Yesterday really happened!  It was awesome!  Again I learned something and stretched myself.  I wrote briefly about my practicing retirement yesterday morning.  Well, that was awesome too.

We languidly ate breakfast, talked, enjoyed the coolness of the morning and I especially enjoyed watching the play of light as the surroundings around me changed with the shifting sun.  This land is such a mysterious place.  It is full of dark shadows, tall trees, and dancing light.  It is as if the forest has an ever changing mood and you do not want to be caught unaware.

Well a week or so ago two of their chickens were caught unaware.  When Charlene and Larry came home they noticed two areas of scattered feathers in the garden where their chickens roam and two less chickens on the roost.  About that same time span Larry was outside on the lower patio where I sat yesterday morning and when he stood up he saw a large cat catch his eye and bound away across his back yard in three large bounds.  His yard across the back of the house is quite a long space.  He didn’t know for certain which cat family he was looking at but it was perhaps a cougar, mountain lion, or a panther.  The creek Panther Creek is not named that without reason.  Not a great feeling of security!  I asked if they have ever seen bear.  Only across the creek I was told.  That’s a little too close for comfort for me.  Maybe I like living where I currently live.  At least I have not seen any bear in my backyard.

Back to the garden of tattered feathers.  Here we are in our housecoats and Charlene says, “lets walk up to the garden”.  They do live on a private lane in a secluded part of the forest, almost as far out as the government allows (the property just a ways beyond them is all government forests) so I thought why not go out in my housecoat.  I do it all the time at home but we too live in quite a private area.  Besides, I like being in my house coat!  Their garden is a little ways from the house past a big barn, which by the way, has a large apartment at the top area of the barn.  And it is beautiful.  Back to the garden…it is large, completely fenced in with very high fencing and even more fencing inside.  All the fencing is wire fencing inside and surrounds their strawberries, blueberries and I think one other thing.  They have so many strawberries that I could’t believe my eyes. Larry had already picked and picked and picked and had a large container full of them.  I asked if he was finished. He pointed to an area unpicked and I got to work (in my winter fluffy robe in 90 degree weather) and I picked and picked and picked.  It was so awesome.  I also ate and ate and ate.  And they were good.  At one point I look up and both Charlene and Larry are gone.  Hmmm…sort of like Tom Sawyer and the paint brush.  A little later they came back, I had two containers (about half the size each of the one Larry picked , almost full.  In their hands they had three tall glasses filled with delicious fruit and veggie smoothies.  It was break time!  Charlene makes the absolute best smoothies which include so many vegetables that I am sure I get my entire “required” allotment of vitamins for the entire day!  It felt refreshing going down.  Their garden also consist of a large Blackberry patch and some other berry I can’t remember.  It has been a late spring for them and many of their plants are just now being planted.  The nights up here in the mountains get quite cold and the ground must warm up before planting. They have a beautiful area cleared that gets a lot of sun and their produce grows well.  I saw a delicious looking row of kale that was already edible.  The onions looked ample and large already but the tomatoes are not in the ground yet.  Charlene starts everything from seeds so the tomatoes, peppers, and other things are in their little starting packets waiting for a bit warmer nights.

The chicken feathers lay ruffling in the wind at one end of the garden and Charlene can’t even talk about the loss of her chickens.  They are young and inexperienced chickens and haven’t learned how to run for it yet.  She had 6 now she has 4.  They have an enclosed (top and sides) pen at the end of the garden that opens into the garden so that when they are there to watch them the chickens roam free.  At night they are locked tightly in their roosting house.  I think she may get fresh layers every spring.

I have no pics of the garden because I did not take my phone with me.  I may go up today and pick more strawberries as hundreds more will probably be ready today as well.  The plants are loaded.  I’ll try to remember to take my Iphone.

In yesterday’s blog I mentioned going to late lunch and then going to climb my mountain (opps, I mean my rock).  When the rock was first pointed out as a landmark to me I noticed how tall and sheer it seemed.  When I was told that people climb up to the top I was imagining rock climbers on ropes and pullys.  I was informed that it was that way for some but that there was also a narrow path that had been carved into the side of the rock that zig-zagged across two sides of the rock’s sheer sides.  Hmmm…I wondered if I could walk that mountain trail on the side of a rock that stood 850 high?  Open mouth, insert foot!  “I want to climb that rock” I blurted out.  That’s all it took.  They took me seriously and before I knew it the time came for me to put my nerve where my mouth had plowed the way. I said to myself, “I CAN DO THIS”.  I would never have attempted this two years ago when my health was so bad, I had absolutely no reliable balance, no muscles, no stamina and was so sick in so many ways.  Here I was, speaking what I wanted to do (though in my heart there was trepidation), stepping out in faith that I could do it and trusting in my body enough to follow through with what I imagined.  I first thought it, spoke it, believed it, took the first step and accomplished  every step to the very top!

AND OH IT WAS SO AWESOME!  To simply speak about it is so different that actually doing it.  To read about it is but words on paper or a screen but the truth of the situation cannot be understood.  So much of life I have only experienced through books, and the stories of others through them telling their story.  Now I realize how much is lost in the telling versus  the actual experience.  I can’t even describe to you the thrill of each step, the feeling of being so alive, the joy of not experiencing pain as I took each step higher and higher, the sharpness of the wind on my sweating face as I crossed one side of the rock, (I keep wanting to call it a mountain but it is actually a rock) the awe and wonder of the delicate flowers that grow from the cracks of the rock, the sheer magnitude of the rock face in all its facets and moss and lichen covered surface, the dizzying heights as I climbed higher and higher with the drop off mere inches from my toes as I looked out over the beautiful Columbia River and mountain range beyond.  How can one even imagine unless the experience is personal.  Whatever your mountain is, go climb it, do it, live it, experience it.  If you think you can, then you can!

I think back to all the words of wisdom I have gleaned from those I’ve met briefly and it now becomes alive and meaningful: “If you want to do something, start today”, “Don’t wait”, “If you think you can’t, you can’t”, “Don’t lose the little girl or boy inside of you”, “Live the life you only imagine you can live”, and so many other pearls of wisdom.  I will never be able to express to others the true depths of my heart as to what this trip has done for me.  I am living one of my dreams to reconnect with those I love, to give love to those I’ve never met, to in some small way influence others to dream bigger, to be partnered with God as your source of strength and intimacy, to give of myself that which I didn’t even realize I had to give and to be able to accept with gratitude the blessings that others have showered on me.  I walk in a new sureness of God’s love and protection over my life.  This entire journey has been one of learning and listening, and observing, and receiving.  A journey of giving and touching and smelling and pulling someone close in an embrace that needs a hug and receiving hugs graciously when it is I that needs the touch and comfort of another.  This journey has opened my heart.  How do I explain that to anyone?  I guess I don’t need to.  This journey is designed by God for me.  The beautiful thing is, that God has a journey for each and every one of us.  It might not be 10,000 miles, but the journey can have just as much meaning when we open ourselves up to what the Lord has before us, if we are willing to step out and stretch our horizons and do and go wherever it is God wants us to go.  It could be as close as your local grocery store or as far away as Africa, but it is your journey.  Allow your heart to be teachable, spend time with God in that secret quiet place as you climb your rock.  Go to the top with Him wherever he leads you.  Raise your voice in praise and thanksgiving to the Creator of all the beauty and magnificence he has created for out pleasure.  Do not take for granite even the smallest flower.  Just be in God’s presence.  That is all He asks, that you take time to know Him, acknowledge Him, praise Him.

When I arrived at the top of the mountain it was such a feeling of exhilaration and attainment.  I imagined, I spoke it, I accomplished it.  And I wanted to sing:

Song:  SOMEBODY BIGGER THAN YOU AND I

Who made the mountains

Who made the trees

Who made the rivers

Flow to the seas

And who hung the moon in the starry sky?

Somebody bigger than you and I .

Who made the flowers

Bloom in the spring,

Who writes the song for the robin to sing

Who sends the rain

When the earth is dry?

Somebody bigger than you and I

He rights the way

When the road gets rough

Gives you company

With love to guide you

He walks beside you

Just like He walks with me

When I am weary

Filled with dispair

Who gives me courage

To go on from there

Who gives me strength

That will never die?

Somebody bigger than you and I

 

The words above are the words I remember from years ago so they may not be exactly right but the jest of the song is there.  Before I had a chance to sing it three young men made it to the top.  All three are recent graduates and all are 18 years old.  Such freshness upon their faces, such hope and doubt all mingled together in their expressions.  Hope for a new life opening up to them with the consternation of the unknown mingled in their brows.  We had a delightful conversation, or at least I did.  It wasn’t long before I got them talking about their hopes and dreams and words of wisdom.  I love the words of wisdom from the freshness of the young.

The first one I spoke with was David, a fresh faced, wide eyed young man with a handsome face and countenance.  Here are his words of wisdom:  “Just know and realize that the pains of the past will leave and be gone and now I am entering adulthood where I won’t have those kinds of pains anymore.  Just remember they will go away.”  My comment:  As we grow older we should never forget what it was like to grow up during our years of adolescence and to remember the intensity of how we felt and how easy our hearts could be broken.  I wondered at the pains that David spoke of.  I liked his attitude of hope for the future and resolution of his past.

The second young man I spoke with was Jose.  Again, he was fresh and handsome, alive in his eyes.  Here is his wisdom: ” Stay in school.  Work hard to make good grades and learn.  Even when you don’t know what you want to do in life, go to school, make good grades, and opportunities will come to you.”  I agree Jose.  Such sound, solid advice and wisdom coming from one so young.  He told me his plans were to take classes this year at a college and if he still didn’t have direction in his life he planned to join the service to open up his door of opportunity to what he could do.  Jose, you go for it!  With an attitude like that you will succeed.  And thank you for your willingness to serve our country.  I pray God’s protection over your life.

The third young man was quiet and strong and thoughtful.  His name is Osvaldo.  What a great unique name on the English tongue.  Osvaldo told me that he works in the world of agriculture and it is a world of difficulty, hard work, and lots of struggles. Here is his wisdom: “We must have empathy for those who are struggling and working so hard and to help them through their difficulties.”  My heart was crying silently as I listened to the compassionate way Osvaldo spoke.  I looked at the strength his body displayed and knew he was a long time hard worker.  But, he graduated!  Now he wants to go on to do something for others who have suffered like he has.  His empathy was real and ran deep in his heart.  So much you can learn in just a few short moments with someone when you ask what it is they have learned that they wish they could share with others.  I just wanted to hug him, but didn’t want to embarrass him, so I refrained.  The hug came later.

About that time a group of five other newly graduated peers ascended the peak of Beacon rock.  Things were a bit noisy for awhile and then I turned around and looked at all these kids and said, since you are up here I might as well tell you that I came up here to sing.  If you would like to stay and listen you may but please do not leave once I start or I might get my feelings hurt.  Leave now, or stay.  They all stayed.  I looked out over the peak of the mount to all that God had created and sang the words of the song above at the top of my voice.  There was polite silence and then a burst of applause when I finished.  I had tears of joy in my heart as I sang,  I had reached the top.  Perhaps just a small accomplishment you might think, but to me it was my Mount Everest!  Though the height of the rock is 850 it is over a mile walk to climb to the top and it’s all uphill, steep hill at that.  And it was worth it.

I so wanted to pray with “my three boys” but with all their friends there I felt it was not appropriate to single them out.  Larry and I finally left to rejoin Charlene, who sat in the car below on her bad hip that needs replacing, thus she could not make the climb.  A few moments later the three lads caught up with us and stopped to talk again, or maybe I stopped them to talk, can’t remember for certain, but anyway I asked them if I could pray for them.  They seemed a bit puzzled at the suggestion, as if they had never been prayed for before, but they all agreed and joined hands with Larry and I.  When the prayer was over I extended my hand to shake the first one closest to me and he said no, he wanted to hug me.  He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me so tight and long that I knew he meant it.  I knew at that moment that I had, in some small way, touched his life.  The other two quickly followed suite and I had two more awesome hugs.  I loved it.  And I loved giving them their hug.  Isn’t God good?  He gave me the desire of my heart to pray for them when I waited until the right time.  Oh, how great is our God!  I shall remember these faces and names and the accent of Osvaldo as he shared his heart.  If I could say but one thing here I would implore you to reach out to those around you and touch each life in some way that God brings to you.  When you are willing, God will bring those who need a touch.  Such short contact and I may never know the outcome of our meeting, but God, in some small way has been introduced to their thinking and an adult has made them know that they are important in this world and their wisdom and advice does have meaning.

And I thank all or any of you who have not given upon on this post and actually read to the end.  I think I like writing in the morning of yesterday’s events.  It gives me time to digest that which happened and for me to make since of my day.  We came home, Charlene made a delicious salmon dinner and we sat down to eat at 10:10 p.m.  It was so delicious.  I don’t have time right now but I copied the recipe and plan to put it on the blog.  I have people that ask me if I have a favorite Salmon recipe.  Well, now I do.  I’ll share it later.

Following is the poem I wrote last night before I went to bed.

I CLIMBED MY MOUNTAIN

by Kathleen Martens

June 6, 2015

 

Each step I take

I am closer to God.

Each hour I live

I have less time on this sod.

 

Communing in nature

Draws me closer

To the heart of God

For a great big dose.

 

To walk my mountain

Though it be but a stone,

It was my Mt. Everest

On my way home.

 

I knew I could do it

For I said I could.

So I purposed my heart

And said I would.

 

A mile of steep angles

850 feet in the air

Put one step in front of another

To get me there.

 

Vistas so amazing

No camera can tell

Of the beauty God created

And presented so well.

 

River and Mountains

That meet the sky,

My heart seemed to soar

And wanted to fly.

 

Delicate flowers

On pathways of stone,

Incredible views

As I neared God’s throne.

 

An experience I treasure,

For I could still do

What I desired

To see God’s view.

 

And I thank my Father

For those He sends,

Wherever I go

He brings me friends.

 

I thank Him too

For the beauty prepared

That is always waiting 

Before I get there.

 

I climbed my mountain!

My heart is unlocked,

For God is my fortress

My SOLID ROCK!

 

P.S.  Be sure and browse down and see some of the photos I posted last night before I got out of cell service area.  The first one is a picture of the strawberries Larry and I picked.  Not all of them.  I had fun designing my display for you.  Hopefully I will get to label the photos later.  Must go for now.

Have a great day!