Fuzzy Fingers of Fungus

 

Fuzzy white fingers of fungus are growing out of a birch log in my wood stack. Aaagh! They're coming to get me!

Part of the fun of Halloween is the thrill of fear that doesn't last too long. Feel the fear of fuzzy fingers growing out of a log.... Coming to get me! Aaaagghhh. (But not really. :) Ha. Ha.

Often, fear is no laughing matter. Fear lodges in our muscles and organs. Fear lodges in our minds, and our neural pathways keep running over the same ruts.

The antidote to fear is friendliness. Loving-friendliness to our self, first of all. And then, if and when we can, to the scary thing. Start with the easy stuff.

I'm feeling loving-friendliness toward white fuzzy fingers of fungus.

Bambi in the Neighborhood

Yesterday, i saw Bambi standing in the middle of our private dirt road, all alone. She zipped off as soon as she saw me approaching.

Last week, my neighbor had the tractor-mower come and mow her half-acre meadow. About half-way through, the driver jumped off the tractor and waved his hands in the air. Newborn Bambi was lying in the tall grass, not moving a muscle.

I can tell you, a week later, all Bambi's muscles are in good working condition!

This morning, on my tour around my vegetable garden, i see that 3 of the tomato plants i planted outside the garden fence have been nibbled off by deer. That cute, innocent Bambi becomes a deer with an appetite.

The deer is just doing what deer do. The gardener is just doing what a gardener does. The plants do what plants do.

I don't need to have an opinion about any of it.

Naked Gardening Day

Today is World Naked Gardening Day. Just you and your garden, together in the buff. No one other than the tulips and rhubarb needs to see you.

Naked Gardening Day is not about beautiful bodies. It could be about noticing that even beautiful bodies are not actually beautiful. The bag of skin holds muscles and bones together. Muscles look like meat, which is not particularly beautiful. And bones look like skeletons, which are not beautiful either.

The body serves us well for all these decades. If we take a close look, we might realize that our 70 percent water bodies are not different from the water out of the tap, in the hose, or in the birdbath. The air that passes into our nostrils and bodies is no different than the air that surrounds us. The "earth" element of our bodies--including calcium, phosphorus, and batches of trace minerals--are no different than the chemical elements around us.

So, why exactly, do we compare our body with anyone else's body? What's the point? Rather, compare your body to a river or to your garden, because all of our bodies are composed of the same material elements.

Be one with Nature, today!