We are the ones! #phenology

Twice today we drove past the Sunrise River pools in which we had seen four egrets. There were no egrets visible on either trip, probably because the sunlight would have made them photogenic and we had a camera with us. There was, however, a great blue heron standing in almost exactly the same location as the heron we photographed there a few years ago. The heron's preferred fishing spot, if that's indeed what it is, is not the same as where the egrets had stationed themselves. We've no idea why, since both kinds of birds seem to share similar diets.

Anise Hyssop in bloom

Photo by J. Harrington

This morning the Better Half mentioned, much to my dismay, that there's a number of ragweed plants growing along the driveway. After feeling so smug the other day about recognizing that ragweed doesn't exhibit the yellow inflorescence of goldenrods, we were probably just setting ourselves up for not noticing what's right underfoot that we walk past several times a day. Sigh. (We pulled a number of ragweed plants earlier and will seek a BH review this evening to see if others were missed.) At least there's no challenge distinguishing the goldenrod or ragweed from the vervain anise hyssop that's putting out more and more blooms.

Hummingbirds are still around, still chasing each other away from the feeder and continuing to leaves us in awe of the size of the spark of life embodied in each of them, especially compared to the length of the migration they undertake. They are truly amazing and delightful creatures.

female ruby-throated hummingbird at feeder

Photo by J. Harrington

Speaking of amazing and delightful, Alice Walker, in her We Are the People We've Been Waiting For, cites what she describes as "a message from the Elders of the Hopi Nation of Oraibi, Arizona, that speaks to this time very well." In an attempt to learn more about this message, we did some googling this morning and discovered that there's a mixed bag of opinions on the internets regarding the purported source and authenticity of the message. Now that we've acknowledged that, we want to share the message because, for the most part, we like it very much and agree that it "speaks to this time very well."

"We have been telling the people that this is the
Eleventh Hour
Now we must go back and tell the people that this is the
Hour.

And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.

It is time to speak your truth.

Create your community.
Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast
It is so great and swift that there are those who will
be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel they are torn apart and they
will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination.

The Elders say we must let go of the shore, and
push off into the river, keep our eyes open, and
our head above water.

See who is in there with you and Celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing
personally.
Least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth
and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word "struggle" from you attitude and
your vocabulary.

All that you do now must be done in a sacred
manner
And in celebration.
"We are the ones we've been waiting for..."
-- The Elders, Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona

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