Category Archives: Spirituality

August 14, 2025

day 223

Spotted Lantern Fly
Bramlett Mountain Foothills in August 2025 ~ kat

dead spotted lantern fly

it’s so beautiful 
deceptively destructive 
marked for swift slaughter 

~kat

At first glance, finding this insect filled me with awe. It is so colorful…so beautiful. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a spotted lantern fly. I was relieved that it was already dead. The park service has deemed this beautiful bug invasive, a threat to local crops and trees. Those who find them are advised to eliminate them swiftly. At least I didn’t need to squish it under my shoe. I hate that feeling, and the sound. I might be tempted after finding a live one to leave it alone.

Who am I to decide that this bug should not exist. After all, their favorite vegetation to devour are trees-of-heaven…an invasive, fast growing tree, abundant in the woods where I live. They have a shallow, but vast widespread root system that makes them hard to uproot. It would seem as if nature knew what she was doing by placing these formidable invaders in close proximity to each other. The issue is that the spotted lantern flies have an expanded diet…decimating other trees and plants. Meanwhile the trees of heaven flourish unabated. And humans, being the control freaks that we are with an affinity for cultured lawns and pristine landscapes, make it our mission to control nature. Sometimes I wonder who’s invading who! No need to answer that. I already know the answer. I learn a new thing every day. How magnificent and efficient the natural world is. That’s my glimmer for today.

Rest in peace little spotted lantern fly. You were just living your life to the fullest doing what instinct and evolution informed you to do. Even in death you are beautiful. A glimmer even!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

5 Comments | tags: digital photography, Glimmers, Haiku, nature, Poem a Day, Poetry, spotted lantern fly | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

August 13, 2025

day 222

By Kat Myrman

high ground 

when storms come, head to high ground
it’s not wise to wait for the water to rise
a fool tarries long, and many have drowned
when storms come, head to high ground
one tidal swell can take a whole town
look for the signs, dark clouds in the sky
when storms come, head to high ground
it’s not wise to wait for the water to rise

~kat

I live away from the city these days. Far from neighbors, crowds, traffic. You know everything civilized. When we moved here people would ask, “Won’t you be scared to live so far away from the world?” I didn’t have to think about my answer…”I love it here.“ I would declare. In fact, I feel quite safe here. Just me and the wild critters, a few rescue cats, a bird and a dog. And neon tetras. And the trees…lots of trees.

I was thinking about this today. Thinking about how I might be able to wait it out; to live in peace under the radar. I’m not bothering anyone after all. But I know it’s unrealistic of me to think I am immune to the scourge coming. Eventually all of us will feel the sting of democracy dying. Of systems and safety nets crumbling. And down the rabbit hole I go…

Oh well. Can’t blame me for wishing I could avoid the inevitable. But this sort of thinking does waste precious present moments. I do have a choice. I can choose to embrace the moment or wish the moment away. For today I choose the former…just in time in fact. Look! the deer are holding space for me…a doe and her twins, a young buck and the strong resilient tripod doe who started coming around again this week. She inspires me more than she knows.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Todays poetry form:

triolet:

A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
nb (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)

2 Comments | tags: deer, digital photography, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry, Triolet | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality, Triolet

August 10, 2025

day 220 ~ weekly ReVerse

By Kat Myrman

our resident raccoon left his signature on a chair cushion on our back deck… he likes the peanuts we leave out for the squirrels…yes, little fellow. We see you too!

a ReVerse poem ~ 10 August 2025

there was no music playing
no reapers to sow
a thousand suns faded to black
a brood to fledge before the fall
Gabby, my dog, rolled in deer shit today
teach(ing) patience

~kat

There is nothing like a reality check to keep you balanced and grounded. I grew concerned at the trend of this week’s ReVerse poem…my favorite lines decidedly grim. Enter my little angel dog, Gabby who illustrated perfectly to me toward the end of this week how allowing the chaos and craziness of the world to stick to me is exactly like rolling in shit! And this, while all around me the wonders of the thriving natural world and the goodness of people being kind elude me, sort of.

As evidenced by the glimmers I did notice it’s clear that I gave them at least moment’s thought. It’s like lifting one’s head out of swirling, deep, rough water to catch a breath before being pulled under once again by the undertow. As if the universe hasn’t been on overtime of late throwing me safety line after line, I have fallen into a whirlpool of worry.

It took a cute little dog covered in ick to snap me out of it…and of course this week’s ReVerse retrospective to see that, like Dorothy from Oz, I have had the power to click my heels back home all along. I had always believed that it is a rocky, winding road to get there. At least that’s what I had been told…but I am realizing home is not somewhere out there, or even over the rainbow, as lovely as that sounds. Home is inside of me. My heart and soul know the way back to center. That little voice inside is starting to break through the noise. It’s as profound and simple as that.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

And in case there was any doubt, here’s a snapshot of this past week of glimmers gently screaming at me to get a life…my life to be more specific….thank you universe!

4 Comments | tags: digital art., digital photography, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry, ReVerse, week in Reverse, Week in Review | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review

August 8, 2025

day 218

By Kat Myrman

This little missy had an impromptu bath this evening. Read on for the rest of the story!

Gabby-Pooooo!

Gabby, my dog, rolled in deer shit today
she smiled at me, then pranced through the door
why she did it, who knows, I can’t say
Gabby, my dog, rolled in deer shit today
off to the washtub we went straight away
putrid, green goo, it was hard to ignore
Gabby, my dog, rolled in deer shit today
she smiled at me, then pranced through the door

~kat

The poem tells the story! I didn’t happen to get the before photo. I was too busy corralling Gabby into the washroom. She had done a good job of it. I assumed it was an herbivore (likely a deer) based on the green tinge that needed extra scrubbing once I got the bulk of it cleared away. Gross!!! She’s done this a few times before. I’m sure there is an animal behavior that explains this awful practice. And I am quite sure she does not consider it awful or gross. When she came inside she was quite pleased with herself, a big smile on her face begging for a treat for being a good girl.

Okay…so, you know me. I had to look it up. Apparently it has to do with scent marking; channeling her inner wolf. This I can relate to. I’m on a similar path myself. Learning to deprogram all the BS that this world imposes on us from the time we’re born to become civilized. Lately I’ve been returning to my roots, entertaining my wilder, intuitive side. I’m remembering who I really am, shedding the labels that the world has used to define me. Thank goodness my journey doesn’t involve rolling in poop! But it does get messy sometimes. Messy is not always a bad thing.

So…does this revelation count as a glimmer? I’ll take it! It’s a confirmation to me that I am on the right track.

As for Gabby, she’s definitely a glimmer, all scrubbed and sanitized and cute as ever. If I look close enough I can see her “wolf” side simmering behind those dark eyes of hers. She can smell a skunk passing by outside through insulated walls in the middle of the night. ( I speak from experience! ). It is a reminder to me to listen to that wild side of myself, and to trust my intuition as well.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨💩💩💩

Poetry form: the Triolet

Elements of the triolet:

A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
b (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)

10 Comments | tags: digital art., digital photography, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry, Triolet | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality, Triolet

August 7, 2025

day 216

By Kat Myrman

rock-a-bye moon
the stars have run out
of wishes…the fat lady
sang her song, but no one
was listening…the fiddler
had played them to sleep
and a thousand suns faded to black

~kat

It was one on those days. My phone ringing off the hook. Hours talking family members through stuff. I must’ve hung out my “Mom is in” sign in the clouds. It is rare that I get an actual phone call. These days the preferred mode of communication is text. It’s lovely to be needed. Years after they have grown and started lives and families of their own, a simple phone call is a wonderful thing…a voice…not text shorthand and emojis on a screen. Needless to say I launched immediately into mom mode. It’s the little things, isn’t it?

I tend to lean toward chronicling the times we’re living in through poetry, and my writing. That’s why glimmers have become an important detour for me. Today, it was o phone call. And of course Gabby too. She keeps me from going over the edge.