and then once you became an adult wished you could relive your childhood as life was too serious now? Are you now too serious? If yes then otter is just right for you for you will be shown how to play again, it will help you find your inner child.
If you are wondering how you can give up your seriousness and learn to be lighten up, the otter’s behaviour can be a point in the right direction. The extremely curious otter often shows up alongside a human’s canoe or rowing boat in order to investigate those onboard. Curiosity means one is interested in their world and eager to explore it. What we know already is just information that can be kept or rejected when no longer relevant. As we discard information that is no longer relevant, we become lighter and more playful. don’t hang onto material things in your life that become a burden or bind you. The otter also shows us how to detach form our problems, yet be curious about them and find an answer. Allow events to unfold naturally. Having this perspective on life helps us find answers as easily as the otter catches fish, become like otter and move gently into the river of life.
The otter represents woman medicine. They are friendly, playful, and free of jealousy. If otter enters your life, always remember the beauty of a balanced female side, create a space for others to enter your life without preconceptions or suspicions. Otter teaches that balanced female energy is not jealousy or bitchiness, but sisterhood and sharing with others. Otter expresses joy for all. Remember that both men and women, have a feminine side. As both male and female humans start to display this medicine, the world will become a joyful place where all can reside happily, playfully and without jealousy, and not be afraid of being harmed or of loss.
Part of the otter’s vibrant energy is associated with its deep connection to water, where they spend most of their time, and in which they are very fast and agile. Often they are seen floating on their backs with their paws sticking out of the water, playfully sliding on their bellies or doing acrobatics. Water symbolizes receptivity and has also been long associated with emotional energies in man. Let life simply be, rather than stopping the flow by worrying about things which have happened and about things. Learn to be like otter, gliding through the emotional ups and downs of life with effortlessly.
Otters are very talkative. A frightened otter’s call takes on an eerie piercing sound, not unlike a baby screaming. They are unafraid of humans and have few natural enemies.
Otters are excellent parents, looking after their young much longer than most other marine mammals. Baby otters aren’t born knowing how to swim – they are taught by their parents. This shows that we too can learn to swim playfully and happily with the flow of life, not against it. The otter symbolizes the creative, nurturing energies residing within us and show us how to honor them. Enjoying the company of others of their kind, they are seldom seen alone. Otter people would benefit by living on, or close to, water and generally find comfort in group interactions.

Powerful moment!

While out hiking I picked up this beaver stick. As I hiked along while holding the stick,  I suddenly felt great surge of power. I felt whole, well and very strong again for the first time since last Spring.  I stopped walking looked down the trail, put my bins to my eyes and saw the most gorgeous Coywolf looking right back at me. What an exhilarating experience. That is the first time I've ever seen one while out hiking!  What a gift! 

And if that wasn't enough beauty for one day~I went to our land after my hike to visit my Petey's grave.  He would have been 9 today.  As I was leaving,  I heard a Raven calling, I looked up, located the bird, it was 2 Ravens and they were harassing an Immature Bald Eagle!  The Raven has always been my sign for Petey. The Bald Eagle my sign for Dad.  What a day!  Each is such a gift.  I'm so grateful to be able to get outside and enjoy each moment. 

PA visit

This morning was my PA visit.  I had a delightful 45 minute drive with gorgeous scenery, the leaves are all peaking. The colors are magnificent,  I was in awe the entire drive.  I'm doing really well.  Since my Lyme Journey began I've lost 20 pounds!  It was over a 4 month span of time and I ate tons of fat and high quality meat, so I lost only body fat.  I'm back to a weight I haven't seen in decades.  My blood pressure is now down to 110/70. It had been slowly creeping up the last 10 years. It started in the 140s/90.  I'm still struggling with lots of Lyme symptoms, but none so severe that they are keeping me from living life.  They are nagging and remind me that I still have Lyme disease.  My PA assured me that symptoms I'm still having are completely normal and will over the next few months begin to subside. No more being a hero, take the OTCs when needed.  The stress I am putting myself through and not getting any relief when symptoms are bad isn't good for me either.  I am to stick 1000% to the diet she has me on and continue to take the Herbal Antibiotic for another 4 months and longer if symptoms persist. No sugar or carbs other then vegetables.....so the little bit of cheating I've been doing since vacation, must STOP.  I can add some healthy carbs like sweet potatoes back into my diet in another 4 months, and only if I have no symptoms.  She praised me once again, I've been a model patient, and no further visits are needed unless I get sicker.  We can get well by using food and nature.   

Wildlife Cam

I helped this beauty cross the road.  He was stretched out across an entire lane of the road, sunning himself.  I got a stick and persuaded him to leave the road.  The next car would have hit him for sure.

We have a healthy wildlife population near home, these pictures are from across the street from my house.  The wildlife uses a trail through my side yard to cross to fields from the woodlands. 

Grateful

I am feeling so incredibly grateful to be feeling like me again. The beauty of the fall colors is exactly how my heart is feeling right now, it's just bursting with happiness and bliss. I feel completely alive again for the first time in many months.  I am grateful for my sight, my sense of smell, my hearing and the strength in my body that allows me to get out into Nature and fully immerse myself in Her spender. It was a ten day today, 66 degrees, sunny, crystal blue skies, a slight breeze, the scent of Fall filling the air, and the faint sound of the insects singing their final songs as the seasons change.  Today's Nature blessings included 2 Red-shouldered Hawks, an adult at the PO and a Immature up at the park.  2 Brown Creepers, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, and lots of other beautiful little passerines.  On our hike we happened upon a flock of turkeys, taking refuge in the park to avoid hunters, as it is turkey season, my best boy....stayed and did not chase them!  We also saw multiple deer. 2 Incredibly beautiful Monarch Butterflies and a lone Garter Snake were in the upper field.  My heart is completely open and ready to receive all the beauty around me. I will never take my health for granted again.  It is the most important thing of all, with out it, you can no longer live fully.  I am grateful for another chance at life.....I aim to make the rest of mine awesome. 

New Park

We have a new park in our town!  Can you tell how happy we are?  Wickam Woodlands is the crown jewel of our Warwick parks!  A gorgeous crystal clear lake filled with fish and hiking trails is now open to the public.  The land was part of a NYS Prison system, closed a few years ago, it was sold to our town for $1. There are 733 acres total, only about 50 are part of the park, the remainder will be sold to businesses.   I'm so excited to have this new place to bird and hike.  There are lots of ducks, eagles and osprey that frequent it.  I really believe that I live in heaven.  Warwick is filled with everything I love.

Golden Eagle at the Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, Matt Zeitler Photo

Bald Eagles at the Mt Peter Hawk Watch, photo Bill OKeef

Bald Eagles at the Mt Peter Hawk Watch, photo Bill OKeef

Glorious Sunrise

Today we awoke to the most glorious sunrise of the week. We could tell rain was upon us so we took our hike right after we had some coffee and breakfast. We were able to watch an adult and a immature Bald Eagle circling over the house. We have seen eagles everyday since we arrived. Low tide is here and there's a seal resting on the rocks while the storm rages around it. Perfect day to lay around eat up all the left overs, like lobster tail over a salad and read my book. I'm reading Rewilding our Hearts. It's excellent. 

Happy heart

Our vacation is winding down. In 48 short hours and we will be back at home.  It's been a dream come true to be able to go with the flow in such an awesome setting. My internal clock has been reset and my soul feels renewed. We ate incredible local seafood every night. We simply love it here. It is our favorite place to visit annually.