1. Morning walks. I’m probably going to have to start going later because we are entering peak fall color season and I am walking so early it’s still dark out, so we are missing it. This absolutely is my favorite season in Colorado.

2. Owl magic, owl medicine. This is what I didn’t know earlier in the week that I know now: it is against federal law to collect the feathers of owls, hawks, and eagles. Last week and the one before were full of owl sightings. There were a pair of Great Horned owls hanging out near the stretch of river where we walk and no matter where we went, which set of ponds we looped around, it seemed the owls were there. Both Eric and I on our individual walks with Ringo saw them. When Eric walked on Thursday morning this week, parked the car at the end of Wood Street where a short section of trail connects to the longer Poudre River Trail, there was a Great Horned owl standing in the grass under the trees. Ringo barked at it and it flew off but then wanted to go smell the ground where it had been, so Eric took him over. Ringo has never seen one on the ground, so I’m sure he was very excited and confused. Eric found a feather that must have just fallen from the owl’s chest as it lifted, and he picked it up to bring home to me, knowing I would have picked it up myself, would think it was super cool.

And he was right. I was so happy about it. I collect feathers and this one was particularly beautiful and precious — a soft white with a subtle ombre of light brown, gray, and even a slight blue. It was so soft that when I brushed it along the back of my hand, I could barely feet it. I knew exactly where I wanted to put it, on my meditation shrine with my dad’s ashes and the tiny brass animal collection, each one representing a loved one I’ve lost. Then I looked up the meaning of finding the feather of a Great Horned owl, knowing already that owls are considered messengers between the living and the dead. They represent heightened intuition, profound wisdom, and the ability to see through deception or darkness, as well as the uncovering of hidden truths and trusting your own voice. I also read somewhere that they are “often interpreted as an invitation from your spirit guides to embark on personal healing and deeper self-reflection,” and are a powerful tool for protection and prayer.

And as I searched, I also saw that it was illegal according to federal law to collect and keep them. Frankly, I don’t care much about federal law right now, don’t have much respect for it, not with the current state of politics, but I do care what indigenous people advise and practice. What I discovered is that most tribes say to leave it where you find it, leave it to the Earth, unless you happen to be an indigenous person from a people who uses them for decorative or ceremonial purposes. So, I kept it on my shrine overnight and the next morning when Ringo and I walked, I carried the feather in my pocket and took it back, thanked it for its magic, its medicine and message, apologized for taking it, for not knowing better, and gave it back to nature, returned it to the Earth.

3. Practice. I sadly had to skip my yoga class at the gym and cancel my one at Red Sage because I hurt my back (went too hard lifting last week, because apparently when you return to strength training over 50, your muscles are capable of more than your ligaments and joints, and I let my muscles set the pace, which turned out to be a mistake). My wildish writing practice was extra special because there were just two of us, and I hadn’t planned to bring poems, so what we wrote to was a surprise for me too as I got out a few collections and found ones I’d marked in the past to use for prompts.

4. Good food and good company. We did brunch for book club this time and it was so nice, we decided to schedule our next session for the same.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.

Bonus joy: cooler weather but also sunshine, texting with my old neighbor, texting with Chloe’ and Chris, not needing to keep my phone with me at all times because I might get a text about my mom, sending flowers to the Tokarski Home staff who took care of mom so well and for so long (and yes, I am currently being petty and pissy about sending any sort of thank you to the house she was in for her final days because her care was not excellent — maybe I’ll get over that, maybe I won’t), good books, watching tv and moves, listening to music and podcasts, fruit — especially the Autumn Crisp green grapes (and the way I just made myself laugh because I spelled it “autumn crips” on accident), leftovers, old style grilled cheese sandwiches, the good pens, a new blank notebook, stickers, a warm shower, electric toothbrushes, getting to see a good friend I haven’t seen in too long, being able to cancel all my plans and stay home to rest, acupuncture with Lindsay, Eric continuing to feel better, a good night’s sleep, clean sheets, getting the laundry done and sometimes even put away, groceries, pay day, my dog, sitting with Eric on the couch or in the backyard or in the sauna, flowers in the house, other people’s pets and kids, the way Eric’s dad always says “tell Jill I love her” when he talks to him on the phone (*sob*), getting the girls’ birthday cards to them on time, pasta, wool slippers, down blankets and pillows, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Morning walks: I didn’t get as many pictures this week because most mornings it was still dark when we walked. As we start to shift from summer into fall this happens and we don’t always adjust our schedule to walking later until it starts to get colder. I was a bit sad because even in the dark I could tell, especially at North Sheilds Ponds, the fall colors were really starting to show. And yet, I would gladly give up a few pictures of that to share with you to experience what happened instead, what happened because we were out in the still dark: a pair of Great Horned Owls. I couldn’t get close enough to get a better picture because as soon as Ringo saw them, he started to bark and they flew away, but Eric saw them again this morning when it was a bit lighter and he was able to get a bit closer.

2. My tiny Oregon family. Meaning my brother, his girls and his grandkids (who I call “the girls” and “the littles”). We’ve been working through all of the details of the financial elements of our parents’ estate and keep telling each other how glad we are that we are doing this together, that we don’t have to experience the horror stories we hear about other families as they divide and divvy up what is left. There is a yearly lantern festival by the river where they live and this year, Chris got two lanterns in honor of Mom and Dad, and they all went to visit them and walk around. Chris brought home the lanterns after and put them on his front porch, where they remind me of Halloween decorations. Also of note, Warren started his first year at the “big school” where he now gets to go with his big sissy, Lia. Another fun fact is Chris’s house is so close that his back yard is right up against the school property, so he can see the kids on the playground at recess, and it’s the same school where the girls went.

3. Practice. Yoga at Red Sage plus a dog and Teri who hasn’t been able to come recently, my Friday morning writing sangha almost full and such tender gorgeous writing, yoga at the gym — I forgot how nice it was to have someone else tell me what to do.

4. Baking. There hasn’t been much this summer because it’s been too dang hot. This week, I made carrot cake and gingerbread muffins with cream cheese buttercream frosting, enough that I got to share a bunch but also eat it myself. So good.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric is finally feeling better and I’m so glad. He’s going to be extra busy with work commitments until Thanksgiving and to have him not feeling good on top of that was no fun. Ringo went for a checkup with his regular vet this week and continues to do so well for an almost 13 year old. I realized this week why I take so many pictures of him when he’s sleeping, besides that he’s so cute — it makes me so happy to see him so relaxed and content.

Bonus joy: laundry, groceries, listening to music and podcasts and audio books, poetry, comedy, a new notebook, stickers, my favorite pens, my new laptop (seriously, how did I put up with my old broken-down slowpoke computer for so long?!), pizza, cake, Autumn Crisp grapes, slightly green bananas, book club, the book that Eric wants to pick for his session of book club being one I really want to read and had already added to my list, a warm shower, a big glass of cold clean water, indoor plumbing, our whole house fan, cooler temperatures, everything turning gold, owls, rivers and ponds and the ocean, acupuncture, aqua aerobics, the hydromassage chair, sitting in the sauna, a massage with Danielle, crying, naps, pasta, Zoom, my favorite coffee mugs, other people’s dogs and kids, streaming content, the flowers Eric got me when he went to get groceries, potatoes of all kinds, texting with Chloe’ and Chris, tarot cards, wool slippers, down blankets and pillows, Ringo’s PEMF mat, wireless internet, shampoo that smells so good, basket boxes, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.