Words & Images from the Grand Adventure

Looking at the mountains from Asheville, NC (5/11)

The entire purpose of this Adventure was to attend yet another gathering of my Home Tribe, also known as the Big Glow community. This time, however, I wanted to give myself some more time on the East Coast, instead of flying out, communing, and flying back home again lickety-split. So I "pencilled in" a drum circle to attend before the retreat, and some time to connect with other friends after the retreat; thus did three days (or so) turn into three weeks. As usual, I declared my intentions, and the Universe responded with a bounty of Experience beyond my humble expectations!

Something interesting and unexpected occurred during this Adventure of mine: I found myself reconnecting with the sensawunda I had as a girl, she who dreamed of solving the Mysteries of Nature when she grew up. As the Earth is my Mother, and my Family of Choice are my Soul Siblings, then I was "reintroduced" to a mess of cousins in the Natural World. (LOL) So let me point out some of the highlights of my Adventure - those moments that made the Little One within squeal in delight...mainly because this West Coast girl was seeing some native East Coast flora & fauna for the very first time with her own eyeballs! :-)

Mr. & Mrs. Goldfinch (Gerton, NC 5/11)

Insert first squeal of delight here, when I saw goldfinches, in their Summer Finery, feeding outside my hostesses' window! It took some stealthy ninja tactics to photograph them, but photograph them I did, with their permission!

Seagull. (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

I am familiar with seagulls, unless they have black heads. Then I stop and ask them if I can take their picture. These gulls fascinated me utterly, since they were a new variant on a familiar theme.

Jellyfish. (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

I must have seen at least a dozen jellyfish during my stay by the sea, washed up upon the shore at various times. Yes, I touched them, on their harmless domes - not on the bottom, where the nasty stinging tentacles are! I was surprised to feel that their domes were hard, almost plastic-feeling, and not anything like gelatinous.

Two wee sea anemones. (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

I love the ocean. As such, I am a bit biased in taking my pictures. ;-)
I loved seeing oysters instead of mussels on the rocks, and the different types of barnacles.

"Collage du Mer" (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

Grandmother Ocean arranged these shells so artfully. I did nothing except take this picture to admire Her creativity. :-)

Petrified Trees. (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

This was part of an entire forest of petrified trees & wood bits on the shoreline. It was a natural cathedral, and I spun up some impromptu ceremony in this sacred space.

The Postmistress. (Folly Beach, SC 5/11)

My sisters and I occasionally departed our beach Base O' Operations to make forays into town, or at least, places of denser population. I found this lovebug on one such excursion. Cat and Crow medicine followed me out to the East Coast; the latter birds wouldn't hold still long enough for me to document their presence! (LOL)

Blessing of the Chickens. (Mebane, NC 5/11)

Okay, I have seen chickens on the West Coast. However, they didn't come out to greet me and bless me with their presence like these did. (They thought I had food, but I didn't. They came to wander around my feet anyway.)

Leaf, with Dew. (Mebane, NC 5/11)

Animals weren't the only things that caught my eye...and Mother Earth is also a Divine Artist.

Cicada. (Mebane, NC 5/11)

Our retreat happened to unfold during the time the cicadas emerged from their long dormancy to mate and lay their eggs before perishing en masse. It was fascinating to hear the sound of their wingbeats fill the air with an almost extraterrestrial noise. It was not as fascinating to experience them as living hair accessories! At least, I wasn't as appreciative of that cicada in that moment... ;-)

Termites! (Gerton, NC 6/11)

Staying with the bug theme a moment longer, I was fascinated by this spontaneous mass migration of termites from a dead tree on the property of my hostess. My first thought when I saw this plethora of tiny wings flitting in the air? "Fairies!" There's an innocent child's remark! :-)

Gray Squirrel. (Gerton, NC 6/11)

Oh yes, the squirrel medicine followed me as well. I was equally amused and amazed by the ease with which they could gallop from branch to branch, tree to tree, earth to sky and back again. :-)

The "Finger Tree." (Atlanta, GA 6/11)

I was awed to see the hand rising up to the sky in this tree, so I received permission to take the picture. Can you see the hand?

Un duck. (Atlanta, GA 6/11)

I see ducks on the West Coast - just see some of my earlier entries - but not with this coloration of plumage.

Settling in for the night. (Atlanta, GA 6/11)

Duck, duck, Goose! Geese I don't see on the West Coast, so I was honored to catch a glimpse of this extended family during my brief stay in Georgia.

Star Flower. (Naples, FL 6/11)

 This flower caught my eye because it was a stand-out, regardless of what coast I'm on. Another Divine Work of Art.

Butterfly Trickster. (Naples, FL 6/11)

...and the Butterfly Medicine was present for me in the East as it is in the West. Their increased presence especially during the second half of my Adventure was a quiet reflection of the shifting that unfolded within me on the trip.

This shifting is still taking place in this moment...