Life in Geezerville: Hummingbird Edition

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The following was told to me by Karen...a special friend in the 'hood...and I hope you are touched by the story as I am.

It starts on a typical morning with Karen walking into her garden to see if the hummingbird feeders need to be filled, when she sees a tiny hummingbird on the ground, belly-up. She's sure the little bird is dead, so she goes into the house for a tissue to wrap up the bird. As she picked up the colorful little bird, it moved. Karen said to the little bird, "You're alive! Would you like some water?" 

She carefully wrapped the hummer in the tissue, making a tiny nest,  and brought "her" inside. Karen was convinced the bird was a girl, as she was super tiny. Karen put a drop of water on her fingertip and gently put it onto her beak. The bird moved her tiny head to get some more water and Karen continued to give her drops of water. Soon the bird looked at Karen and started to move some in the tissue. 

Karen placed the tissue with the bird on her counter and started talking to her in a calm, soothing voice and the little bird responded by moving back and forth. Then, Karen turned her head away from the bird, and suddenly she flew out of the tissue and toward the light of the window, but she fell to the floor. Karen told the little bird that she would take her outside and lo and behold, the bird let Karen pick her up in her hand. Karen said the tiny bird weighed less than a penny it was so light. 

She brought the bird back to the garden and placed her on the "hummingbird bush" (the bush the other hummingbirds like to hang out on). Karen thought the little bird would fly away, but she stayed on the bush for several minutes, all the while Karen talked to her. Finally, she stretched her wings and flew away. 

Can you imagine holding a hummingbird in the palm of your hand? Can you imagine dripping water on the hummingbird's long beak? For a bird that's smaller than a second and faster than light, Karen touched a hummingbird--and the hummingbird touched her too. What an amazing tale to tell.

When Karen told me this story she said that was the second time she had saved a hummingbird. That's so special. 

Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. They are brave, long distance flyers, with an attitude...that's how they survive...and every so often a friendly human helps one out. That's the important part--helping out. Remember, we're all in this together.  

Life in Geezerville: Going to School Edition

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Today I went back to school--and I was not the teacher. Like most teachers, I'm not a good student, as teachers are used to being in the driver's seat. Today I was a good student. I was learning a new skill and I enjoyed the process. You might wonder what I was doing? Well...I was doodling. Don't get me wrong,  I've doodled  most of my life, but this was different. I was learning how to make my doodles look good and interesting...like the sample above...something my doodles have never done. 

Our group is named "Desert Doodlers" and our teacher is a fireball of energy and talent. I went with 2 other women in my 'hood...and the three of us had a grand time. There were about 20 other women in the class in addition to us 3 newbies. Our Instructor, took us in hand and gave us a private lesson overviewing what had been taught in previous sessions. We learned about shape, shading and form while having a good time. We not only learned the basics, we were given an assignment, which we have one month to complete. In the meantime, we've planned some practice sessions in the 'hood. We want to do our instructor proud.

I had fun learning something new. Doodling is certainly out of my milieu. It's definitely not writing an academic article, nor is it crocheting.  It's about time I started doing something different. Doodling with the Desert Doodlers is going to be fun. To that end, if you have an opportunity to learn a new skill, go for it. Not only is it good to get out and meet new people, it's a chance to learn a new skill. Doodling seems to be great fun. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Valentine Edition

 

Fifty-too-many years ago, the other DrC and I became officially engaged. He had asked me to marry him before February 14, but--that was the day he gave me a diamond solitaire engagement ring. I knew a ring was coming but I did not know when, so I was surprised on that very special Valentine's Day. 

We had shopped for rings and decided upon a particular diamond for me, and a special wedding ring for him. I did not know what my ring would look like, as he was going to design it. When the ring arrived, it was not what he planned, but he gave it to me with the proviso that we would take it back and get it "done right."  So, we took the ring back the next day, and had it remade to his design. No matter what--WOW! I was officially engaged to be married. 

At the time, I was teaching elementary school and all of the kids at school were so excited to see my new ring and hear of my new status. I don't think they had ever had a teacher get engaged before. It was a special event. The hard part was HE wanted to get married ASAP and I wanted to wait so I could plan an event. Turns out we got married 7 weeks later, not a lot of time for planning. It was a busy 7 weeks but everything got done on time. 

Since then, we've spent a lot of Valentine Days together. Does it get any better? So, on this Valentine's Day, I wish my hunny a Happy Valentine's Day...and I wish you and your hunny a Happy Valentine's Day too. Love does make the world go round. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Pink Tutu Edition

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Many years ago when I was a university administrator, I found lots of things about the job wonderful and controllable...but there were "things" or "people" I had no control over...and they were annoying. When one of them "went off" there was not much I could do. This was more than stressful because, like so many other people, I like to be in control. In an effort to reduce that stress, I learned biofeedback which has continued to be an important tool in my tool belt. 

Derek, my biofeedback teacher, was calm and patient with me. In every session, he outfitted me in a set of electrodes on my head and a thermometer between my thumb and index finger. He would have me visualize ways to relieve stress when I was confronted with an annoying and uncontrollable situation. The most effective tool for ME was to visualize the "annoyer" in a pink tutu dancing a merry ballet. It was an absurdly ridiculous visualization, but it worked. All the electrodes connected to me would twinkle light blue and my temperature would increase (indicating calmness) when I thought of that annoying person or thing dancing in a bright pink tutu.

Nowadays, I'm not dealing with lot of annoying people, but I learned there are things I can control and things I cannot control (like the news?). If I cannot control what is happening, I visualize that "thing," being person or object, wearing a bright pink tutu doing a pirouette. It does the trick every time. That visualization takes my mind off the problem, and makes me think of the tutu, and voila I calm down. I learned how to fight the battles I could win...and the others were not worth fighting. 

It took awhile to find the pink tutu...there were other visualizations that Derek recommended like a favorite location, or a magical moment, or a favorite person or car...but the absurdity of the pink tutu did the trick. I'm a believer in the pink tutu.

So, if you feel that things are spiraling out of control, find your inner pink tutu. It just might make things better for you. For things you can control, you can take other actions...but, when stuff gets out of your control, find your inner pink tutu and start visualizing away. It works for me. Remember, we're all in this together. 

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Life in Geezerville: Funnies Edition

Sometimes I see funnies (which other folks call memes) that strike my funny bone. Here are few of them

Need I say more? I bet you know a few of these zombies

 

There seems to be an app for everything, why not the toilet?

It's good to be multilingual? 

This is the truth

Hahaha

A cat lover knows this is true

...and I'm still not asleep.

A little laughter makes things a little easier. I hope you enjoyed them. Remember, we're all in this together. 

Life in Geezerville: Super Bowl Edition

Guess what? The geezers in the hood are having a pre-Super Bowl party. That's what geezers do....we love to party. There's going to be food and drinks and fun warm-up games to play and did I say there were going to be lots of snacks, and lot's of talk as we get in the mood for the big game on Sunday. That Super Bowl party will be even bigger.  Our pre-party is on Saturday night....and I have a confession to make...you have to be ready for this... ... ... I'm not a football fan. I know, that's almost unAmerican to say, but it's the truth. I know about sports don't get me wrong, but my life does not revolve around sports. Am I the only person out there who is not a true sports aficionado? Am I lacking something in my DNA? NO. You might think that's kinda sad, but it's not. Football just does not float my boat.

Will I go to the pre-party? Yes. Will I stay for the action? NO. I can't do it. My back can't handle the pain nor can my brain. It's not entertainment for me. I will love the party...just not the game. I'm a geezer and I'm old enough and brave enough to say that. I don't like seeing people inflict pain on each other for the love of football. I don't understand it. Gees...I think I said something really weird! Can I say stuff like that? I just did...and it's all right. Remember, we're all in this together.

Zion 2.0

The glory that is Zion. Around here you see names like "Crimson Desert" or "Coral Dunes" or 

"Red Rock Canyon" -- because that's the color you see. The huge mountains are shades of red, gold, tan, brown, white, and pink. Many of them are splashed with  black or white desert varnish, adding definition  to their rocky forms, making the reds deeper, the golds shinier, the whites whiter.

The mountains caress the sky...and in the winter, that sky is a wonderful clear blue. See that white patch in the middle of the picture--that's a frozen waterfall. It's that cold right now. On the west side of the park, there's not any snow, but there is snow on the east side. It's cold outside.

That's just one of the frozen falls in the Canyon

The tip of the "Great White Throne" can be seen here...part of the color of the place.

Later in the day, we went to Springdale, UT. In 1973, the first time we camped at Zion, we stayed in a very small 4 space RV park in what was then a tiny town. The Blue Moon campground was named after an old Blue Moon trailer that served as the office for the campground. We liked that little camp except for the ants--thousands of ants wanted to invade our little motorhome--one of the "joys of camping." We learned, and the next year we brought ant spray and were not bothered by them. I mention this, because we can't find where that campground was located. Springdale has changed from a sleepy hamlet to a tourist spot. Blue Moon CG was near the border between Springdale and Zion. Today, that same spot, is a very nice "tourist" mall with a market, gift shops, galleries, museums, paved "trails" a parking lot, etc. Very civilized and a far cry from "ant-camp" of over 50 years ago.  But, we did see something that harkens back even farther in time.. 

One of a pair of Mexican ox-cart wheels displayed outside the market. Long before we came to Zion as children, goods were hauled in two-wheeled ox-carts pulled by either one or two oxen. I see an artifact like this wheel, and I wonder about its "story?" What it hauled, what it "saw," who made it, and who worked the oxen?  I will never know, but I can imagine.

Some parting shots of Zion...our time in this gorgeous red rock canyon is coming to a close for this little vacation as we are leaving soon.

We had a great (little) escape!

 

Zion National Park

We are at Zion National Park in southern Utah. It's a magical place. It's one of nature's cathedrals. Peaceful and beautiful and one step toward heaven. It's that good. Because it's a National Park, it has not been over-developed--but it has been over-loved. In the summertime, this place is alive with people and more people...but in the chill of winter, it's a quiet park with a few folks and lots of gorgeous red rocks.

I love this arch...as there's an old native cache hidden in it. Every time we come to Zion, we look for the cache and wonder what the ancient ones hid inside of it. It's high on the cliff and not easy to get too, so I'm sure it was protected from animals invading the yumminess inside. Can you find the cache? Stretch the picture and you might find it on the left hand side of the arch. Happy hunting.

One of our favorite walks in the park starts here and goes to the Narrows of the Virgin river. It's a mile long and filled with beauty. When you are here, plan to walk the Narrows Trail. It's relatively easy and you won't be disappointed.

Hidden in the back of forest was a lone deer dressed in her winter coat. We saw about 6 deer--all are dark brown and shaggy...they get swallowed into the background and are hard to find...but if you look carefully you will see a ear twitch or a jaw munch on something...and then you'll see the deer hiding in the brush keeping safe from the tourons.

The Virgin River flows thru the park and this time of year it is frigid. There were patches of ice on the riverbanks telling us it was not a good place to take a hike. One of the good things to do in Zion is look at the mountains and listen to the babbling river.

I've been coming to Zion since the early 50s, and the other DrC has been coming since the late 40s. We've seen the park thru the eyes of a child, teenager, young adult and now as seniors. The scenery always amazes us. We think of Zion as an "upside down Grand Canyon." At the Grand, you look at the canyon from the top--it's truly grand but way too much to comprehend. At Zion, you are at the bottom of the canyon looking up and it's easier to understand. These mountains are HUGE and we people are Teeny-tiny. The mountains are painted with desert varnish and the colors change to the time of day and the season. The park changes and yet it never changes. It's just a wonderful place to be.