It’s been a while since I’ve posted, mostly due to travel and, well, COVID. Not a lot of hi-vibe energy in being sick and when I travel for fun, I leave behind my laptop and basically skip all screens as much as possible.
But I’m back, I’m mostly healthy again, and I’m really enjoying the fall, especially SCORPIO SEASON. If you follow birth chart vibes, you’ll understand why, as I have four aspects in Scorpio, including the big one: the Moon! So I love me some misty, dark and shadowy energy and all the fun scares and mysteries of the seasonal holidays still to come.
OCT 21, 2024—Hiking trails in the middle of the burbs
I get bored with my usual hiking haunts so I’ve found some new (or at least new to me) trails in areas where you wouldn’t expect them.
The one shown here is part of the Clear Creek system in Silverdale. I took this trail a long time ago but it was still under construction, so I didn’t go back until very recently.
They did a gorgeous job with sneaking paved, wide, sometimes board-walked trails through the county’s biggest shopping destination. You’d scarcely know you were just a short walk away from movie theaters, malls, restaurants, and hardware stores.
- Why is this hi-vibe? Public natural spaces are so important for the health of a community. Not only do they create pleasing aesthetics, but they support wetlands and microclimates and provide people with places to walk dogs, hike, cycle or ride on horseback.What I think is perhaps less touched upon but maybe the most important thing of all? By incorporating natural spaces in our manmade spaces, we are perpetually reminded that we are not the only ones living on the planet.Animals and plants, waterways and forests, meadows and farmlands are part of the ecology that keeps us all alive; they are not just accessories to beautify our lives (which makes them, in a sense, optional), but living and breathing organisms in their own right.
OCT 22, 2024—Unusual crystals
I have a pretty big rock collection and just spent some time reorganizing and labeling my specimens. What a wonderful experience, reconnecting with the energy of natural minerals.
I have many of the most common crystals that most people are familiar with: quartz and jade, amethyst and jasper, agate and obsidian.
But I also have some amazing and unusual crystals that I absolutely treasure, including Dragon’s Blood (pictured), dendritic opal, rainbow calcite, pinolite, prophecy stone, and chiastolite.
- Why is this hi-vibe? Minerals carry their own energies (this is why people turn to crystals for spiritual guidance). I can literally hold certain stones in my hands and feel their vibrations (you don’t have to believe me for this to be true). Make of that what you will, but for me, this is one of the most hi-vibe activities in my life.
OCT 23, 2024—The cycle of life
This week was the start of garden cleanup. I’m ripping out old plants, pruning, harvesting, weeding, and nurturing my fall crops (lettuces, cruciferous veg, spinach, arugula, herbs, alliums).
Even when there’s dead matter (leaves, rotting fruit, dried stems, seeded flower heads), I find so much beauty and marvel in what I get to experience close up. Not to mention the worms and frogs and tiny insects that you only see this time of year.
- Why is this hi-vibe? The zinnia in this photo is in multiple stages of life. One flower has already gone to seed and died, another is in full bloom, and there’s a new one coming forward. The dead one is still so interesting to look at, and offers up its fibers to compost and its seeds to reproduce. That’s life from death right there.The blooming and soon-to-bloom provide such brightness and beauty during the dark season, which makes it very hi-vibe to me with my seasonal affective disorder history.
OCT 24, 2024—Hygge
I usually don’t talk about this until closer to December, but this week has brought on some pretty chilly temperatures in the mornings, enough that I’ve had to start up the fireplace again.
I’m also still not 100 percent feeling better and just having the fire burning while wrapped up in fleece on the couch, wool socks on my feet and a hot cup of something in my hand is the ultimate picture of comfort in the dark season.
This, my friends, is hygge, or a Danish term that refers to creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people… something we all aspire to during the dark, cold seasons (or at least I presume as much).
(Want to learn more? Here are 10 rules for composing hygge in your own life.)
- Why is this hi-vibe? One of the best messages to come out of the fall and winter for me is the value of slowing down, resting, recuperating, and enjoying quiet moments where I’m not busy busy busy.That rebalance of my time and energy helps me to protect myself from overwork and burnout and reconnects me to my sense of purpose, which is nothing if not hi-vibe.
OCT 25, 2024—Naturally spooky settings
Yeah, those Halloween displays in town or the neighborhood are fun. I love me a hay maze or a haunted house or a pumpkin walk.
But I also love to be outside in nature and find moments where things are just naturally spooky. Organic gothic is what I call it.
I shot this picture of a farmhouse behind a wall of erect but moldering wildflowers (I’m unsure what they are) and really found a mood there that seems like the great location for a spooky movie.
I also had an unusual experience this week in which I was briefly lost in the woods at dusk, and the mist that rolled in was beyond spooky… truly eldritch and ineffable in the way it ate up the remaining light I had to work with to find my way out. (I write more about this in my next Substack: subscribe here for free to read on Nov 2!)
- Why is this hi-vibe? Maybe it’s because I’m coming off of a round of COVID, but I’m keenly aware of energy this week (see other hi-vibe mentions here… they’re all about energy!).I’ve always felt a kinship to landscapes and the environment because of the energy they bring to me. When I was a kid, we moved so much that I felt the outdoors was a more reliable friend than the kid next door.You might notice that, sometimes, the settings in my stories are, themselves, characters. That’s where that comes from. Place has personality, to me, and it can convey all kinds of energetic messaging if you pay close enough attention.That’s what makes spooky settings that occur naturally hi-vibe; these places are just showing us bits of their personality in ways that are authentic and even emotional.
It’s more important than ever for me to remember how much good there is in the world. To that end, I’m going to try to post 5 cool things I encountered recently. Weekly? Maybe. Or maybe just occasionally. However frequently I do it, my goal is to brighten your day and help me cleanse my own timeline of all the toxicity that current events and social media can bring. With so much happening in the world, we all just need a link-love break, y’know?