Circle of Life in Family, Friends, and Nature

Life and death and all that stuff in-between challenges us to find a balance.  The past couple weeks recently had a variety of events that brought light to this amazing balance.  Changes can happen unexpectedly.  Sometimes they are realized and the decision to change is in your hands.  Making the effort to expand one's vision to see both the positive and negative aspects help to keep the balance.  The circle of life can be navigated to include faith and hope in its continuum.  Family, Friends, and Nature are good sources of strength and support needed to cope in this journey.

 I'd like to start with the positive aspects which are easily related to the season.  It is harvest season.  As Master Gardeners, my husband and I spent all year learning, planning, planting, and maintaining gardens in our Hermitage yard and our Settlers Village Service Project.  The hard work had resulted in more successes than failures.  Hopefully, we learned from some of our mistakes.  We also spent time fixing the mistakes that came before us and left things better than we found them!  September 10th and 11th was the annual Harvest Festival in Wheatland.  It was highlighted for us by the appearance of the first Monarch Butterfly arrival during their yearly migration.  Our efforts were rewarded as our goal was met to attract them at this time with all the native and nectar plants.  This was a great opportunity to bring awareness to the public and promote a compatible relationship between people and nature.  The festival time was the end goal time and we were successful!

Master Gardeners Beti and Keith at our Settlers Village Garden Service Project in Wheatland, Missouri

Settlers Village Gardens at the time of the annual Harvest Festival

As a Master Naturalist, one of my service projects was the monthly Kayak Meet-ups at Ha Ha Tonka State Park on Lake of the Ozarks nearby.  Saturday, September 10th, was the last one for this year.  I had participated for three years and now I will limit my involvement as it will go through some new changes.  The old director is retiring and there are new liability rules.  It will continue service to the public in a different way with new people.  It isn't really a negative thing but more of a "moving on."  It is all still good but I have grown and want to be involved in service projects that go beyond the initial introduction for beginners to kayaking with more adventure for the experienced.  The Big Niangua River Trail is a hopeful possibility.  On this last event day for the year and of my regular volunteer help, I went with a couple other kayakers to explore Onyx Cave a couple miles away from the regular cove location used for the beginners.  My companions included a MDC Fisheries Biologist that was more experienced than me and a professional photographer/naturalist that just started this season.  I would like to do more of this!  I want to continue to grow!

Adventure time!

Onyx Cave

Final Kayak Meet-up for 2016 ends with picnic and ceremony to honor original project manager who is retiring from the position.

In between the Kayak Meet-up on Saturday morning and the Harvest Festival on Sunday afternoon, there was a death in the family.  My husband's older brother Don near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away Sunday morning unexpectedly from cancer only three months after diagnosis.  It was a very special gift to see the Monarch butterflies at Settlers Village for the first time this year just hours after his passing; very spiritual!  It was the beginning of a sad week to come.  It was also on the same day of the 15th Anniversary of the 911 Terror Attacks.  That's some heavy negativity!  Much effort was needed to cope the rest of the week until family came together for the memorial service.  My husband got off work for paid funeral days and with regular days off, he had nine days in a row to mourn and reflect and that was much needed.  He spent much of the time completing his summer landscape project with positive results.  I was there for his support.  One night I got together for a regular Girl's Night Out at the local winery and found comfort in the company of naturalist friends.  This was on the same day that my daughter-in-law arrived back home in San Diego, California after seven months deployment.  It was a joyful time for all family as my son welcomed home his wife along with her parents and their little dogs!  It was a joyful time for all our family to have her back home safe and with a new promotion!  Also, my son continued the family tradition by buying a new motorcycle!  The sadness of the day before was balanced with some joy and accomplishment as we got through the week okay.

Summer landscape project completed...

...replacing deteriorated landscape timbers that were 25 years old with decorative block.

Girl's Night Out at Sugarloaf Vineyard

Proud father and husband with newly promoted Chief just back from 7-month Navy deployment

Pure Homecoming Joy

New Harley Joy

That week included two days of medical exams and four different tests for me.  The previous week I had intense internal pain that would not go away in three days so I was advised by the nurse on call to make an appointment. Thankfully, all test results later showed no obvious problems and now the pain has finally diminished to tolerable about 10 days after the initial pain started.  I can only think that it was the delayed result of a new diabetes medication and my body had to get use to it.  I will go in for another checkup in a couple weeks.  I think all is better now.  Positive thinking and prayer may have had some influence.

So the following Saturday the 17th was the funeral near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  It was a sad day but family support is precious.  The minister knew my brother-in-law, Don, well and along with the photos displayed, help to bring us all together to celebrate his life.  Don had so much more to live for and death came too soon at age 68.  It was so good to see family and friends; unfortunately under these circumstances.  Don's life will live on in all our hearts and memories.  On our way home, we drove along the Mississippi River which is one of the largest Monarch butterfly migration routes.  Our sorrow was lifted up for awhile as we observed this wonder of nature.  We even stopped along the roadside to take breaks chasing butterflies.  I think Don was with us in spirit.

Monarch Butterfly on New England Aster

In less than 12 hours after we got back home to Missouri, I was waking up at 3 a.m. and driving to Kansas City to catch a plane to Virginia to see my family on my annual visit.  Fortunately, I had planned my 2-night stay at Lansdowne Resort with spa appointments the afternoon after I arrived.  I had time in the sauna, steam room, hot tub, an hour massage and an hour facial in a relaxing atmosphere with refreshments.  The next morning was sleeping late, a great breakfast, and a couple hours of pilates/yoga class, swimming, treadmill, and 2-mile hike along the Potomac River.  By noon I was relaxed, de-stressed and ready to spend quality time with my brother and his wife, my niece and her husband and nine children (ages newborn to 13).  From previous experience, this resort was a great place to get together (click here and see last year's post).  Nothing stays the same and there were a couple disappointments... everyone came much later than expected but it gave me time to catch up on my computer in my amazing suite.  This year there was no time for the playground, pool, or the hike like we did last year.  Then there was the resort's elimination of the Rascal Room that the children were really looking forward to from last year.  This had been a way to expend large amounts of youthful energy up front.  Fortunately, leftover crafts/games from the Rascal Room were provided to enjoy at the Pizza Party I like to treat.  The Pizza Party was a hit in the large, extended lobby area we used last year!  The older children were introduced to pool tables for the first time so I hope they have some new memories made as the bar atmosphere went well unexpectedly.  The Fire Pit S'mores Event was unnecessarily delayed due to waiting for staff to light the fire while some of us were bothered by biting insects.  The smoke would have eliminated this problem.  The resort manager came out and apologized for the hour delay and reduced the cost of the s'more kits in half for me!  A positive aspect during this hour delay was that I had more time to enjoy with the children outdoors exploring the nearby Herb Garden (herbal insect repellants!) and the Monarch Butterfly Way Station.  The evening then went well with my brother reading a story he wrote especially for his grandchildren.  Being around children is rejuvenating and joyful and it was a successful visit overall!  I may have to look at other options to see my Virginia family next year if this resort's amenities are not enough to make my trip worthwhile.  I got up early and had a good flight back to Missouri arriving home by early afternoon.

Vince, Cecilia, Faustina, Catherine, John, Beti, Max, Gus, Mary, Veronica, Clare, Amanda with
Baby John

Getting back on track with my normal routine the next day included the last water quality sampling on my local Lake Pomme de Terre for 2016.  This was a positive experience and helped me to get centered again.  It was a quiet time alone with nature doing volunteer service for the University of Missouri Columbia in the LMVP.  One of the gifts I received was seeing about a dozen osprey in a couple of coves who were stopping to feed during their migration journey.  I decided I want to keep this volunteer activity but likely will reduce the number of miles for next year so I can take more time to enjoy a greater variety of lake activities.  I had been doing 10 miles every three weeks and I think I will start doing half the miles by kayak for the LMVP and half for personal adventures; likely in another direction.  More changes coming and I'm okay with that.

Dam Selfie

Pomme de Terre Dam

Ospry

Ospry

Ospry

 My intuitive skills have proven to be of great value most of my adult life.  I understand that the cadence of the circle of life can sometimes accelerate at times, as it did in recent weeks, but I know I can stay in control with the help of family, friends, and nature to stay balanced.  I also know that sometimes things just happen beyond our control.  Sometimes we intentionally make changes in order to get out of a comfort zone and grow.  How we handle the challenges determines character.  The only thing that we really have any power over is our attitude.  I choose to stay positive in all life's challenges.