MAY 15, 2011 CHICKADEE AND CHICKWEED

"When all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes: To love more, and to be happy."

Are all your desires distilled? Or do you have many desires? If you are a giver and always think of others first, perhaps it would do you good to consider loving yourself more, and to being happier with yourself. Many of us never think of ourselves. We think of others first. And of course in life, there are the takers. Which are you?

In order to love others you must learn to love yourself. This is the key to happiness. To be happy, you must have the ability to love. You must have the ability to love yourself. It takes time. Self-love is the 7th component of my life style pyramid. The life style changes, self esteem (#5) and anger/resentment (#6) must be dealt with if you are to have self-love. There was a time in my life when I thought I could never love myself. Today I love myself-- the good and the bad. I work on those character defects that need attention as expectations and self-worth. I had this weekend to pray, meditate and relax. To me relaxing is curling up with a good book and a sewing needle nearby.

I also had my binoculars this weekend. From the roof deck of Pride House I started looking in all directions of the property. I noticed Cardinals, Blue- Jays, and the American Crow. It was not that interesting as I had seen these birds before. I then noticed in a shrub a small bird with a black cap, black front or bib with a grayish whitish back. I did not know the name of this bird. On one of the shelves in the house were three bird books. I started to scan the pages until I found the bird I was watching through my binoculars. I was excited and happy.

It was a Black-capped Chickadee. I found out that this songbird is a resident of Fire Island. The official name is Parus atricapillus. It eats mainly insects, seeds and fruits.

The word Chickadee reminds me of the film, My Little Chickadee starring W.C.Fields and the erotic , luscious and iconic, Mae West. Biographer Jill Watts said this about Mae West,"Her life story is of a trickster's tale, the continuing and whirling evolution of three selves--a private person, a star, and a fictional character--the complex and intertwining personas that composed Mae West."

118 years after her birth there is still a growing interest in Mae as a feminist icon and by the gay community, The Queen of Camp.

To stay with the word "CHICK" while setting up my bee hive, I searched for plant species. Now as a RH, I am interested what is in the yard around Pride House. I found the common ground cover with oval leaves, and a tiny tiny flower. It is Chickweed (Stellaria). You can actually eat chickweed raw or cooked. You can put the chickweed flowers in a salad and it can be a substitute for alfalfa. Chickweed has an abundance of Vitamins A and C.

Until tomorrow...