Moments of Awareness

Our first experience in a natural disaster of significant proportions was the Dennis-Floyd-Irene hurricane event in September and October of 1999. We lived in Onslow County at the time, which some of you will know as the home of Camp LeJeune. Dude was stationed with the USMC at nearby New River Air Base. We were in the eye of at least three hurricanes in the course of our eight-ish years in Florida (at NACCS near Pensacola) and North Carolina. The eye, for those who don't know, is the main cyclone in the middle of any tropical system, like a tornado only bigger and wetter but with generally lower wind speeds. From a ground-based perspective one will see a distinct wall of clouds, wind, and rain driven relentlessly in one direction, followed by clear, still, blue skies and then another distinct wall of wind et al going the opposite direction. We felt the effects of many other tropical storms and hurricanes, but being in the eye of a system packing that much power is a distinct an...

Originally published in the: The inexorable march of time continues and this year is nearly at an end. It’s been a good one in Robie Creek, and amongst Owl Creekers as well, we trust. Roxanne talked at times in her articles about the turning seasons and the part they have played and continue to play in celebrations throughout known civilizations. I don’t share her depth of knowledge on the subject [check out her articles in the OCG for a closer look], but as for most people, for us November’s been a time of counting our blessings and December is time to divvy them up and redistribute the excess, the origins of the traditions that have become among other holidays Thanksgiving in the northern ⅔ rd s of  North America and Christmas in much or most of the world. These are the traditions in which I was raised and through which I remain comfortable epitomizing these parts of the seasonal cycle. Others may choose to apply different names, traditions, and customs but I believe th...

Originally published in the: Hello again! How are things in your neck of the woods? All remains well here in Robie Creek. Most of the leaves have fallen now, making a bright-yellow-and-brown carpet beneath white-barked alders, green-and-brown firs and pines, and bright-red first-year redosier dogwood branches. Spotty bits of ‘quilt batting’ snow that have gathered here and there will soon be part of a thick white duvet keeping the earth snug as the proverbial bug in its apparently very cozy rug (an apropos simile, given the level of insect activity that never stops beneath it). It’s been an interesting summer. Dude’s job has taken him from active wildfires to roads redirected by rivers and landslides through breathtaking mountain vistas to blown-out mining tailings ponds. I’ve been interested to learn along the way, among other things, that processes using solar energy and chlorine can go a long way toward restoring areas contaminated by those ponds. Of course the use of chl...

Originally published in the: A friend said to me in the middle of September, “How can you be doin’ autumny stuff? Summer’s not even over!” Well, halfway across the country to the east and south, and 3,000 feet closer to sea level, no, indeed it was not, but here the leaves would be falling soon from a very light freeze the night before that conversation. Now we’ve got full-blown fall color and if there hasn’t been snow on the ground yet, there soon will be. My hunting season is winding down – hunting of bugs for the bug-eating members of our household, that is – while hunting season for large mammals is ramping up. Dude may go this year with a friend, another disabled vet from down the road, depending upon Dude’s work schedule and the weather. He’s not a hunter by nature but it’s good to keep those skills intact on the off chance they should be needed. I’m convinced that if it came to that kind of survival situation we could do just fine with plants provided we’d gathered and p...

I use all AquaClear (AC) filters, as after a period of initial noisiness the impeller and well become sufficiently coated with biofilm* to run silently and well without reductions in performance, as long as care is taken with them and worn parts are replaced on the rare occasion the need arises. The design is simple, making them easier to repair thanks to fewer moving parts. Extra pipes are easily added so the filter pulls water from the deepest parts of the tank where nitrates can otherwise settle. They are, however, not self-starting, requiring a cup or two of tank water to be poured into the body before plugging them in. I've tried several other filter brands and keep those on hand as spares - with seasoned media stored where it will retain its population of beneficial bacteria - but always end up coming back to the ACs as my filters of choice. I run multiple filters per tank, an AC20 and AC30 on the twenty-gallon long (20G-L), and two AC30s and an AC50 on the fifty-five-...

Originally published in the: The time of late-season harvest is upon us, has been for the last couple weeks. Summer started winding down in mid-August and it’s time to get things trimmed and ready for next year. Time to remove summer growth from plants that aren’t where we want to see them and spread seeds where we want them to be. Roots have spent their energy, and plants are old enough to distinguish one from another, even the little ones that popped up late for a run at another season. Removing all the foliage requires the plant to regrow it and leaves any roots weaker when winter arrives, while trimming only upper and outer foliage and seedheads from what we want to have thrive allows it to continue to produce fuel as it sets second and third crops as well as building heartier roots for next year before they go dormant. Carrying the clippings around in my basket or box as I go spreads the seeds without exhausting them. Some will shake off and many will remain on the plan...

The deal has always been, "Your body, your choice." He started talking about it a few weeks ago, and Dude Jr. decided today that this is the day he wants to have his first haircut ever. He played at a little live-action Assassin's Creed while he waited for Dad to get home, wanted to run it by him one last time before we went ahead, and then we got started. He's very pleased that he has enough left to not be completely bald, and he likes his look a lot. He says he feels like a 'whole new person', he enjoys that his shirts go over his head more easily, and that the new 'do doesn't catch on tree branches. Here's a greatly-condensed 3+-minute version of the buzz in progress, from before to after: Enjoy! :)

I've enjoyed my time away from social networking very much. (Thank you all for the birthday wishes; it was an excellent day. :) ) Social media's been a part of my life for nineteen years, and as I am wont to do when the mood takes me (look back to where Energy of the Day started on this blog, its second incarnation, as Energy of the Month ; sometimes I've taken years off from that), I'm shifting my focus for the next while back to video. I love makin' videos, and I've been away from it for over a year, since before MOA went off the air (again), as it is also wont to doing. As always it had a good run, and as always it'll be back somewhere, someday. :) I've been workin' (at work), workin' on the outdoor stuff, workin' on the fish tanks (got a deal we couldn't turn down on a fifty-five-gallon long with accoutrements; thanks, Rick), workin' on that writing project some of you have heard so much about, either from its beginning ninetee...

Originally published in the: Greetings once again from Robie Creek. We’re moving into the height of fire season now. Rainfall patterns this spring on the heels of a dry-ish winter have left us with a lot of overgrown but abnormally dry wildfire fuel in the understory. As the hot, dry weather usual to this time of year has settled in, smoke forecasts have become again part of our daily weather report, and on very smoky days the air has a sunset-orange hue at high noon. It’s really quite beautiful, and gives us a taste of what it’ll be like for a few months if Rainier goes off or a few years if Yellowstone does. The haze does keep it a little cooler when it’s thick, and right now the major fires are fifty miles to the west and north of us, no immediate danger. This year’s fires have been largely lightning-initiated – people have, so far, been cautious – starting in clusters and running together quickly into large complexes, but wildland firefighters from the Forest Service and BLM...

Originally published in the: So Dude’s working for the Forest Service now, and it’s put us in mind of what they do to preserve and protect the resources we so enjoy living amongst here on the Creek. As government organizations go, their mission, “[c]aring for the land and serving people”, is one we can get behind, and one that, if the FS office here in Idaho is any indication, its agents take seriously. Restoring and maintaining natural resources in such a way as to allow for the people who want to use them in the many ways we all need and want to is a daunting task. Many of Idaho’s waterways and their denizens, for instance, not only still suffer the effects of mining operations from the Boise Basin gold rush but are under continuing duress from phosphate mining and energy production operations among other things. People also want to use them recreationally, for boating, swimming, fishing, and panning. Our grasslands, used by farmers, ranchers, hunters, campers, hikers, and...

Hey folks, I'm kinda in the weeds right now, gotta catch up on some stuff (namely work, and work), and much as I love doin' the Eot* s they're gonna have to take a backseat for a little bit. Hopefully we'll be back with 'em before too long. In the meantime, take good care and have a blast! Love y'all, Peace

Children, again your dreams are at the forefront, but now it's the emotions you invest that inform the work you're willing to put into making them happen; to the degree that you can control your agitation when things don't go your way, this is your lucky day. For all of us cycles of sorrow are coming to an end, and where we've figured out how to put our pain to good use in helping those around us stay on course we find our own paths similarly illuminated. We yearn to expand our future prospects, and now is the time to focus our efforts on doing so through conversations with our partners, friends, and families regarding the improvement of ourselves and our homes. Page of Cups | Earth of Water | Pisces (activating Neptune Rx in the Sixth & Chiron & Moon in the Seventh ) | Saturn Rx in Scorpio in the Third | Saturn Trine (s) Chiron | Moon , Saturn & Chiron Trine & Neptune Sesquisquare (all s) Jupiter (in Cancer in the Eleventh )...

We are rarin' to go at work today, full of things to say and eager to get the wheels in motion when it comes to building on the dreams of our loved ones, which is best achieved by separating ourselves from that to which we are attracted in favor of what makes sense to strive for. It's okay to be guided by nostalgia to the degree that it leads us toward the ideals we grew up with, but focusing on the pain we bring forward from our pasts will make it difficult to get ahead, especially within our partnerships. Family and friends are our lucky charms under this energy, and nurturing their hopes is the best way to make use of the sorrow we feel around the material wishes we know are no longer in our own best interests. Six of Cups | Sun (in Gemini in the Tenth ) in Scorpio (activating Saturn Rx in the Third ) | Sun Semisextile (a) & Saturn Opposite (s) Venus (in Taurus in the Ninth )/ Semisextile & Trine (both s) Jupiter (in Cancer in the Eleventh )/ Sq...

Ladies, it's hard for us to bring it down to earth today and do the work involved in self-improvement, but research brings us awareness of a creative approach to reducing emotional friction around the destruction of those things that no longer serve us in our partnerships. For all of us, training in new areas of technology allows us to remove blocks that are preventing us from communicating in ways that will help to advance our careers and shift our consciousnesses in terms of our communities. Pursuing the dreams we have for and with our families plays a big role in making us better people now, and the processes of breaking down and rebuilding what holds us back, of depriving ourselves of what we think we want in favor of what we really need, opens doors to pleasure we weren't aware we could find in what we do for a living. Queen of Swords | Water of Air | Virgo (activating Ascendant Conjunct {a} Pallas in the First ) | Moon in Aquarius in the Sixth | Moon Oppo...

Ladies, spending some time considering what we're creating in the world and what we'll leave behind leads to feeling amorous and desirable today, but a bit agitated where work and dreams get in the way of saying what needs to be said. It's important for all of us here that we persevere when it comes to communicating the things we hope for with our friends and those with whom we share our homes, and to keep irritability in check with our families when we have a hard time discerning the motivations of those around us. Resolution of issues around our careers is found by taking a close look at what draws us to them, and we find ourselves with a party in our pants when we achieve a measure of understanding around just what it is we're wishing for. Queen of Cups | Water of Water | Scorpio (activating Saturn { Rx } in the Third ) | Neptune { Rx } in Pisces in the Seventh | Saturn Sesquisquare & Neptune Trine (s) Mercury ( Rx in the Tenth )/ Trine &...

Men, the investments you make in your families today pay off in increased financial independence and improvement in any home business you run. We can all stand to indulge in a little romantic daydreaming under this energy, especially with regard to the material things we'd like to provide to our friends and significant others. However, while talking about these wishes bolsters our good fortune now, making them happen is another story and the best way past the obstacles in our way is to be pragmatic about the reality of the situation and go with the flow rather than pushing for instant gratification. King of Cups | Fire of Water | Cancer (activating Mercury { Rx } in the Tenth & Lilith { Rx } Conjunct {s} Jupiter in the Eleventh ) | Mercury Trine (a) & Lilith & Jupiter Square (a/s) North Node (in Libra in the Second ) Eot* can be found at 1AM MT daily at: Moments of Awareness, LLC   or MOA’s Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subscribe to Eot* by Email...

There's an emotional choice to be made this week regarding the physical energy we intend to put into the workings of our homes and how we'll address the turbulence any changes we make now may cause in our partnerships. We have our doubts concerning what we should do with and about the things we share with our significant others, but a creative approach to expanding the scope of our alliance allows for the forging of an effective new beginning. Anticipation of the friendly support of those around us facilitates acting in ways that aid us in making the most ideal use of what we have toward building that of which we dream. Two of Swords | Moon (in Pisces in the Seventh ) in Libra (activating Mars , Vesta , Ceres & North Node in the Second ) | Moon Quincunx (s) Mars / Sesquisquare (s) North Node | Mars Conjunct (a) Vesta & Ceres Conjunct (a) each other & North Node Eot* can be found at 1AM MT daily at: Moments of Awareness, LLC   or MOA’s Blog ...

Children, your dreams are big right now and you'll do well to follow them with the help of your closest allies, realizing that there'll be both work and pain involved in making them happen, and that that pain is part of the gift of understanding you're meant to give to others. All of us will be best served under this energy by speaking with whomever we come across about what needs to be done and where we need to work toward balance between career and family in order to create a legacy of which we can be proud. We're thinking ahead here with a deep desire to expand upon and make the most of what's come before, but it's important to keep our agitation in check where words and actions don't necessarily come together. Page of Cups | Earth of Water | Pisces (activating Neptune { Rx }, Chiron & Part of Fortune in the Seventh ) | Saturn Rx in Scorpio in the Third | Mercury Rx in Cancer in the Tenth | Mercury Sesquisquare (s) Saturn / Trin...

Time management is an issue today, and we find ourselves discouraged due to an inability to get our points across through the written word, whether to our families, friends, or colleagues. Disciplined perseverance and a creative emotional approach to tearing down that which stands in the way of achieving what we hope to at home, paying attention as we do to the well-being of our bones and joints, especially our knees, bring the best opportunities for what we build in its place to exceed our dreams. This part of the cycle is never fun, but keeping in mind that it is a cycle helps us look forward to the payoff for moving through it in a purposeful direction. Two of Pentacles | Jupiter (in Cancer in the Eleventh ) in Capricorn (activating Moon in the Fourth & Pluto Rx in the Fifth ) Eot* can be found at 1AM MT daily at: Moments of Awareness, LLC   or MOA’s Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subscribe to Eot* by Email ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit MOA's Donors page to lea...