Beltane and the Shadow Mountain Moon
Thursday gratefuls: Diane. Ginny and Janice. Luke. Domo. Corvids. Ravens. Crows. Magpies. Those Mule Deer young ones. Working out. Learning Torah, reading Hebrew. That strange veil over my mind for a couple of months. Rural Japanese food. The gardens of Domo. Wild Neighbors. Black Bears. Mountain Lions. Great Sol. Shining.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: The Mule Deer yearlings lounging in my back yard
One brief shining: Got up, still a bit sleepy, upstairs, looked out the window and saw trash in the driveway, Bears, when I went to the kitchen window, not Bears, two huge Crows flew up and out of my recycling bin, could not leave it open anymore, Crows do not forget, outside, picked up the spilled coffee filter, the plastic bag from my online pharmacy, a book’s packaging, tossed it all back in the bin, and closed the lid.
In my defense. I only put recyclables in this trash bin that I place conveniently in front of a low kitchen window. However. When my housekeeper comes, she often throws garbage bags in this bin. I’ve never told her otherwise so she’s not at fault. I take what I think are the garbage bags and put them in the garbage bin in the garage. I missed a garbage bag-they’re opaque.
Bears. Will find and displace garbage over a wide area. Never thought about Crows and Ravens.
Gonna have to tell Ana to leave the trash bags inside. I’ll put them in the right bins. Could have done this a while ago, just didn’t.
So. Wild Neighbors #1. Crows in my trash.
Wild Neighbors #2. Since I no longer have dogs, I leave my front fence gates open, hoping that some Wild Neighbors will find their way into my back yard. Yesterday when I went up to work out, there were four yearling Mule Deer Does with coats matted a bit, not yet mature and sleek. All eating Grass and Dandelions. This made me happy.
Even happier later on in the afternoon when I came downstairs and saw two of the Does lying down, chewing their cud, peaceful in every respect. Surprised at how happy I was. Having a space where these Wild Neighbors felt comfortable enough to dine, take a nap, enjoy a relaxing afternoon. I felt fulfilled, oddly. Though I did nothing but open my gates.
Read up a little bit on Mule Deer. They can run over 40 miles an hour. That’s pretty fast. When chased, they sometimes engage in totting. Jumping on all four legs at the same time. Not sure about the adaptive advantage, but it must be there.
Went into Domo again. This time dinner with Luke. Of Leo and Luke. He could not believe I’d come in just for him. But I had. Relationships require nurturing.
He had Chicken Katsu and I had a Cabbage, Rice, and Beef dish. Domo serves food typical of rural Japan. Some sushi, but a lot of Udon noodles and other dishes like the one I had.