A bit late, welcome to the world to our wondrous grandson, Lochlan Brion Jin, Born born on August 23, 2023 to Allce and Andrew! I can’t post a picture here because His parents are very cautious about exposure, but he has a wonderful little boy, he has such a beautiful smile, and clearly is watching and looking at people, since he was very small.

FREE daily online meditations ! .

Free, friendly online free meditations in

🌟 Magical  Circle of Friends group on Insight Timer!! 

Link to  the group:

https://insig.ht/W1m0azTQRHb

 Insight Timer has a huge library of meditations,Mantras, music, and much more.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My dear friend, Yvonne Aquilò, who lives in South Africa, and I created this group , and many others joined us. 

We play the early meditation at 9 AM EDT, 3PM South African time and central European time. 2 PM British time. 6 PM, Pacific, 7 PM Mountain, 8 PM central.(All daylight savings.) I host  on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Monday we call Mantra Monday because we play exclusively Mantras that day.Xiomara hosts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Sheri hosts at 8:30 AM and 9 AM on Sundays.AND, I’m very glad to say that Faith plays a meditation for sleep or relaxation at 9:30 PM Eastern time every evening. Please join! 

The second meditation of the day is at 3 PM Eastern time, 9:30 PM South African and central European time, 8:30 PM British time, 12:30 PM, Pacific 1:30 PM mountain and 2:30 PM central. Yvonne❤️ hosts  the second meditation

Members suggest meditations, which I add to the schedule in the morning. We play all kinds of meditations, mantras, and music.

All are welcome. We are not proselytizing for any religion or philosophy. With Krishnamurti,  I say, “truth is a pathless land,”

Each of us has their own favorite sort of meditation. Please join us if you like.

 Happy birthday to dearest Adeline Isabella, my granddaughter.. She turns 2 today. 

I hope anyone who is reading this is safe and well. 

 On April 10, 1946, Barbara and Irving registered the purchase of the old Spencer farm above Howe Brook, on a little-traveled back road above Route 100. Normally we would celebrate this event, even if only because the people who live here and have lived here like celebrations. There have been something like 13 babies born to "Quarry Hill Kids," now grown up, over the last 2 years-- and most likely more to come. I would love to see all those babies again-- some for the first time!  Fortunately, we were able to have most of the babies who had been born come to the 2018 summer gathering. Gorgeous babies, all of them! 

I had a chance to sit down on the grass near the Pond with some of the young women and their babies and admire them. Oscar, son of Violet and Chris, was in my house for a bit with his dad and we had fun-- he's a Leo and a great entertainer!

Will we have a chance to have all of the "Kids" and their kids together again soon?  I hope so.  Eventually, I believe and hope, it will be possible, especially if people meet outdoors-- something we can't do in Vermont's frozen February. 

(Pboto of stone plaque in front of the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont.  

 

Juniper Springs in the 1950s, Ocala National Forest, Marion Co., Florida.

I found  this photo on the internet recently. I believe it is available for anyone to use, but If it's not, and you're the photographer or owner,  please let me know and I'll remove it if you like.  ) My brother, my cousin and I spent a lot of time in these beautiful waters when we were young. What a fortunate place to have nearby! It's only about five miles from the Ocala National Forest cabin that Irv and Barb somehow built before I was born, or when I was so young that even I don't remember. I have a lot of early memories.. We used to come to Juniper Springs for an Easter picnic. We would color the eggs, and get some jelly beans and chocolate kisses and a big chocolate bunny usually. My mother, Barbara, would hide the eggs and candy around the picnic area. Then the kids would find them. One  Easter-- I was less than 10, I think--Milton, my uncle, a classical composer, found all the candy and ate it before the kids could find it.  We were all very angry! i believe he thought of himself as a kid, and as I recall refused to be bothered that we were so upset.   I can't remember if it was the same day we argued about "The Fountainhead."  You can read my story of that day at Blogcritics.org. It's called "The Battle of 'The Fountainhead.'"  by Ladybelle Fiske. 

Juniper Springs was, and as far as I know, is so gorgeous. The water bubbles up from a spring far away in the mountains somewhere (Virginia, I always heard, but not sure that's true).  The water is always 72 degrees and bubbles out of big caverns in the limestone bottom of the pool. The water is turquoise, on any day that there is a glimmer of blue sky.  Diving down into the springs themselves is otherworldly and wonderfully freeing.  The water runs out through a water wheel at the building that looks like a mill, and into the streams and rivulets that eventually flow, I think, to the Ocklawaha River.  There are alligators and snakes away from the groomed area with its log-cabin dressing area and bathrooms, built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930s.  The men who worked on projects to beautify the nation's national parks and forests, and on other projects, were paid a dollar a day (as I recall) and were fed. They did beautiful work, the work of artisans.  

I'm so grateful for Juniper Springs, where I swam also with my own children. 72  degrees came to be a little chilly for my taste, but I would jump in now if I were there. Irving loved all the swimming places of the area and would go in if the temperature was 72 degrees.  He swam every day if he could, including the day he died, April 25, 1990.

I hope to be at Juniper Springs again. It's almost exactly the same as it was in the 1950s. Also, Alexander Springs and Silver Glen Springs, other delectable natural swimming places in the Ocala National Forest.