A Few of My Favorite Photos...

I so enjoy trying to capture that which moves me, that something that I see and can share. I am fond of the little things. I believe they are the magic of this lifetime.

This tiny lavender flower captures my heart every time I see it. This is a piece that broke off the mother plant and rooted in the glass. Such tiny perfection.

Several years ago we were gifted with monarch caterpillars in the gardens. Monarch chrysalis have the tiniest metallic shining dots near the crown and I've always wished to be able to see one up close. He hatched on a day of rain--if you click on the photo you can see the drops of rain on the shell of a home and on his antennae.

I love the texture and seeming age of this door.


These three will soon be released to be able to live out their lives as they choose.


This day I was able to hear what it's like to be yelled at by a fox. She wasn't kidding either.

She's Going Home!!

Barb and two of her Girls

Barb's been released from the hospital and after a few days of rest will now be traveling home, with her parents, to be with her family!! It's been a hard few weeks filled with uncertainty, fear, and hope. Small steps of healing were heralded and Barb never faltered.

Thank you for reading, thinking and praying for Barb. Your prayers have been heard.

She's going home!!!

Rehydration for the Earth and the Spirit.

It's finally rained. The earth is again sighing--like daily. During one day and over night we got over 6" of rain. The dry seasonal creek hasn't had any significant water in it in several years. We could hear its celebration from the back porch. So, we called the dogs, grabbed the camera and took a walk.

Justin straddled the tangle of underbrush for that deer leg. Earlier he disappeared as I took photos of Sandy (below) and when he returned, he was already crunching his prize. His main focus during the walk was hunting and finding crunchy snacks.



Sandy went swimming. Long ago when she and Justin were puppies, we had a wading pool for them. Somewhere I have a photo (one you hold in your hands!) of both of them laying yin and yang in the pool of water. Honestly, I haven't seen her in water since they outgrew the pool. She waded in, laid down, put her muzzle under the water up to her eyes and blew bubbles. She was so happy!



Niles will die when he sees I took this photo of he and Lillie

Lillie found a peeper


Between rain (after the first rains and before the one above) I took time to disappear into the pasture with my friends. I hadn't visited in awhile and while Rocky's appearance doesn't change much, the goatlet's and Gracie's do. Gracie is getting so big but still remains a calf compared to the other adult bovine in the neighboring pasture. She also still retains her child like tendencies like pushing you with her head or even sneaking up behind you and pushing your hind end while you're getting goat kisses. So not funny but I swear I can hear her snicker each and every time she does it.



On this day I was sitting quietly with Rocky enjoying the pastoral scene of the green hills, blue sky with white fluffy clouds floating on a lazy breeze, vultures soaring in the upper regions of the atmosphere, black wisps on the wind; ravens racing through the trees, taunting one another. I know now why the animals in the pastures have half closed eyes--they're blissed out.

I looked to my left and see Atrayu just standing there watching me. She sweetly kept her distance so Rocky and I could have our time together. So I called her over. Eventually I end up with a goat laying to my left (Atrayu), a goat laying behind me (Falcor) and Rocky laying to my right. I was surrounded by love.

In the meantime, Gracie saw us all huddled together. Not one to miss out on any attention, she made a bee-line to where we were sitting. I wasn't concerned until it looked like she wasn't going to slow as she got closer and closer. Nothing like a 200 pound calf coming directly at you to make you un-blissed-out fast. She did stop in time, her feet coming to rest just millimeters from my legs. She then proceeded to rub the top of my head with her nose and neck. Cow love. Towering above me, she leaned forward just a little and I thought for sure she was going to step over me. As Rocky was nervously still laying to my right, my mind raced as I thought of how to get out of her way so I wouldn't be trampled.

She laid down, knees touching my leg and head all up in my face. Rocky tried to move away from the big black animal but I reassured him he was fine. Gracie laid her head in my lap, burping fermented green burps with an occasional lick with her huge rough tongue.

My time with them was too soon over and I left with complete peace. How could I not?

Rocky

Update on Barbara

photo by Michelle Goodall-Nowels. Barbara with (almost all of) her girls.

Barbara had surgery this past Wednesday afternoon. A plate was used to fix her clavicle and another was used to fix her wrist. There was a lot of damage there. But she came through it. The next goal is to wean her off of her sedation a little at a time so she can then be weaned off of the ventilator that is breathing for her. Her other wounds (broken ribs, punctured lungs, many bruises on her body and face) are continuing to heal.

She is one strong Mama.

Services for her husband, Damon Faust, are pending. Their two oldest children will be making the trip to visit with her this weekend and make some very hard decisions about their father's burial schedule. Such tragic decisions for them to make. But they are wonderful and I know with all of the prayers that are being said for them right now, they will have the strength to do what they need to do.

A trust fund has been set up for the Faust family at Zion's Bank.To contribute or make donations, you can visit any Zion's Branch Office.If you aren't near a Zion's Bank, you can mail checks or money orders to the following address:

Zion's Bank Provo University Office
1060 North University Avenue
Provo, UT 84604

Please, include a note or letter stating that your donation is for Dr. Damon Faust. If you want a reciept for your donation, you must mention that in your letter.

A Time of Mourning

photo by Michelle Goodall-Nowels

Life is amazing and life is fragile. Sometimes you want it to stay simple and easy and when you get bored you call in the chaos. And sometimes you can have all of this and more on any given day, especially if you have kids.... you're especially blessed if you have someone to go through it all with--someone who you can call and knows exactly how you feel and what to say, because, usually, she's been through it too.

I am blessed to have a friend like this. We were married in the same year (she in the spring, me in the winter), and, had babies in the same season (me in late spring, she in early summer). We went through years of babies and daily plans of getting out of the house, with the babies, and somehow maintained some kind of adult social and intellectual abilities.

Our married lives went their own ways. She and her family moved far far away to Utah and comparatively, we moved just up the road to Austin, Tx. Still, we called often, had more kids (she far more than I!) and we visited when we could. Our families grew up and we grew wiser, but we never grew older!!

Barb and I have been friends almost half of my life--26 years. We've gone from wide eyed young girls to mommies, and now she's a grandmother. Our lives are rich, delicious, and fulfilling.

And now my dear friend is in the hospital. She and her husband were driving home to Utah from Nevada when they were rear ended by another car. She was life-flighted to a Nevada hospital and was admitted into the ICU. Damon did not survive the accident.

Barbara is on a ventilator, has a chest tube, has multiple contusions and bruises, and will need surgery when she is stable. She is sedated because she was fighting the tubes in her mouth. She isn't aware of Damon's passing. Her parents are at her side and her children are all together. (All 10 of them.) Their lives will never be the same.

So, take a minute and pray for my friend, Barbara, and her family. Pray for their healing. And take a moment and count your blessings--for your health and for your family's health.

My Little Earth Girl

She came in and asked if she could go play in the rain.

The last time it rained I told her no, it's messy blah blah blah. I felt badly after that and swore I wouldn't tell her no again.

I knew she went outside. I heard the back door close and thought nothing more of it.

Then I heard her laughing and giggling and talking and singing.

Wondering what she was up to (I thought she was playing with the dogs but I knew they wouldn't be out in the rain) I walked over to the window...

A Celebration of Water...

This morning as my alarm pulsed at 6am, I awoke to a bright flash of light that at first startled me then made me do a quick reality check--had I really seen the flash or was it the crushing migraine ramping up in my head? Eyes tightly squeezed closed, the only bright lights I continued to see were the flashing dots behind my eyelids--this was one monster migraine.

I slowly walked downstairs and Brent asked if I had seen the lightening... why yes, I had.

It was raining and had been doing so for awhile, along with thunder. And I had slept through it all--amazing. I have heard deer as they walked through the front yard looking for something to eat. With the windows closed. I have heard the dog's thoughts of being forgotten in the dog yard and wanting to be let into the yard, in the middle of the night, and have awaken from a dead sleep to let them out. And yet I hadn't heard any thunder.

Overnight a front had moved through and slowed. After a 2 1/2 year drought, this rain was desperately needed. The earth had begun to crack, not even supporting the native grasses anymore; they were just clumps of skeletons that fractured when the wind would blow. The animals, especially the deer, lost most of their spring body fat and though had full bellies, their ribs and hips showed through their skin. And they were so thirsty. They came every night and drained the birdbath out front. Trees that have been in the ground for almost 10 years have died while other tree's leaves burned to a crisp from the unrelenting heat. And that's just in my yard.



As I drove to work 35 miles north from here, the weather vacillated between dry as a bone to torrential downpour--a typical Texas storm front.



All morning I sat and watched the rain from my desk as it trickled down through the ligustrum trees and was absorbed as fast as it fell. The skies grew dark and by early after afternoon the sun came and brightened everything. Drops of water were as crystals glinting off leaves, gravels, and rooster tails.



I could feel the earth sigh as she drank in the rain. On the way home it was as if everything had been bathed in a glowing light of clean--refreshed. The skies were bluer, the land was greener, and the air was crisper. There was water in creeks that had been dry for years.



A particular Texas Sage up the street was celebrating in full glory. She was a burst of lavendar and bees. She outshined all other sages on the block and I had to photograph her and her friends the bees. What a celebration!




Hopefully the drought is over. According to this map, we have a long way to go.

My Heart Swells

Dear Rocky-
It's been almost 20 months since I first took you into my arms. You were just hours old and all legs. I remember holding you close and smelling the top of your head. You smelled like the earth and were so very tiny. I barely listened to the excuses of why you were taken from your mother.

I remember that first night--I was so worried for you. I set you up in a small laundry basket with the best soft blanket daddy had. He wanted you to sleep outside but you didn't. You slept right beside the bed, my hand on your head so you wouldn't feel alone. You went to sleep after I fed you and woke up around 2am for another feed. Remembering your little whimpers and mews makes me smile. You took to the bottle and your little tongue curled around the nipple--I was in love.

I suppose I could write a note about every day since then, but I will only say this--you have changed my life. I have spent more time in a pasture than I ever expected. Countless days I've watched clouds slowly pass overhead, you and I side by side; in the sun during winter, the shade in summer. Oak trees whispered their memories of past seasons and the resident vermillion flycatcher performed his aerial gymnastics to catch seemingly invisible winged insects, then land within the oak's protective branches. Killdeer have passed us by as they foraged in the pasture grasses for ground dwelling insects.

You and I have laid side by side against a huge round bale of hay on a winter's day and napped, sun barely warming our bodies as the winds whipped across the pastures. Head to head and often nose to nose, I breathed in your earthly smell and I suppose you memorized mine. Your coat grew thick and I would leave with brown fingers and palms from scratching your skin. My hands were soft for days after with all of the lanolin they absorbed.

I have taken probably thousands of pictures of you, some I have shared but many I keep for myself to slowly go through and remember. I have listened to your language change from a sweet baby's call for food to an adult sheep's deep call of recognition. I have one of your baby teeth and some of your wool from your first shearing. I hold these as sacred as much as I do my kid's treasures.

I love you, Rocky. I really do.

First Week Back, Part 2

A couple of days after the wild fire, I was called to help with an egret emergency. There was a huge egret rookery at Brakenridge Park in town and the fledglings were learning to fly and ending up in the water or landing on the concrete sidewalks and breaking fragile legs and wings.


The Parks department had begun clearing out the lily pads that were in the river along with the algae that was covering the surface of the water. They had no idea the juveniles needed the foliage as part of their learning process. The egret's feet are made for walking on the lily pad leaves, and their rookery, several huge old oak trees, lean directly over the water. So as the young ones tried out their new found wings, what they found was water.


Many of the birds came in soaking wet, cold, and emaciated. The babies need a lot of food in order to have the energy to learn to fly and if they're cold and wet and stuck in water, they cannot be fed.
Over 100 birds have ended up in the clinic and are getting around the clock are for what ails them. A rotation for release is beginning with healed birds being moved outdoors to become acclimated once again before being transported to a release site.


Spending time with my animal friends always puts me in a good place. Something about unconditional love... something about these beings being so true to themselves, something about them always being happy to see me. Just makes everything O.K.


A baby black vulture just arrived with a friend who is just a bit older. Together they will grow and then be released. For now, they are learning from our resident and visiting vultures just how good life at the sanctuary can be. How can you resist that sweet face!!


A Muscovy duck bathes in a wading pool. It has been so hot and dry that all of our waterfowl take turns cooling off and bathing. He didn't mind one bit that I was taking photos... secretly I think he stayed in longer because I was there.


This is Ms Ripley. She came to us because a girl's mom didn't want a large pig as a pet. She loves people. I've become especially fond of her--my very first experience of pig love. She comes running up to me, rumbling all the way, and plants her nose right on my leg. If I am sitting, she will find any skin and park her nose on it, breathing deeply with eyes partly closed. To me, she smells like sweet celery...


And here's Gracie. She's getting so big and turning so black!!! Her favorite thing ever is to be scratched under her chin--to her chest. Her eyes looks skyward and her chin follows--soon, she is standing very still, loving every scratch. If you stop, she will take a step closer to you and look at you with her big brown eyes and nudge you with her large wet nose.
Keep scratching or walk away.
Walk away from that look?

My First Week Back Home

Niles, Lillie and I were coming in from seeing a movie (Ice Age 3) and as we topped a hill, the smoke made us gasp. A HUGE column of white smoke. My first thought was that Lillie's school was on fire (it's in our neighborhood). As we got closer we realized the school wasn't on fire, but, the fire wasn't far from it. We pulled over and I called 911. The fire department was on its way.

It was very exciting. Not in the 'ooooh something bad's gonna happen' but in the 'wow the energy that fire brings gives me goosebumps'. Watching fully green cedar trees being engulfed by fire and rendered charcoal sticks within seconds reminded me how fragile life really is.



This photo shows when the fire jumped the road and began burning Camp Bullis.


This photo was used on one of the local TV station's online homepage.


This is the aftermath.





The fire eventually came within 1/2 block of the elementary school and burned close to 200 acres. It was said to have been started by the spark from a welder. The drought has gotten so bad--most grasses and a lot of understory trees have died. Any kind of energy can start a fire.

You can still smell smoke when you drive by, now a week later.

The Last Days

The day before we left Newport, the kids wanted to get out. The fog had been steadily moving in since the night before. We all sat at dinner (outside!) and watched it move in. Overnight I can only guess it decided to stay. (And the fog horn woke me only once!)

We knew the fog was bad when we set out, but, as we rounded the corner to the kite park (Castle Hill area) visibility careened down to almost -0-! We had no idea people were flying kites in the park until we were almost upon them.



I know, it looks as if there's nothing in the next couple of photos. Just click on them and you will see something...






And here is Niles getting his kite up. I can say kite flying in thick fog is a challenge--not because of diminished visibility, but because of the moisture that rides the kite. It makes the kite really heavy and very hard to keep in the air.

The following day was the Day Of Leaving. A very Sad Day. I wanted to get a few more photos of the area so Brent and I headed out to St. Mary's Catholic Church. One of the oldest churches on the island. And...

where JFK and Jackie got married. They had their own pew (#10) in the church. Come to find out, St. Mary's was in Jackie's mom's parish, that's why they were married there.

Unlike many modern day catholic churches, the congregation faces an amazing stained glass window over the tabernacle (instead of the suffering Christ). All of the stained glass was made in Switzerland in the 1800's and shipped over. The colors were enthralling.

The outside of the church was fascinating to me. Arches, lines, angles... so many visually stimulating and photographic components. I love the hinges on the doors.

Back at the house, I walked the gardens. Near the rear of the gardens in the shaded area there was this huge star:

Branches over the winter had fallen and proclaimed the garden Magic. The hydrangeas in the gardens that surrounded the house were breathtaking.

We packed our things and slowly drove towards the airport in Providence. Over the Pell bridge and past all of the waterways. Until next year...