Tender Grit

 

"A bruised reed [she] will not break, and a faintly burning wick [she] will not quench." 

- Book of Isaiah

Summer Grasses

 

This year we had two glorious months of spring-- twice as long as usual to gobble up and savor afternoon thunder storms, the profusion of wildflowers, the smell of lilacs in the cool air. 

When I finally ventured out with camera and intention in tow to capture the wonder of it all, the change of seasons had already come and gone-- sudden and complete. 

And just as startling as when spring arrived after the long winter months. May's colors are now faded, washed out by the noonday sun. 

Yet summer arrives with its own magic-- the susurrus of dry grasses moving in the wind, the passing shade of a cloud overhead, that ineffable smell of leisure (some combination of sunscreen, beach towels, swimming holes and bicycles).

Goldfish

 

Japanese artist, Riusuke Fukahori's subject is goldfish and through goldfish, humans in the age of climate change.

Women Of A Certain Age

 

Toothed whales and humans are some of the few species we know of on Earth in which females outlive their fertility. Humans may be the only females on this planet to experience menopause in a patriarchal culture.

If that doesn't blow your mind, I don't know what will... 

I was just introduced to a wonderful resource, The Menopause Brain, about aging female bodies. And even this book, which contains a wealth of vital information, acknowledges that the evolutionary drivers behind menopause are still poorly understood.

Really?! Wow. Just wow.

• A naturopathic doctor said she believed this transition in women's bodies facilitated a change in focus, from a narrow exterior gaze to an interior focus paired with a wide exterior gaze.

• That dovetails with the notion that women transition from primarily occupying chronos time to centering ourselves in kairos time as we age. 

• My mom observed that the biological imperative seems to shift from birthing others to birthing ourselves. 

• Cultural narratives speak of menopause as a threshold women cross into an era where they simply have no more fucks to give. I like to imagine that each egg we loose is one more fuck down the drain until we are ultimately left with none.

• My guess is that our ancient ancestors understood and supported people transitioning through menopause far better than we do now. A shame to have lost that situational wisdom as a species.

Unhinged

 

How is season two is even better than season one?!

The Lander Pool Delights Me

 

I have been listening to a This American Life episode about delight. Those pings of magic are so precious-- the Lander Community Pool is like the Fourth of July of delight for me.

Kids race walking for flippers and then getting in trouble for putting them on (in their excitement) before they reach the edge of the pool.

The murals. Oh, the murals.

How this nothing-fancy pool produces state champions year after year.

And how those champions are celebrated as wood and cardboard cutouts for all to see in the lobby.

How Dylan is a cattle rancher on the side and seems to effortlessly keep track of our $1.60 per visit punch passes.

And Deanna is back from a stroke to coach water aerobics from her chair for a crew who knows the routine by heart.

How the hot tub saves us, time and time again, from chattering teeth and blue lips.  

And how Lander kids visiting the Pinedale Aquatic Center are outraged not to be able to go in the hot tub there because they have been allowed in this hot tub since birth.

How Donna made her swim bag from plastic grocery bags, has too many great grandchildren to count, and had to stay out of the pool for a week recently because she got a hummingbird tattooed on her chest.

How Natalie, the Russian woman who cleans the pool, hands out Werther's Originals and buttons in the women's locker room just to be kind. And how her presence in rural Wyoming is so improbable that I wonder if she was an actual mail order bride.

Father's Day

 

The story of Wolf 8 and Wolf 21 in Yellowstone is a beauty.