violations

Hi Maggie,

Today was another magic  afternoon with my little companion.  We went for a walk, and visited all of her favorite apple trees.  Then we noticed that all of the apples that had fallen on the cow's side of the fence were gone.   And there were a lot of apples down on our side. So we started picking up apples and lobbing into the cow pasture. And much to our delight, two cows came and picked up everything we threw to them.

It bothers me to know they are possessions and will soon be food.  But today was sweet.

Then we were walking past the sugar maple grove.  The sky was intensely blue.  It was windy. A gust of wind blew through the trees and leaves came dancing on the gusts.  I guess I have never been looking up at that moment, but today I was.  It was like watching giant golden snowflakes swirl down - all around us.   Magic. This Earth is rife with magic and beauty.

We picked up lots of leaves and glued them on paper - for Mama!

And we made a hot, chunky applesauce for dinner, from apples we had just picked.

Nice day.

I have been thinking about the quote you shared all day. I like it, but it is a bit passive. The separation begins with a violation.  The violation lets us experience separation. Someone who is supposed to protect us, doesn't.  And sometimes we never recover.

It fits with my theory.

I have been vegetarian much of my life. It's this cold thing that brings me back to eating flesh. I eat chicken or turkey once or twice a week.  Giving that up will not be bad. What is different now is that I am going to stop eating dairy. Those calves are in a veal pen so we can have their milk. No more for me.  I don't drink milk, but I do eat yogurt and cheese. I am trying to think of some satisfying, unprocessed substitutes.

The Vitamin B12 lead is good.  I will follow up on it.  I will also see if I can find some non-meat sources.  Thank you, thank you!

I found a quote today that opened my heart a little. It seems to be describing walking through the swamp...or maybe trekking back through the swamp again!

So you can think about it too:

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding... And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy”                -Khalil Gibran

Love and hugs from Clare