I don't have any photos to share just yet, but I had some amazing Vit N experiences I wrote about yesterday that I wanted to share!
"This afternoon I was just leaving the park and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Running out of the trees -- about 100 m from my house -- and towards the highway was a beautiful big grizzly bear! It was Grizzly 116, a just-older-than-teenage male grizz that's been hanging around the area. I think he's the guy that pooped in between me and my neighbour's house. He was a nice rich brown colour with blond highlights, and a massive hump of muscle at his shoulders! Totally amazing. The wind was blowing through his fur and he just looked so wild. I felt so blessed!
The wind here today has been absolutely nutbar. So I decided to go for an evening walk. With my bear spray of course. The wind was whipping from all directions. Big tall pine trees were leaning away from it and the trembling aspens were bent over with the power of the wind. Not 50 meters from the house I saw the first downed tree...ripped up from its roots! You know the saying "If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?". Well a little later, I heard a tree crack! And then heard the sound of it crashing into the trees around it. And then there was the grass...probably my favourite part of the evening. Swirling, dancing, flattening, flipping, twisting...if it weren't for the chill I could have watched it for hours. I felt so vibrant, alive and supercharged!!! Wahoo!!!"
*Apparently 7 large trees came down in the campground last night...if the wind got any stronger they were thinking of evacuating sections of the campground!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
My first book review!
More Vitamin N(ature)
Here's a recent schwack of photos that I took whilst on a walk in my favourite meadow. On my return walk, I decided to do some coyote walking. I was introduced to this for the first time this spring at our seasonal training workshop and I have fully embraced the concept! For those of you who've never tried it, "coyote walking" means taking off your shoes and socks, lowering your center of gravity a bit by bending your knees slightly, holding your arms slightly out from your body and keeping your gaze on the horizon; then you start walking in the direction of your gaze by feeling the ground with your feet and moving forward slowly and deliberately. It is wonderful. You end up feeling so connected to the earth and you're moving slowly enough that you're able to appreciate the feel of the breeze and the sun on your face, the scent of the damp earth beneath your feet, each sensation under your toes...try it sometime. You'd be amazed!
Enjoy the dose of vitamins!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Daily dose of Vitamin N
I have been working on another nature-related project of late as well. A friend of mine had been lamenting the "lack" of nature and wild things in his life, especially during a time of hectic schedules, rehearsals and gigs. So I took it upon myself to be his personal conduit with good 'ole Nature - sending him daily photos of something nature-related while he was so busy. Well what was just supposed to last a week or so has been going on for about 4 weeks now and has had amazing results. My friend really looks forward to his daily vitamins, and I have found that I am so excited about sharing the natural world around me...I am looking at my world in a new way. I'm finding the beauty in little details, in the little amazements I find every day. My buddy has also starting finding some nature moments in his own life and has begun sharing them with me too.
I'm reading Richard Louv's latest book, "The Nature Principle", and it talks about how sometimes technology can be a conduit to getting outside and exploring for yourself. Well in that spirit, I'm using the interweb to share some of my Vitamin N moments with the rest of you. Get out and be amazed by the little wonders around you...you don't need to be on an African Safari or in a Provincial Park to be awed by Nature!
I'm reading Richard Louv's latest book, "The Nature Principle", and it talks about how sometimes technology can be a conduit to getting outside and exploring for yourself. Well in that spirit, I'm using the interweb to share some of my Vitamin N moments with the rest of you. Get out and be amazed by the little wonders around you...you don't need to be on an African Safari or in a Provincial Park to be awed by Nature!
"Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement, to look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; to be spiritual is to be constantly amazed."
~ Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Earth Day Resolution 2011
I've got worms.
No, I haven't discovered some parasite that inhabited my bowels while I traveled in India...I've made the leap to vermicomposting! I had been hesitant in the past because of the perceived commitment they would require, but this year I decided it was time. I end up throwing all of my veggie/fruit waste as I can't do an outdoor compost here in the park (it's a wildlife attractant), and I was getting sad about the amount of "good" worm-food that I was throwing out.
So now I have my very own population of red wrigglers, ready to take on the fruit and veggie scraps that might otherwise be thrown out. A friend of mine is somewhat of a vermicomposting expert, so I went to visit her to get the wormy low-down.
So here I go, another year of learning and growing and doing what I can to make my footprint on this planet a little smaller. If any of you would like to learn more about worm-composting, the Biosphere Insititute of the Bow Valley - Worm Composting site has lots of great information on setting up your own worm bin. As my worms start churning out some deliciously hearty dirt, I'll take some photos to add to the blog.
On a somewhat related note: Right when I arrived home with my worm bin, my partner of two years got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! To make a long story short, I said YES! and we're planning to get married this fall. Yay love and stuff!
No, I haven't discovered some parasite that inhabited my bowels while I traveled in India...I've made the leap to vermicomposting! I had been hesitant in the past because of the perceived commitment they would require, but this year I decided it was time. I end up throwing all of my veggie/fruit waste as I can't do an outdoor compost here in the park (it's a wildlife attractant), and I was getting sad about the amount of "good" worm-food that I was throwing out.
So now I have my very own population of red wrigglers, ready to take on the fruit and veggie scraps that might otherwise be thrown out. A friend of mine is somewhat of a vermicomposting expert, so I went to visit her to get the wormy low-down.
So here I go, another year of learning and growing and doing what I can to make my footprint on this planet a little smaller. If any of you would like to learn more about worm-composting, the Biosphere Insititute of the Bow Valley - Worm Composting site has lots of great information on setting up your own worm bin. As my worms start churning out some deliciously hearty dirt, I'll take some photos to add to the blog.
On a somewhat related note: Right when I arrived home with my worm bin, my partner of two years got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! To make a long story short, I said YES! and we're planning to get married this fall. Yay love and stuff!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Earth Day!
A year of living outside...wow!
My Earth Day resolution this past year was to spend a half-hour of mindful time outside every single day...no matter what the weather, no matter where I happened to be, and my walk/bike to work didn't count. Well here we are, one year later and I DID IT!!
Out of 365 days, I missed 4: 2 were sick days, 2 were travel days while I was going to and coming from India. Many of the days I spent much more than a half-hour outside, but it was always at least a half an hour.
Hardest part = time. For me it was generally never an issue of wanting to be outside, it was more to do with making the time to do so. Whether squeezing in a walk/run at lunchtime, or trying to get one in after work, before supper, and before going into town for some band practice or yoga class...making time has taken dedication.
Even on days when the weather was cold, drizzly, or downright nasty...I knew I would always feel more grounded, connected, and joyful after some time outside. There have been so many highlights this past year, so I'll only share a few here.
It's now become an ingrained habit for me to spend a minimum amount of time outside everyday. By the end of those days where I was sick and stayed inside, I was itching to get out! I have a feeling that I want to keep this resolution for the rest of my life. As for this year's Earth Day resolution...I'm still working on it, so stay tuned!
Love to you, to the earth and to the sky!
My Earth Day resolution this past year was to spend a half-hour of mindful time outside every single day...no matter what the weather, no matter where I happened to be, and my walk/bike to work didn't count. Well here we are, one year later and I DID IT!!
Out of 365 days, I missed 4: 2 were sick days, 2 were travel days while I was going to and coming from India. Many of the days I spent much more than a half-hour outside, but it was always at least a half an hour.
Hardest part = time. For me it was generally never an issue of wanting to be outside, it was more to do with making the time to do so. Whether squeezing in a walk/run at lunchtime, or trying to get one in after work, before supper, and before going into town for some band practice or yoga class...making time has taken dedication.
Even on days when the weather was cold, drizzly, or downright nasty...I knew I would always feel more grounded, connected, and joyful after some time outside. There have been so many highlights this past year, so I'll only share a few here.
- feeling more grounded and connected to the world around me
- listening to the wind through the grass
- a dark, and rainy night walk...with only my headlamp and imagination for company
- walking amidst a flock of Cedar Waxwings...flying about as though one morphing organism...shrinking, growing, moving, shifting, shaping
- long, wandering, exploring walks through markets, back streets, monastery grounds, side roads and hills of India
- getting home from India and feeling blessed to live where the air is fresh to breath and the ground is clean
- impromptu snow-angels
- connecting with the people I care about by being outside
- hugging a tree
- seeing all sorts of animal tracks
- finding a place where I take the time to reflect...in spending that time outside I found a certain spaciousness where I could often work through issues, give thanks, or think big thought
It's now become an ingrained habit for me to spend a minimum amount of time outside everyday. By the end of those days where I was sick and stayed inside, I was itching to get out! I have a feeling that I want to keep this resolution for the rest of my life. As for this year's Earth Day resolution...I'm still working on it, so stay tuned!Love to you, to the earth and to the sky!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Who has seen the wind...
The words of Christina Rossetti's poem - narrated by the little voice of my four-year-old friend Ruthie - echoes in my ear this evening as I return from a windy walk in the dark. Not to be deterred from spending some quality time with Mother Nature, I donned my toque and borrowed my neighbour's headlamp to head out into the windy darkness after a day of indoor meetings. The wind was amazing...pushing, pulling, surprising me from all angles tonight. As I shut my headlamp off for the last portion of my walk I could make out the silhouettes of big powerful spruce trees being bent by the wind.
It seems as though this winter has been particularly windy: drifts blocking our driveways, pushing our cars sideways on the road, ripping the window right off our office building and whisking snow out of the park in a matter of a day! I thought about the awesome power of the wind during my walk and our sometimes derogatory comments when it gets particularly blustery, yet how it is an integral part of this "Blow Valley" that I call home; the following quote came to mind.
It seems as though this winter has been particularly windy: drifts blocking our driveways, pushing our cars sideways on the road, ripping the window right off our office building and whisking snow out of the park in a matter of a day! I thought about the awesome power of the wind during my walk and our sometimes derogatory comments when it gets particularly blustery, yet how it is an integral part of this "Blow Valley" that I call home; the following quote came to mind.
Philosophy of Wind ~ Lyall Watson
"...the most common and readily accessible experience of otherness and togetherness, of being involved in something very big and very strange, is that of being blown by the wind...
You are touched by something invisible, something that bends trees and makes strange sounds. It throws the ocean into confusion, whips up fantastic froths of cloud and carries off a desert in its arms. And yet it communicates directly and intimately with you. You can feel its effects deep inside."
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