Mars: Day Four

November 30, 2025 ~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

I was so excited to see Jamaica! We did not get to see much of it. Our excursion to the green grotto was over 30 minutes away, we were on a tour bus. The scenery was from the highway and most of it were buildings and houses trashed by the hurricane. It was very sad. Our tour guide was very chatty, like most of them, but he taught us some Jamaican words. “Yea Man” (Yes) and “icky, icky” (No).

The green grotto was underground and so was our tour. I was so thankful that I changed my mind about my skirt and wore my jean shorts and a cool blouse. Because the steps that went deep into the cave were mismatched with each other. The passageway was not made for tourists, but for copper miners. The deeper we went down the more trouble I had with the stairs.

And, the heat. Caves were supposed to be cool, even cold. Right? Not this one. All of us were drenched with sweat, huffing and puffing. I worried about Bruce’s heart and he worried I would fall. Apparently, so did one of the tour staff because he kept asking me if I was okay and he let me take his arm when there were no handrails. The grotto was very awesome, but not worth all those horrifying stairs in the dark.

I suspected we would have to climb back up the same stairs and I was right. Climbing stairs is easier than coming down them – usually. But now we are tired, hot, and thirsty. It was torcher. I put a note in the suggestion box that the tour be rated ‘intermediate’ and NOT ‘Easy’. Managed to take a few pix along the way…

The moment our tour group returned to Mars, the ship departed. They had waited for us, since we were like 15 minutes late.

Stay tuned…

The Simple Solution to Our Drought

August 15, 2014 ~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

Well, gang – I researched my our drought solution. It is surprisingly easy, too! I was imagining some complicated intense ceremony, and some Tribes may indeed practice those, but this is what I found the most, during my quest.

RainGirl

How To Perform a Native American Rain Dance

Step 1:Wear turquoise and feathers, if you have any. Many Native American tribes associate turquoise with rain and feathers with the wind. Put on any turquoise-colored clothing that you may have and turquoise jewelry. If you have access to any bird or decorative feathers, place a couple in your hair or secure them to a hat and wear them during the rain dance.

Step 2: Find an outdoor space where you have plenty of room to move around. Choose a space that has sparse or no tree cover so that you have a clear view of the sky. The terrain of the space you choose should be relatively flat, which will make it easier to do the rain dance.

Step 3: Spin around in circles. Begin spinning clockwise at a slow and steady pace. Chant your own simple rain chant as you spin. Your chant can be something as simple as the word “rain” repeated over and over or an entire phrase, such as “Come down rain.” Raise your hands to the sky occasionally to urge the rain to fall. A steady drum rhythm would be ideal, but not required.

Step 4: Speed up your spinning and chanting. The longer you spin and chant, the faster you should spin and chant. [Author’s note: If spinning concerns you, take Dramamine an hour before dancing.] Close your eyes as you dance and breathe in deeply between chants. When you want to end the dance, drop to your knees in silence. Stay on your knees until any dizziness you feel goes away and you can regain your balance.
♥

Even I, here in a mountainous forest, have an open flat surface in front of my house. It could contain 10 dancers, so I wouldn’t have to dance by myself. Now I only need to ~~bribe~~ recruit more people!

Californians-> Please pass the word to your friends & neighbors. Start a rain-dancers group that meets during lunch-hour. Teach others, especially children who love to dance and chant naturally. Teachers could make this a physical education opportunity, now that schools are back in session. If you have a fabulous idea you would like to share PLEASE leave a comment below, we need to stick together 🙂

It is time we turn off our phones and TV’s, and commune with nature!

♥ Dance Instructions provided by – http://www.ehow.com/ ♥

Are YOU Smarter Than a Seven Year Old?

October 19, 2011 ~ JodiLea ~ 3 Comments

I am not.

On a nature walk around the neighborhood yesterday I learned things I never knew before. We were looking under pine trees for acorns, when suddenly Phoenix squealed “Grandma look!” She pointed to a grayish egg-shaped rock. Owl Pellet

Me: “What is it?”

Phoenix: “It’s an owl pellet!”

Me (typical mother response): “Well, don’t touch it.” I looked closer, skeptically. “It looks pretty big for bird poop”

Phoenix (impatiently): “Grandma. Owl pellets aren’t poop!”

Me: “Then what are they?”

Phoenix: “It’s bones, fur and stuff they can’t digest, so when the meat is all gone they cough it up.”

Me: “Really?”

Phoenix: “I’m not kidding Grandma”. She looked up at me to make sure I knew she was serious.

Me: “Like a hair-ball?”

Phoenix: “Yep. I’ve got to take it to school and show my class!”.

She used the baggie we brought along for acorns to pick up the thing. It was light in weight and thank goodness it did not stink. When hubby (a.k.a. grandpa) got home from work, Phoenix showed him her find. I figured he wouldn’t need an explanation because he watched Animal Planet and all those nature channels, but he had never heard of this before either.

Phoenix Age 7

So we both learned something.

From a 7-year old.

How awesome is that?