Typically seasonal changes bring a change in temperatures. In recent years we have seen a fluctuation of unseasonable temperatures, which makes us realize and acknowledge just how real climate change is.
Mental sluggishness. Mental fuzziness. They call this brain fog, reducing the ability to think with clarity, where thoughts seem to evaporate in a mist of mixed-up madness. While this isn’t considered a medical condition, it is a lack of mental sharpness and coherence.
Just like driving in dense fog can pose safety and visibility hazards, brain fog can do the same with mental focus. When we are not operating as sharply as we should or could, then we need to examine if we are suffering from sleep deprivation, dietary deficiencies, anxiety, lack of motivation, or stress.
Oh, Fog!
Drifting over crisp marooned waters
like ghosts asking an unanswered rhetorical question
where decrepit silence lingers in the still air
bewildering thoughts lacking visibility
oh cast thy eerie presence crashing on the shore
that awaits and siphons details hidden in the mist
dissipating in agonizing rays of the morning star
where the weariness of spooky resilience is banished.
Atmospheric conditions in our lives can tilt our mental scales of balance. Forgetfulness is not uncommon (I call this having my “senior” moment) but if the occurrence happens more frequently than not, then don’t wait to check on yourself and your health. Fogginess dissipates as the sunlight comes in bringing its warmth and rays of light. Allow your inner ‘you’ to permeate with a light that will make your fog retreat, allowing clarity to infiltrate your brain and spirit.
Last week, I think practically everyone experienced some unprecedented changes in their weather patterns. Places that are typically cold this time of the year experienced early summer temperatures. Other areas that usually experience warm climates got a shot of wintry temperatures and precipitation. We see representations of nature becoming confused with such an unseasonal change, like flowers sprouting now instead of their usual arrival at the end of March or early April. (I’m not referring to flowers and plants growing in a greenhouse environment). This isn’t normal from my vantage point.
I had to mow our lawn last week because new blades of grass took off growing when we typically expect to see the seasonal shades of green begin to sprout near the end of next month. Our temperature was freezing one day and the next day shot up to the mid to upper 80s. Huh? Of course, I think March winds blew in with the unseasonably warm temperature. Then let’s not mention areas suffering from long spells of drought, with it only worsening and causing endangerment to humans, wildlife, flora, and fauna.
But, I began thinking about how we may be affecting Mother Nature’s response. For instance, with all of our drilling, blasting, bombing, deforestation, polluting the air, and the reckless endangerment of life due to toxic chemicals and oil spills, is it likely that these variables are pushing us toward annihilation because nature is sick?
Mother Nature has been speaking to us for a long, long time now. Are we or ain’t we listening? Read the room as they say. She can’t take care of us if we don’t take good care of her.
Image Credit: Pixabay (Eye of the Storm Image from Outer Space)
Good morning dear friends, and to some of you, good evening. We are in the midst of Hurricane season on our side of the country. While we are located more inland in our state and may not experience as much damage from the storm, I wanted to take this moment to say to all of you experiencing or expecting extremely severe weather due to Hurricane Ian or other tropical storms, so please be sure to prepare yourselves as much as you possibly can. There are other tropical storms hovering in the ocean, but you and your family’s safety is on our minds.
Anyway, whether it’s a hurricane, tornado, wildfire, snowstorm, cyclone, or sandstorm, please make sure you are as prepared as you can possibly be. Don’t wait until the last minute. Whatever you do, don’t panic and don’t worry, just be as safe as you can with a plan in place. 🙏🏼 God bless.
You know, I am always in awe of mother nature. I think for most of us, she is the ultimate inspirer for our creativity. There is always something that makes you think about her impact on our lives. With the goodness of her bounty or the harshness of severe weather, we are still inspired to write, paint, or photograph her in all of her wonder and might.
While the weather was not as severe as I thought it was going to be, mother left a wintry presence that still makes me smile as she warmly graced us with a little bit of her magic. How can you disrespect a mother like that?
Image Source: Virginia Department of Transportation AP
You know, I was watching the reports of the Nightmare on I-95 and was simply stunned by the miles and miles of stranded motorists who dealt with this sudden winter storm. The roughly 50-mile traffic jam that forced scores of drivers to wait in their cars for more than 24 hours in some cases for the roads to clear slammed the Washington area, parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S.
So this got me seriously thinking about making Emergency kits that I can have on hand in the event we need it for “any” type of emergency. Usually, when we travel, I pack extra bottles of water, non-perishable food, binoculars, matches/lighter, flashlight, extra batteries, a knife (to open a can or use as protection), paper towels, wet wipes, and a blanket or throw in the event we need it. I have a handy suitcase that all of this can be stored in if we have to make a quick getaway.
So this prompted me to check out some of the lists out there that will give me some ideas on what to include in my emergency kit, but honey, my little emergency kit didn’t touch the surface. So, instead of listing all of the suggested items to include in your emergency kit(s), clickhereto go to the Ready Emergency Supply List provided byReady.gov. This list is also available in various languages like Arabic, Español, Français, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Chinese, Simplified. Just go to the “Make a Plan” tab, and pull down the menu and hit “Build A Kit.”
Better ready than sorry. Or is that better safe than sorry? Hmmm, either way…Happy emergency preparedness!
Image Credit: Townsquare Media (Wheeler Geologic Area- Rio Grande National Forest)
Sedimentary
natural, weather-beaten
years in the making.
There is something so completely captivating about ancient rock formations. Existing on this earth for thousands and thousands of years, one cannot stand in the presence of these unbelievable artistic sculptures designed by The Divine stroke of Genius, without being in awe. While I have never visited these monolithic formations in person, they are still enchanting and mesmerizing as they pop so dimensionally in a photograph.
Solid as a gem
unshakeable and stoic
sculpted by God’s love.
When I think about the strength and endurance of these mammoth rocks, even through years of erosion, there is a steadfastness that has lasted through the ages as they weathered many storms. This example shows me how pain and heartache can chip away at us, but with our steadfast spirit, on the solid rock we stand, we witness a resiliency we never thought we had.
Hoodoos near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Image credit: Albuquerque Outdoors Magazine
Image Credit: Göreme Love Valley – WikiMedia Commons
Image Credit: David Lally – Stonehenge. EnglandImage Credit: Twitter/@ArtifactsHub – Tayma Oasis in Saudi ArabiaImage Credit: ULURU .. Aerial view of Uluru and the Olgas in the Northern Territories Australia
I felt the shift, it’s been going on for decades now
not enough people paid attention, no one tried to help me
I have been battered and abused for a long time now
me, the mother provider, the birther of new life
I have been sending out warning, after warning, after warning
seeing the jarring images of my ecosystems under stress,
rising temperatures, increased fires, violent storms ravaging and damaging,
drought, pest invasions, glaciers melting, displaced wildlife
I am watching it all unfold, human causes, human denials
my temperature intensifying, my body metastasizing with illegal toxins
drastic changes where seasonal differentiation only blends together
with mounting disasters I ask if people will remain complacent and complicit
while my climate levels rise and humans turn to look away
my demise is long-term resulting in much suffrage, so much damage
I cry, oh how I cry, looking at what you’ve done to me, letting me erode and corrode
I must ask one important question, will you just sit there and continue to do nothing
watching me die, wasting away, as if this is not your problem at all?
I watched the haze blurring the sun over the past few days. It’s actually smoke floating in a path that traveled from the west coast and has now landed on the east coast. It’s so heartbreaking actually. We are merely getting a whiff of the catastrophe happening to people who are victimized once again by these wildfires that are sprouting up due to the drought. Any little spark, even from the muffler of a car can create some catastrophic situations in our forests, dominoing into the mass destruction of homes, businesses, and life.
I know it’s no secret that we have been experiencing climate change for years now. The scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect was first identified (nrdc.org).
When I step outside and scan over the flora and fauna in my yard this morning, I am grateful, humbled, inspired, and filled with a sense of tranquility watching the fruits our mother planet produced. I ask myself daily, in order to continue watching the beauty of nature as I look at it right now, what can I do to protect and help mother nature flourish? I may not have the scientific answers or environmental finesse, but there is something I do know. I can certainly do my part to make sure I am not contributing to the problem, but being proactive as a viable contributor to the solution, no matter how small or big that may be.
Our beloved planet is crying and suffering. Are we truly trying to comfort her and relieve her of her pain? Nature is my muse of creativity. Can we do better to protect her from further abuse? Or will we continue with business as usual, none the wiser to her suffrage?
It’s still the talk of the town. On Sunday, a 5.1 earthquake rumbled through our area. For a few seconds, no one seemed to be aware of what was happening since such occurrences as earthquakes are uncommon in our neck of the woods.
After my “WOW” moment from learning where the origins of this shaking came from, I had to think if the earth continues to show us her discomfort in a world shattered by a global pandemic, massive unrest, and the lack of care we show Mother Earth.
There are unlikely natural disasters hitting areas that have never seen flooding, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, and long-term drought before. There are areas that have never seen invasions of insects like locusts, killer hornets, red velvet or cow killer ants, kudzu bugs, or the strings of shark attacks on the coasts and shorelines of crowded beaches.
Storms are more violent, glaciers are melting at alarming rates and the invasion of wildlife and insects is keeping us on high alert, but are we taking this as seriously as we should? Climate change is real and is not a hoax. I don’t have to be a meteorologist or scientist to see the extreme changes in our atmosphere and environment since my years of growing up over 5 decades ago. I believe Mother Earth has been trying to tell us something for quite some time now. Deforestation, whether we want to admit it or not is gravely affecting our health, wellness, and ecosystem. We are building massive structures too fast and tearing down what we no longer want in our landscape even faster.
Image Credit: Lisa Christine Tam
There is a massive crisis going on around the world and we aren’t paying any attention until we find ourselves in the midst of catastrophe. Then we ask the question, “How could this have happened?” Remove the blinders, take a look around, and pay attention to what’s going on. Mother Earth has been speaking loudly for a very long time now, but we have continuously pushed the mute button and dismissed her warnings.
If we don’t pay attention and respond accordingly to her cries, we will quickly find ourselves swallowed up in an earth-shattering predicament that it will be too late to respond to or get out of.
From Behind the Pen 