Smile pretty!
It's summertime in Erie, Pennsylvania,
which means it's prime hunting time for Eloise.
I hunt wildlife,
but I shoot with a camera instead of a gun.
It amazes me that robins go from this,
to THIS
in just ten days!
The baby robins know me by now.
They tweet when I come near.
I made up my own little whistle song so they know it's me.
Momma bird even will sit on my porch railing and let me take a quick photograph.
She doesn't swoop or peck or chatter at all.
It's not in a Momma Bird's nature to do that,
but we've built trust.
Trust is important.
For posed shots,
when Mother Eloise yells,
"Stop! Smile!"
I only post good shots.
I've earned the trust of my teenage daughters.
My favorite of shots though,
are the natural ones
with no poses,
just captures of life as it happens.
Moments dance like a flame,
and it is a joy for me to freeze one in time.
It's in my nature to find beauty in nature,
and share it with you.
We caught a beautiful afternoon at the ballpark last Sunday.
Sam and Ellen got to throw out the opening pitches.
Ellen played a game with only 8 players this week.
Two strong-arms covered the outfield,
and the ladies pulled out a win due to teamwork.
Way to keep your heads in the game, girls,
despite the odds stacked against you.
You played with heart this season.
When the intentions of your heart are good,
and you can keep your mind in the right place,
it's easy sailing.
Don't be held back by the cages of your own mind.
Eloise is Play-It-Safe kind of person.
In the dance of life, I like to keep things comfortable
and within my natural rhythms.
One of the best lessons I've learned the last few years,
is that it's OK to turn the station and dance to different music once in awhile.
In fact,
it can be good for you.
Many people have signed up for my Hill Challenge.
Hills are hard, but very worth it when you reach the top.
I only needed 7 shirt orders to make the 12 shirt minimum for printing,
and when I dropped that worm,
many fish bit.
We are a team of over 70 strong,
tackling area hills
walking,
jogging,
or biking up them.
Thanks to my helpers for organizing them all.
I'm the Idea Girl,
not necessarily the organizer.
Two dozen of my friends spent time in nature
at the Peak-n-Peek Adventure course.
If you haven't tried it yet, it is worth checking out--
even for the faint of heart, like Old Eloise.
I was rather white knucked going into the event.
Heights are not my thing.
I don't have a paralyzing fear of height,
but I certainly prefer to have my feet on the ground.
The first sign of trouble for me came when I missed this sign for the turn.
Perhaps they should post a larger one.
I was thankful for the detour though,
because I would not have passed this house otherwise!
I can't quit thinking about it!
We harnessed up
and hoofed it up the side of the mountain.
As I walked up it,
I kept thinking what a crappy Von Trapp I would have made.
The Germans would have captured me for sure.
After what seemed like an eternal safety lesson,
where the instructor used words like tweezle,
or was it tweedle?
or treezle?
we were turned loose to climb on wires between trees.
After three hours of
balancing,
tunneling,
ascending,
and descending--
we wobbled our way
to a new found confidence.
Eloise was so mentally spent by the end of that 180 long minutes,
I was talked into the Giant Zip Line by daughter Ellen Louise.
I was too exhausted to fight myself,
and did something in nature that was against my own nature.
Despite my fear, I took the leap.
I was glad that I did.
The view from the top was amazing.
The learning I took from the experience was this:
So who are we?
Ourselves?
Our self?
What makes us US?
How much of you results from learned behavior,
and to what degree is innate?
Eloise has been thinking about that quite a bit lately,
and I cracked out all of my Ayurvedic medicine books and articles.
I really dig it,
and it makes complete sense.
Weekend homework:
What's your dosha?
There are many on line quizzes you can take.
My personal favorite was linked to one of my books,
an easy to read one about the basics of Ayurveda.
Click the link below.
Take a minute to read the short introductory letter from the author.
She explains Ayurveda very well.
This test,
as well as many others I've taken,
place me in the kapha category overwhelmingly.
I scored a 35 there.
I also had a few vata characteristics as well.
I scored a 9 on this one.
I had zero in this category.
I love this way of looking at health,
because so much is based on food intake.
What a refreshing way for us to think,
based on 5,000 year old wisdom.
It's in my nature to sleep soundly,
and it is about time I get some.
It's time to turn the Lamp Post into a night light.
Get out in nature
and do what's in your nature
this weekend!
ELOISE
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