Of Raspberries and Hummingbirds

Yesterday was hot. Really hot. It has been hot all week but yesterday we were out working in the yard because our topsoil was delivered and we had to do some prep work around the yard so it can be spread out properly by our local grader operator (hereafter known as Farmer Joe) later this week. There was grass to be clipped, wood to be moved and ants to be cajoled out of wood piles. They were not particilarly cajolable, and many bit my ankles in protest, unfortunately.

But as we were going around the perimeter of the yard we noticed that the wild raspberries were ripening nicely, and we each had a handful or two as the day wore on. They were delicious! There's nothing like eating a sun-ripened, still warm raspberry.

Later, when I was quite worn out and taking a breather on the porch, I saw a hummingbird! I haven't seen a hummingbird here for two years, and that one I scared away. This hummingbird was flitting about some red salvia flowers I had planted under the Schubert chokecherry tree. It hovered there for a while, while I sat there gawking at it and trying not to scare it away this time. I think it may have been a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. I will definitely be planting these flowers again next year.

It is so nice when serendipitous things happen like that. I knew there was a reason why I wanted to take a break right then! Despite the heat, the day was a nice balance of working and resting. If we take the time to be still from our busy-ness from time to time, things seem to unfold nicely:

The Tao is constant in non-action
Yet there is nothing it does not do

If the sovereign can hold on to this
All things shall transform themselves
Transformed, yet wishing to achieve
I shall restrain them with the simplicity of the nameless
The simplicity of the nameless
They shall be without desire
Without desire, using stillness
The world shall steady itself

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 37 as translated by Derek Lin

A New Path

Yesterday our very helpful neighbor and friend, 'Farmer Joe', came by with his tractor-sized rototiller and enlarged my veggie garden plot. He also kindly tilled the pathway to the garden, so I could properly lay down the flat rocks that I was given last year, care of one of my parents' neighbors. I've had a picture in my head of how cute a rock pathway would be, with herbs growing on the side and maybe some hardy thyme or other ground cover plants in between the rocks. I actually had the energy to lay all these rocks out and dig them in, just the way I've been wanting to. They still need some adjustment, but I was able to get enough accomplished yesterday to be able to visualize my new path.

Which brings me to a story about another fairly new 'path' of mine: being a vegetarian. I've been vegetarian for about 3 years or so. While I have eaten meat about four or five times in that time frame (it was served to me and I hadn't made other arrangements in advance), my intention was and still is not to eat anything that can move about on its own. Making this choice necessitates paying attention to a few things, to ensure my nutrition is complete. Well, it turns out I've been a 'bad vegetarian' and haven't been paying attention to everything I needed to, specifically getting enough iron. This was made very clear to me when my doctor (also new) called earlier this week and said I needed an "urgent" blood transfusion, because my hemoglobin level was so low. I was mildly reprimanded by the doctor, and when at the hospital itself two days ago, I was told by the nurse I was "lucky" to be getting the transfusion. I certainly did feel somewhat guilty for taking two units of blood that should have been left available for car accident victims, or the like. It was a strange, strange day. I have since begun taking an iron supplement liquid, and I will be more diligent in taking my other vitamins as well.

I do feel better after having the transfusion - I can go up the stairs without running out of breath with a pounding heart, and yesterday I could do a morning's worth of dirt-shifting and rock-lifting without feeling drained. (It's amazing what having enough cells to carry oxygen to your heart can do!) In fact there are a lot of symptoms of iron deficiency I'm looking forward to not having any more. And there was no way I tied all these things together as being related to something like anemia - I just figured I was wimpy and had to suck it up. So, if there are any other new-ish vegetarians out there, you may want to have your iron levels checked at your next doctor's appointment!

New path, or not-so-new path, there is always, always something to learn.