A herd can be security or intimidating

The situation with the little heifer and her mother is getting stranger and stranger. Mama will nurse baby but it only works in the barn. Out of the barn mama is back in the herd and baby won't go there. She doesn't like the herd and mama doesn't like being out of the herd.

Saturday morning Farm Boss released mother and baby and we hoped for the best. Mother went into the herd. Calf retreated, actually ran as fast as she could, back to us and the barn. Getting close to the herd is intimidating to her, while the cow finds her security in the herd. There is no denying a herd is a big force with a lot of very large animals-- pros and cons to it.

Is this little heifer a reincarnated cat or some animal that doesn't like herd life? Did she have to be isolated with her mother at the exact wrong time to bond with the herd?

Saturday afternoon, we tried again. This time we decided to take the calf back to where the herd was grazing. After no little effort on Farm Boss's part, stubborn calf, we three got her to the herd. The calf would not move into it and her mother would not leave it.

We decided if he and I made a quick exit and watched from the distance that maybe the calf would go back to her mother and the herd for security. No, she just wandered toward the barn again-- a sad little lost soul out in the middle of the pastures, wandering through the sheep, but not a part of flock or herd.

In the evening Farm Boss got the mother and baby back into their pen but we had no solution to how this was going to be resolved.

So here you see the problem that has had me gritting my teeth and to which we have yet to figure out a solution; however, today is another day. Once again we will release the calf and mama to see if somehow they can find peace with the herd.

(All photos from Saturday, June 23.)

What a month

As I said last blog, there are times when our little ranch seems to mostly run itself. The last month has not been one of those times. There is an up side to this as when there are problems, I am out there more, observing, watching and end up more connected to the animals than during more benign cycles.

First we had the calf that we thought we lost, but that the mother would not let go. With antibiotics, her care, and the little bull calf's own spirit, these photos show where we are with that.

I watched him running and playing with his little buddy (he's the calf running in the back of the first photo). He has a nice round little body, good energy, and it seems we can heave a sigh of relief. *fingers crossed* ( In that photo with him nose to nose with his mama and his friend alongside, don't they look like two kids checking in with mom?)

Then there is the calf that her mother went off and left. That story is still not resolved.

We had the cow and little heifer (heifers are renamed cows after they give birth to their first calves) in the barn, and it all seemed to be going okay. Farm Boss and I had discussed giving it more time in a pen for bonding.

Wednesday morning, Farm Boss came in from his morning barn check with a sheepish look (figuratively speaking). He had decided they were doing fine and he released them both. Mama took off at a run leaving baby behind who had to be wondering what was that all about? Farm Boss had to put the little heifer back in the barn but had early meetings if he was going to be back for shearing.

It wasn't easy getting the cow in first time. Could we do it again? I grimaced but not much I could do about it. Poor little baby. I thought about shooting the mother but that wouldn't solve the problem-- although it might have given me some satisfaction. grrrrrrrr

The cow, once in awhile, would come close to the barn, but she did not come into it, and her calf remained inside-- theoretically orphaned. After Farm Boss got home, before the shearer arrived, we gave the calf a bottle, but milk replacer is never the best solution as nothing replaces a mother's milk or love.

I had about decided that if we had to accept the mother wasn't going to be a mother, we would bottle feed the baby and keep it. The cow though was going to the auction if she didn't get her act together!

When shearing was done, Farm Boss managed to get the young cow back in the pen with her baby. Actually it seemed she wanted to be there. This time he was determined that she was staying until he could see more commitment. He fenced off the end of the barn to keep them together but not in such a small space.

This is not just a problem of the cow but also one for the little heifer. They have to bond. The heifer must see that this is her mother, and her responsibility is to bond to her, respond when she calls, and recognize this is her food source. This is a symbiotic relationship, good for them both, and the calf has things to learn also. Unfortunately, these two are, in a way, both kids who aren't sure what the heck they are doing.

Thursday I kept an eye on how it was going while Farm Boss was at work but wasn't sure. Early on I thought the udder of the cow looked less full. That would be a good sign. It's not like every time I came out there I was likely to catch the calf nursing. Calves do a lot of sleeping when they are newborns.

By evening, when Farm Boss returned, the heifer was acting pretty energetic, jumping around, and quick to nurse when Farm Boss put the cow back in the head-gate. So, how is this going to work? It's looking good but still a wait and see situation.

Even ignoring politics, my flu, the wet weather, it's been a harder month than usual!

(The calf you see in the first two photos is the one we nearly lost. He is so cute, running, jumping, part of the herd, and forming calf relationships. I hope that the little heifer will soon be joining to make it a gang of three.)

Shearing-- finally

There are times that farm work is routine without a lot of ups and downs, not even a lot of time required to tend the livestock. But there are also the times where one thing after another seems to engulf all other activities.

Shearing this year was difficult to schedule because of the rains. Several times we corralled the flock overnight, something neither the sheep nor we like, only to have weather or something else go wrong.

After our regular shearer had to cancel due to an injury, we got the name of someone, who actually lives closer to us and finally after more rained-out dates, he came here on a sunny Wednesday afternoon.

A new shearer is an unknown quantity. Will he nick the sheep? How will he handle them? This shearer was experienced, smooth and gentle. This is probably the best I have ever seen the flock look after being shorn.

They are so happy to be rid of all that extra weight. By this time of the year, some of them are carrying around a good 10 lbs. of wool. After shearing, they feel like lambs again. They are happy to be out of the corral but also just to be in their summer wardrobe-- which like mine is sparse.

There is a little head butting, and I am not sure what that is all about. Looking out the window I saw several of them thumping heads, the sound kind of an interesting one-- a little hollow sounding-- with others rushing to get in on the action.

Lambs are the main unhappy sheep. They want their mamas back, and they think their mamas are somewhere in that wool pile. That slim trim animal can't possible be their mother. They go from ewe to ewe and sometimes even past their own mothers and go right on maaa-ing... When they walk by their mother without acknowledging her, she starts complaining. It's a sheep symphony

It sorts itself out after a noisy night. Too bad I can't share a soundtrack with you although, believe me, you don't want to hear it!

Could you reject this little face?

Is there an old saying that goes something like if you declare it, it will make it be true? The other side of that coin would be, of course, if you say it, and you didn't want it, that will also come true. I don't buy either but find it rather coincidental what happened on the week-end given what I had said in the last blog about what wonderful mothers cows are.

We went for a walk Sunday evening, a nice leisurely walk up the gravel road with the intent to get photos of wildflowers along the road and a little (very little) exercise. What we didn't expect to see was a brand new calf in the pasture.

Farm Boss kept counting noses as he hadn't thought any more were due right then. There was no denying it-- definitely a new one and obviously born that afternoon. Farm Boss headed for the field while I went back to the house.

My evening was planned-- read a book, watch a movie. I had changed into a nightgown by the time he returned-- reworking my plans. He wanted me to help sort the mother out of the herd. She was a first-timer who was ignoring her calf. I stuffed back on jeans and helped him set up the headgate and make a small corral.

Heading into the field, I reminded him that I help navigate cattle right until they coming running straight at me. Then if he thought I was the woman who is going to stand there, waving her arms, he had the wrong lady. I am the one who is going to be jumping aside and trying to get out of the way.

Heifers are known to be a potential problem for mothering. Large ranchers calve them apart from the older cows who have been through the mix and know what's coming. With a heifer you never really know. Sometimes they reject their calves after a difficult labor but this one didn't have that excuse as we would have seen that going on. She just wasn't ready to be a mom.

On our farm, in raising cattle for now 32 years, we have had maybe 4 or 5 heifers that didn't want to be mamas. It has been rare but came often enough that we bought that headgate. On a small farm, we obviously don't buy equipment we won't use often but this was a pretty important problem whenever it came up. Tying a cow that is already acting goofy only makes them worse.

After our joint failure to cut her out, we decided the better lure would be alfalfa hay. Farm Boss went out with the backhoe from which they are used to receiving hay. That worked and Farm Boss got her into the barn and then headgate with the work just beginning. He held the calf to the udder and tried to help it understand where the milk was. The calf was eager to try but edgy at her mother's behavior. Mama kicked to the side several times.

It didn't improve Farm Boss's mood after he got knocked to the ground by her kick to have me remind him I had said he should hobble her legs. We had both been observing her kicking, plus the nervousness of the calf which meant it had been happening to it. It's not so much that she wanted to hurt the calf (or Farm Boss), but just get them both away from her.So she is in the head gate, hobbled, the calf is nursing, but right now only with Farm Boss pressure. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. We call these mamas teen-age moms which means some are wonderful mothers right out of the gate but others want to go play in the herd and not be tied down.

The worrisome part for me is the mother is not yet making the soft lowing sounds cows make to their babies. If she simply will not take care of it, we have someone who wants it and will bottle feed it which would be sad but better than trying to keep her with a mama who is rejecting her. Depressing but it does happen.
If it happens, the cow will go to auction with the next shipment which is not our first choice. We can't explain the situation to her, but I hope, out of the goodness of her heart, she gets the idea that her baby, who is adorable, strong and eager to survive, needs a mama. She could be a good mother next time; but we have to thin this herd, and she will be the one to go instead of one who was a good mom the first time.

Life in a Herd

The interaction of a cattle herd always interests me. Not too many ranchers have the option of operating a more or less free-living herd. If someone is in cattle raising for the money (well we all like it to make a profit), they don't have the luxury of raising them as we do. The various ages are separated, fed appropriately, bred when it's the right season, sold when they are not profitable. It isn't a choice.

In our case, we live very close to our animals. Our herd is one of all ages, including geriatric, and a bull. We raise them for food but it's only the two year olds that we sell. We keep a few of the heifers as replacements, have the old ones that die or have to be put down for health reasons, and generally have an organic herd to watch move around the farm.

Our herd has a place they tend to have their morning nap, their afternoon nap and where they will sleep at night. Other than when sleeping, meals are continuous affairs, the ultimate movable feast.

Cows can be tough on each other, on a weak cow and employ bullying techniques for reasons maybe only the herd could explain-- if it cared to try; but it has given me much pleasure through the years to see the affection with which the adults treat the young-- and not just their own calves. In some of these photos you see a cow coming up to nuzzle and lick a calf that is not her baby, but for all I know might be her daughter's or even granddaughter's.

I like seeing the bull with the herd in his protective role. Well to be honest, I have thrown a few small rocks at him when he got protective over a heifer I considered to be too young for breeding. I told him what I thought about it but he more or less looked at me as if to say-- are you nuts? And there was definitely no talking her out of it!

So far, allowing the herd to manage its own breeding, has not led to problems in calving, but it's not as professional. We could fence him off from the rest except when it's time to breed, but we are in this partly for the enjoyment of raising the animals, watching the herd's interactions, and seeing him with the others is part of that.

One more calf was born after the one we nearly lost. Those two are tending to hang out together. It's what calves do-- play with their own age group, and form very tight bonds. Often we try to arrange to kill all in such a group at the same time.

I know it seems tough to realize these animals are not pets but are intended for food. It's my least favorite part of raising livestock. Worse is what we are facing this summer as we must thin their numbers (sheep and cattle). Last year, when Farm Boss was calculating taxes, he told me we paid $5000 more for livestock feed than we made on sales. We gulped.

We had known we weren't making a profit in the past, but with cost of hay production going up and cattle prices not, this has been a hard time on growers. Our situation was not so critical when Farm Boss was earning an income off the farm but with retirement (retired from paying jobs, not from working), that cannot go on.

It's not easy to market grass-fed animals directly to consumers. It's especially hard in a culture like ours where people like fatty beef. Many don't understand that grass-fed beef is as healthy as eating salmon in terms of Omega-3. Europeans eat grass-fed beef. Mostly it's Americans and Japanese who do not or at least have not.

If you are one who is interested in healthier meat (and yes there is a slight difference in taste, but I prefer the more flavorful grass-fed), try to find growers nearby to help encourage more of this type of production. It is healthier for the livestock and the consumer. A lot of a people's increased needs for pills might go directly to the kinds of food consumed.

Spring Finally Arrives at the Farm... Maybe

Spring has been here since March but it's been hard to prove most days. I have had fires in the fireplace up until night before last. The rain has put Pacific Northwest worries about drought on the back burner at least in my part of Oregon. Colder than usual means the grass has been slower to grow which means our farm had to buy hay longer than usual-- making for an expensive spring.

This much rain has also complicated shearing. Sheep cannot be shorn wet. We would get a possible date for shearing which meant herding them into a barn and closing them up two days ahead of time to keep them dry.

One of those dates, the shearer arrived, but said they were still too wet. The rain had blown in one side of the barn. Guess where the sheep preferred to sleep.

Farm Boss bought plywood and made sure by the next shearing date that there were sides on that corner of the barn. This week, with a new date, we felt pretty hopeful that finally they'd be shorn.

We waited... and waited. The sheep waited and waited-- well they didn't know they were waiting. We got the call several hours after she had scheduled to be here that she had been hurt when shearing lamas, kicked in the knee cap and had to go to the hospital.

So with her kneecap damaged, that puts the potential for her, at best, to not shear until somewhere in June. Not good for the sheep.

We called another shearer and hopefully we can get him here next week. He's more expensive, but at this point beggars can't be choosers. Hopefully our female shearer will be able to do them next year again as I have been happy with how she handles the sheep. This shearer though is very experienced; so it should be fine. The sheep haven't minded their heavy wool; but this week-end, if it really warms up as much as weather is predicting, they will.

Since it was so nice today, I decided to get more herd and flock pictures. None of them pose for anything. If sheep are looking at me, it's because they want something-- like in this case, me opening their gate. I took advantage of that to get most of these before I again was reduced to rear views. The standing there looking impatient photos were pre- and the running were post-.

Actually sheep do not like having their pictures taken. I am pretty sure of that given how many butt shots I have gotten over the years. At least if I have to take butt shots, I am glad they have tails. I have written about that before. It's something the new shearer won't like but shearers are the only ones.

So today photos of the flock and Sunday the herd.

Culture Gap

In terms of how many people are on each side of the current culture gap, that I could not say, but its existence cannot be denied. People see the exact same event, like Dick Cheney defending torture, and define it totally differently. The extension goes beyond how you fight a conflict to how you live at home, and it involves beauty queens, politicians, any spokesperson for either side, and all news media. Both sides of this gap want to interfere in personal liberties, the only difference will be which ones.

My question is can it be broached? Will this lead someday to a civil war? How would you fight such a war if you have decided the ballot box is not going to let you win? It's not like it's one state against another as within each state there are differing views-- the only issue is which is in the majority.

The irony is one side used to talk about patriotism and would say someone like me was trying to destroy our country. Now they are the ones talking about secession from the Union. What's that all about?

So, stepping in where angels fear to tread, I will mention we saw Religulous last night which is Bill Maher's documentary on religion. Naturally if you detest him for his satire, you won't see it, but it was interesting, if really really hard edged, about the three religions that came out of the Middle East. It looks like it is online, but we saw it through Netflix. Here is a taste of it: [Clip from Religulous]. If you are defensive of either Judaism, Chrisianity or Islam, you would likely dislike it.

Maher's attempt to get people, who are in religions, to see what they are doing (as he sees it) was met with total failure if his hope was to convince someone, anyone, to look at their religion through a different filter. He asked one woman what would it be like if say Jack in the Beanstalk had been in the Bible instead of Jonah and the Whale; and she saw immediately the trap and refused to answer. Pretty much all the religious people saw that he was trying to get them to think about their religious beliefs and were well prepared to not let that happen. That's why they call it faith, baby. Culture gap.

Then we have the California beauty queen story. She said she opposed 'other' marriage and quickly became the spokesperson for the Sarah Palin contingent. Maybe she'll run as her veep, you think? The California pageant contributed to her new found fame (who knew before this that beauty pageants paid for boob jobs), added some press time for Donald Trump, and voila a new martyred heroine was born.

Miss California cried as she discussed how awful she has been treated. The irony is she feels she has been discriminated against while she is discriminating; but her discrimination is okay because it was ordained by god and it's in the majority (same arguments were once used for racial discrimination and in that bunch probably still are). That irony was clearly lost on the new Joan of Arc. Culture gap.

There is a group so fearful of the word socialism that they have decided all government programs (except regarding war) are bad. They equate socialism with communism or dictatorship. They quickly forget that dictatorship is something they liked right up until they had a different party controlling the leadership.

Within the social-phobic group, you get people like Joe the Plumber who wants to cut out all government spending except... and by the time you get through his exceptions, what exactly did he think was left? You have those who want no taxes and don't care about public education and those who want to see government services expanded and improved. Culture gap.

Then we have torture. According to the right wing, this is a partisan left wing issue. I guess it's the only way they hope to win because if they look at it ethically or legally, they lose. The fact, that in the past people have been arrested, tried and even executed for using waterboarding (and not just in foreign lands), is discarded as meaningless. This is all about how one group (don't like torture) wants to see our country taken over by Muslims before it can be divided up by the other group (do like torture). Culture gap.

The question I have, and this list could have gone on, is what can be done about this gap? Anything? Education used to be a leveling force but is it today? Or does it reveal more of the division which is so wide that it cannot be breached? If that is true, what comes next? Camile Paglia had a good essay on this, expressing her own concerns, in her monthly column: [7 Days in May].

Cattle herds don't have these complications. They have a leader and some second in commands who maintain order. The herd has (most of the year) a common life purpose-- find food. Humans (most of us) have gone way beyond simple life purposes and maybe that's our problem. The calf in the top photo is the one we nearly lost, and you can see the nurturing love he is receiving from his mama.

Love is a good solution to a lot of problems-- real love; but the culture gap shows up even there as President Obama dared to say he would like a new Supreme Court justice who had empathy for other people. Boy, was that a bad word to the right. Their ears pricked right up while the left nodded and said that makes sense. Culture gap.

[Incidentally, Obama just declared he didn't want more of the torture and abuse photos to be released (number of which I heard might be as few as 44 to as many as 2000) showing what military personnel had done to prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan: [Bloomberg].

Supposedly the generals argued, as does the right wing, that it would make our soldiers less safe. I am not sure of the logic of this because supposedly we were all made safer by knowing we did torture with Cheney's saying the country is less safe when we don't torture.

President Obama says he won't authorize torture, but eventually will the Cheneyites convince him that he must-- but just this one time? And then that one more time and so it goes? Do we truly have a new direction or will we find things we disliked, like rendition and dictatorial presidential powers, will be continued? I wouldn't like that any more in Obama's hands than I did in Bush's. This isn't about a party but a policy.

Don't think I like asking these questions, but I voted for Obama not just for the heck of it. I voted for him because I believed we were following a fundamentally flawed path which McCain had committed to continuing. Revealing the extent of the wrong might be the only way the right ever faces up to it because they still want to think it was just a few bad apples instead of a government policy. I don't believe these photos are the concern of the right because of the possible reaction from the Muslim world but rather the reaction here at home if citizens see the extent of what was going on.

My concern is not helped by learning Obama appointed a general in charge of Afghanistan who likely was part of torture politics. Obama's changed position on the photos came after the appointment of that general. Does Obama's change of mind (something that doesn't bother me as stubborn adherence to a policy, no matter what, is no virtue) relate to that general's appointment? What do you think?]

Tortured to justify a war

[Tortured to Justify a War?]

I know a lot of people don't want to think about this. It's done, isn't it? Well if you click on the link and read the above article, and I hope you will read the above article, it is NOT done.

It is important to me to not think negatively, to try and be positive, but every time I read the paper, I feel the anger boiling up at what the Bush administration did regarding torture. Mostly what Dick Cheney did and Bush let happen.

For anyone who saw the most recent Cheney interview where he was asked whether Bush knew about the torture, the emphasis from some was that Cheney was saying Bush authorized torture. Listen to it again, read the words.

What Cheney said was-- well I think he had to have known. Say what?!! Cheney stumbled all over himself as he basically revealed that he ran that operation maybe under Bush's agreement. Doubtless he told Bush, what he is trying to tell any American who still listens to him, what he's trying to tell Obama-- torture or you are responsible for the deaths of Americans. This is a sick man. Why is anyone listening to him?

Taking deep breaths and trying not to be furious!

Expressing Pain Through Words

When John Edwards was running for president, I wrote a blog saying why I didn't like him. I didn't like him any less after his clay feet were revealed. It didn't surprise me, nor did I personally care that he had an affair. I have never felt that a politician's private sexual choices were the business of the voter-- unless they break the law. The aspect of hiding something that likely would have doomed Edwards' candidacy, if he had gotten the nomination, was a character flaw; but since I hadn't trusted his character, it also was no surprise.

His wife was another story. I didn't know what to think about Elizabeth Edwards. There was this public persona of the almost saintly woman and yet what was this about knowing he had the affair but still pretending they had a perfect marriage? Wasn't that attempting to foist a fraud onto voters for the sake of her husband's ambitions? Or was it her ambitions? Was she an enabler? At the time, I didn't think too much about it and more or less justified her actions by thinking she loves him, she has terminal cancer, she has suffered great losses, she believed in his abilities.

[Kathleen Parker wrote a piece that pretty well says what I am now thinking: Elizabeth the Hypocrite.]

Does writing about something, as Edwards has with her newest book help her, help others? If she was going to write it, might it have been better to wait until she was no longer angry-- which is clearly not yet? Maybe she doesn't have that time.

Striking out at the other woman also strikes out at the child who most likely is John Edwards' offspring. That child is a her, not an it. Does it help Elizabeth's pain to publicly publish her feelings about it all? It didn't take genius to imagine her anger and disappointment without this book.

Do people who buy such books tacitly encourage such revelations to vicariously gloat or suffer-- or is it about the juicy details they hope to find in the pages. Soap opera made political.

I won't be reading her book but the details are out there through her promotional tour starting with Oprah-- which I also didn't see but who could miss the details as they were in all the papers.

Evidently Elizabeth, as so many scorned women have, blames the other woman for something her husband did. Sorry, but there are always other people. This is about her husband's promise, not with whichever woman he had the affair.

To me what she has done with writing this book and then promoting it through all these high end interviews is worse than if she had flared out at the time the infidelity came out. Her thinking still is not clear of the anger and to use this huge venue to pillory him (or is this to pillory that 'other' woman and redeem his political career as some have suggested?) doesn't seem like wise judgment. The book may not be primarily about his infidelity and her reaction to it but it sounds like the interviews have been.

Elizabeth wouldn't answer in one interview whether she still loves him (I would take that as a no to at least to being in love) but in another she said she does love him still. Has she been reading the unflattering comments about her reasons for staying? I didn't have a problem that she stayed. That was her business and decision.

The thing is she and her husband are adults and he deserves whatever he gets in the way of bad publicity but what about the children? This book and those interviews (which often end up on YouTube) leave something not only for three children but all their friends someday. What did it gain? Obviously she is not concerned right now about the fact that her kids might have a half-sister, but didn't her own have enough to bear with a narcissistic father and a mother with terminal cancer? Guess not.

I hope Americans don't buy the book and it disappears quickly from the lists. Haven't we rewarded this kind of thing enough in the past? Elizabeth is obviously a still angry woman who is lashing out supposedly in a book intended to help others (guessing) while trying to get past her own pain. She wants to make herself look good in what was at best a questionably ethical time. We might understand her. What would be our excuse for buying the book?

Happy Mother's Day

Beautiful by Claudia Carawan

Astrology mailing from Patricia Atwater

My second email forward on astrology that I received from Stephanie St. Claire.

To be honest, I do not know how much astrology impacts our daily lives. I know things like horoscopes have limited applications, probably are right about as often as chance would make it, because they are for a whole sign and not specific people; but something like this, about overall planetary influences that impact everyone, how much weight should we give it?

In this case, for the last month long before I saw this article, I had been feeling a lot of what this astrologer writes goes with this planetary combination. Some things impact one birth sign more than another and maybe that's why it has been so strong for me. I thought I'd share it here in case someone else has been feeling the same things and, like me, had no logical reason for the feelings. The comforting aspect to astrology is that these kind of combinations are there for a day, a season but won't last. If you are one who is sensitive to such things, knowing its changing nature can help.

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Subject:
FW: Astrology from Phyllis Atwater
Date: Tue, 05 May 2009 15:15:11

So many people have contacted me about the strange energy that is present virtually everywhere now, that it feels right to me that I share a few things with the hope of being helpful. Most of you know that, among many other interests, I am also an astrologer. Not your usual kind. I practiced the type of astrology most of you are familiar with from 1971 until I died in 1977. After I died everything changed for me, especially my understanding of astrology. Now, those former skills have woven their way into the energy world around me that I can easily see and interact with. In that sense, I tend to approach the subject in a much simpler, practical way that is very participatory for me - something I feel as well as see. With that said, let me begin.

Since last fall, but becoming much more intense since the election, we have been dealing with Uranus in Pisces opposite Saturn in Virgo. That's just astrological talk that hardly covers all that is happening now and what is coming, but at least it establishes some general terms. Using symbols and myth, Uranus (an air sign) is considered the heavenly flashlight that highlights what needs to be seen. It is also considered a lightning bolt in the way it zips right to the subject at hand - like a rebel, a no-nonsense change agent and transformer that says in essence "we've been doing this long enough - time to change."

When Uranus is in a sign important to you, its passage through your life feels as if someone is pulling the rug out from under your feet - fast and unlooked for, and, without any particular direction or consequence. Think of "change for the sake of change." Pisces, in this case, represents the traditional way of doing things, what we are used to, the world of cultural norms that is passing from view. Pisces means emotions, feelings, intuition, imagination, creativity, security, privacy, religious and spiritual needs. Uranus does not function well in Pisces, a water sign, so it tends to splash around a bit, upsetting people and tossing over "applecarts."

Saturn is often called the disciplinarian, the task master, that teacher who insists that you learn what you need to know through hard work and practical application. Saturn settles into routines quickly and forms systems and structures that carry the burdens and opportunities of life in ways that are dependable and eventually profitable. It is an energy form that sticks and stays and is true to its calling, for as long as it takes.

Virgo, in many ways like Saturn, is also practical and down-to-earth, an energy that can be counted on to get the job done no matter the sacrifice. Virgo is the sign of harvest, of preparing for the uplooked for, of ensuring survival and good health. Virgo serves, but usually in a more mental way, quick with words and plans and lists and categories for everything. If you want a job done, you call on a Virgo.

Right now these two giants, Uranus and Saturn, are opposite each other in a push-pull twisting "grab" that tends to foment struggles, arguments, disappointments, depression - between people, between political parties, between schools of thought, between countries, between businesses and banks, and on and on. It is a challenge to be positive when you feel as if you are being torn apart. And that's the rub: Uranus' job is to tear apart and separate anything Saturn holds on to. Yup, Uranus says we must change. We cannot live as we have before. And Saturn says, there is no way I am going to give up what I have and what I have gained in life.

What is happening now is a tug-of-war of astronomical proportions that is affecting every household, every business, every individual. No one and nothing is exempt. The response has been all-out-war between differing sides, be it Republicans and Democracts, home buyers and banks, car makers and unions, husbands and wives, food and the money to buy it, medicine and health, regulation and common sense. The war is not "overseas," it is everywhere there are people and cultures who refuse to change the "tried and true."

We must change. And we do that by listening to each other and coming up with
compromises.

Did you hear that world?

No one is going to win this war. There are no winners. Not Islam versus Christianity, not America versus Russia, not teenagers in full rebellion versus the law, not drug dealers versus governments. There are no winners in the traditional sense.

This type of energy is relentless, and it will become much more intense throughout March, April, May, the rest of this year, into next year - and - please - lookout for the time of July and August of 2010. Lay low those months. Don't push it. Take it easy. Avoid trips and moves and investments - anything of importance. There is no appreciable relief until late 2010. Then the pattern changes into a different frequency of energy shifts.

If you have been feeling pushed, almost to the point of panic; if you are feeling up against a wall with no where to turn; if you feel like closing in on yourself; if you feel overly emotional as if all you wanted to do was cry; if your back is going out and you cough or fall or hit yourself in some fashion; if you feel betrayed by the people you trusted. . . please know all these feelings and others like them are normal now. . . they are typical responses to a relentless pressure that offers no definable way out. The known way just dissolved.

Just when it looks like "the end" is at hand, know that we have lots of help available. Really. Pluto is in Capricorn. I'm not going to explain this one, suffice it to say that the message here is: re_______ (fill in the blank). In other words: redo, remodel, reassess, resew, recycle, re_____________________. What worked during the Great Depression? Just that.

Small businesses that sprang up everything, filled with people with ideas of how they could help - a little here, a little there - all kinds of ideas of how they could provide whatever service or product or skill was needed. People filling in, doing what people do best - inventing. What hurt us before were buyouts, big businesses buying up little businesses, forming huge corporations that separated the source of need from
the individual who could provide it.

Profits became a dirty word because of how grossly large and unfair and uncaring the businesses became. Wealth is wonderful, as long as it services and uplifts and educates and builds what can be used in ways that make sense. There is nothing wrong with the banking business and corporations, as long as they remember whom they serve and what their purpose is in the greater scheme of things. Lose that and you have greed. Greed only becomes a problem when it takes over common sense.

Capricorn insists on common sense. It insists on the practical. It insists on saving and investing and growing in proportion to its mission. "Bring it down" says the opposition of the giants. "Let's start over again," says Pluto. Look at the good already coming from this: families who actually eat together and talk to each other, meals being cooked at home, people sharing tasks and hardships - helping each other, neighborhoods and communities watching over children and seniors and anyone else who needs a helping hand, food banks that are aligning with farmers for a more direct alliance that works, neighborhood gardens, people learning how to compost
and also learning about simple medicines and health care that is inexpensive
and dependable.

Do you know what the single most helpful thing was that was done during the Great Depression that enabled people not only to survive but thrive? Storytelling. People telling other people their stories, what happened to them and what they learned. Funny stories. Family stories that hold people together. Spiritual stories, dreamy stories, how-to stories. STORYTELLING!!!!!!!!!! People talking to each other and sharing their lives with each other. STORYTELLING!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the little things that will save us and enhance our lives and make the days to come not only livable but wonderful. And compromise and sharing and giving and looking out for each other. If you are depressed, volunteer to help someone else. Can't get the energy to clean up your place? Clean up someone else's place and watch your energy, your drive, increase by leaps and bounds. Feel like crying, grab some crayons or paint and create something or write a book or stories or draw or dance. Each and every person has within them the heart to survive and thrive. If we help each other, that will increases many-fold.

Want to help out the people in Illinois who were laid off by Caterpillar? Send their foodbank $1. That's all you need to do, or any charity that is addressing the needs of those who have been laid off or lost their jobs. Foodbanks. Free clinics. Send them $1 a month. If enough people send these wonderful service centers $1 a month, there will be enough money not only to supply all the needs of the people in that area, but in surrounding areas as well.

Don't forget prayer and meditation. Prayer works if given freely and without limitations. It is not our job to be God. It is our job to offer the God Within and Without, that Presence, that Truth, that Sacred Holiness, our voice in humble thanks, knowing that our request for healing and guidance and comfort will be answered as surely as day follows night, in accordance with whatever is best for our/their highest good and the highest good of all concerned. And meditation, the greatest stress relief there is, a timeless way to tune in to that which is true and worthy. . . to center in the Silence of our Soul.

Invent a new business, create a new service, hug your friends and family, and get busy. We have a society and an economy and our very lives to rebuild, recreate, and reshape. This is an exciting time, really a blessed time for all. Want to give up? Well, when you give up, you get yourself out of the way, you make room for God/Allah/Source/The One Mind. Sometimes, giving up frees us from the limitations of our own set beliefs, so we can surrender to that Power Greater Than Ourselves.

AS A SPECIAL TREAT, I want to recommend a musical CD called "Fearless." It
is the creation of Claudia Carawan - exceptional, professional, all heart, original, wonderful, incredibly uplifting. Claudia writes most of her own songs. Unlike many spiritually-motivated songsters who calm and soothe, this woman's music is upfront, real and powerful, and authentically moving. Her creation is exactly what we need to get us up on our feet and doing all that we can and more. "Fearless" is the perfect music for what is happening today. My husband and I have a copy and we play it often. Highly recommended!!! (No connection here; she doesn't even know I am doing this.) Access her website at http://www.claudiacarawan.com/ and find out how to obtain your copy. Play it. Be fearless!

Many blessings to all of you, PMH

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For those of you interested in more information about this time astrologically, go to my extra blog. Atwater expands her thinking with some practical suggestions of what she believes will help: Rainy Day Extras with Part II

Scorpio Full Moon

This and the blog for tomorrow will be from email forwards that I receive now and again from Tucson psychic, Stephanie St. Claire.

From different astrologers, both relate in different ways to current astrological conditions. Readings like this are suggestions for using the energy of a full moon and certain planetary combination to one's advantage.

There are four moon photos from the farm last night if you won't get to see it where you live because of cloud cover.

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Full Moon in Scorpio - Sun in Taurus
Fri., May 8, 2009

Ahhhhh - the Moon of deep feminine emotional power.

All four elements - Earth, Water, Fire, Air have a power sign:
Earth - Taurus
Water - Scorpio
Fire - Leo
Air - Aquarius
Earth and Water are feminine, and Fire and Air are masculine.

The uprising and bursting of the Spring is embellished with the jewel of feminine power. The Winter landscape has been powerfully transformed and restored by the Earth going deeply within and replenishing herself by containing her power and energy. This Spring Full Moon is deeply sexual as the plants come into fertile bloom and the animals mate and reproduce their kind. Scorpio affects the two-leggeds with large brains in much the same way, arousing our intensity, passion, strength and magnetic desire to connect with others deeply or not at all.

Ruled by Pluto, Scorpio forces us into our hidden, psychological depths to free up any blocked resistant parts of ourselves in order to gain personal power. Risky business. And that is just what Scorpio excels at - destroying and eliminating and transmuting what no longer serves. Think Kali - Goddess of Destruction with blood-dripping skulls around her neck serving you with her fearlessness to release your power to be reborn and create anew. Which of Scorpio's three symbols is most akin to your current state? The Scorpion stinging for the love of stinging, the Eagle imperially soaring high above the mundane world, or the Phoenix rising from its own ashes to be transformed and reborn?

If your experience is revealing a tendency (perhaps subtly) towards the darker, scorpionic expressions of sarcasm, resentment, secretiveness, judgment, guilt, suspicion and power struggles, then you can maximize this Full Moon opportunity to clear the way for your true essence to shine through. Use your forgiveness and compassion practices. (Reread the May Forecast!) Pluto went retrograde on April 4th and won't be moving forward until September, so this theme is on-going and vital to our discarding of outmoded patterning relevant to previous centuries.

Another major configuration is active in the sky and squaring the Full Moon-Sun axis. Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune are all joined at 24º, 25º, 26º Aquarius. This formation will be very active this month and until the end of the year and into Feb. 2010. This triple conjunction occurred previously in 1882 in Taurus when Edison won out over Tesla and our system of Electrical Energy was birthed. Then again in 1945, the triple conjunction of Neptune, Jupiter, and Chiron occurred in Libra and the Atomic Energy era commenced. Now in 2009-10 in Aquarius what new energy system will be conceived? Will it be awakening to Quantum Energy that allows us to create our own realities through the mastering of the mechanics of the quantum field? Or harnessing the Sun's infinite power so the entire planet has all the freely available energy it needs and prosperity and balance comes to all peoples?

Individually, Neptune seeks deeper meaning by transcending the mundane and merging with a greater whole. Chiron is a doorway or turning point where healing and understanding of our wounded (unloved) self takes place. And Jupiter provides an expanded and blessed passage for this to take place. Self-healing and collective healing take place under this influence.
It's an amazing and powerfully creative transition time you have chosen to participate in. Show up in the best way you possibly can. Ask Spirit for support in ridding you of your resistances, because the astrological forces unfolding over the next 10-15 years are extremely powerful, and you want to be as flexible and open to the new influences as possible, not resistant and hanging on to the old. The gifts can be immense.

Astrological Notes by Patricia Liles. Contact her at patliles@aol.com

THE POWER PATH
P.O. Box 272
Santa Fe, NM 87504-0272
http://www.thepowerpath.com/

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All moon shots were taken in the Coast Range of Oregon May 7, 2009.
The moon cooperated beautifully with the clouds to tease, tempt and make us wait for it to fully reveal itself. It was like a woman, one in the night, with veils and transparent wraps which only slowly would she drop to reveal herself.
Click on images to enlarge and fully appreciate the beauty of the clouds, trees and moon last night.

Brida

What is now proved was once only imagin'd.
William Blake

Through the years I have read many books with spiritual themes. Many have been non-fiction but some of my favorites are fiction where the story is a vehicle to illustrate and teach spiritual messages. Celestine Prophecy is a prime example but there are many others. One of my favorites is The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo which I had written about [here].

Although I knew he had written many other books, the one I had wanted to find was Brida, his third book, which addressed a subject of interest to me-- soul mates as a part of finding life purpose. When the paperback version showed up at Costco, I bought it and then let it wait for the right time for reading. That came this spring.

Coelho's writing, influenced by mystical experiences in his own life, is a mix of Christian teaching and magic. He uses many traditions to express ideas he clearly believes are important. His stories are simple ones which convey what is needed to leave the reader an enjoyable reading experience as well as ideas to consider.

Brida's basic story is that of a young woman who is seeking to learn magic and looks for teachers to help her find the way. First she finds The Magus, a man living as a spiritual hermit, who for reasons he does not tell her, agrees to help her learn the Traditions of the Sun. This experience proves too challenging to Brida, and she turns to another teacher, one she has found through books, Wicca, who teaches the Tradition of the Moon.

Each of these traditions has a reason for being and draws to it those who are ready for the truths they will learn and hopefully incorporate into their lives. Brida's experiences wend through both traditions, the rituals, and her own life experiences. When she comes to terms with her past lives, she will find her current purpose.

As an example of Coelho's writing, the insights he teaches, here is a passage I particularly liked:

"Right now while we're here eating, ninety-nine percent of the people on this planet are, in their own way, struggling with that very question. Why are we here? Many think they've found the answer in religion or in materialism. Others despair and spend their lives and their money trying to grasp the meaning of it all. A few let the question go unanswered and live for the moment, regardless of the results of the consequences.

"Only the brave and those who understand the Traditions of the Sun and the Moon are aware that the only possible answer to the question is I DON'T KNOW.

"This might at first seem frightening, leaving us terribly vulnerable in our dealings with the world, with the things of the world, and with our own sense of our existence. Once we've got over that initial fear, however, we gradually become accustomed to the only possible solution: to follow our dreams. Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing we trust in God."

I will definitely reread Brida and think again on the paths which Coehlo describes. For me, at this point in my life, there is much to consider. For instance, there is his concept of what a soul mate is, why it matters, how it will impact our lives to find that person. It might not be what you expect. Despite all my reading on the topic, there were some new thoughts for me.

When I read Brida again, I will do so with a highlighter but that will not be for awhile. It will be when it comes back to my mind and the time is right. The likelihood then is that I will see things in it that didn't register with me this time. It is that kind of book.

Sacred Places

When someone is looking to find spiritual answers, meaning to their life, many seek out physical places that have been defined, sometimes by many generations, as sacred, places believed to have spiritual or even healing power. Such places can be, but are not always, churches, synagogues, or temples. What they have in common is something is there-- a spiritual energy that many find rejuvenating-- and to be honest, some find threatening.

Some such places are along ley lines which stretch around the earth. It is interesting how often churches like San Xavier del Bac were built on what the native peoples considered to be powerful, sacred ground, where they already did their sacred rituals. This could make such sites not so much god defined as rather a product of this earth's natural energy.

Some sites, particularly shrines have been established somewhere because something earlier happened there or someone felt the energy and desired to honor it.

A witch would create such a place wherever she was intending to do sacred work by casting the circle and within that circle would be done her rituals. When the work was finished, the circle would be undone with nothing left to show it had been there.

What might seem inspiring and sacred to one person could be occult and frightening to another. Sometimes sacred places are defined as vortexes, such as Sedona, but many are not well known, not labeled; but those who go there will recognize them, sometimes creating a piece of art (prehistoric ones called petroglyphs), building a structure, a medicine wheel, or just sitting or lying for awhile, leaving no defiling marks behind. Often such places are recognized by many religions but with different conclusions for what they mean.

Because I like to visit places, defined as sacred by others, I have several books telling me where to find them. Some of these places I have spent time when I was seeking spiritual energy. I always go with a feeling of reverence. Some have left me very blessed.

I think if someone is looking to do spirit work on their own, finding or creating such places, places that have meaning to them, is beneficial. Why is it effective? That I cannot answer. At some of the shrines, there will be small pieces of paper or other ways to leave behind requests.

These photos are all from Tucson, Arizona, a place with strong spiritual energy of its own, where many cultures have come together and sometimes not with peace. I am not labeling them because their names are not what is important. You might go to them and feel none of what I do. They are examples of the kind of places that speak to my spirit. Each of us must find our own.

Religion's Appeal

Having grown up outside of religion, gone heavily into it during my middle years and coming out the backside of it as I reached my elder years, I find it a bit of a mystery today.

I cannot speak for others, but I wanted to believe a religion had the answer to living life wisely, to connecting with god. I went looking for which one made the most sense to me. I liked the security of thinking god was up there with a plan which we could find through, although a man-made system, channeling directly from god. If I could still believe that, I'd still be in a religion; but it was never a social thing for me but rather a search for truth.

Today, there are times I feel so negative toward religion that it's hard for me to write about it fairly. When I read a poll such as came out recently that showed more Christians are likely to condone torture than non-Christians, I am not surprised, but think what most would think-- how can a religion founded on a belief that their master was tortured to death like the idea of torturing people-- what the @@##$$%%#$# is that all about?

It's not like a fondness for torture is new to Christianity if you think about the witch burnings, the years of the Inquisition, the people who put themselves on crosses even today as a sacrifice, beat themselves, or give up something, everything supposedly to satisfy god or their religious understanding of what he/she/it might be.

Despite today's you can get anything you want if you rub god the right way version of Christianity, it was founded on a blood sacrifice-- first the Passover and then the Crucifixion. The Crucifixion was supposedly okay because of the Resurrection but without the torture and death, the Resurrection would not have had meaning.

Christians flocked to Mel Gibson's film about Christ's last days. Was part of that appeal somehow glorying in watching someone being tortured-- for them? I think in Christianity today there is still this strange mix of it will fix everything for you combined with sadism/masochism. Read the Old Testament and then tell me that today's Christians are totally blowing their interpretation of their faith.

I think back to the days when I would read the story of Abraham and think what a testimony to the man's faith instead of what a nutcase and how dare people still celebrate a man who sets the stage for sacrificing one's children if they claim god said to do it! How was that ever okay with me?

It's not just one religion where this is how it is. Humans want something. We want to identify with something. We want to be part of something. We want to feel safe. We want to think something bigger than us cares. But our wanting that does not make it so and somehow religion has often been so subverted that it ends up doing the opposite of what it might have originally been intended to do.

I think this article said it well for why people choose to join religions:

Defecting to Faith

When I hear someone saying praise the Lord-- no matter what just happened-- say they are turning their lives, all their decisions, over to an invisible god who they cannot hear or see but somehow think will make them do the right thing, I cannot help but remember when I felt that way and in some ways envy them their faith. Those ideas were part of my life for a number of years; but today I cannot claim what I do not believe.

I haven't given up on spirituality. Now I am looking for new spiritual meaning that is not in any religion. I do believe it's possible to find-- just not as easy and without as many comforting promises.

From here to there

Last week, to show extra appreciation for how they had looked after our cats and the farm animals (their efforts making our trip to Tucson possible), I wanted to give some friends one of my sculptures. I let them choose from several. It was only after they had gone with the one they chose that I looked more closely at these two.

They were not done at the same time nor with the intent of showing the same woman at two different places in her life, but it seems that's what they do show. I like the smoothness of texture on the young woman sculpture while the old woman has roughened texture as well as her aged face and posture. One looks out at the world, while the other is reminiscing or meditating on what was. The young woman looks ahead while the old woman's work is internal. The young woman's hand is strong, larger even than it might naturally have been to illustrate her physical strength while the old woman has a hand withered with age.

I suppose their connection struck me because I am thinking about aging and what the next 20 years might bring to me if I should be fortunate enough to live to the age of my mother. When I did these, aging myself was not so much on my mind. Now as part of reworking a dream for my last years, the aging body must be taken into consideration. The aging process is fascinating and not to be denied.