Maebius Musings

I am not a morning person.  Morning people confuse and confound me.  Yet I am becoming one in the very near future due to my job.

In general, I have long maintained that my perfect “work shift” is 4pm-midnight, with the option to sleep in until around 10:00am.  If left to my own devices in one of those sleep-study caves, this is generally the time-frame Iwould gravitate to with my schedule.   I feel most productive just around dinner time, and early evening.

The quiet of the evening, with darkness settling in like a comfortable blanket of non-light, helping to focus my attentions and remove distractions of daily life.  That is zen to me.   Lamplight or candlelight with the soft glow of a monitor is comforting.

Yet soon, within a month or so, I will be adjusting to a completely different sleep cycle.   I had a taste of it these past two weeks.   4am-noon.  Blech!

I understand, intellectually, the concept of waking with hte sun bringing a promise to a new day, and all that.  I admit I’ve heard the “whole day before you” inspirations.  But I found I still don’t like it.

Mornings are when everything bustles up, revs into gear, and starts moving.  The birds sing, Life Happens, and folks start their day.    With this new shift, those things mean I’m halfway through and get to go home soon.

If I want to spend any time with my family on this new shift, I try to stay awake until dinner time, to join in on board games, book reading, and such.    I’m finding that this also means I get around 5 hours of good sleep, and taking a short nap from 1-3pm just makes me over-tired and washed out during dinner.

So if this blog starts to ramble a bit or sound slightly incoherent in January, blame early mornings.

I plan to. 

I’ll take the sunsets any day. [pun intended]

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**edit: still  trying to fix formatting. Blog exploded again.  Must be a weekend thing….

I have been reading an interesting book, which I referenced in a prior post, called “Dies the Fire“, which describes a post-apocolyptic world where humanity is struggling to survive after an Event causes technology to fail.

After finishing the first book in the series, I vividly recalled the poem by Robert Frost, pertaining to the end of the world.

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Now, the physisist in me always reads this and thinks the poem relates to how the universe will end, either collapsing upon itself in a reverse Big-Bang, or expanding forever into a cold infinity.

Then, I realize that in speaking of desire and hate, perhaps it relates to how the earth itself will end for us.  Either in the cold calamity of a Nuclear Winter, or some unknown firey ending that has to do with passions overwhelming rationality?

Yet, then beyond these things, the Druid in me realizes that the poem itself is slightly flawed.  The world will not really end, not really.

It may be absorbed into the churning inferno of our star, which may in turn collapse within the Universe itself, or we may explode it with a Doomsday Device, but it will not end.  No more than the leaves that fall on the ground each autumn are gone.   They merely transform and rejoin the bio-stream as compost and creature.

A wise man once said, “We are all Star Stuff”, and I agree.  To stardust we will all return, and when the stars fade, we’ll still be Universe-stuff.   We just might not recognize it as ourselves.

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UPDATE: The images are not showing on my work PC, but can be viewed from outside the network. Here are the links to the images directly, if they are not displaying for you.

Maebius Ghost Pumpkin

Kid Spooky Pumpkin

Kid Spooky Pumpkin (dark)

Kid by himself Pumpkin

This weekend (after church) we did a lot of work outside, raking, decorating with corn stalks all around the mailbox, porch, and house, and all the various “post-harvest” type of things.   Still have a few potatoes to dig up that will get done tonight probably, but the rest of the garden is gone, and frost has taken the majority of the weeds down to root.    And in further signs of the season, we carved our annual pumpkins for next weekend’s Halloween/Samhain celebration.

First, my rather spartan and simplistic “Boo to you!” ghost.  It turned out pretty good, but seems rather lacklustre for some reason, especially compared to the kid’s Awesome spooky-face!

Here is the Spooky Face. He drew on the pumpkin with a pen, then helped Mom use the sharp knife to carve out the face he drew. Turned out Awesome, if I do say so myself, and is seriously spooky!

Last but not least, we found the somewhat more kid-safe pumpkin saw and let him carve whatever he wanted, entirely without assistance (except for helping scoop out the innards). This also turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

The goblins should be properly frightened from our doorstep this year!

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Got you with that title, didn’t I? 

If it weren’t so rainy, I’d hang out my clothes to dry more days than not, and underwear displays be darned.

Sadly, this probably makes me a poor slovenly wreck of a human being, if I were to live in a more suburban area.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/fight_to_legali.php?dcitc=th_rss

Thankfully, though, states are starting to, as the article says, “hanging clotheslines was against the rules in so many communities nationwide that state governments are being forced to step in and make it against the law to ban them.”

*sigh*    Sometimes, I welcome the zombie apocalypse.

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Sandy over on Though Soup just posted an interesting bit on Initiation practices.  I’ve often mused about such topics, but after searching my own blog, I don’t think I ever really wrote them out here.

I agree that for many, the concept of initiation in simply a membership into a group.  This pans out when you look at the accepted Definition of the term:

I think many people forget part C.2 above, where the initiate is “invested with a particular function or status“.   Initiation is both for the benefit of the group being joined, as well as the person joining.   It is a sort of liminal, transitional, empowering state.

For myself, I was active in the local Boy Scouts of America program in my youth.  One facet of that organization is a sub-group called “Order of the Arrow“. You do not apply for this group, you are invited.  (The mission statement for this group: The mission of the Order of the Arrow is to fulfill its purpose as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America
through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.)

It is steeped in a cloak of not-quite-authentic Native American symbolism and pseudo-morality, but I’ll forgive that since I never considered it when I was first made a member.  At that time, it was the “cool mysterious group who got to go on extra camp-outs and do more stupid work-projects in the community“.

The group itself had a number of ritual trappings, from the dramatic “invitation” itself, to a number of service-oriented events.  Yet the one thing I really connected with was the “initiation” camping trip.   As Sandy mentions, a Good Initiation prepares the initiate. They do not simply join up.   The initiate is held accountable for their actions and decision.

In my case, the invitation was made, I attended the usual initiate’s camping trips, complete with a bit of good-natured hazing, but also with lots of personal decision making.  We were given a history of the group, told what to expect, and then told to find a project to work on.

It’s a classic example, in my mind, of how “leadership training” should work.  We weren’t given projects, we were told to go find a project and complete it. The details of what project, necessary materials, and even what constitutes a project, were left unsaid.  The initiate had to organize the pool of non-initiates, formulate a plan to complete something, and then do it.

The end result of this, which was felt to be “stupid making us do all the work” by some, was that those who finished all the tasks requested of them, were able to undergo the Initiation and join the ranks of this leadership council.

To those of us who did it, more than one of us realized in hind-sight that after all we did, we already were in the club.  The ordeals and lessons and challenges provided to us just helped us realize that fact.

And in realizing it, that was the shift.

The big ceremony afterward was more for the group and those spectators attending it.  To the initiate, the ‘lines of energy’ were already set  in place.   We were initiated, and then just had to formalize it in a ritual setting to let the others know.  

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There comes a time in everyone’s life when we must step back, take account of our situation, and endeavor to improve it. It’s a natural human way of thinking, to continually challenge and improve ourselves.

Such thoughts brought humanity from the fire-lit caves of ancient times to walking on the moon (and deforestation and pollution, but I’ll discount that aspect for this post).

And so, tonight I will take up my bookbag, hoist a notebook and pen, and step forward into the frightening realm of Academia once more.   I hope you’ll join me later this weekend, as I regale you with tales of higher learning, wrenched from the inner sanctums of Herkimer Community College.

…

Or, more accurately, I signed up for 4 non-credit courses at the nearby college, taught by someone I know and have on my blogroll!

Tonight is the class “Local and Bioregional Herbal Remedies“,  followed by “Herbs of Children and Family” on Oct 22nd,  the exciting “Preparations and Kitchen Herbs” in November, and finally one in December that does not appear to be updated on the site yet. 

I havn’t been to ‘school’ for years now, so am just a wee bit nervous. Gotta get my brain in gear to do some Serious Learnin…

Still, I’ve heard the teacher is kinda hot. 

Green blessings from my yard to yours.

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Short post,  life is busy (in a fairly good way) …..

The garden is starting to feel autumnal already.   We were in philadelphia last weekend with warm sunny weather, and returned home after a 5hr drive to 53 degree drizzly breezy grey evenings.    Wow,  talk about climate culture-shock stepping out of the car again. 

The beets are dug and canned or pickled, our Chard is starting to fade, and the Hops bine is laden with musky little cones to pluck and dry shorty.  It’s one of my favorite times of the year actually, though I do rather feel sad when the growing flocks of geese are wheeling southward on my way home from work.  The arrival of geese is one of my “springtime” markers, and they will be missed over winter.

Yesterday we made about 3.5 qarts of Elderberry Jelly (in small half-pint and pint jars) and STILL have berries left over to make syrup and cordials.   Yummy, and the purple stains across the stove and counter were kinda pretty until they got sponged up.

…

So, with harvest time in the air, and because I just made a side-dish of lightly steamed leaves last night from our ‘garden’ where they were interfering with the beets….  here’s Susun Weed’s informative posting on Lamb’s Quarters:  Chenopodium Album.

Go now, and eat your weeds!

(and check out Susun’s  Wise woman forum if you’ve never been there.  Good resource for weedy stuff!)

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Short random thought here, while we enjoy canning garden veggies, pick elderberries, and try to keep up with mowing the yard in the midst of rainy weather and quick-to-seed grasses. 

Speaking of mowing the yard and tending the garden, which are both “nature-oriented outdoorsy” activities….

Is it really being truly Harmony with Nature to tend a garden or pull unwanted plants from a patch of wildcrafted ‘weeds’, or is such activity merely a green-washing and rationalized front to an otherwise human need to control our environment?   And then again, is falling into such a pattern of ego-controlling modification of the world just part of our natural human-nature, and thus perfectly “keeping with Nature”?

I can see Pros and cons to the former question, in that a properly tended wilderness area may produce healthier individual results (bigger veggies, healthy grubs, etc) but at the cost of reduced biodiversity in the micro-system.   Likewise, letting a garden go to weeds will produce some of the healthiest weeds due to competition with neighboring species (which may be potentially wildcrafted for other benefits as well).

I also understand that on a larger timeframe and scale, monoculture or even tended diverse gardens and sustainable fallow/crop rotations would not last without continued intervention on our part.   Yet would that be ‘best-practice’ for the ecosyatem of the area itself?  I am considering hte question mianly in the timeframe of a human lifespan, or a generation, perhaps 50 years at most, so that the results can be witnessed by one such as myself.

Allowing it to go fallow might yield a grassland or expanse of ivy that eventually makes way for trees as neighboring ecosystems encroach on the “open plain”, and ultimately (in my limited time-scale) result in lessened biodiversity or productive value.

It’s an interesting ponderence, with many more layers I have not fully considered or researched yet.

Still, as a gut-reaction musing, what are your thoughts?   I’m curious to hear them! 

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Another wall-of-text about recent events more than Spiritual Musings.  Consider yourself warned!

Recently, I took a week off work, and we camped out in my in-law’s trailer near home, and the wonderfully scenic Adirondack Gateway Campground.  Also, this tuesday, we decided to beat the recent 90+ degree heat and go cave-exploring (Howe Caverns and the awesome Secret Caverns) near Albany.

Camping-wise, Other than a bit of uncomfortable sleeping arrangements (I got the floor), it was a lovely relaxing time.   Particularly mid-week it was quiet with only 3-4 other people in the nearby campsites, and thus the pool and trails were empty for us to enjoy whenever we felt like it.

The hiking was my favorite part, with a looping self-contained series of trails mowed into the sandy landscape, and including three (two easily accessible) small ponds.  The kid brought his fishing rod and enjoyed a few hours of hook-less casting and reeling in invisible Pokemon.  There was a small shed-barn converted to game-room with an old skii-ball, pong-pong, 2 billiard tables, and similarly free entertaining resources.

The part that I enjoyed most was wildcrafting some snacks along our hikes.  The long blackberries were just coming into ripeness, and I discovered two patches of low-bush blueberries which made delicious pancake-additions one of the mornings we were there.

Another really nice musing I had was how our closest neighbors, being obvious fans of Nascar, Huge trucks, and vague incomprehension regarding wildcrafting (Ya can eat those weeds? Ya sure it’s not poison? Won’t they make ya sick?!), we still were able to laugh at all our kids’ joyful antics, swim in the pool together, and connect with the commonalities we DID share.    It was something I wish the rest of the world could do more regularly. (Granted, I admit I first saw the enormous Hummer truck and Loud Country music with a bit of pre-judging myself, but got over that quickly.)

Additionally, it was nice just sitting back and relaxing with no work or stress on our mind beyond “are we getting hungry yet?”.  Evenings were fillled with the obligatory campfire and marshmallow roasting.  The kid even got a real thrill out of being ‘old enough to help’ build and actually light the campfire (thanks to a fuse of newspaper strips lightly sprinkled with BBQ lighter fluid).  Oh no, I’m starting the pyro habit too early, aren’t I?  

* * *

As far as the caverns go, it was interesting to see the difference between the two adjacent cave systems, both in terms of actual geological make-up and in marketing and presentation.

Howe Caverns we went to first, being our main goal for the day.   It has the usual large rooms, pretty formations, and strategic lighting commonly seen in commercial cave systems.  I enjoyed the little boat ride into the deepest section of the cave, which gave our feet a rest and allowed you to simply sit back and watch the rocks.

The drawback to this cave is that it is really REALLY commercialized.  They are quite efficient at getting tour-groups of approx 15-20 people moving through the stops along the tour every 10 minutes.   The entire tour area is paved with smooth brick walkways with secure handrails and other tour groups moving past yours every few minutes (the tour is essentially one way in, one way out, so groups are constantly shuffling past each other in between the wider “scenic stop” points.   You also were reminded often and regularly that in the narrower sections, you can NOT touch anything besides the handrails, as you will kill the cave rock system, no coins in the water, and no touching the water as the oils in your hands will ruin the cave forever.  However, this warning didn’t stop our guide, plus three others from excitedly taking a break from our tour to go climb over the railings and fish out a salamander in one of the closer pools of water so it could be brought back “to the surface where it should live”.   Uh-huh…  *shrug*

(I also understand very well the concept of a living cave, and that the oils and dirt in our hands Does affect the formation of calcite and flowstone can be ‘killed’ by inappropriate contact.  I just thought it sadly funny how the necessary warning to at least minimize such exposure among such a huge touring population was discarded rather thoughtlessly by the staff people, even if they were allowed to do such things. It seemed slightly hypocritical, and could have at least been done in-between groups by a lone staff member without such attention-drawing antics.)

The second cavern system we visited, mainly due to the quirky Billboards, was Secret Caverns.  This was a much smaller, quirky place with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor on the signs, and from the guides.  We bought our tickets (cheaper than Howe’s and the kid was free!) and waityed with about 4 other people outside for a few moments.  The guy behind the counter selling tickets came out to say that the tour would start soon, after he unlocked the cage our guide was kept in, then proceeded to go back inside and immediately come out a small rusty backdoor, extending his hand “Hi, I’m Zarlak, your tourguide, but you can call me Steve”.  I loved the place already!

You went down a winding flight of rocky formations, (known as “concrete steps”) and the actual cavern itself was more a giant crack in the rocks, with a few chimneys and smaller grottos with the usual formations. It definitely was not as glamorous and ‘pretty’ as Howe Caverns, but the fact that the walkway was rough concrete mixed from the actual rocks of the cave opening, and was on the physical floor of the cave gave it a much more intimate immersive feel.   We were heartily welcomed to touch the walls (you couldn’t really help it in many places) and our guide kept a flow of funny puns, and historical anecdotes flowing as we explored the system.  The fewer notable formations were neat since they were considerably more up-close and personal, if smaller and less dramatic than the larger Howe’s attractions, and the final 100ft waterfall was actually much more impressive than the boat ride elsewhere.

One thing I can say, is to not wear any Italian leather or Prada in Secret Caverns.  It’s not as sterile, and the floor in one part had a decent puddle we tip-toed through where a steadily dripping formation above us had started growing a few years ago.   Yet, this made it more real and visceral to me, making it my favorite of the two cave systems.   It also helped that in Secret Caverns, and its lone-tour-at-a-time made the groups more personal, and allowed us to really appreciate the “moments of darkness” when all the lights were turned off deep within the cave (Steve started cackling quietly when he first turned them out, then laughed nervously when they came on again: “Did you all hear that?!”).

Plus, the nearby woods and pond around Secret Cave were the perfect places for a few Fae to live, with such quirky fun-loving energy and respect for the land that was hinted at by the owners and more felt than spoken.  I’m sure of it.

The kid says he enjoyed Howe Caverns more for the bigger scenery and the boat ride, but had gotten really cold by the end of that tour.  He did really like being able to splash around and touch the walls of Secret Cavern though, so it was a Draw for his favorite.

If you get to that area of upstate, NY anytime soon, I recommend visiting at least one of these attractions, depending on your level of quirky acceptance.  It’s a great place to see under the earth, and appreciate how Big and Old it all is.

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Been off work for the last week, and camping with the in-laws and their 5th wheel camper.

Musings to follow once I recover from the 90+ humid days and unpacking, but in summary:

• The floor is a rather uncomfortable place to sleep, even with 4 comforters under you.  I enjoyed the early mornings when Mrs Maebius went to work and I snuck into the spare bed for a few hours before the kid woke up. 
• The dog is good for about 10+ miles of hiking trails.  Limits of canine Stamina were not quite reached after prolonged activity.   The stamina of a 5yr old is considerably less, and thus our hikes were limited to 1 mile durations.  Still, it’s an awesome picture to see the boy and his dog running along the trails hunting wild blackberries and huckleberries!!
• The place we stayed is really nice and quiet and out of the way, and would be Awesome property for a festival full of drumming and dancing, secluded enough to allow skyclad camping in the back half.
• Speaking of skyclad, it’s such a hassle dealing with swimsuits in the pool.  I miss 4Quarter Farm and Starwood dress-codes. 

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