Spelunkers R Us

 

The evidence is in! This was before we got into the deep water. I would like to note the young woman in the back warned us all that if she died in the cave she'd haunt us all forever. She made me laugh every class. I failed to get her excited about anything outdoorsy, as she said often, "My idea of a hike is going from one store to another at an Outlet Mall." 

Visit a cave again? For me, yes, please.

Anything can happen*

“Anything can happen, the tallest towers

Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded.”*

This week the ecology class wrapped up. We went on our final field trip which was a visit to Sempler Cave, about half an hour from campus. One of the other professors at the college owns the property and he and his family are stewards of the cave. I will say that if one needs a way to lose the world for an hour or so a trip into a cave where you need to shimmy around rock and crouch through openings and wade through waist-deep water cave exploring fills the bill. Yes, the water was cold -- no colder than Wallowa Lake in July -- but there were cricket frogs and bullfrogs, and slimy salamanders and brown bats. On the property itself, there were horses, goats, and dogs. A place of peace and beauty and safety. I wish it for the world right now.


*Anything Can Happen, Horace translated by Seamus Heaney

Speaking of blessings

 

There’s a field just at the edge of the neighborhood that was mown earlier in the summer for hay. Right now, it’s just about belly high on a deer. At least the deer I see there, as the sun cups them in the morning, are belly-deep. It has been a hot and pretty dry summer here and I’ve never seen this field irrigated so belly-deep in September is probably about right.

At school, I’m taking an ecology class and each week we have a field trip. I knew the class was going to be good because on day one, as we headed to Richland Creek a coyote ran out of a cornfield and crossed the road in front of us. Blessings. So far, we’ve collected stream samples to check for invertebrates, there was a hike up some bluffs to a hill prairie (lizards and scorpions found), and during the last class, we went out to Fossil Creek and looked for fossils. I found over fifteen. One had to work hard not to find a fossil. The class is very small, six people, so the field trips and the labs are really effective. Lots of time, everyone gets to work through things. Next week it looks like we’re off to another stream in the area.

Meanwhile, in Film Appreciation we’re watching movies and discussing techniques. We’ve just finished Documentary. Now we’ll be focusing on cinematography. Today we watched 1917 and next week we’re scheduled for Children of Men – each could fit in the category of “wrenching”.

Speaking of blessings, the fawn in the picture came to our yard at least three times and slept or stayed calm while awaiting the parental unit's return. She may have been in the front yard a week ago as well; I could only see one outline when I looked out the front window. I wonder if now the deer are closer to the morning light, blessing another yard, out near the hill where the hay is belly-deep as the sun bends into fall.

A cool Saturday evening

This is a moment from Thursday afternoon. The heat index was 115.

There was a certain glee around the neighborhood today, though, something about a temperature drop of what felt like 40 degrees. And rain. Don’t forget the rain. Jerry and I went out to take a walk just after dawn and he commented on how humid it felt. He was gone the past two weeks and missed the spectacularly hot weather. I said this was the most refreshing morning since last Sunday; then we went for a ramble in the rain.

Yesterday I watched the goldfinches panting as they fluttered about in the dogwood. I had water “stations” set out for any wee creature that needed them and a birdbath and I stood waiting for them to come down, but the breeze was in the tree, so they went for relief there.

Today though, with the rain the yard was alive. I got distracted watching a Titmouse family eating seeds off the lilacs and the cardinals (molting!) tried to get them to stop. The drama didn’t last long. I think something may have been said about the cardinal’s bald head and bad feelings. Maybe I’m projecting.

Here’s a poem I read recently that felt right to share for Papa Bear, Dean Husted. And feels right to share here on a cool Saturday evening.  When by Rebecca Baggett from The Woman Who Lives Without Money:

It's hot enough to scald a lizard

The other evening I checked the temperature and it read 117, all I could think to say was a very slow, Roy Kent, “Fuuuuu####kkkk!”. That was the “feel like” temp (apparently, it matched a previous high record). But, no rain, tornados, earthquakes, mudslides, or fires. Just sauna-like heat with the humidity. Today (and yesterday) the afternoon temperature is 114. And fog both mornings. So much like a sauna, I need to carry a towel.

Now I’m gearing up for Thursday which is forecast to be the “hot” day.

On Sunday morning, I went out for a walk while it was still a cool 71. Afterward, I watched a squirrel hiding peanuts in my lawn and as it ran back to get another it took a few moments to roll in the dew-covered grass and wash. I liked that it did a few shoulder rolls and then a quick ear and face wash before another roll and a good tail scrub. I’ve never seen this before. It was quite lovely. It reminded me of the magpies I’d seen in Belgium frolicking one afternoon outside the library, four or five of them tumbling about and then flying up, before coming back to the grass to roll around. They seemed to be laughing. These are unguarded moments that Marlin Perkins never caught on film.

Today was my first day back in class. Just two classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, one class Wednesdays and one Fridays. I love that every entry point had someone there to help people navigate to their classes – or try to give you a donut – and I ran into a number of classmates from last semester. Including the young man who told me I was so lucky to be around for the Golden Age of Movies. I tried to convince him it was too easy to just follow a path that would let you make money, instead make a living with something you enjoy, go for the vocation not just the career. He didn’t seem convinced. He’s in the Running Start program so when he graduates from high school next spring, he’ll have an Associate degree. He likes history and languages. Give me some time, I’ll turn him toward the dark side.

 

                                                     That last cool morning...

Conundrum

When I wake I am in a void

I try to exit but must remain within.

The conundrum grief holds.

I use my knowledge of Etch A Sketch
to shake memory gray.

Random Ramble Randomness

 I've been missing for a while as I went to Oregon (and back) and then Jerry and I did a ramble: Peoria, Minneapolis, Madison, Detroit, Niagara Falls, Rochester, and then Columbus. We went to parks and museums, bookstores, and fairs (county and state), thrift stores, and a cat sanctuary with over 350 cats. And now we're ready for a little at-home time before school starts. We enjoyed the vagabond life. A lot. Be careful, be kind. Enjoy the exit to Hope. ☺