Last Night of Retreat

On the last evening of our month-long silent meditation retreat, we walked into the dark dining hall to find jack-o-lanterns on every table. The staff had a lot of fun carving them and then surprising us with them.

This is a feature of generosity: It feels good to think about it and plan it and it feels good to actually give. Two good feelings for the price of only one gift.

Tick Heaven

I'm going on a month-long silent retreat in tick heaven. The ticks have been asleep all summer, but now that the weather has turned cool, the ticks are out and about again until the freezing temperatures arrive in earnest (like all day long).

I am spraying my month's worth of clothes with permethrin--pants, tops, undershirts, fleece, jacket, hat, and gloves. Then I use TickShield for my arms, neck, and hair. Permethrin is made from chrysanthemums, and TickShield is made from cedar oil. Natural protection.