I have a Zoom meeting with blog readers tomorrow morning, and then I have some dental surgery on Thursday. We missed the heavy story that hit the state below us and got New York City. It hasn’t rained hard for days. We hesitate to relax about it. See you in the morning. I have to see a chair about a book.
I’m enjoying my bird photography. I have yet to land with a particular focus or anthem, but I’m edging closer and closer every day. The birds are getting used to me and are not so quick to take off at the sight of me as they were until yesterday and today. My new lens is transformative. I’m just beginning to figure out how to use it. I like the quiet and softness of these pictures. I am still determining where I’m going with it, but I’ll get there. It’s cold today, so I ordered a new pair of glasses. I found one I like, with no blue shame and all red.
I like birds eating; they are focused and excited. Sometimes, even still.
I have more work to do on my bird photography, but I’m beginning to like it.
Two landscape photos, above and below. The sun came out; I appreciate it.
Here’s a way to come and see as many goat births and babies as you would like to see. You Are Invited to the Goat Lady Kid Festival.
It’s free and fascinating, courtesy of modern technology. Cindy says she will be happy to answer any questions about her farm when she has time..
Cinday Casavant, a/k/a “The Goat Lady,” is just a few days away from having 100 kids (goat babies) born on her farm. She will be feeding them several times a day for a month. I’m excited to report that Cindy has invited us to come along and observe the birth of her life and the birth and the feeding. She has invited us to come along, and monitor the process with an Iphone.
This is a rare opportunity to see one of the miracles of nature and also to look 100 goat babies and see how Cindy and her husband dairy raises and cares for them. Cindy is planning on putting up new baby and mother pictures from the first day on. This is a rare opportunity to see something so amazing and Cindi is well equipped to tell the story as it unfolds.
Her blog is easy to navigate, please feel free check into the farm’s website and see what happens when 100 babies are born on a goat farm and how Cindy and Larry handle it. Cindy’s soap factory is in the basement, she’ll be too busy in March taking care of babies to make much soap, I’d recommend grabbing any soap on hand, they will be harder and harder to get until Spring. This is not about selling soap, but if you take a look at her soap and order a few bars, you will never regret it.
I’m a huge Cindy Casa Casavant fan, watching her put her soap business together has been inspiration. I’m happy to share this story as it unfolds, and you can follow it as closely as you’d like. I can’t wait to see the babies as they come pouring out. Cindy says she’ll be a zombie all through March.
Thanks to you, Cindy for letting us take a peek at your insanely busy life. I’m already getting a nice response to this, and we haven’t even got started yet with any births.
The best is get to come.
(Come Meet Mom Machiato, one of last year’s babies)
To get started Cindy put up a whole bunch of mother and babies on her website this morning so people who want to come along and see what to expect. Cindy is planning on putting up photos of her birthing process (this is where the cheese and goat meal soap comes from). I’m fascinated by Cindy and the work she is doing, it takes a lot of courage, planning, hard work and great soap making skills.
It’s a real gift for Cindy to open up her farm for us at it’s busiest time of the year. I appreciate it, I suspect my blog readers will also. Check it out here.
Cindy is going somewhere, her soaps are being bought and distributed all over the place..
I’ll be putting up links to Cindy’s blog, but I’d advise you to do the same. This is a story of lives for hard working humans and bright and lovely goats, (I had three at the first farm, they were way too smart for me, I’d wake up every morning and they’d be standing on my car roof making a lot of noise. I found a good home for home. Farming is the hardest work I’ve ever seen people do.
Check it out, this is an unusual visit to a working farm in action, and to the hard-working people who run it all. You can see a lot of momies, and a lot if babies. It’s also a wonderful step ahead for the blog, I hope to do a lot more of these kinds of blogpost and I’ll be following the. Goat Lady’s Birthing Spectacle on the blog here. Go and take a lot.
I think it’s valuable to see how their lives work and to spread the word about Cindy’s baby goat festival. Starting in a week or two.
This is a fun and positive way to use a blog, I’m excited to see all these babies, and I can’t wait to rush over there with my cameras. It’s also a chance to understad the hard and critical lives of farmers. They are, like teachers and nurses, way underapreciated.
I wanted to share a revelation I’ve had about dealing with fear and panic. My anxiety was once so severe I was diagnosed as being mentally ill when I was younger. Most of my panic has gone away, but in the morning and sometimes throughout the day, I still feel anxious in the extreme.
I always thought that I should deal with my anxiety through my brain and my head. I thought I could out think it. I never thought I could out feel it. But I can. I’ve learned something new and vital. I have learned that I can control my anxiety through the body, not the brain.
When I am fearful, I no longer try to think it through. I try to feel it, not debate or dismiss it. I tend to run away from suffering. It isn’t brilliant, I realized, to not accept what it means to be a human and then an older human. We fear ill health and death; all of us do.
Fear and denial stunt my growth and my happiness. Love and joy are not possible if I don’t understand my grief and anxiety and other people’s suffering. I’ve done that work and am ready for the next step.
I find that deep breath assaults anxiety from the other side, from within. It surprises me, but when I take a deep breath in and then a deeper breath out, it somehow – I don’t exactly know how – I feel it working.
For example, after my brain bleed and concussion a couple of months ago, I was frightened and worried that I had permanently damaged my brain and my ability to stand up easily or write frequently.
I thought about it and decided to try something new. Sickness is a universal phenomenon, not something unique to me or deserving of self-pity. Accepting life has been profound for me; I am not shocked when I end up sick or in a hospital (or when a dog dies.) Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that I should think as I breathed, “Breathing in, I know I am of the nature to have ill health. Breathing out, I know I can’t escape having ill health.”
This is called “deep breathing,” it works this way: I breathe in deeply to the count of 7 or out, then wait a couple of seconds and breathe out to an even longer count if I can. My internal organs shift, my heart quiet, my body speaking back to me.
I feel calmer and safer and right away. It’s a simple exercise to try in a quiet and secure place. Deep breathing involves the heart and the soul, my stomach and my legs. But it surprised me; this is not something I had ever thought of or wanted to try. But it has changed my relationship with fear and the importance of my body as well as my mind. I know now that I can’t depend on others – politics, campaigns, labels, and others – for my happiness. I have to go inside and work that way.
Breathing in and out with these thoughts, I was shocked to feel that the anxiety was going away. I was instead accepting life and permitting my body to absorb my acceptance rather than fear, anger, or self-pity. I can channel my brother through what the spiritualists call mindful breathing.
Mindful breathing is paying attention to the sensation of the breath coming in and out of the body. This means noticing the breath, how and where you feel it in the body without trying to change it. Mindful breathing is a deep breathing exercise. Deep breathing uses big breaths and controls the length.
Since Deep breathing uses big breaths and controls the length, I often fall asleep or reach a state of relaxation while in meditation.
I’ve been doing this Deep breathing for a couple of weeks now. It works. Instead of working around my body, I’m working with it; I’m asking for help and getting some. I’ll keep sharing the results, and thanks for messaging me about my work to ease and control anxiety, now an integral part of life in America.
Today, we offer two new best-selling books from terrific writers for $10 plus $5 shipping.
If you want to buy one of these books, please e-mail Maria ([email protected]). There are no returns; please do not pay until you sync up with Maria to make sure the book you want isn’t sold) and make checks, if you are writing one, out to Maria Wulf. She’s doing the work; she gets the money. Payments can also be made via Paypal and Venmo. Maria has the details.
Jennifer Weiner is a best-selling author of great skill; she is best, I think when writing about family and the dramas within. This review got me to buy the book, it was dead on. The book sold quickly when we offered it on Sunday, but the buyer disappeared, so it’s up for sale again.
This is a terrific novel about a young woman’s empowerment, love, family struggles, friendship, and love. The book is called The Breakaway, which is what our heroine is trying to do.
The other book we are offering for sale today pains me a bit to sell, but it’s time. The late and legendary P.D. James wrote the book. It’s an Adam Dalgleish (my favorite) mystery). James’s books (also Vera and Shetland) are my favorite mysteries; they are literature more than mystery. In this one, she creates her world with detail, and her great detective, Adam Dalgliesh, her brilliant and unflappable hero.
Both books are $10 plus $5 shipping.
The book is also in great shape. If you are interested, please e-mail Maria at [email protected] and tell her which one you want to buy and how you want to pay for it. I love these two writers too much to have their books on dusty shelves. They need to be read by people who love literature but not the new prices of most hardcover books.
