occasionally going barefoot….

This is how I roll....

I am a mostly barefoot person. I have two exceptions: one is working with the horses or in their pens (which can be dangerous for bare feet. Ladies who ride or do groundwork: always have the proper gear!) which requires boots. Not just for safety reasons, either – there’s nothing quite like sticking your toes in a fresh pile of steaming shit.

The other exception is at work in the group home. It’s a policy thing that we must wear shoes. I tried getting around that for religious reasons, but my boss was having None Of That.

The rest of the time I like my feet to be naked. It’s not just a question of “airing my feet out” (although to hear some family members talk I ought to be doing more of this) but it also feels earthy, pagan-y, if you will, to me. I feel really quite connected/witchy when I’m barefoot (unless I’ve just done something stupid like standing on a pointy rock or something).

holy udders of insanity

…. it sounds like a great oath, doesn’t it?

This past couple of months have been… confusing. I started a secondary new job, intending it to be a) Really Awesome Stuff and b) a chance to Make My Mark on the world while Earning Oodles Of Money. The idea was to work at a community museum which is undergoing a major renovation & revamping. So this would be the perfect time to go from being “just another community museum” to “really freaking cool and engaging”, no? Apparently not – from day 1 I’ve been at loggerheads with the current Director, who doesn’t see the need for multimedia, or for innovation, or for accurate, critical research, or a website….

What’s the point of renovating if you intend to keep on with the same old, same old?

Work at my regular job is equally annoying, from coworkers flaking majorly on the job to potentially organization-changing decisions with no leader around to make them. Decisions which could make or break an individuals life/sanity. Which now must wait for at least a month, until the Big Man can get back from vacation. What’s the point of having a vacation if you don’t leave any instructions for the rest of us?

I guess between one thing and another I’ve found myself more and more outside lately. It’s the only thing that makes a bit of sense to me now, anyway…. I am definitely holding onto the archetype of Mama Nature as being nurturing, peaceful, and healing. I lie down in the shady grass under the trees, with the scent of bedstraw in my nose, and just want to close my eyes and go to sleep.

drought crisis in alberta

Recently a friend and fellow pagan asked me how the weather was doing in our area. Wanting to stave off a distressing topic, I did what I usually do in this situation – waved my hands at her and said “fine”.

Really, though, the weather has been anything BUT fine. Across Alberta there is a high chance of drought. There was drought last year, but that’s nothing new:

You can see in the table that my area (Edson) had a substantial differential from the historic “normal” in 2003. So drought was a recurring theme in my childhood. Drought, disease, hay crisis – it’s a miracle (or a combination of blind luck/idiocy) that we’ve survived as long as we have. This year, though, things looks really bad. Or, to put it visually:

This is what it looks like now (precipitation-ally speaking). Yellowhead County (my area) is is red. To compare:

And that’s what it’s supposed to look like. Nice and lush and green. But it’s not.

In other words… drought. It’s the new normal. And what does my government do? Well, they’re concerned, but that’s about it. In the meantime, it looks as if we’re going to have to resort to FITFIR (first in time, first in right – basically, water access is developed on an I-was-here-first basis). Which could leave many metro areas kind of thirsty.

Perhaps this will change how we plan things. Or maybe not. But I do know it’s not a good time to be a farmer. So pray, pray, pray for rain.

on stress

Today’s post is promoted by the Pagan Blog Prompts which you can find over here. This post focuses on the mental health day which I am a total fan of.

Let it be said that I am the Queen of Freaking Out, which I attribute to what Deborah Lipp calls my “Water of Fire” personality. If you haven’t read her book The Way of Four then I heartily recommend it.  At any rate, stress is second nature for me what with juggling three jobs and trying to diet, I mean, “life plan” in the meantime.