Call it what you will... About an hour after I sent out my last Ramble on the imaginary bears, I set out for another noontime run with my best friend, Sunny Hot. “Where are you going?” Alan asked. “Just over to the lake and the little lookout. I’m not running with the bears today,” I joked. He smiled and said, “Bears are over there too.” I laughed and jogged up the driveway. I was just going for a short run. I didn’t even bring water. As I trotted along, I kept replaying my little jokes and...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Think about this... What do you see? (photo taken by me.) Sometimes seeing is deceiving I’ve seen a lot of bears on our hiking trips. Sometimes as many as two or three in one trip. They’re usually hanging out in the lower-elevation forests. Which makes sense; that’s where the berries are. They’ve been every shade of brown to gray to sleek black. While I’ve “seen” many bears, most of them are not real. The majority end up being tree stumps or chunks of a log. My favorite is the Boulder Bear I...
19 days ago • 6 min read
Thought for today... “Glimmers are a cue in the day, either internal or external, that sparks a sense of well-being.” -- Deb Dana, clinician and author of Anchored How this works... A paint chip on our deck in a perfect heart shape. A little glimmer of love. (Photo by me) The little things do matter It’s been a hot and dry summer. We live in a heavily forested area, and the wildfire danger has been at all-time highs. In one weekend, at least six big fires erupted in places we knew and loved....
24 days ago • 6 min read
When the mountains speak, you listen Views from the rock pile! Photo taken by my husband, Alan Fisser Some mountains are easy to climb. They have well-maintained trails, and you can mindlessly follow them to your destination. Others have no path, but when you’re lucky, you find someone’s report about how they navigated their way up to the top, and you have something to go by. Our latest adventure was one of those. We had one woman’s description of the route, our maps, and a general idea of...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Welcome to my Ramble. A short note, meant to be pleasant, exploring life's questions and sharing whatever inspires or makes me laugh or just makes me think. Thanks for coming along! Think about this... "Mastery is about being a student of the game—whatever your game might be. When we achieve some level of confidence about our competence, we want a new climb—a new challenge." -- Brené Brown, from her book Strong Ground Me, on a mountain--stretching the comfort zone. It's a long drop... ;-)...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Remember this... “There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.” – Linda Hogan, Native American novelist, essayist and poet I’ve been feeling pretty frazzled lately. Or maybe just exhausted. It’s been a busy few weeks, if not few months. And I have caught myself reverting back to past patterns and getting sucked into old spirals of negativity. I knew I needed to recharge, and the way I...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Wise words... "Mantras are passwords that transform the mundane into the sacred." -- Deva Premal Conscious action... Find your word - the mantra you need now. Have you ever used a mantra or short saying or maybe just one word as a reminder to do (or be) a certain way? Maybe it's a sticky note you have on your mirror, computer, or refrigerator door. I kept "Swim in your own lane" affixed to my laptop as a reminder not to get caught in the comparison trap. I have plenty of other words I say to...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Remember this... "People will not remember what you did, but how you made them feel." -- Maya Angelou Try this... Set a BEING goal In a world obsessed by achievement and outward measures of success, it is easy to get hyper-focused on doing more. Staying busy. On the go. Until you're stressed out and tired, maybe even a little cranky, and you snap at your child, your spouse, maybe a friend or coworker, or even the grocery store clerk. I am often that person - driven to achieve, focused on the...
4 months ago • 2 min read