March 27, 2014

changes in our lives



Well I am standing up computing.  
Decided to do this upon recommendation in a book I am reading on bio mechanics.  
Then I of course did research and lo and behold 
research says sitting is bad and lots of sitting way bad
and most of my time at home inside is computing, reading, SITTING....
although I am occasionally on my feet cooking or housecleaning.....now and again.

Why stand?

There is a staggering amount of convincing research about the perils of sitting. In the scientific world, it’s similar to how the community views global warming, smoking, and sugar consumption–overwhelming consensus. Sitting is bad for you. You are slowly killing yourself by sitting all day long.
Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic is one of the earliest and most vocal critics of sitting. In sources as varied as The New York TimesSalon, and Discovery News, Levine claims that “Excessive sitting is a lethal activity.” He is even credited with creating a name for what we’re facing: “sitting disease.”
Sitting all day long is so bad that it can’t even be outdone by exercise. There’s a phrase for what most of us are: “active couch potatoes,” who make a point of exercising each day, but otherwise spend the rest of the time sitting in the car, on the couch, or at a desk. Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist and research fellow in biology at Imperial College London who writes on the “influence of science and biology on modern life” for The New York Times, says,
Sitting all day long is so bad that it can’t even be outdone by exercise.
“It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.”
Sitting is bad because it’s incredibly passive and barely burns any calories. But the passivity is not the only reason sitting is bad. Excessive sitting has tangible impacts on how your body functions. 
“When you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you. As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.”

And the plus is that I am not computing as much which is a fine thing.

Other change - realized our little girl Indigo has been hurting.  
It snuck up on us little by little.  
We didn't realize she had stopped hopping on to the sofa 
until we asked her to jump into the car and she couldn't....not wouldn't couldn't.  
We got out a drug used last year 
and the improvement is dramatic and amazing AMAZING!

March 26, 2014

spotting in the field



One good thing about winter and snow is 
that I can see animals and tracks more easily.

Last Great Dane was white and this did not hold true.

Yesterday lunch time I saw a beautiful red/gold fox 
on the upper hill carrying something.
This would have not been seen without the snow.
When are land is covered in grasses, I lose this tool.  


March 24, 2014

creating

for whatever reason weaving is not happening.  No it is not.  
I pick up yarn and put it down.  
No urge to create on the loom.... at least not now.

In the meantime, lamb stew is about to be created
and that thrills me.

March 22, 2014

what if ~


Suppose this year we have snows until the end of April? 

 We have had snows  that late before, but we started 
with less snow or bare ground.  
It would take a long time to go off.  
So many are mooing about wanting Spring but. 
 It is March and it is Maine.

It seems a long winter, but other than the nuisances of the ice, 
it hasn't been incredibly bad.

Nature works at her own pace. 
Me getting upset 
because it doesn't work the way I want is foolish.  
If I am unhappy with Maine and its weather 
I probably should consider somewhere else.  
Winter is part and parcel of Maine.
Can I with grace accept that or not?
Being tired of or hating this weather is not going to change it.  

More than likely more snows are on the way.
My choices are ~
I can fight them or I can enjoy them.

 The Serenity Prayer comes to mind....
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,




Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Will I relish spring when it comes? 
you bet. 

In the meantime 
I shall accept with grace and with serenity and extreme gratitude

what the good lord gives me.










March 21, 2014

what we should learn from a dog.......


An afternoon snooze in the sun is acceptable....








March 20, 2014

moose is moving



After years on the deck, moose is moving.  

Most likely the new home will be on the garage.

March 19, 2014

news or nature

It is damned near impossible to be news free.
I have mixed feelings on news. 
Should I be informed or uninformed ?
If I am uninformed am I remiss.

If I miss the fact that DC, the state are doing terrible daily
or worse nothing,
will I miss anything?

I keep coming up with a resounding

NO
NO
NO

To fill the time, the minutes, hours formally spent on news,
 I can go out in nature and be unstressed. 
 I cannot fix the world and I stress over that
so letting the news go
is in reality a way to fix 
as living well, doing my housework etc is positive 
and the 
more positive I put out there the better. 

So look out nature here I come  ~






March 16, 2014

in tune



If I asked them to both look to the side, it would NEVER happen. 

I am overjoyed when they both do a sit at the same time!!!!!!!!!!

 Something got their attention and look at those dogs.   Handsome aren't they?

Don't you love it when it comes together.

March 15, 2014

gifts~

I truly believe god gives us gifts, 
presents, wondrous things, little miracle,
whatever you want to call them.
 I bet this is ongoing all the time,
yet we are so ego driven 
and focused on  computers, shopping, worry, stuff
that 
 we miss what is right there all around us.... 



My head comes up occasionally and there is a gift, 

like the owl of late, 

Like the sunset,  sunrise,  or light from a prism, a seed spouted, 

or rainbow, or a coyote sitting watching.



Most of what I feel are gifts are simple things of nature  or life

and the joy is that 

they are simple and natural.


Am I in tune with the world around me?

Not always and what do I miss

when I am in my head....




Right this minute my eyes are on a screen, 
my head and heart are not fully engaged
in the here and now around me, the sounds, sights beyond my screen. 



If I don't want to miss these gifts 
I need to be aware and there in the now.



March 14, 2014

what will it take

I keep feeling like Chicken Little, the sky is falling Chicken Little.  
It does not seem like rocket science to realize that
we have made a very uncomfortable bed on this planet Earth.
That unless we admit we have problems 
we may be on a path where we cannot turn around.

No one but no one.... 

no that is wrong....
Many say we must change
but how?
and why aren't people paying attention...

What is the definitive answer....

what should I do, and you do.  Today, tomorrow, next week...
ACTION
stop doing what, start doing what????

What will it take to fix this bad behavior.....

individually and collectively.






drifting


little ones




vaRoom!

it must make noise - boy toy





While trying to walk in the winds, enjoying the wild and taking photos
yesterday I had to compete with the
vaRoom 
really does bad things to the peace and quiet

We all have different agendas in the wild

March 12, 2014

in the dooryard


One wonders how many critters pass through that we do not know about.  

Usually when I look out while fixing dinner I see a few small birds.
In the mornings we have squirrels, and turkeys in addition to the birds.
Feeder is definitely trolling in others besides those we intended to feed.
Hard to miss an owl sitting right out there waiting for dinner.
Oh my how exciting to have this beautiful guest 20 feet from the house
sitting there checking out the neighborhood!
Small birds and squirrels suddenly were not in evidence.
Owl returned the following night.  
I could see its shape on top of the pole.
Has it been coming in nightly?
One does wonder what we don't see.
The chance crossing of paths.
Had I not looked out we would have missed this treat.

How does that bird perch on that little pipe?




and today midday in the snow and sleet our friend sat above the chickadees
who were all coming into the feeder to eat.





March 9, 2014

the camper I would have

If you are going on the road do it in style.....really in style......

March 8, 2014

ying and yang

Spring and Winter

this is the time of year where weather swings back and forth.
A little snow, a little melting.

Hard for those of us that are ready for it to lean towards spring
only to be met with more shoveling.

Patience, All Good Things In Time.

And we live in Maine
AND
Maine has long winters.

March 7, 2014

screen porch plus....

Like this concept of porch and arbor.  Flat roof defintely has to go...

March 6, 2014

March 5, 2014

retirement

In a video interview with Harriet "mimi" Rogers I saw this morning 
the subject of retirement came up.  


Mimi said retirement was enjoying life and she enjoyed.  
She had not retired, didn't retire, but totally enjoyed. 
I have rewatched this video twice today. 
Mimi was content in her skin, happy with life and an individual for sure. 
 Imagine being born and dying in the same house 84 years later. 
 We should all learn from Mimi to live and enjoy life.

March 2, 2014

photos

I am trying to get photos organized better 
in anticipation of a photo CD pkg Fundamentals of photograpy I have bought. 
 I enjoyed a book by this photographer Joel Sartore on taking pictures of family.  
He is National Georgraphic and that is big,
 but he explains well without talking down 
and he has a sense of humor.  So these CDs shall arrive in a week or so.
By then perhaps my pictures will be in better order









And I have other me improvments on my agenda.

March 1, 2014

spring albeit inside....

This beauty is hardy and can live outside after a year in.
I love the concept
Not sure I could put it outside
Maybe in the dome
We shall have to see how
the bonsai, the hydrangea, the chestnuts
have fared in this bitter cold winter.






Weeping pussy willow which may grant your wish if asked.

One is to ask their wish and tie a knot in a branch
When the wish is granted one unties the knot.