May 8, Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all!! Even if you don’t have children, you have still been nurturing someone, or something in your life. It’s a day to honor all of us and to be honored by Mother Earth, sustaining us on this planet.

Blessings for the rain here, even though the dampness caused my envelopes to seal themselves shut before I could use them.

A friend of mine while visiting me in Sahuarita shared with me a daily inspiration book she has been reading. The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo. I liked the few readings she shared with me and thought it would be a good companion for my adventure so I got myself a copy. Today’s share talks about how some things are meant to wither and die. He suggests the following, “Sit outside if possible, and watch the pollen carried on the wind. Meditate on how some of these pollen grains will become flowers, and how those flowers will wilt and seed other flowers yet to be.”

Life sometimes feels unfair, but we can lessen the hurt we feel by not labeling, not giving it so much space in our heart and our mind. It’s okay to feel those feelings, all are meant to be felt. Then we need to have compassion for our experience and grow from it. Like the flowers grow and bloom. Wherever I choose to plant myself, even if temporarily I bloom. In the 7 days I’ve been here, I found two thrift stores, one of which has the most amazing used book section, got some new to me rubber boots, a new sweatshirt, found a yoga class that meets twice a week, a NIA class, (more about that later as it’s new to me), and coffee with a new friend. Life is truly a gift.

view from the front porch

The rain did take a break yesterday afternoon. A few of my fellow hosts were able to take a tour of the main floor of the Assistant Lightkeepers house which is now a Bed and Breakfast.

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5 bulbs in 2nd assistants parlor

It sits on Forest Service Land and is managed by a concessionaire. None of the furnishings are original as the keepers would bring all of their own possessions with them and then when they left, take them away. The entrance door with its stained glass is original. Apparently there is a ghost that resides there now. The Gray Lady Rue. It’s been said that she mourns the loss of an infant and while there are no records of any births there, a grave of an infant was discovered on the property. The chandeliers in the living spaces had different numbers of bulbs. The 2nd assistant’s side of the duplex has 4, the 1st assistant’s has 5 and the head light keepers house had 6. The higher your rank the more light you get. The head light keepers house was sold at auction for $10 in 1940. The man who bought it, dismantled and took it to Mapleton and constructed a small building which is now the Alpha-Bit Cafe. 

Enjoy the pictures and I’ll give you an update if I encounter Rue.

After this tour, the weather was still dry-ish so I went up to Cape Perpetua, just a few miles north of the campground. It was almost high tide and there's a lava flow that has some amazing channels, one is called Thor's Well and there's a hole that water sprays up out of like Old Faithful. I look forward to also exploring this area at low tide.

Keep scrolling down for more pictures.

If you've made it this far in this rambling post, a few housekeeping details. I can't quite figure out the formatting always so sometimes the font changes even though I'm trying to keep it consistent. And I got the comments setting changed so any and all can comment on the blog, or you can send me a PM or text message. 

Love and hugs to all.

Crooks Chasm