July is Summer

Will the snows come early this year? Please, let it be so! When you look up the word “summer” in the dictionary, you should see a picture of a person with the word July stenciled on their sweaty forehead. That’s right, a close-up photo of a big forehead covered in teeny goblets of sweat!

With lowland temps hovering in the upper 90s, we decided on a grueling trail shuffle using this heat as a stressor…..in preparation for our projects later this year.

We both prefer cooler weather and were sweating like pigs even before leaving the trailhead. How does one train for the scorching heat of desert sands? Maybe djellabas would have kept us cooler than our tech fabric shirts and shorts. A cold beer would have been good.

Along the way we saw countless sub-alpine flowers and slews of flittering butterflies, flying ladybugs, and even a pack of ravens making throaty purr-like sounds as they surfed invisible thermals.

As we pounded down the last bit of the trail, a snake slithered out underneath my foot causing me to let out a loud, girlie scream!

Medicine Walk

“In Native American Tradition, medicine is anything that will aid the seeker in feeling more connected and in harmony with nature and all life-forms. Anything that is healing to the body, mind, and/or spirit is Medicine. To find a special Medicine that would give answers for a personal challenge or problem, our Ancestors would often walk in the forests or on the mesas to observe the portents or signs that would assist them in healing and seeking wisdom.” (Source: Sacred Path Cards, page 5, by Jamie Sams with Illustrations by Linda Childers)

My spiritual practice includes Medicine Walks (sometimes these are runs). On recent Medicine outings, I’ve attracted lots and lots of bird energy! Have you ever been swooped? Well, I have…….birds are swooping me big time! This is the first June in recent memory where I’ve been repeatedly grazed by birds flying in front, over, and across my body. It’s like these beautifully fragile creators are inviting me to dance and play with them. Or maybe I’m on a hidden camera TV show and these birds are nothing more than battery-powered robots…..Nah.

If you’ve never tried a Medicine Walk, I highly recommend its restorative power. Try one and let me know how it goes.

Witness Trees

Monday, I had the good fortune to be in the field with a former land surveyor. We were practicing navigation using GPS units. No matter how much time I spend in my beloved Rocky Mountain National Park, I continue to learn new things about its natural wonders.

As we located surveyor land monuments from 1925, we also came across Witness Trees. This was the first time I became aware of their existence and purpose. On many public lands, especially in the western US, land surveyors blazed trees recording their positions relative to section corners. If the surveyor’s monument was destroyed or removed from an area, these Witness Trees can be used to pinpoint the corner location.

Out of curiosity I googled “Witness Trees” and came across an interesting web site that you should checkout. It contains information about a Documentary IMAX Film on Witness Trees. In this case the focus is on Arborglyphs or markings etched into trees (rather than letters or numbers being etched into the belly of the tree). Be sure to watch the slideshow of Sandy Corley’s Witness Tree installations. Click here to go to http://www.witnesstrees.org

New Beginnings

My mom was a unique woman of impeccable integrity, unparalleled strength, boundless enthusiasm and endless compassion. She was the sort of woman who could relate to people of all backgrounds without compromising her ideals. And, no matter what happened - somehow, even in the darkest hours of her greatest challenges, she always moved forward with her heart wide open.

I’ve been thinking about my mom often these past few months. She’d be proud of how I lifted us out of our slum into a respectable home. This is definitely a new beginning, a new home-base as well as a new cast of characters. Left behind is the Old cast of characters: "Mr. BB-Gun", "the creepy guy" and the "potheads".

Today we move forward with our hearts wide open ... enjoying our newly-earned surroundings. Yup ... this is a new beginning, catapulting ourselves into a nurturing place where we can recharge, renew, and ready for our next adventure.

Carpe Diem!

Birds, Birds, Everywhere!

This Spring I’ve noticed birds everywhere! Many have zoomed in front of me during trail runs and while out on climbs. One recent night I dreamt that I was flying. In the morning when I walked out the front door there were 12 feathers on the ground.

Some of the birds I’ve seen are: speedy Robins, sassy Blue Jays, lazy Magpies, riveting Ravens, stately Ospreys, solitary Sandhill Cranes, communities of Ducks, swooping Coopers’ Hawks, soaring Bald Eagles, stationary Redtail Hawks, preying Peregrine Falcons, wading Great Blue Herons and today scores of swooping Swallows.

While we were adventuring this afternoon, the sky grew dark and unleashed a deluge of large raindrops. The thunder vibrated in our chests, as we cruised around our favorite lake.

Gobs of Swallows zigzagged through trees, floating across the water. Dancing as they dove, gently grazing the water’s surface, they then quickly flew up, around, and through each other rhythmically creating an undulating three-dimensional pattern.

What were these birds doing? Whatever was going on, it sure looked fun! We laughed and smiled at their antics. Once home we read about the type of medicine the Swallow brings. Its keynote is “Protection and Warmth for the Home and Proper Perspective.” Pg 194 Animal Speak by Ted Andrews

Have a good week all and may your dreams take flight!

Fairy Magic

Springs upon us
Movement galore
Changes of scene, now to before
One tickle, two trickle
In breathe, down

Birdie winged-flight
Away the ground

Opposing rhythms
Circular rime
Ancient mariner
Ahead for time

Landing ready
New World now
Fairies’ surprise
Is the Tao

© 2008 by Jilly Salva. All rights reserved.

Eldorado’s Deserted Boulders

Eldorado Canyon State Park is home to hundreds of roped climbing routes. For those who enjoy a vertical challenge, there’s also abundant bouldering to be had.

Saturday, some friends introduced me to the Boulders below Rincon. These stone sentries proved exciting and intimidating. I’ve come to the “art of bouldering” recently. For me, it requires a unique mindset, one very different from roped climbing. The consequences of falling and landing “wrong” are real and in your face. Amazingly, we had our pick of the lot, as no other people were up in this area, all day.

Checkout the Musical Boulder, the Sound Wave Traverse and more on the Front Range Bouldering web site. Get out there and pull down hard!