Jul 5

Trusting the Science

With summer kicking up, I am reminded of Camp Mercury’s philosophy that growth and learning doesn’t happen while safely contained in bubble wrap. We have to be willing to have “skin in the game,” to be willing to fall flat. I’m a huge comics/sci-fi nerd, and one of the things that always brings me to […]

Jul 5

Love Letter to Mother Mississippi

Dear Mississippi, how should I begin? As a Unitarian Universalist, I can only speak my own truth, which is informed by a deep relationship with the elements. Water: In heavy rain, cats yowling, the lightning in the sky giving me a glimpse of the Chunky River’s churning. A sudden doom fell upon my shoulders: I was moving […]

Apr 30

Love Letter to Mother Mississippi

I am sharing with you the message I presented at the UU Church’s Earth Day celebration. Dear Mississippi, how should I begin? Water: In heavy rain, cats yowling, the lightning in the sky giving me a glimpse of the Chunky River’s churning. A sudden doom fell upon my shoulders: I was moving somewhere they would name a […]

Mar 30

Why Mississippi?

I live on a dead volcano beside a living serpent of a river. Because of the black earth streaked with red clay and the blood of civil rights heroes; the impossible green of sweet potato vine; the fossilized epic log jam just outside the city; and the Ragnarok-levels of lightning breaking through the storm outside. […]

Mar 14

Eye of the Storm

never have i been a calm blue sea i have always been a storm — stevie nicks I’ve been quieter than I like to be for a long time. It is unsettling to settle in. I have a home, and I’ve been in a relationship for eleven years. I’ve been in Mississippi for nearly the […]

Feb 3

Practice makes Perfectly Imperfect

I’m more “on the wagon” with practice within my disciplines these days (yoga, writing, This Thing We Do), mainly because Some Fairly Serious Stuff is happening in Deirdraland and I need my full toolbox at-the-ready. One of the most powerful teachings in my life comes from the Pratyabhijna-hrdayam, (if you can find it and are […]

Apr 29

Sad Wallcat News

RIP Zorro Zeta I’ve been trying to write about this since I got the news on Monday, but it’s been too hard. Wee, sweet Zeta was sickly last week; stopped nursing, and had to be bottle-fed by her tireless foster family. They thought she’d gotten past the worst of it, but she was just too […]

Apr 6

Our Wallcats

Both of these kids’ll come home with us on my birthday, officially Best Caturday in History.

Mar 30

The Cats in the Walls

For those of you who only read my blog, I owe you a story. Until then, allow me to sum up: a crazy feral  mamacat climbed 10′ UP along our HVAC duct to bear kittens in our attic. The space would’ve been ideal kittennest, save for the steep drop-off that allowed tiny kittens to fall […]

Dec 1

Jack, 1992-2008

Jack came home with me in the summer of 1992. I fell in love with the little guy when my aunt showed us her cat’s new kittens. He was stubbular, round-eyed and looked like his belly might burst from glutting himself on milk. Even as a kitten, his paws were ENORMOUS. He looked like he […]