Tough Truth and a 5-Day Funk

Plenty of pilgrim action here in the past few days. Soon as Gareth (the guy in the pic) left we had lovely young Couch Surfers  who´ve walked all the way from Holland, stop and stay with us. They are traveling cheaply, sleeping in fields and vineyards and construction sites. They hadn´t had showers in five days(!), and gave us a rundown on how their "personal funk" evolves as the days pass by unwashed. I was very glad they shared this information while sitting outdoors in the patio, with a stiff breeze blowing upwind. After ten days, "things start getting medieval," Christian said.  

We prefer Enlightenment, ourselves, and all the indoor plumbing that goes with it. They happily laundered their clothes and had hot showers, too.     

Soon as they rolled out, within an hour arrived Varena "Nirvana" Maringer, an Austrian friend I know from Santiagobis, a Camino website. What I did not know before was she is a Bodhissatva, an enlightened being! Her quick stop for a cup of tea was a high point in my summer so far... with such quiet, pointed wisdom she reminded me of how temporary everything is, and how silly I am to let myself be caught-up in my ego and plans and expectations.  

I needed reminding. I´d been brought up short the night before by one of you blog readers, someone who I´ve worked with and for in the past, someone who knew me when I was wrote news and ad copy daily, sometimes brilliantly.  He thinks the blog is sloppy and self-indulgent and "typical," and very much in need of editing. And he is a pro. He knows what he´s talking about.  Ow!  

Reading back a bit, (especially Sunday´s entry), I see he´s right. Messy, messy. I promise to do better.  Even though it really IS only a blog.   

Still I felt bad for a long time, wondering if I really have lost iy, fallen out of practice, etc. etc. And that´s when Verena showed up and told me it´s really all "just a dance of atoms." Thank you, Boddhisattva.   

We´re expecting a few more Enlightened Beings soon... Filipe and Dick and Deirdre, and whomever else washes up on this shore.

 Meantime, the hay-cutting continues, Tim Dog´s former owner came by to see if he can take Tim out hunting in August. Bob Canary´s made friends with a local sparrow, and the fly and mosquito population is booming, despite the barn swallows´ best efforts to gobble them all up.  We are trying to rig up a fenced chicken run, so green things may once again grow out in the orchard and the hens will stop staring longingly at us from the living-room window, pecking disconsolately on the glass. 

The excitement never ends! Thanks for all the commentary. I feel better now, but don´t stop.