Thoughts While Waiting (Impatiently). A Bout of Gratitude & Observation (turned prayer).

This week my husband suggested that we "might have to give up on the idea of mushrooms this season..." to which I squirmed & balked & grumbled & subsequently chose to ignore.

But there is a dearth of fungi here this season. It is true. 

In a way, maybe this is a good thing. Sort of. I guess. 
It is in the sense that we have had to turn our attention to other things. Things overlooked, but things that also fill our hearts & imaginations. They are not fungi, but still, as I reflect, I am grateful.

When we turn our eyes from the duff, what more is there to discover?

The World. (In no particular Order.)

Just allow me open spaces to roam, please.

And Mysteries to solve...
A stone left at Hubby's workplace. Turns out this is
Norwegian translated to runic, it says, roughly,
"There is no cake served in hell."

And flowers to Learn, Know & Nurture...
Wild ones, like the Twinflowers (Linnaea borealis)

And Buttercup (Ranuculus, spp.)

Or Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L. var. borealis),
white & pink varieties.

And Strawberry Blite (Blitum capitatum) -- coated with
 insect reproductive activity of some sort, I suspect.

A Foxglove (Digitalis spp.) at the front doorstep

A Fuchsia, "Blackie" (Fuchsia, spp., one of many) in back.

And Poppies (Papaver, spp.)
everywhere in between.

Show me other folks' creations to
discover, admire, emulate... 

And allow me to indulge in their
creative Secrets, Free Play & Art...

Always remembering that everything, everything
from eating to breathing to sleeping is an Art...
(especially if there is a basil sorbet involved...)

(...or a local rhubarb-infused vodka, paired with
friendship & sacred choreography planning)

And may I always be an open witness...
Witches' Altar. Lammas 2015.

Labyrinth, Anchorage, July 2015.

Laybrinth, Kasilof, August 2015.

Especially to Play.

And more Play.

Let me look to the Earth & the Sea & the Sky...

And everything in between.

And moreover...

Please let me recognize & embrace
the aesthetic of every human moment...

Let me respect my own mortality,
(Also let me know my allies: wounds packed 
with Yarrow & bound with Plantain)

And that of others...
Shrew (Sorex, spp.)

Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) remains.

And please, let me laugh, 
(Thank you Llewellyn.)

experience Joy, 

and Love.

The Magic is Here & Now.

An Ent with a very fine moustache.

Today is a "High Day" but yesterday was Magic.

Walking in places where two (or three, or four) worlds meet, opening ourselves to all that which surrounds us, we found Magic.

Brushing along the Birch skins under the foreboding Devil's Club, we found the beautiful ones.

Magic is big,

Everything I need. All of it, Magic.

& Magic is small.

Diminutive, orange slime mold fruiting bodies.

Magic is in the symbols we encounter

Quite a pair of Gemmed Puffballs (Lycoperdon perlatum).

& in the symbols we create.

Hubby's Inukshuk.
This one, a Guidepost for a departed friend.

When we seek, we find gifts of Magic anywhere, everywhere.

Mama & baby Moose under the Moon. Yesterday, Point Woronzof.

Magic: Amanita muscaria, the Fly Agaric.

Magic is here. 

Magic is now.  

Magic is within & without. 

Magic is above & below. 

Magic is every single day. 

Magic beckons us at every turn. 

We are all creatures of this Magic Earth.

Magic is our Native Tongue. It need not be complicated. 

We find Magic when we allow its approach, when we make ourselves available.

• We need not escape into fantasy, looking elsewhere, beyond ourselves, beyond this magnificent Place to find Magic. It is here, now.
• We need not spend our lives yearning for transcendence, dismissing the wonder of this Place in the hopes of something we imagine is superior. This Earth is sublime. It is Magic. It is here, now.
• We need not wait for the gods to bestow Magic upon us, barking at their heels for gnosis & believing we cannot achieve this for ourselves. We are Magic. We are here, now. 
• We need not wait for the "special" days, times, hours to create, work, share Magic together. The Magic is right now, right here.
• Magic has its own rules. Listen & believe in no others.

Go find, capture, make, discover, conjure, harness, seek, embrace, share Magic... here, now...

& may it be a blessed Day for all.