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To Kill or Not to Kill

25 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

Author, Poet and ArtistWhile Jay, the owner of the pest control company (a sweet, older gentleman, who has been around for a long time) was here, we asked him if he’d consider taking away the Cuban tree frog that lives in our shedlette and dispose of it for us, but he said regretfully he couldn’t. I didn’t hear the reason, he was talking to Bill then. But later he wanted to talk to me about it. He had answers but none of them would suffice.

“Throw a towel over it, catch it, and let it loose in the woods.

“Can’t do that, it’s an exotic.”

“There’s lots of woods around here.”

“It will breed and take over more territory.”

“Oh in that case it will have to be …” I wish I could recall his euphemism for killed.”

“Yes.”

We really shouldn’t let it live. Billy, my ecologist son, and I have been discussing for years what to do with it. Another man he knows has a system for getting rid of them. We discussed taking it to him, but my grandchildren begged us not to. We wouldn’t have anyway, that’s the big problem, really, we can’t kill things.

Known to take food and territory from native flora or fauna, an exotic is a plant or animal that came from somewhere else. Sometimes they prey on the natives which further diminishes their numbers. In this case, the Cuban tree frog is helping destroy our beautiful little green frogs with the gold racing stripes live here. When we moved to Florida in 1965 the green ones were all over our porch slab. They clung to the sliding glass patio doors like suction ornaments. People had to watch their heads when they stepped out because the frogs were known to drop unexpectedly. Now we rarely see one, it’s not all the Cuban tree frog’s fault, pollution has done its worst.

Because of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), The National Wildlife Federation has three categories for plants and animals, 1. Extinct, 2. Endangered, and 3. Threatened. There is also a designation called Critical Habitat. Without the proper places to live and eat, any animal can become f threatened.

I didn’t have to explain all of that to Jay. He knew what exotic meant. He knew about ecology. He said, “I see what you mean.” I’ll be interested to find out what you’ve decided to do.

We may leave the frog out there, he’s been out there since he was a quarter of the size he is now. The thing is, he keeps waking me up with his far-carrying wee-hours croaking. If it were steady I could probably ignore it, but it’s not. It’s a continual call that gets you fully awake and then it stops long enough for you to go back to sleep. Once you do that it starts again. I do have earplugs. And I do have a conscience about plotting murder in the night, so I end telling Jay I’ve decided the Cuban can stay. I wonder how long they live. He has every kind of protection in the shedlette — plenty of bugs to eat, and perhaps a green tree frog for dessert.

http://www.fws.gov/ENDANGERED/laws-policies/index.html

 

Frog

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Head Up and Locked

18 Aug

Author, Poet and ArtistBill is an airplane buff. We have a standard joke when someone isn’t paying attention. “He’s got his head up and locked,” we say. The saying is taken from faulty landings where the retractable tires don’t come down to support the plane when it lands. It’s a malfunction that can, and usually does, cause a disaster.

This morning, friends from our church needed a ride to the doctor. The pastor usually hauls people around, but he had conflicting appointments. He would have asked Bill to take them, but Bill was out of town, so he asked me. He wanted to give me directions to their home on Pine St., but we had taken them home once and I knew where it was. Besides, years ago, I drove to Pine frequently because a woman in my Sunday School class lived there. But as I drove without coming to Pine, I realized something was wrong.

My friends were going to a drop-in clinic and didn’t have an actual appointment, so I didn’t panic. I decided to call the friend who used to live on Pine. She said I had to take a street with another name in order to get to Pine. I don’t know what else she might have been going to say, though, because I cut her off, saying, “Oh yes, I have a perfect picture of it in my mind, thanks, goodbye.” So I went back up the road looking for the street she mentioned. I saw the street I remembered, but the name was different. I turned anyway and then turned again. Nope it wasn’t Pine. I knew though that I was within inches. I asked a workman that looked sort of like my grandson, and he was kind enough to look it up on his GPS. He showed me that I had turned one block too soon.

Finally, we made it to the doctor. And what did I learn from the experience? I learned that I have a bad habit of knowing I know things when I don’t know at all. I’m praying that Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Way, the TRUTH and the Life, will wipe out all the thoughts that I think are right and show me His way. One of my most fervent prayers is that He will continue to remind me that in order to know I must not assume that I know, I must ask. I think today will be a great reminder and although I’m not proud of myself, I thank Him for it.

keep asking

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The Book Barn of Beulah Colorado

12 Aug

Sometimes a letter or email turns into a great blog. Today’s post is one of those.-Onisha

 

Loved this letter from my friend, Patricia Franklin, who lives in Colorado. I thought you’d like it too, so we got permission to share. It’s a book lover’s joy-DiVoran
Hi DiVoran,
Just had to tell you about our  Sunday afternoon drive today.  We drove up to the little  mountain town of Beulah in the foothills of the Wet Mountains. It has one main street that is about two blocks long with a coffee shop and a general store. We went into the general store and went to the lower level which is a little antique store. We wandered beulah General Storethrough there looking at all the things I remember as a child, and also hoping to find a couple of items to replace some that we broke, but still were using up until that time. Ha!  Not finding anything, we had a nice conversation with the owner.
We were also looking for an old book for a friend of ours.  She did not have it, but told us to go to the Book Barn, which was just this side of the Coffee Shop. She said “People leave their used books there and the proceeds go to the school… hard backs 50 cents and paperbacks are 25 cents. You just put the money in the knothole.”  I was intrigued by that comment and we drove on up the street to the Coffee Shop .
There were a couple old gents sitting out front of the Coffee Shop.  We stopped and asked them where the Book Barn was.  One of them said, “It is right behind you.”  I looked at a little old shed behind me by the side of the road and said “Is that it?”  He said, “That’s it.”  … and something to the effect of “You might not both fit in there at the same time.”  We backed our car up and parked right beside the colorful little shed that had the door wide open.  We both got out of the car and walked into the 6′ x 8′ shed. No one was in attendance. All sides were lined with bookshelves to the ceiling, which were filled with books of all kinds… not in any particular order, with boxes of books on the floor.  Being the book lover that I am, we both looked through the books, having  to squeeze past each other in the aisle.  We did not find the book we were looking for.  I saw some great books, but I have so many right now, that I did not get any, although I wanted to just to put the money in the old knothole by the side of the door.  I immediately thought of you and said to myself “DiVoran would love this little Book Barn.”  So I had to tell you about it as soon as I got home.
Need to get dinner on!
   Love, P
The book they were looking for was Colorado Wildflowers, Volumn 2, The Mountain flowers by Guennel. It is on the Internet, but it’s beyond the price the friend can pay. If you have a copy you don’t want or need let us know and we’ll see that they get it.
DiVoran

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One Person Poetry Fair

11 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistI have been enjoying my IPod for a lot of different things. I especially like to listen to poetry and I’ve bought some from Audible. I am, however, greedy for more so I kept searching in my bumbling way for more poems to listen to. I especially wanted the more up-to-date poets, but not what they call the modern ones because as you know, the modern ones, such as T. S. Eliot, even though I like him too, are really not very up-to-date.

I’ve known about the Poetry Foundation, and when I entered audible poetry in the Google search bar they came up. I looked the website over, but still didn’t see how to get spoken poems onto my IPod, so I contacted them by email. A nice man wrote back and suggested I get their podcasts on ITunes. I finally managed to figure out how to do that and now I’ve got a bunch! I subscribed to all the Poetry Foundation podcasts free and downloaded the archives of those podcasts as well. I put them on playlists, and today I started listening to poetry to my heart’s desire. I have seven plus hours worth, many in the poet’s own voices, and more to come. I’ve struck gold!

Listening to a wonderful poem gives you a similar feeling similar to listening to a transcendent piece of music. Poems give insights and epiphanies, two of my favorite brain candies. Even though it was a hot day and I had a mile to go, I listened on my walk and was exhilarated with what I heard. The one that sticks with me most from today is: “Monet Refuses the Operation,” by Lisel Mueller. I may have liked that one best because I like to paint too.

Anyhow, now I’ve got poems, and I’ll be receiving more as the podcasts come out. I’ve got discussions of poems, I’m sure to learn something from them. What else can I say, I’m rejoicing, thanking God and all those who make it possible and in general just very happy and satisfied with the first day of my one person poetry fair.

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The Art of Living the Bible

4 Aug

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistAt one time in history it was essential that educated people knew and understood the Bible, especially writers. It is still necessary for Christian writers because we are teachers whether we think of ourselves that way or not.

We can get anything from the Bible we want. If we’re militant, the military is there. If we regularly stress with too much work, we can find more work and pressure in the Bible. If we’re tired of driving our lives in the fast lane, we can find peace on almost every page of the Bible. It’s all in how we perceive it.

In addition, we can find various ways, to read the Bible. Seminary students must study the Bible as a textbook, a history book, a literature book, and a language book, but as open-minded writers, we are free to read it any way we want, especially if we ask the Spirit of Christ to guide us into understanding.

This is my favorite way to utilize its wisdom at this time in my life.

Every year I buy a small, page-a-day Bible verse calendar, and each day I tear off the page and splack it to a new journal page. I then use it as a prompt. I get out a Bible and write out the verses using four criteria.

  1. Write from the point of view of the author, which is God, not man.
  2. Write in the present tense. For instance if it says, I am going to bless you, write, I bless you now.
  3. Don’t dwell on descriptions of sin. Jesus has already atoned for our sins and shortcomings. We’re interested now in going ahead with Him.
  4. Write down things that expand the passage to your satisfaction. (Judge these things against the rest of the Bible.)

In this way, I receive revelation and insight and welcome many joyful surprises. Here’s a sample from Ecclesiastes 3:11. This book of the Bible tells repeatedly how futile it is to live out of our own intellect instead of following the Spirit of Christ.

My Beloved Child, I made everything beautiful for its time. One flower, one butterfly, one tree—although impermanent, is beautiful in itself–nothing added. So are you. Love and work are my gifts to you.

Stop trying to fix the past or re-live the good times. Stop Worrying about the future. Nothing your imagination makes up is going to happen, but if something seemingly bad happens, you won’t have known about it in advance. Relax, do your jobs, always try to love and forgive. “One handful of peaceful repose is worth two fistfuls of worried work.” (Direct quotation)

Here’s another quotation, this one from artist advocate, Jill Badonsky from her book, The Muse is in. “Everything in life is art. From how you walk and how you smile at a stranger to how you love someone and the way you choose to feel. It’s art.”

2 Timothy 3:14 in The Message says:

There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word, we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

What is your protocol for absorbing the Word of God these days?

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The Butterfly Effect

28 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistHave you ever heard of the butterfly effect? (with reference to chaos theory) It’s the notion that a butterfly fluttering in Rio de Janeiro could change the weather in Chicago. In other words small actions can have big results.

Last night, Nan’s mom and I went to the fifth grade chorus performance at her school. Nan had invited me and I usually tell her mom I’ll pick her up, but this time, I put it on the calendar and forgot about it until practically the last minute. I jumped in the car and ran over there and Nan’s Daddy was doing some computer work. He sat and talked to me about his hopes and dreams for the children. He and his wife are having their fifth child in a few months. They’ve really spread them out. The first one (a boy) was born about twenty-four years ago. Dad was hoping for a boy this time because boys are easier to raise. I said I was hoping for a girl, ‘cause I think girls are easier. It was none of my business, though. Instead of arguing, he said maybe a girl would be best. I wasn’t trying to persuade him. He said Nan and her mom would probably enjoy a girl since their other daughter is grown and gone. It seemed as if that short positive conversation opened a new thought for him – the flutter of a butterfly’s wing.

When the mom and I got to the concert, we sat down front so Nan could see us when she went by. Every kid in the group wore black pants, a white shirt, a turquoise satin cummerbund, and a matching bow tie. Nan gave us a big smile and a wave.

While we waited for the concert to begin, Nan’s mother said she didn’t think she’d put Nan in chorus next year. I had envisioned a whole string of years of chorus and all the friends, trips, and new experiences they would entail for Nan, plus thinking about how singing and playing music is for people. Again none of my business. But Mom wanted to talk so I ventured a question about whether Nan wanted to go to chorus next year. She said she’d ask her. That gave me freedom to tell how much our children enjoyed music in school and what a nice bunch of kids they met. I wanted a little to persuade this time. When I said they got to go on trips and do fun things, that clinched it. “She can go if she wants to,” Mom said.

Upon such small encounters, ones we’re not even looking for, lives can drastically change — the flutter of butterfly wings.

Here’s my paraphrase of Hebrews 10:24

Don’t give up the habit of meeting together with one another. Be concerned for one another with a sincere heart and sure faith. Accept Christ’s atonement so that there are no guilty consciences. Omit resentment and judgment. By example, gently inspire and encourage each other to do well in their decisions.

What do you understand that passage of scripture to mean?

By DiVoran Lites

By DiVoran Lites

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My Diet Journal~Part 4

21 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistWhen we first started talking about our diet, some very dear friends mentioned that we looked good to them. We appreciated their compliments, but we had both knew that if we didn’t put a stop to it, we would continue until our health was threatened again.

From tomorrow, we have four days of the diet left. Bill has gone under the weight he was formerly happy with, and I’ve lost a total of ten pounds. That’s fine. I didn’t have a specific goal.

When I was reading the plateau page of the hcg protocol, I came across a suggestion to take apple cider vinegar, so I decided to try it. At the store, I saw Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar and recalled how many times I’ve read about their products nutrition books. I picked up the bottle. The vinegar inside looked cloudy, so I read the label, and in large print, it said, “With the Mother.”

Aha, I thought, I remember Mother in the vinegar, my own mother told me about it one day when I pulled a bottle of vinegar off the top shelf and it looked as if it had a jelly fish floating in it. Mother laughed, told me its name, and reassured me that we could still use the vinegar.

Apparently, the Mother in apple cider vinegar (ACV) consists of fine spider-web molecules which account for the cloudiness. It is protein enzyme that occurs naturally and is good for digestion. In 400 BC Hippocrates, the father of medicine, praised ACV for its amazing natural cleansing, healing, and energizing health qualities.

That connected with the new/old information that is now coming out about fermented foods, such as coleslaw and yogurt which have probably been around as long as APC. I have since learned that in olden days when there was no doctor or veterinarian available folks put it APC on the food of sick cows, and sick people and many of them got well.

So there I was catapulted into another world, APC for animals. Naturally I began to wonder whether Jasmine and Lily would accept it on their food. I could not believe that they would.

Jasmine

Jasmine

Jasmine has allergies that make her itch until she scratches off big patches of fur. When left untreated a bacterial infection results. She has also been poisoned by a combination of cortisone, that melter of bones, and flea repellant.

On the other hand, Lily has a heart murmur,

Lily

Lily

probably congenital and though a large cat, weighs only six pounds. Her pharmaceutical is an ACE inhibitor which she is now on. But what if the old-fashioned remedy would work?

It didn’t seem likely that they would take it, but I tried six drops on their grain free, canned fish to see if they refused. They liked it. Wow! We’ll all try it for a while. Maybe we can get well, or a lot better, anyhow.

 

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Summer in Florida

15 Jul

I asked DiVoran for a summer poem. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do~Onisha

 Rainy Season

DiVoran Lites

5

 

Overhead, gray clouds swarm and boil.

Trees whip and moan.

A mockingbird flies fast, trying to avoid the storm.

All of a sudden it is here, drumming on the porch’s aluminum roof

Lightning flashes. Thunder rumbles and booms.

The storm passes.

 

Cats run to hide.

 

Tree frogs sing like bawling cattle.

Sun slants through pink muhly grass

Emeralds sparkle on green leaves.

The cats come meowing for their supper.

In the cool, cool, cool of the evening, we hold hands.

 

6

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My Diet Journal~Part 3

14 Jul

A Slice of Life

DiVoran Lites

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

When I started journaling this morning, everything in me felt low from energy to emotions. Usually when I start writing I tell the Lord what I’m unhappy about, so I planned to complain for about five hours. My routine had changed. I slept in until seven and then it was starting to get hot, so I thought I’d skip the coffee and the writing and hit the trail.

I’ve become able to drink coffee with Stevia and one quarter grain saccharine, but I still need the creamer, which is 2cheating. I tried to do without it one day, last week, taking Anacin with its 32 mg of caffeine, in order to avoid the withdrawal headache. It didn’t work, so I had a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I know I’m addicted, but I don’t want to give it up because I enjoy it, feel that it clears my mind, and have more energy when I drink a cup. I drink two a day. Some studies show that a moderate amount is good for most people, but if doc says no, then it’s no.

We bought some new Stevia called Truvia and we like it much better. I still want a quarter gram of saccharine, in fact I wish I could stay on that combination, even though Dr. Simenon discovered that artificial sweeteners are truly bad for people.

Flashback — Okay, I’m ready for my walk. Hat, key, phone, “sticky” note-pad, church pew pencil, (I found it in my car), tissue, iPod, and dark glasses. At first it’s not unbearably hot. I start listening to a book. Some days I don’t listen, I just enjoy the fresh air and observe, and maybe I’ll listen on the way home to make the journey shorter. It gets hotter as I go. By the time I head home I’m thinking about calling Bill to ask if he’ll come get me. But no, that would be wimpy. I didn’t drink water because you’re supposed to take the hcg and give it a chance to get into your system without interference. What if I pass out from dehydration?

When I do get home I lay on my bed for a while getting lower by the minute. Here comes the addiction withdrawal headache. I think I’ll lie here like this all day. This must be how it feels to be in deep grief, just wanting to stay in bed.

I decide that for a cup of coffee I can make myself get up.

3

Now I’m writing. Bill comes in for a minute and we talk about his weight. To our great surprise he has already reached his goal, though he didn’t realize it and wants to keep going, He lost ten pounds his first week. The way I understand it, you don’t go off the diet when you reach your goal weight, you continue with the hcg until the three weeks are up, but you eat more. When you reach your goal, you can eat as much of the designated foods as you wish. You don’t have to count calories, anymore, just stay away from starch and sugar.

After our chat and three quarters of the cup of coffee, I didn’t feel down anymore, so I started writing and here you see the result.

Oh, by the way, in case you’re interested, I have lost 6.05 lb. this week. Thanks for listening.

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Diet Journal Entry~2

7 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

 

DiVoran and her mom

Mom-Dora, Me-DiVoran probably at my highest weight, several years ago.

 

Day Four

I can’t believe we’re starting day four on our diet. That means we only have two weeks and three days left, and then three weeks on maintenance when we have more food choices and won’t be limited as far as calories go. If we follow the rules adequately, we will keep it off for a good long time, who knows, maybe forever.

The diet has been in existence for over fifty year after Dr. Simeon researched and experimented with it on his willing patients for over fifteen years.* I think it was the diet Bill and Judy’s mom went on many years ago, only she had to go the a doctor’s office and get hormone shots. Nowadays we don’t use the real hormone, we use a homeopathic, which the body perceives in exactly the same way. Agnes was thrilled with the results, and we were thrilled for her. She never went back up to her original weight.

The rules are detailed because while the hcg triggers the body to let go of the fat, the chemical make-up of various foods either aid or hinder the loss. The website we use has counselors online to help.

We spent half an hour after lunch yesterday hashing out the directions, our experiences with the diet, and our needs (or wants). Both of us are first-born, perfectionist, control freaks so we have many discussions over almost everything. Certain words such as sorry, say, again, I blipped, and let me see if I understand what you’re saying, are vital to the discussions. The cats don’t like it if we raise our voices.

We appreciate every bite we get, except at this point we still can’t stand the Stevia we have on hand. We’ve had it since the first diet about five years ago, though, so we’re thinking of getting a new package, hoping it has improved and will be better when it’s fresher.

This morning the scale put on a light show of flashing numbers ending with an ERROR message. Yesterday, my first day, I’d lost two-and-a-half pounds. Bill has lost four. The scale is working fine now, maybe it had to change its mind from continually showing gain, to showing loss.

By this time, you may be thinking that we’re rich and fussy about food. Are you thinking of the poor, the homeless, and the people dying in countries where their governments deliberately starve them to death? I need to pray about all that again, will you join me?

Dear Lord, only your omniscience can know how deeply grateful we are to have so many varieties of food and drink to choose from. We thank you that we can buy what we need and what we want. We don’t have the power or the resources to supply jobs, farms, and sustenance for everyone in the whole world, and as you say in your word we will always have the poor with us. However we do ask you to show us where and when to share, and to give us the wisdom, the power, and the love to obey you. All we do know to do is to trust you with all our hearts, to thank you, and to help us not to depend on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The way I wrote part one it sounded as if MAINTENANCE consisted of no oils at all. That’s a false impression. It’s the diet that lets you have no oils. Maintenance give you all the fats you’d want: dairy, cheese, cooking oil, butter, etc. The way I’m understanding it, our bodies are supposed to run on the fats they break down. What gets us into trouble is combining them with starch or sugar or both. After three weeks on maintenance, the directions explain, you may start back with carbs, but carefully.

For more information here is a handy link to a PDF

http://www.yourhcg.com/poundsandinches.pdf

 

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