The Fall is a special one this year, notably for the late seasonal rains that have soaked our homes near daily. Water is a gift. That which we readily, and freely, pull from the ground here. The myriad of birds that enjoy my septic sewer lids; green, concaved, and often available for evening bird baths. The deer have adapted to the gong and singing bowls, looking, but returning to rich mineral blocks scattered about the front paths.
Had a friend visit last week, shifting from the waters of Hawaii, to the normally dry, elevated mountain top, peaking out at a hair over 9800 feet on my mountain. It was a shift for her, a shift for me, a man of much solitude and introspection. The energy was nice, the Ranch is still showering us with gifts of wildflowers, even as the leaves begin go change.
Take a human who has spent the past four years in Hawaii, and the wilds of her Shinto pilgrimages to Japan, and have said human ask to not leave our Ranch for a couple straight days? Be thankful we get to call this place home. Silly humans, we make mistakes – we get soft to our daily gifts, our pettiness, our sense of normalcy. Often an outsider can remind us of what is in front of our noses. What gifts we have simply to be in this beautiful landscape.