Smith River Gorge

During my cousin's visit we traveled over to the Oregon coast along Route 199 that runs along the Smith River. This is a beautiful river supplies by run off from the Siskou Mountains. The water is so clear that it takes a clear green color that resembles old glass Coke bottles. It was difficult to get a shot of the whole thing.

I took a series of shots moving down river. The temperatures along the water were about 10-15 degrees cooler than back at the Barn. The water was cold, but about a mile down stream the water calmed and there was a group of teenagers who were swimming.

This route also goes through the Redwood Forest. I have pictures from there as well as the coast and over the next few days, I'll post them.

Tomorrow, I'm off to visit my cousins in Santa Rosa. My landlords are taking some time off, so it will be the end of June before I get another opportunity to visit.

I haven't completely forgotten why I'm here and have produced 18 pages.

Smith River Gorge Continued

Next Chapter

I have a very kind and understanding landlord. He moved my writing table down to the lower pasture. My barnmates have been moved to another pasture and I can leave my table and chair in place. He even mowed a path so that I can walk down in my sandals without having to wade through weeds. Is he cool or what! I've included several views, so you can see where I write and the view from my table.

I took my book bag full of essentials down to my table yesterday and began a new chapter. I think this chapter is going to be about love and faith. Except the ten pages or so I wrote/received weren't exactly about love and faith, so we shall see how it goes.











I had an interesting experience with this writing. There were a couple of excerpts I thought God was wanting me to include in this current writing, but I thought we had used them already. I wasn't sure. I have read hundreds of pages of writings along with having received the many pages of this book. So this morning, I took the time to write up an outline of what I had written/received so far in this book. I think the usual process is to write the outline first, and the book second. As you can imagine, when you're writing a book with God, nothing about the process is normal. The process and this journey continues and I'm anxious to see what June brings.

Meanwhile, one of my favorite cousins is coming for a short visit next week. It will be good to see him. It will mean long talks over wine and cigars. I'm looking forward to it.

One Month

A month ago to the day, I started on this chapter. And I am happy to report that it is complete. Or at least receiving it is. This chapter ended up being 90 pages and that doubles my output to almost 200 pages. This has been a difficult chapter. I have been both emotional and pissed off while writing it. I have some work to do on editing it and printing it off. But that will wait.

My landlords garden continues to look great -- an ever changing array of color. It's another hot day in the 90's, I'm off to take a shower and take a nap. Hey, I'm retired you know!


The Journey continues.

Progress Report

It may seem that I have been goofing off too much. Photos of humming birds, trips to visit relatives and pictures posted of a close encounter. It's been awhile since I made a progress report. So, let see if I can get off the hook. (Or convince you I haven't been playing hooky.)

Before I went to Santa Rosa last weekend, I had 43 pages typed of the new chapter. I had written enough in my notebook to add a couple of more pages when I typed it up. As I sat down to write yesterday, it had been 10 days since I had last written. I just finished typing all of that up and now have 53 pages completed. In addition I have found several pertinent past writings and will be adding excerpts from them as well. I am sure this will push this chapter beyond 60 pages and maybe even 65 pages. And this chapter is not complete. Hopefully, this will prove that I haven't been goofing off. Or at the very least that I have chilled out about this book writing process.

And the latest news is that I have a new roommate. Make that barn mate. And not by choice. There is a small lizard here in Oregon called a fence lizard. It's just a bit bigger than a chameleon. He comes and goes from my foyer. The door to the main room is about an inch off the floor, so it could easily come on in. If it crawls over me in my sleep, you should be able to hear my scream in Iowa/Illinois.

Update on the humming birds. I definitely have at least a dozen now. Last night at dusk, I saw the the feeder was completed filled and there are ten spots available. There were still a couple of birds buzzing around. I continue to be fascinated by them and as you can imagine it is difficult to capture a picture of them all.

The Journey Continues.

Close Encounter

I spent the weekend in Santa Rosa with my favorite west coast cousins. Yesterday we went to Safari West where we had a close encounter with a giraffe. In this series of pictures you can see how he approached the jeep we were riding on top of. He seemed as curious about us as we were about him, and little did I know that I would get such a close up of him. What fun!

Meanwhile, it's back to writing tomorrow.

Close Encounter Continued

Six of the Seven

It's possible that there are more than seven, but I've only seen seven at one time. There's one that is particularly spectacular with a band of bright red around its neck. Haven't caught it with my camera yet. They eat about a pint of nectar per day. Am taking a day off from writing, but have 36 pages so far. Remember that you can click on the photo to enlargen it.

Only a Man Living Alone Can Appreciate

Only a man living alone can appreciate taking the time to grill a hamburger to perfection and arranging the the fixin's until it's piled high and then being able to take as big of bite as he wants and not having to care if it drips and stains his shirt.

Only a man living alone can appreciate the disappointment that no one notices he's drinking out of the bottle. It's just not fun any more.


In more interesting news I have at least seven humming birds feeding at my feeder. I'm seen as many as five feeding at one time with another two hovering around. This feeder hangs just above the table on my porch. I often sit there to write/type and they don't seem to mind unless I move suddenly. Am trying to get a picture of them, but you can imagine how difficult that is.

Reality Spirituality

I hesitated to post this as I was afraid it would be misinterpreted.

This Journey of the Heart to Oregon has been unbelievable. I have dreamed of coming here to write and here I am! When I am writing in my notebook, I often wonder if this is real or if I am still dreaming. This experience is the single most satisfying thing I have done in my life. It’s far from easy. The book writing process is harder than I thought it would be. The writing/receiving is as easy as it has ever been. I then have to type it, find and add excerpts, print and edit what I have produced and then do it again, continuing where I left off. This is repeated until the chapter/discussion is completed. In the past I would just write page after page and then type it. Similar—but different.

Every once in awhile reality slips into this dream. Like when I pay bills. I was doing just the day before yesterday. And was looking at my budget. I was a little surprised by what I found. I added up the bills and found I have $2,167 worth of obligations. After taxes, I receive $2,206 per month. Seems perfect, but it doesn’t include gas or food. Now, I guess this would be panicking most people, but I am calm. Truly calm. I continue to marvel at the synchronicity. I was aware I had been living on my savings, until they ran out. And then, my tax return arrived, and I’m living on that. I checked my savings and I think I have three months, four if I really skimp. I realize I might have to stop writing and get a job, which are hard to come by around here. Or maybe move back. I suppose I should worry, but I tell you I just can’t seem to work up the energy to do so. The other thought is I should hurry up and write. And I can’t seem to work up the energy for that either. The words come as they come—perfectly. Everything has worked out so far. I live in the moment and just do what I can do today. Tomorrow is for tomorrow. This is my Journey of the Heart. This IS Reality Spirituality.

Snow Cap

This is Mount McLaughlin. I often see it on my drive into Medford or Eagle Point. I just as often only see glimpses of it. It is often surrounded by clouds or mist. The locals tell me that the snow will be gone by June. This part of Oregon only gets 19" of rain a year and depends on the snow cap for water. It's been 90 here the last couple of days. Summer weather. Suppose to go back to spring like temperatures tomorrow and rest of week.

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning was a gorgeous day here. My landlords were gone, so I was spending time with their dog, Peaches. She kind of mopes when she is alone, so we spent the morning and early afternoon out on the back deck. I was writing and she was snoozing. It was a good day. Prior to coming out I had printed off the final edit of the latest chapter. Forty-eight pages which doubles my output to ninety-two. I imagine that I need 300 or 400 pages, but will not know until it's finished. Meanwhile I am working on the next chapter. Peaches thought it was a good day too -- the landlords returned from their weekend trip.

How Is It?

How is it that I can call myself a messenger of God? How is it that I can call myself a Prophet? How is it that I can call myself a Spiritual Leader? These three statements seem contrary to everything most people know about me. They have long seen me as fun-loving, sarcastic, funny, earthy and singularly generous – but spiritual doesn’t seem to fit with my image. I have lived life fully. I have loved many women. I have had girlfriends while I was married. I have had young girlfriends. I have had an active sex life. I enjoy to gamble – particularly Texas Hold’em Poker. I have openly shared all of this. I don’t seem to understand what the word discreet means. I seem to have reveled in living an unrighteous life.

Now I come along and announce I am retiring to write a book – a spiritual book. Not just any spiritual book but one that I claim I am receiving from God. I openly have declared that I hear the Voice of God. Suddenly I have revealed that I am not just a spiritual person, but a deeply spiritual person. Yet, I have not regularly attended church services in over a decade. How can I expect others to accept this aspect of me? How is it that I can say and do these things?

I want you to know that I have struggled over the last few weeks on how to answer this question. I have decided that about the only way I can do so is to share some of my writings about this subject.

If you have pondered this question then you are not alone. Many of my friends and my family members have asked How is it? Some have asked me directed. Others have asked themselves the question. It is often in the back of everyone's mind. I understand this. And you may be surprised to know that I too have long pondered this question. There is no quick and easy answer. My Journey of the Heart has been long. It has been funny as it has been frustrating. It has been profane as it has been profound. I have questioned my experience, my beliefs and my faith. I understand you questioning it. I have attempted to answer this question in a lengthy article I have posted on From The Barn. If you have seriously pondered this question, I hope you will take the time to read the article.

As always, your comments - good or bad - are welcome. Your comments remind me that all of this is worth while and I should keep on keeping on.


http://journeychapters.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-is-it.html

Dee

Dee.

It was great to hear from you but I no longer have your email address. Check with Dan or Dave and they have my email address.

This is the California Poppy. While these are in the Luther Burbank Gardens, they grow wild along the road. As you drive, you can see hillsides covered with them. Luther Burbank was a famous horticulturalist and was a contemporary of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. If you have Shasta Daisies in your garden, you can thank Luther Burbank. I think this catches me up with posting pics.

OMG!

Spent the weekend in Santa Rosa with some of my favorite cousins. The route takes me on CA-20 which goes around the edge of Clear Lake. It was a gorgeous day. Blue skies, 70's and fluffy clouds -- window down kind of weather. And for the first time my GPS took me on CA-175. I think it was trying to detour around construction. But OMG, that was the windiest road. Switch back after switch back. Down to 10 mph. I actually made myself carsick and had to stop periodically -- and I was going slow and had to pull off to let traffic pass. I took several photos along the way. In one of them you can see the road. Remember you can click on this photo to enlarge it. It was a beautiful drive, but I don't think I'll repeat it if I can help it.

Hey Curtis! You think your cactus take over,
what do you think of this bunch!

Black Tailed Deer

The deer here in Oregon are black tailed.
I took this photo of the place where I like to write in the upper pasture.

A Beautiful Day

I spent four - five hours today working on an article that I hope to soon post. As it was in the 70's I was able to spend most of it out on the porch. I couldn't make it to the pasture as I needed to do a lot of cut and pasting on the computer. I took a short break from the editing to take a walk out into the lower pasture. It is covered in these small yellow wild flowers. I walked out a little farther than I have before and took this shot of the vineyard across the road from the pasture. I ended my walk back at the barn near the flower garden. The daffodils have been in bloom for a couple of weeks here. I understand it was snowing back in Illinois, and just thought you'd like a breath of spring. Snow or not -- and as nice as it is here -- I still miss it.

I have posted this for Broolyn who is crazy about burros,
or as we call them Pablo's -- even if their names are Noah & Murphy.