Sugarloaf Hike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's green and lush in SE Minnesota these days.  We've had lots of rain and all the growing plants are drinking it in and loving all that delicious moisture.

 

Lust green ferns cover the under story.

 

Sunday, June 12 was mostly overcast.  

There is a bluish tint to all of our bluff lands created by the varieties of trees including the birches as seen in the foreground of this picture.

Seeing a bit of Winona, Minnesota and the bluffs.

Here's a picture looking down river with Winona on the left. The road in view is Highway 61 heading south toward La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Sky, bluffs and the Mississippi River in the distance.  

Autumn Skies in Minnesota

 

The autumn skies in November are the most amazing 

blue.  The dry air and the slant of the sun create the intense color.  

This is overlooking Winona. We have two lakes that you can see 

in this picture. The triangle in the foreground is a 

shadow of the bluff.  This is a late afternoon photo.  In the distance, 

past the large white buildings is the Mississippi River.

The clouds in this sky picture are very interesting.  

The is Sugarloaf in Winona.

The tree branches and the clouds echo one another.

This is looking West up river.  In Winona, the Mississippi River 

takes a bend and runs East/West instead of its normal 

direction of North/South.

I am grateful for this beauty.

The sandstone is eroding away.  

See you next time!

River Walks to Raise the Energy with Joy

 

The sun is setting on the Mississippi River near my home.  I walk through the neighborhoods to see and  smell the water, the plants and the animals that make their home here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sky and clouds change the color of the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pure blue sky makes pure blue river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see cloud reflections on the water.  Are they clouds making a happy dance on the water?

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

The vastness of the sky makes our land feel small.  Is the vastness inside of us?

This Rumi poem intrigues me:

"You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop." 

 

And though living near the Mississippi River is not the ocean, it is a vast and mighty river that is home to many.  Maybe we are not a drop in the river, we are the entire river in a drop.

Enjoy exploring your neighborhoods.  What will you find?  Can we raise the energy of joy with our eyes, ears, noses, minds wide open?  I want to try.

 

 

 

Sacred Creativity Ritual

 

The Mississippi River was calling me and this is the place.  This is a little backwater and the thin strip you see beyond is the main channel.

I applied a temporary tattoo to get ready for the ritual.  "Head up, wings out."

The river called to me to do my claiming sacred creativity and committing to her/me.  I found a place that was dappled in sunlight yet under some trees on the back waters of the Mississippi River on May 6, 2021.  It called to me: this is your place. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took out of my pack a dress to do ritual and a butterfly cape to wear.  When I looked down beside me, there was a skull—a deer had been here a long time ago and only her skull was partly showing out of the leaves.  The skull looked peaceful and like a good sign that I was in the right place.

 

 

I laid out a colorful cloth that I’d made many moons ago that said, “Art is the Way.” On the cloth I put a candle, a taro deck a small journal to write or draw or paint.  Some paints.

 

I called in my guides and ancestors: my mother, grandmother and all who loved me to be with me and guide this sacred time.  Then I called in the power of the four directions.  I wrote my intention for the ritual and then let it go with burning—laying aside the leaves to make a small fire—not too big because it had been quite dry and I wanted to honor the space and not harm it with an out of control fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I breathed in the beauty of the place.  Several fish jumped to let me know they were present.  I painted a scene about the trees that were being witness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I pulled the card the “Three of Pipes.”

“It is time to await opportunity expectantly or wander seeking pieces of the dream. 

“You may have periods of melancholy due to the intense uncertainty in your life right now.  Flow with them. Watch them pass.

We (Spirit and you) will reach fulfillment on the path Creator has laid before you.  Trust enough to take the first step Let yourself be guided by dreams and visions.

Look for signs.

Trust you Inner Response

Follow that wish calls you to the deepest level; respond to that which creates all-engrossing enthusiasm.

Let the Universe lead.”

I left an offering of a rock with a heart I painted on it. 

I danced and sang by the river.

And as I closed and thanked the directions I gathered my things.  My first step out of the ritual was with Intention. That step felt as light as a bird taking flight.  I was on my way.