Best Moments

- SPARKLERS! The best part of fireworks holidays!

- On the very moment of the first new moon on the first day of the new year I sat in silence and manifested my intention to bring awareness and full presence to this next year. Here. Now.

- On the cool and bright first morning of the new year, I went out to watch the sunrise and feed all the things and Little Bit came over and started licking and trying to nurse my whole hand and thumb. Hilarity! I stood there for ten minutes giggling and talking to him. It was the perfect sweetness to make up for an utterly rotten end to the night before.

- Then I went to go visit the donkeys and if I stopped petting them, Daisy would grab my scarf and tug, just like a kid!

- Feathers dipped in gold paint and glitter!
- The sheer, unadulterated excitement of winning the lottery for getting permits into The Wave in Coyote Buttes North in the Paria Canyon / Vermillion Cliffs National Monument for April. I had like a .25% chance of getting it, and I MOTHERFARKING WON IT on the first entry! BOOYAH!
- Long, slow, drawn out sunsets that last for almost an hour and have colors that I’ve never seen; cotton candy pinks turning to deep, dark pinks and purples bleeding to oranges.

- The cutest squeaky toy ever.

- Crawling into or waking up in a super-toasty warm bed, snuggling in with my teddy bear and soft sheets and sighing happily.
- Sunrise over milk-nosed calves.

- Driving home into my favorite fingernail moon.

- Shopping for gifts, day-dreaming about dream vacations, coffee with a friend and sushi dinner with hubs.
- Turtle and koi ponds reflecting a sliver moon in the dusky light.
- Stopping in my tiny town to talk to neighbors, catching up, and appreciating the art of reclaimed wood wall art.

- Even though we had a pretty hefty cold snap and we lost our booster pump and some pipes, we still had water and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Now at least we have an idea of what we need to do for next time it gets that cold.
- Fantastic sunrises and sunsets:

- I did, in fact, go out and try to blow bubbles in the 16 degree weather only to discover that 16 degrees isn’t cold enough to make them freeze.
- The surreality of life, fly to Vegas to stay for 8 hours then drive all night to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

- The amazing drive from Albuquerque to Amarillo

- The cute overload of the Big Texan Steak Ranch Motel. Pure roadside americana perfection. The Big Texan Steak Ranch is everything that I love about roadside America – Johnny Cash and Charlie Pride playing on the radio, waitresses that look like rodeo queens, every kind of taxidermied animal on the walls, deep wood everything. And a ribeye and dippy eggs.

- Rescued hats

- Find a penny, pick it up. All day long you’ll have good luck.

- Painted Cadillac Ranch…again.

- Visited my favorite giant cowboy, Tex Randall

- Stopped off in Happy, Texas. Happy Joy!

- Marveled at the wonder of gloriously flat panhandle Texas, where if you stand on a milk crate you can see the back of your own head.

- I passed one of Quanah Parker’s arrows, to whom I’m related to by marriage. I drove past so fast I couldn’t stop to turn around to get a photo though!
- Flat flat flat then the bottom drops out and suddenly…canyons.

- I saw the Texas Bison herd in Caprock Canyon!
- I drove and the sun set, and I found a field with bits of cotton fluff still left.

- Shadows

- As bleak as winter can seem, the long low light seems to last longer and more precious as it drapes itself over the pastures. It’s comforting to see the cows grazing in the warm afternoon light.
- The cat goes in the cupboard 40 times a day to check for mice. I put a sticky trap in there and he found the mouse in it, got it off the trap and chased it around but got the trap stuck to his foot. I had to peel the trap off his foot then pick him up and launch him at the mouse to recatch it. Then he was walking around with the mouse in his mouth and I had to stop him, get him to drop it and then slam the sticky trap back on the mouse to immobilize him. Total slapstick comedy!
- Moonrise

- Sleeping in my own bed. When I’m away, to come back to it is glorious and wonderful.
- Surprise jackass!

- Watching the moon rise over the lake, big and fat and slow.

- Pelicans alighting, skimming on the starry water.
- Amaretto, ever my go-to drink.
- There’s something about road trip captive audiences when you have good time to talk and work through things that is excellent.
- Stories and stories and stories of the past from our parents and elders.
- Beautious foggy mornings.

- Watching the sun slip down the horizon and being ushered home by the stars.

- Dunkin Donuts’ french crullers, my favorite.

- Truck stop showers
- Bent neon signage.
- Those transition times, sunrise, sunset, when the light changes and you can witness man-made lights flicker on.
- Silly goggles

- Bees!

- Yummy lunches in cute little towns.
- Recordings of Vincent Price reading me recipes in the bathroom.

- The end of the smoked prime rib, all crunchy and amazing and rare on the other side.

- Benefits of living in the middle of nowhere: when it’s beautiful, sunny, breezy and warm I lay out on my sunny back porch in only what the universe gave me. Because I need more vitamin D and it feels amazing to have sun on bits that never see it.
- Cortado-love and hugs!
- I watched the moon rise late at night, the soft yellow light shone through my windows and I got up to look. The stars were shining brightly and the soft moonlight took the sting out of everything.
- Tattoos in good light.

- I walked to the end of the driveway to watch the sunset and was rewarded with layers and layers, oranges and pinks.

- Fat squirrels that shuffle around in the grass
- The promise of warm weather, but cool breezes to keep me present
- Surprise turkey egg nest

- Donkey lips
- Long low light filtering through the windows and gauzy shades
- Icy tanks

- Being greeted by all the cows, I’m not sure how I ever lived my life without them before
- A warm shower with yummy smelling products (and a good deep conditioning of my hair for four hours)
- Pierogies for dinner, good buttery hunky food
- The start of 1000 paper cranes

- Snuggles before bed, talking and feeling understood
- It was so cold this morning, there were icicles hanging off of my ass.

- Joe, in all the beds I’ve been in the past couple weeks

- Bedtime

- Sunset over the stock tank

- I woke up and the entire world was like an icy, glazed donut, including all the livestock. The novelty was worth waking up for, if nothing else.
- as it all melted, it dripped off the roof and slid down the posts in a most pleasing fashion, drip-drip-dripping most of the day.
- I had my favorite lunch as of late, smoked tinned fish, bagel chips, rosemary garlic marcona almonds and a bit of smoked blue cheese. All combined into one bite, it is absolutely amazing. The only thing it was missing was preserved lemon, which I didn’t think about until after the fact.
- the ability for me to utilize my tools (meditation, insight, self-regulation) to care for myself when I need it the most
- waking up, snuggly and warm, tucked deep in my bed.
- ice day! work from home!
- breakfast cooked by momma, eggs, toast and texas pecan coffee with twaddled milk and maple syrup (holy woah amazing!)
- hilarious internet videos, one good reason for facebook, there is a neverending supply of them
- the waning crescent moon shining through my window very early in the morning; the first and last quarters are my favorite
- waking up to another amazing sunrise, stepping up on my bathtub to snap it before my eyes were even fully open

- the frost on everything, always makes it seem like a magical wonderland
- cowboy help, I’d be at a loss (and without a trailer) so many times otherwise
- connecting, helping, bolstering, sense-making
- walking to the park and be-ing; sitting with full attention to everything, focusing gently but seeing all the way out to the periphery, listening to everything, and having the mindfulness practice soothe the frays in my mind
- tea and goodies and drinks and charcuterie and clotted cream (!!)

- healing touch, be it hugs, reaching out to holding hands when upset, grooming, rubbing my back, or soft kisses behind my ear, there is never enough touch in my world
- a really good hair day, combined with a really good scarf day
- love; to love and to be loved
- Game of Thrones?

- Desktop rodeo

“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”
― Hugh Laurie

- Redheads. Hell yeah.
- Hilarious Nikon DF review video
- Animals sitting on capybaras

- I know a couple of farmers that said it right: “Our goal for all of our animals at Yonder Way Farm is that they only have one bad day in their lives. That day is still my least favorite day and it never seems to get easier. Our animals have the opportunity to do and be what they were created for. They graze, root, plow, scratch, eat, sleep, and fertilize the land to sustain it for the next generation. However, if left unharvested, they benefit no one and their purpose is unfulfilled. No different than planting, watering, and weeding your garden only to let it go unharvested and rot in the field. When you have a vested interest in the food you are consuming, cheap and convenient are not your major concerns. There are so many details that are there way before it was put in your freezer. A story. A life. When you know these details, you value, appreciate, and waste not when it’s understood that something lost its life so that you can maintain yours.”
- Woman’s phone stolen, she recreates the guy who stole it’s selfies
- 365 Grateful!
- Bastrop County Bucket List
- Donate your old iPod to a good cause! I’ve got a few lying around I should send over.
- I’ve GOT to find me a glass ball to take places with me.

- New spray stops bleeding instantly.
- The concept of statelessness.
- Lessons from pain.
- Zen and the art of not itching – this is UNpossible for me. Itching is my worst nightmare, my biggest distraction…I’m hopeless.
- 7 things to remember when you feel not good enough
- Photography I enjoy by Bracket
- Barbed wire fences were early telephone networks.
- The awesomest off-road RV.
- Tentacle tea cups

- Shibari fashion! (possibly NSFW)
- Cthuluphant

- Tangled

- Star photography editing tutorials by one of my favorite astrophotographers
- Frost quakes!
- Free will?
- Why we self sabotage our happiness.
- Finding gratitude for difficult people
- Turn your Instagram photos into magnets!
- This guy raised an abandoned moose calf with his horses, and believe it or not, he has trained it for lumber removal and other hauling tasks. Given the 2,000 pounds of robust muscle, and the splayed, grippy hooves, he claims it is the best work animal he has. He says the secret to keeping the moose around is a sweet salt lick, although, during the rut he disappears for a couple of weeks, but always comes home….

- A pretty damn accurate map of the nearby universe.
- Beautiful shot of The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

- A really great shot of Hamilton Pool

- This song about Mark Kozelek going to see Ben Gibbard at a Postal Service show made me chuckle.
- An interesting article about not giving a fuck, which I agree with some and not with others, but still think it’s worth a share.
- Five things to do in Canyonlands that involve getting out of your car.
- How to turn beer bottles into glasses
- Meditation can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.
- First evidence of specific molecular changes in the body following a period of intensive mindfulness practice
- Separating feelings and stories
- 18 great things I wish I knew as a teenager
- Old Man’s Cave in Winter

- Sleep naked, it’s good for you.
- Robert Downey, Jr. sings with Sting and nails it.
- Metal bugs, so cool!
- Girl and the sea

- Pretty

- The best part of this article:
- Identifying and reducing stress in the moment: As we’ve discussed before, identifying stressors and developing breathing habits, postponing rash action, and muscle relaxation can help cool your head.
- Recognize overwhelming emotions and keep them at bay: Emotional self-control isn’t just effective in rage management. While anger and romance may be very different, the same strategies apply: be aware of your own emotions and calm the f*** down.
- Learn the basics of nonverbal communication: Everyone around you is constantly communicating, even if they’re saying nothing at all. Learn to read these cues to assess your situation better.
- Utilize humor to make connections and solve problems: You don’t necessarily need to be Louie CK levels of funny (and in fact that might not help all relationships), but knowing when to use humor to resolve conflicts can be very beneficial.
- Resolve conflicts positively: There’s a huge difference between fighting and actually solving problems and we could fill a whole article explaining how to avoid doing the former and do the latter instead.
- Sneaky way to remove a stuck ring
- The cute, it burns!

- On expansion
- Photos of John Schnieder, including very evocative ones of his reaction to his father’s death.

- HOLY CRAP! Blue lava!

- Beautiful art

- Beautiful art with her body.