Bugs!
By Maggie Fenton
Well, cicadas, actually. Mike and I went camping at a nearby state park for a short shake-down trip last week. We wanted to make sure all the systems on our little camper were functional and that we could manage our 8-month-old puppy on a camping trip. The park is only twenty miles from here so you would think natural conditions would be similar but as soon as we entered the park we heard a deafening noise …thousands, maybe tens of thousands of cicadas were on the march after seventeen years in the ground.
After a while, their mating calls became background and I walked around looking at this amazing phenomenon. There were hundreds of holes in the ground right in our small campsite. Cicadas, in various stages, were on the ground, on the grass, in trees, climbing up to meet their mates and live their short, but sweet life above ground. I learned that the males are the ones that ‘sing’ so they can attract the right female. After leaving the ground, all look for anything vertical and start climbing. They mate. The female lays eggs – up to 400 and they may live two to four weeks. Then, having lived their one short, dedicated life, they die. The hatched nymphs go back into the ground to wait another 17 years. I learned once again that Mother Nature is sometimes very strange and wonderful.
Annie Dillard wrote in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, “The dedicated life is worth living. You must give with your whole heart.” These strange small creatures seemed to be giving their whole hearts to their short lives. Should we do any less?
Reintroducing our Mother Board, beginning with Win Fiandaca this month
Win is one of the Members-at-Large on our Crones Counsel Mother Board. Now at age 80, she has been coming to Crones Counsel for 22 years. She and her hubby live with their 3 furry kids in Arizona. They have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. Win and her daughter, Andrea Hartwig, were the Key Crones who planned and hosted Crones Counsel XXVII, 2019, in Tucson, our most recent in-person gathering. She is an enthusiastic and creative board member, interested in contributing to our excellent quarterly zoom gatherings as well as our future in-person Crones Counsels. Way to go, Win.
When Nothing is enough
By Kianna Bader
When I’ve sheltered at home
For thirteen long months
Ordered groceries online
To be delivered by Instacart
Ordered meals online
From Hello Fresh
Spent hours preparing them
I’ve taken many walks
In my five acre park
Gazed at the trees
Listened to the birds
Savored the smell of spring blossoms
Wished I could have taken
that trip to Lake Louise
Glad I took those trips to Province,
Israel and Ireland before that…
I have enjoyed the silence
Perhaps this has been enough
Dear Elsie,
Is watching action movies considered aerobic exercise? If so, how many times a day/week for best results?
Signed,
Love my Recliner
Dear Love,
Oh, could it only be that easy! But unless you’re willing to do all the moves that they do while they are doing them, unfortunately, no. It simply can’t be done from your chair with a remote in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
From what I’ve read, many of these ‘action heroines’ spend months preparing in the gym before they can even put on those skin tight suits, leap from tall buildings and take on all those villains. These roles are not for those who aren’t willing to spend hours training every day.
Now, since this is a Crone newsletter and most of our readers don’t have spandex bodies, I’m going to suggest this. PUT DOWN THAT REMOTE! Unless, of course, you are using it to watch Silver Sneakers on YouTube and follow along with their sometimes too perky exercise leaders. Or call up a friend and take a walk together. Or join one of those Senior Swims. Some of the pools are nicely heated for old bones. I have a friend who lives many, many miles from me that challenges me to keep moving .. at least three days a week. I get her cryptic text that says “Did it!” That means that she completed her exercise du jour. I know I won’t get any rest until I can text a “Did it!” back to her. If I don’t, she’ll be calling me to find out if I’m still above ground. I do the same if I don’t hear from her. It’s a great buddy system that keeps us moving.
Whatever you choose, just keep moving .. otherwise, you’ll start rusting or grow moss. Not a pretty sight.
Still moving even when it hurts,
Elsie