Meet Ralph

If you spend any time in the West Elm store, you would know how en vogue the Owl is: Every candle, ornament, pillow and blanket has an owl right now! If you know me, you know I have collected plenty of adorable Owl decor.. It seems i was inviting a real one into my life by decorating my home because now,  I have a real owl……
Meet Ralph, a Barred Owl that has been living in our Wedgwood backyard for a month or so. He/she is mysterious, beautiful and is charming us but making the chickens crazy.
It brings up a little question of what it means, you know in the 'woo-hoo' sense, to have an owl in your yard. I did a bit of lazy internet research to discover the Native American meaning. They have this wonderful way ( i am generalizing) of teaching us about ourselves through the animals that we have special encounters with.

I learned about this fortune-telling-through-animals while I  lived in Hawaii. My sister in law had a book called the Native American Medicine Cards which listed animals and their meanings. When you live there, amazing animal interactions were common and we found ourselves looking at it almost daily. I had major connections with sea turtles & spinner dolphins back then that made me feel completely connected to mother nature. Somehow, after moving back to Seattle and starting a family, I forgot to listen to the messages from the animals……..until Ralph arrived last month.
Here is what  I learned:

  "If Owl is your personal medicine, no one can deceive you about what they are doing, no matter how they try to disguise or hide it from you. You may be a little frightening to be around, since so many people have ulterior motives, which you see right through. If you are unaware of your medicine power, you may take your keen insights and abilities for granted. Others never do. You may frighten them and reflect their blindness, for you cannot be fooled. Owl medicine people know more about an individual's inner life than that person knows about herself or himself.

You are being asked to use your powers of keen, silent observation to intuit some life situation. Owl is befriending you and aiding you in seeing the total truth. Owl can bring you messages in the night through dreams or meditation Pay attention to the signals and omens. The truth always brings further enlightenment"

At the close of what seems to have been the hardest year of my life, I can honestly say that this animal connection and its message is very real to me. I have learned to listen to my instinct and pay attention--what I have found out about myself and others has been enlightening for sure.

I also found out that I like my Owl themed home decor items even more now; they will forever remind me of the fall I had an owl in my yard and discovered my true strength and my true boundaries.

Happy Birthday John Muir

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.
John Muir

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
John Muir

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
John Muir

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.
John Muir

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
John Muir

Walking home from the River. Twisp, WA.

One more photo from Twisp. We had an amazing summer day on the river. I think this photo captures the mood

perfectly...lazy and warm. Well Done Summer Day.-R

Bonnie and George's Place. Twisp, WA

“Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed. We need wilderness preserved - as much of it as is still left, and as many kinds - because it was the challenge against which our character as a people was formed. The reminder and the reassurance that it is still there is good for our spiritual health. It is important to us when we are old simply because it is there - important, that is, simply as an idea.”

Wallace Stegner