In all seriousness, far too many phenomenal sentences this month for me to pick just one favorite. Grateful to you (and fox) for another great roundup.
“The uprising and resistance as displayed by the mighty Māori people of New Zealand inspires me over the brink into tears.” - I cried twice. We belong. 💜
What an incredible collection of sentences/experiences this month — humor, anger, awe, love, ravens — it’s all there! Miigwech for taking us on the road with you, Chris.
And the photograph of the ancient crossing of the Yellowstone … I loved how the river and the sky look to be made of the same substance. Then I noticed the cobbles of the matching river banks. How they would provide solid footing on either side of a shallow reach. Yes, it is still a good place to cross.
It's good you told us of this spot. We might need to be able to find it, if someday the bridges are washed out and we’re fleeing north to the land now called Canada. That sort of thing could all happen again…
Boozhoo cuz, sounds like my travels. However I was able to visit Brett and Anita and attend lodge ceremony last month and had a beautiful time. Visited NM and SD as well.
I love the entry about the Portland crows. I was so excited to see them when I went there several years back. I remember writing in my journal “ the crows own this town!” I also felt comforted by their presence.
Another month of wonderful one sentence connections with your month of traveling and sharing your stories. Especially these two spoke with clear connections to my spirit:
2024_1117: Pulled back from the edge of melancholy by the appearance of a stout little belted kingfisher perched on a wire over an irrigation ditch.
2024_1118: Nookomis glides boldly out from behind a prodigious bloom of cloud to grab my attention for a cold and beautiful moment in my night driveway.
Those feathered relatives are forever giving voice to our journey, when we take time to look and listen. Thank you for seeing, hearing and sharing their voices in your sentences.
Most of the time, Chris, after I read your writings, I seem unable to express the overwhelming appreciation my heart feels for all I have learned from you. Just hope you know that silence means very grateful, and a bit weepy.
Just when I feel like punching stupidity in the face, an unkindness of ravens will appear out of nowhere, and we hold a long conversation wherein I realize some ignorant human misnamed a flocking of these highly intelligent and sensitive creatures, and the term should then be turned back onto unkind people. Be well in heart and mind, Chris: I think on you often. 🩵
Yes! I agree. And we forget that we are also thin spaces, just walking around doing our business everyday (or we don't want anything to do with our inherent thinness and make all kinds of attempts to squash it, kill it, remove it, or we don't realize it's there at all, etc. etc.)
"Abandoned in the Columbus High School gymnasium post-event to find my own way out, it’s amazing I’m not still there, wandering its halls, like a desperate wraith." This is what I call... the last-man-on-Earth emotion. I cherish the moment in 1980 I stepped outside the cabin on the Blackfoot and the big freeze had stopped everyone and everything, including the flow of the river. I joined the two feet of snow in the beauty of dead silence.
"2024_1119: Butte, America, remains a favorite for all its grit and ghost townedness." I'm always a sucker for the underdog. And Butte has it in spades.
2024_1117: Pulled back from the edge of melancholy by the appearance of a stout little belted kingfisher perched on a wire over an irrigation ditch.
A silent crow, a type of bird I've not seen at my suet feeder ever before, has appeared a few times in the past year, staying only for seconds, disappearing abruptly without being able to get a foothold and startling me because this crow is so much larger than any other bird I've seen at the feeder in the past forty years, with the possible exception of the occasional Pileated Woodpecker who is able to hold on to the wooden beam and eat long enough for me to watch in awe.
I've had a female hairy woodpecker hanging around this past week or so, which is a new thing, especially given how chatty she is. I get lots of downy woodpeckers though.
“2024_1114: The uprising and resistance as displayed by the mighty Māori people of New Zealand inspires me over the brink into tears.”
Brings me to my knees in reverence…this friend speaks my mind!
No footnotes?!?! I LIVE for the footnotes!
In all seriousness, far too many phenomenal sentences this month for me to pick just one favorite. Grateful to you (and fox) for another great roundup.
I always wonder how people feel about the footnotes. I'm happy for the answer!
“The uprising and resistance as displayed by the mighty Māori people of New Zealand inspires me over the brink into tears.” - I cried twice. We belong. 💜
❤️
What an incredible collection of sentences/experiences this month — humor, anger, awe, love, ravens — it’s all there! Miigwech for taking us on the road with you, Chris.
And the photograph of the ancient crossing of the Yellowstone … I loved how the river and the sky look to be made of the same substance. Then I noticed the cobbles of the matching river banks. How they would provide solid footing on either side of a shallow reach. Yes, it is still a good place to cross.
It's good you told us of this spot. We might need to be able to find it, if someday the bridges are washed out and we’re fleeing north to the land now called Canada. That sort of thing could all happen again…
It's a beautiful spot, and it was a lovely, rainy day there when the photo was taken too. That is magnificent country out there.
Boozhoo cuz, sounds like my travels. However I was able to visit Brett and Anita and attend lodge ceremony last month and had a beautiful time. Visited NM and SD as well.
I would have loved to be there but I was scheduled elsewhere. I'll get to one of those ceremonies sooner than later.
I love the entry about the Portland crows. I was so excited to see them when I went there several years back. I remember writing in my journal “ the crows own this town!” I also felt comforted by their presence.
They are really something spectacular when they gather as they do there.
Another month of wonderful one sentence connections with your month of traveling and sharing your stories. Especially these two spoke with clear connections to my spirit:
2024_1117: Pulled back from the edge of melancholy by the appearance of a stout little belted kingfisher perched on a wire over an irrigation ditch.
2024_1118: Nookomis glides boldly out from behind a prodigious bloom of cloud to grab my attention for a cold and beautiful moment in my night driveway.
Those feathered relatives are forever giving voice to our journey, when we take time to look and listen. Thank you for seeing, hearing and sharing their voices in your sentences.
💚
Love the Rock and Roll book tour t-shirt!
They turned out great!
Most of the time, Chris, after I read your writings, I seem unable to express the overwhelming appreciation my heart feels for all I have learned from you. Just hope you know that silence means very grateful, and a bit weepy.
I appreciate that, and you, very much, Melissa.
Just when I feel like punching stupidity in the face, an unkindness of ravens will appear out of nowhere, and we hold a long conversation wherein I realize some ignorant human misnamed a flocking of these highly intelligent and sensitive creatures, and the term should then be turned back onto unkind people. Be well in heart and mind, Chris: I think on you often. 🩵
What would you prefer to call a gathering of ravens?
I love that a group of chickadees is a "banditry." They are little bandits, among so many other wonderful things!
I'm partial to 11/27 for obvious reasons. Do thin spaces remember us? Hmm.
I think all the spaces remember us, Emily. It's we who do the forgetting!
Yes! I agree. And we forget that we are also thin spaces, just walking around doing our business everyday (or we don't want anything to do with our inherent thinness and make all kinds of attempts to squash it, kill it, remove it, or we don't realize it's there at all, etc. etc.)
Here for the long run. This is such good stuff! So easy to take-in, while ever expanding, Bless you for a month of staying on top of it.
Miigwech!
"Abandoned in the Columbus High School gymnasium post-event to find my own way out, it’s amazing I’m not still there, wandering its halls, like a desperate wraith." This is what I call... the last-man-on-Earth emotion. I cherish the moment in 1980 I stepped outside the cabin on the Blackfoot and the big freeze had stopped everyone and everything, including the flow of the river. I joined the two feet of snow in the beauty of dead silence.
The side channel of the Clark Fork at Council Grove is starting to freeze over and I love it.
"2024_1119: Butte, America, remains a favorite for all its grit and ghost townedness." I'm always a sucker for the underdog. And Butte has it in spades.
It sure does. I'm doing an event at the library there this week, a first for me. I'm looking forward to it!
I can't wait for your write up of your day at the Butte library!
2024_1117: Pulled back from the edge of melancholy by the appearance of a stout little belted kingfisher perched on a wire over an irrigation ditch.
A silent crow, a type of bird I've not seen at my suet feeder ever before, has appeared a few times in the past year, staying only for seconds, disappearing abruptly without being able to get a foothold and startling me because this crow is so much larger than any other bird I've seen at the feeder in the past forty years, with the possible exception of the occasional Pileated Woodpecker who is able to hold on to the wooden beam and eat long enough for me to watch in awe.
As always, all the best to you and your beloveds.
I've had a female hairy woodpecker hanging around this past week or so, which is a new thing, especially given how chatty she is. I get lots of downy woodpeckers though.
I believe my step father was brother to to your grandmother Ruby. I’m from Plains. Very interesting.
What was your step father's name?
His name was Theodore Robert Doney. He went by the name of Ted Doney.