7 facts about your pets you need to know
"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet." -- Colette,
French novelist, 1873-1954
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by John Cali
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My spirit guides are particularly fond of dogs and cats, and of all animals, as I am. They say domestic pets, particularly dogs and cats, are often the best teachers and healers for humans.
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Spirit
We ask you to think about these qualities of your pets, and perhaps you will gain some insight into the many reasons humans and animals are so drawn to each other.
• Animals have little to learn from humans, but humans have much to learn from animals.
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• One main difference between humans and animals is animals are joyously uninhibited. They don't care what anyone thinks about them.
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• Animals radiate powerful energy that can touch the most hardened of human hearts.
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• Animals live fully in the present moment. They never live in the human-created illusions of past or future.
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• Animals never doubt their worthiness, unlike so many humans.
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• All animals want to do is simply be themselves. Nothing more, nothing less.
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And so it is.
Adapted from Spirit Oracle Cards by John Cali and Spirit.
This article appears courtesy of John Cali and Spirit.
Web site: www.greatwesternpublishing.org
Copyright © 2017 by John Cali
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Wispy Words
OK, so now I've named my column ...
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by Ann Ulrich Miller
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I really had hoped to write about the new home I am about to purchase. In the May issue I told you about my new job after being "kind of retired" for the last 10 years.
"How that working out for you?" is the inevitable question. Well, I have to say I really love my job and I actually look forward to going to work. I travel 30 miles to Paonia from Cedaredge, and as long as it's summer, everything's great.
But guess what? Fall is ahead, and soon it will be another Colorado winter. Driving on icy roads in inclement weather is not really my favorite thing. It helps that I have an excellent 4-wheel-drive vehicle, a 2014 Nissan Xterra named "Ruby." She's game.
But wouldn't it be a nice thing if Spirit found me just the right home closer to my job, where I could have a gorgeous view of the mountains, live in the country, and have my chickens back with me? I am still working on this creative manifestation of my dream home ... and it's close to happening ... at least I hope so. Perhaps next issue I can finally share some happy news with you.
I've decided to call my column "Wispy Words" because, after all, this is a wispy publication, and I always have a lot of fun putting it together.
I need to tell you the story about our robins that built their nest in our back yard, here in our rental home. For some reason I've always had this connection with robins. It so happens to be the state bird of my home state, Wisconsin, and I've always marveled at how they seem to have x-ray vision when it comes to pulling earthworms out of the ground.
Robins are sometimes known as the "harbingers of spring,' yet last winter, living on Sunny Brook -- less than a mile from where I live now -- the robins stayed instead of flying south. I found that pretty remarkable, actually, and I made a game out of watching the robins come around to my sun room windows whenever I'd take my afternoon sessions at my piano. Sometimes one or two of them would perch on the tress outside the big window and stare inside as I played a Beethoven sonata.
Getting back to that pair of robins that built their nest in the small birch tree right outside one of the bedroom windows ... The father bird, with his brighter-colored orange breast, would often perch on the fence and look in at us through the living room French doors leading out to the patio. If it's possible -- and it is in my imagination -- I would communicate to him and send warm thoughts.
About three or four weeks ago, we noticed increased activity as the parent robins began feeding their brood of babies that had hatched. At first we didn't know where the nest was located as I couldn't see it in the birch tree. Then, a couple of early mornings when the hatchlings were fairly new, I would waken in semi-darkness to one or both of the parent birds chirping in distress. I got up, pulled on some clothes, and went outside in the yard to see what was going on, and a neighbor's cat had planted itself
below the tree, its tail twitching slowly back and forth, harassing the robin family. I promptly shooed the cat away and sent warm, comforting thoughts to the parent birds. Well, the same thing happened a couple of more times -- and always early in the morning, before my alarm went off -- and the neighbor cat would scamper away.
We soon saw the nest, which was built sturdily into the crock of the tree, with four baby birds in it. Mama and Papa let me come close, but I didn't want to disturb them, so limited my visits. Then, one morning last week, I saw one of the baby birds perched in the tree with his speckled breast, trying to "chirp." He couldn't yet fly, and the parents were excited.
We had to go somewhere that day, but when we got home that evening, quite a ruckus occurred in the back yard. I had sat down to play my piano for several minutes, then got up to look outside. The parent birds were frantic, and then I spotted a falcon perched on the fence. In its clutches was a small bird, and he promptly took to flight as I opened the door in alarm.
Sure enough, when I checked, the robin nest was completely empty! I went outside several times, not sure there was anything more I could do. Finally, one of the baby robins appeared on the ground, and the mother bird stayed close. As evening approached, I could only pray it would survive, although the odds were against this.
Then, just a couple of days ago, I was working in my office when the mother robin began chirping outside my window. I looked out and saw her resting on the neighbor's roof, so I stepped outside to look around. The continued to chirp, and then I saw the neighbor's cat in our backyard. As soon as I shooed it away, Mama Bird took off, assured that danger had been averted once again.
Robins will hatch babies three times during a summer season. As you may have guessed, the mortality rate for songbirds is high. Between neighbor cats and predators, baby birds have it rough.
But I will continue to watch the robins as long as I am here, and I am sure once I get to my new place, there will be robins there too!
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Ann Ulrich Miller, publisher of Wisp, writes novels and memoirs. Her latest work, Spring Break at the Lake House, is part of the Annette Vetter young adult series, available from Amazon and CreateSpace for $9.95.
You can order an autographed copy for $12.05 postpaid from Earth Star, P.O. Box 267, Eckert, CO 81418.
Spring Break is also available from Amazon Kindle for $4.99.
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Lilith, the Fur Queen
