The drive home was smooth as silk, once I stopped at the gas station and added some air to the front tires to make that scary ‘low tire pressure’ symbol go away. Dang that thing made me nervous!
It was a total bonus that it was cloudy the whole way. Driving south, the sun is so often in your eyes and there’s a lot of glare usually. Today it was a nice soothing gray sky. The dogs were quiet and seemed content in the back seat thank goodness.
There certainly was less hair on the quilt in the back seat, now that they have been to the groomers. The quilt is in the dryer now, shedding dog hair into the lint screen. Thank goodness for washing machines.
You would think they had gone on a deer hunt by the way they are acting now, both sprawled out on the floor sleeping... Animals sleep a lot don’t they?
I’m sure they are going to miss the country. They were very cheerful and playful up there in the mountains. They got a chance to chase the deer out of the yard a couple of times which I’m sure just made their day. For once they earned their meals.
Here they are running off their heebie jeebies in the back yard...
[album 65561 Dog Blur.jpg]
Each trip up there takes on a certain character of its own. I never know what might happen. One time it was a trip of meeting a truly astonishing number of people I used to know. Everywhere I went, it was like the peeps version of ‘blast from the past’. This trip was a time of old wounds being healed, and meeting new friends. The healing waters were not just metaphorical.
They were the real deal.
Both liquid and personal.
[album 65561 Feets in Waters.jpg]
All I can say is, it really IS a new year.
On Rosh Hashanah it is a custom to eat apples and honey to symbolize a sweet new year.
This year I was able to perform that custom with .... funny, the first thing that popped in my head was ... magic apples. Well, you decide.
For many, many years now, 40? [I kid you not] I have driven by a certain wild apple tree that grows RIGHT along the freeway up in the mountains. In the fall it has red apples all over it. It was one of those things that you whizzed by so quickly that you couldn’t stop because the cars were behind you and you can’t back up on the freeway unless you are bat sh... I mean nuts. So it was always ...”Oh look! Apples!” And then, “Too late!” Or I WOULD remember the tree and look behind me to see four semi trucks barreling down on me and I would lose my nerve to pull off the road.
Well, this year, I was determined to stop. As I got closer to where the tree was I slowed down and looked behind me. No cars OR trucks! I pulled over and cautiously got out when there was no one coming to take my driver’s side door off and picked a bag full of wonderful apples. Now what WAS scary were the trucks that went by WHILE I was picking. WHOOSH! Yikes. I steeled my nerves and ignored them as best I could.
I felt like it was the culmination of a long delayed quest.
And it was one of those apples that S. and I said the blessing over and ate with starthistle honey on Rosh Hashanah.
I feel like with a beginning like that, this could be one very rare and extraordinary year.
A year of new beginnings, of long delayed healing, and culminations of ancient quests, both large and small.
May you all be blessed with a good and sweet year!
[album 65561 Apples Floating.jpg]