Cherry Rainbowfrost

My friend Jill posted a link on Facebook where you could get your fairy name.  Cute and silly, I thought at first.  Then I started liking the idea of a fairy name and wanted one of my own.

http://fairy.namegeneratorfun.com/F/noelle/haggerty

Click this link to read about the fairy me, Cherry Rainbowfrost.

From there, you can get your own fairy name.

It's fun to read these things.  They spark your imagination.  They break us of the habitual thinking.

She brings good fortune.  My farm fresh egg business is supplying many with a delicious breakfast while funding my need for hen feed.

She lives in fruit orchards and vineyards.  Certainly that explains my enjoyment of a good wine.

She can only be seen during the first snow of winter.  Well yes, because if it snows more than that, I'll hibernate with the bears.

She wears red, cerise and purple berry colors and has multicolored wings like a butterfly.  A true red is flattering as is a purple or blue.  My wings guide me around the ranch all day doling out little butterfly kisses to all my animals.  They lend air to my smooth glide across the dance floor.  They bring me back home safely so I may recharge my battery to glow like a firefly, a welcome beacon for living creatures.

So, as I bid adieu, I am lifting my satin satchel of prosperity upon my gentle wings of the rainbow.  I shall gradually empty my satchel of prismatic dust flakes on the shoulders of those with space to catch them.

Ahhhh, what a better frame of mind to have when leaving the house!







 

Put Some Spring in Your Step

It's funny how this one hour time change can really make you rethink your daily routine.  It seems a luxury and a burden at the same time.

Opting for the luxury and in light of sleeping in until 8:10am, now known as 9:10am, and the weather that is changing on the hour, I'm officially declaring today as my day off.

As much as one person who must feed and care for 2 dogs, 1 cockatiel, 4 horses, 2 goats, 12 hens, a rooster, 6 cats, 50+ Mallards, and countless wild birds, can take a day off, I am.

My day off began after the morning feed, putting rain sheets on the horses because the next few days call for on and off wet weather, washing out a hoof wound on Kenna (no easy feat,) defending my friend Duncan from my spring-bitten goats, selling another dozen of eggs, and cleaning Pooker's cage.

I came in the house, lit some calming Indian incense, and sat down to an enjoyable bowl of hot cereal with fruit and walnuts, a hard boiled egg, prune juice and delimateliciouslatte.  Pooker sat on my shoulder chirping to let me know when she wanted the next bite of her cereal.  I looked out onto the pasture, watching my animals pick at the greening grass under the changing sky. My breakfast was accompanied by the gurgling sound the hens make as they get comfortable in the sun under my window and by the songs of the Red Winged Blackbirds visiting the feeder.  Pleasant.  I am liking this concept of a day off.

On a day off, one has so many options.  Where do I start?  Feed the hens some cantaloupe.

Then, as it is my day off to do decadent things, I would try out the DVD drive for my new MacBook Air so I can load the new Microsoft Office and transfer files from my ailing HP to the Mac.  As a result of this silly choice,  New Rules #43 started brewing.

The product key for Microsoft Office used to be on the box, remember this? 

Now, I must go on-line to Microsoft's "getkey" site and use the PIN code on the back of the box, cleverly hidden under a scratch off box, coin required, which after I enter a long series of letters and numbers brings me to a Windows Live window, which I only logged in to one other time long ago when it was required for something I can't remember, so then I have to go to my old email account and search for a Windows Live email which would have my password information, which I can't find so I must request a new password, wait for that email to come, then log in at Windows Live to change my password, but I must log out and log back in from the Microsoft window otherwise it does not bring up the product key that I have been trying to get for the past 10 minutes.

Whew.  Product key found.  Now to the Mac to enter the long code, a series of numbers and capital letters, using the top row of numbers because the wireless ten-key pad that I bought hasn't been installed yet. 

Time for a nap.

New Rules: #37

Companies must agree on a standard format for on-line log-ins and passwords.

Today, while attempting to recharge my Starbucks card on-line, I had to register.  Do you remember when registering used to be just entering your email address?

Now, registering requires your name, address, birth date, city of birth, a list of "click here if you don't want to receive" a variety of inbox fillers and then of course, a unique log-in and password.

Unique makes using your standard log-in impossible.  The Starbucks log-in has to be at least 6 characters and contain at least one digit.  (I'm holding back an urge.)  So, I create a new log-in different than my usual, hoping that I will remember it for the next recharge.

Now to the password.  Again, my standard password format, that I can remember, does not work.  It must be at least 6 characters, including a capital letter, and as you guessed it, at least one digit.  (I'm struggling to hold back the single digit urge.)

With a standard log-in format, we can still achieve the goal of not using the same password for all of our on-line accounts.  We will have a better chance of remembering our log-in and password without having to remember if this is the company that requires capital letters and a single digit.

And what if we do want to use the same password?

Calling Me Back

The snow covered mountains glowing under the moonlight on a clear crisp night is magical.  I witness this luminosity every turn of the calendar page as the moon waxes full.

I squint and stretch my neck forward, wondering if I'm really seeing

These rugged heaps of rock and earth

Light up like beacons

Guiding me back to the serenity of my animals.

Strengthening the Arab Voice

It's horse fever, I'm certain.

When you read the title of this post, what did you think?

I was perusing a back issue of my Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly magazine and saw an article with this title.  I flipped directly to page three.  There I found a photograph of a man standing beside a horse in a web halter.

I looked at the horse's face first, naturally, and didn't see the typical Arab characteristics, such as the dish.  The nostrils and eyes didn't look very Arab like and the body seemed larger than most Arabs.

Curious, I proceeded to the text, after all this was an article.  The article was about Mohammed Jiyad, a senior lecturer in Arabic language and literature at MHC, and how he has seen the interest in Arabic studies change over the 25 years he has been at the college.

When he first started teaching, he had about six students in his class.  This past year he had 30.  He talks about the need for Arabic speakers in government, banking and business and mentions students studying overseas.

Mohammed grew up with horses in Iraq and has several Arab horses of his own.   Aside from this brief mention of his horses, no more than those few words, there was no discussion or question about horses in this article.

Here I am thinking the article was about strengthening the interest in Arabian horses somehow by showing a man with a Quarter Horse, when it was about the Arab language and its role in global affairs.

The piece was interesting.  I prefer my interpretation of the title.

Bend at its Finest

There is much I like about living in Bend.  I've been giving it a lot of thought lately.  Checking in, am I in the right place?

This morning, February 12, it is a superb Central Oregon winter morning.  Blue sky, crisp views of the snow covered Cascades, windless, warming sun, the smell of a morning wood stove burning, all makes 27 degrees thoroughly enjoyable.  I have not lived anywhere else where 27 degrees can feel warm.

Meeting people.  It's easy here.  People here are people people.  They like people.  They like to engage.  This is much different than anywhere else I have lived (well, Argentina was like that but I'm not sure it wasn't partly because I am con ojos claros.)  On a daily basis, when I leave the ranch, I have a conversation with someone I do not know.  Not just an exchange of pleasantries, but an actual dialogue.  They say that's good for warding off dementia.

In the last two days, two people have come over to me and introduced themselves and we had the most delightful conversation.  This is good stuff.

The animals are certainly something I have not experienced elsewhere.  I do my best to take time every day, regardless of my schedule, to sit and listen to what is around me.  Fortunately for me, I hear a lot of animal sounds.  I can hear the neighbor's rooster, and turkey when he has one, his cows and sheep.  I can hear horses from two ranches over, alpaca when they alarm, dogs from down the road.  Of course, the most prominent of sounds are my own animals.  They all like to chat; someone always has something to say.  It is a joy to take a moment to be present with the life force around me.

Activities are abundant in this town.  I'm not sure there is an off-season.  The community is very active in putting events together and getting out to support one another.  There is much to choose from, sometimes more than one can take in in a day.  One can visit a different yoga studio each day of the week and still not have visited them all.

Shopping is quite different here in Bend.  For starters, parking spaces are much bigger than any other place I have lived.  They are meant to accommodate the larger ranch vehicles and trailers that are common and quite necessary modes of transportation.  It doesn't matter what time of day you go to Target; I really like that.  What I buy is very different.  Now, my shopping list consists of pine shavings, hen crack (I'm pretty sure the packable label says scratch,) horse supplements, cat toys, SWAT to keep the flies off the horses, work gloves, turtlenecks, pants and shorts with good pockets, Wrangler jeans and much more along those lines.  When looking at a new pair of shoes, some habits never die, I consider how much the grass or pine shavings will stick to the shoe before purchasing them.

Neighbors are necessary.  When you live in an environment where things change on a moment's notice and just about anything can happen, having neighbors is critical.  We all know this.  It's a give and take and for any of us to get by, it must be.

People wave when you pass them on the road.
From my house to town, there is a 2 mile section that has a speed limit of 55mph.  Slower ahead.
Coffee shops are plenty, and not just Starbucks.
Farmers' markets are anticipated and well-shopped.
Restaurants do their part in shopping and serving local.
Going to the feed store is a social outing, plan to stay a while. Oh, and dogs are welcome.
The air is fresh.
Resources are respected.
The Sheriff looks after animals as much as people.
The laws protect animals.
There is a sliding scale for many services.
Being in a small town makes you think twice about what you say. Oddly it curbs some negative habits.

This list can go on and on.  It's good to sit and write what brings you joy.  Yes, we must find our own true joy within as well.  That can be a difficult lock to pick depending on your life experiences.  So, when the external forces are positive and joyful, that sticky lock gets a good lube job.

What brings you joy?

Missing a Friend

It was a card on the windowsill that triggered the lump in my throat.  Memories, emotions and longing hit me at once.  A year and a half later, I miss my friend, Tripper.

I don't think you ever get over the loss of a good friend.  They were your friend because your heart had a place for them to begin with.  They help fill your heart.  They brighten your heart.  And they can break your heart.

Heartache is deep.  It's so deep that time or new memories can't reach it.  A cushion can be made around it, to soften it, but no aspirin is great enough to make it disappear.

Through tears and the pang of loss, we can appreciate having loved a friend so dearly and we can feel fortunate for having that love shared.  It is beautiful, after all.

It's okay to take time to grieve again.  Our relationship with our friend is certainly unique.  They may have other friends, but the bond and connection between two individuals is in fact, individual, only, singular, just one.  That is something that is our treasure, to hold and cherish.

And that is why I think we have eternal heartache.  If it is lost from us, it is truly lost.