July magic

I love summertime. I am not alone. Many other full time desert people have told me the same thing. July is very special to me for I am a moon/water child, Cancer, born on the 17^th of July in West Texas. The full moon of July is fast approaching. I feel very close to the natural rhythms of nature at this time of the year.

“Men and books lie. Only nature never lies”, wrote Thomas Paine.

DAWN BREAKING…the first light of a new day. Outside my study window, the cosmic dance, the winged ones of the air…my mourning doves floating in for their gourmet breakfast that I prepared for them before dawn. My quail will be coming in later.

MY “PAISANO”…will show up. My quot;fellow countryman” as the Mexicans call the roadrunner. This wonderful bird has a four-toed foot…with two pointing forward and two backward…equally divided between the past and the future…always moving and living in…the eternal now.
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Summer ranch memories

In the West Texas panhandle country of shimmering horizons are the rugged canyons of the Palo Duro, where I have camped many times. If you travel south from the canyons you will eventually be in the Llano Estacado…the staked plains of West Texas that extend north into Eastern Colorado. The Staked Plains filled with miles of unbroken buffalo turf and rich grama grasses.

The New Mexican comancheros named it and a road was staked out across its unbroken surface by Spanish travelers to guide strangers, hunters and traders across this vast land.

On the Eastern side of the Llano Estacado is the little hamlet of Jayton. That is where my grandparents, on my mothers side, had their little homesteading spread. All of my summer days, from grade school through high school, were spent there.

It was a magical place there in the 1920’s and 30’s for a young boy spreading his wings. With a population of maybe 150 people, or less, it was surrounded by gigantic working ranches.
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A star danced

On July 17, fast approaching, at about 3 o’clock in the morning I broke free of the womb and entered the world. That was in the year 1922 on the plains of West Texas. A dear friend in Washington state is a professional astrologer. For a present she sent me an Astro-Forecast that is fascinating stuff. I found out that “like a crab I am hard on the outside and soft on the inside.” That fits. According to the readings everything is coming up roses for the rest of the year.

I don’t knock it. If the moon moves the ocean and drastically influences our blood pressure and other bodily functions, there is obviously a whole lot going on that is beyond our little, limited knowledge. It is that something unknown doing we know not what.

During the quiet hours of my days, from time to time, I wonder about astrology. On that subject I am an agnostic. I simply do not know. None of us do. I do not believe or disbelieve. My mind is totally open. I do know that I fit perfectly the astrological reading.
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