Tag: Nature’s Teachings
The Not-Summer Season

The Not-Summer Season

By |

Perhaps the most noticeable change of seasons in coastal Alabama is when we have less humidity in our air. Humidity seems to fuel everything here. Sodden, seemingly melting air is never missed by those of us who call the Gulf Coast home. By the end of the summer–October–we reach a dazed lack of tolerance for clothes sticking to our sweaty skin.

So it is with an audible sigh of relief that I report our first real cold front of the autumn season moved through yesterday. It was like a freight train from hell with tornados, lightning, winds and rain that fell in sheets rather than drops. The one or two earlier little fronts didn’t compare to this doozie.

I got in a good bicycle ride early in the morning but the early-arriving, pre-front clouds pelted me with the biggest raindrops I’ve ever seen. It felt like stinging nettles as I pushed and pedaled against a strong headwind to escape the rain.

It’s nice when the transition from one season to the next isn’t so violent. But sometimes change can be quite dramatic….and even painful. However, the outcome is definitely worth it.

I look forward to a chilly ride in the morning. Just hoping my cycling shoes are dried out and my helmet isn’t soggy. And might I add, Welcome Autumn!
Véineas agus an Ghealach

Véineas agus an Ghealach

By |
Pre-dawn in Árainn, Ireland….I’m still dreaming of being there.

I woke at 5am and rushed to put on my cycling clothes along with a Smartwool undershirt. It was the first crisp day to ride of the best riding season of all on the Alabama Gulf Coast….which is ANY time the humidity drops below 80% and the mornings are crisp.

As I pulled onto the highway with my bike loaded on the back of the car, the sliver of the crescent moon hung very low in the eastern sky with venus in perfect alignment beneath it. The crescent was horns up with the dark of the moon creating a perfect circle above it. And there was a red planetary body to the right of the moon. The triangular alignment was spectacular. It made me think of a delicate silver moon necklace with a small chain hanging down dangling a brilliant diamond beneath it.

All the way to the state park I watched the beautiful firmament. Stars twinkled and all seemed to point to the incredible dance of the moon, Venus and Mars.

When I stepped out of the car, the chilly wind caught me by surprise but not nearly as much as the constellations shining so brightly overhead. I attached lights to my bicycle, put on my shoes, helmet and jacket and took off into the darkness.

One of the many, many moments of bliss I discovered within myself in Ireland.

Immediately I recognized the feeling and it was the first time, since returning from Árainn, Ireland, I felt it. Stars, chilly air, darkness, nature…..ah…..laughter erupted as I pedaled. It was awesome to be able to find my bliss again and find home in my skin.

After such a powerful time of travel and adventure, there is often a time when the big energy that built with the experience collapses and life returns back to a place that wasn’t so awesome. But the changes and leaps made in Ireland continue to propel me forward. The energy of change and growth remains strong and the renewal gained there is clear and bright.

Véineas agus an Ghealach….Venus and the Moon reminded me how my wild woman self loves stars whether under pine trees with a humid breeze or on rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean. May I continue to dance with wild abandon to the untamed heart within me.