The Free Radical

(World in Front of Me by Mars Hollow, title track from their 2011 album)

It seems as though the world is holding itself an arm’s length away… scrutinizing. We’re in the middle of some kind of pause– at least, with the natural world.

And when I’m feeling a bit like a mere cardboard cutout, that maybe only the sky is real, I’m glad to be surrounded by dogs who dissolve any doubt in their exuberant ocean of unbounded joy. (That shit can’t be faked!)

Sitka is a remarkable sky-watcher. I’ve written frequently in the last month about a pair of eagles keeping their eye on us from a remote distance. The other day, out in the open field, I noticed her staring intently at the sky over the western mountain range. Following her sightline, I eventually spotted the two eagles as mere specks in a stunning sky. What dog does that? She has always been fascinated by birds. I had to use the binoculars to confirm the white heads and tail feathers of Bald Eagle.

There’s a really good feeling that accompanies being watched by eagles day after day!

As we walk into this mythic heart-space, we never know what we’ll encounter… but we’re never disappointed.

Just a naked tree pondering the newest spring fashions, imagining its own finery, is enough to content us in this momentary wait.

Through trees and vales and veils… we’re making our way to our own self-made promises. Doesn’t it look glorious!

We were thrown back into winter for a few days, but it just makes everything more spectacular– these deeper provocations into Beauty…

We’re at the peak of an eleven-year cycle when the snowshoe hare population explodes. Even in this latest snowfall, still, the number of bunny tracks is astounding. And that brings the predators. Lynx and Coyote have had an easy time of it lately.

My common refrain to the dogs “Don’t eat poop!” is the constant cadence of reluctant nagging. The signs of Coyote are everywhere!

This deposit beside our fire pit on the Mesa was so fresh and glistening that I expected Coyote to jump from the bushes at any moment.

Are all the old tricks finally winding down now? Will the fallen Devil’s mask make good fertilizer? It can be hard not to stay mesmerized by tales of a dying reality…

…but more lies tucked away in Time’s geometry than excitement can ever hope to unfold!