Blue Eyed Africans

From Trip Down Memory Lane Blog

I ran onto this article the other day.  I don’t even know how… somehow it just came up in a Google picture search.  This photo popped up and I thought wow, those eyes are beautiful.

My family has brilliant blue eyes.  I have a cousin who’s eyes are such a light, vibrant blue that they look fake.  But we are a bunch of Scots, so blue eyes are not to be unexpected.  These dark skin beauties on this page, however, just blew me away with the unexpected and amazing contrast in their faces. 

Blue eyes among people of African descent isn’t a new thing.  Several famous African Americans have these gorgeous eyes, such as Vanessa Williams and Denise Vassi.  But where did it come from?  According to this article, the theory goes that European light skin and eyes were a mutation allowing those in the higher latitudes to  absorb enough light to meet their vitamin D needs. It goes back to one mutation 6,000-10,000 years ago, and spread throughout Europe in the time that followed. 

So, why do some non-European people of African descent have this light eye? 

From Trip Down Memory Lane Blog

The article doesn’t present many theories.  With the exception of Waardenberg Syndrome, where blue eyes are one of the many symptoms, this rare color occasionally just appears from 100% African parents.

It seems fitting that in a socially evolving world, slowly coming closer to a true blending of peoples, we'd see features predominantly attributed only to one variety of human to appear in another.  Yes, we are still very far from truly becoming a single, united species.  Even still, Mother Nature seems to be throwing us hints of what kind of a people she'd hope we could one day become.

Harry (Clary) - City of Bones

This is the story of a young boy named Harry (not really…girl named Clary) born into the world of witchcraft.  He (she) learns of this world as a teen where he-who-must-not-be-named kills (puts to sleep – coma – dirt-nap – what’s the difference?) her mother. Voldemort (Valentine – do bad guys get a nose after all?) has a final show down with Harry (Clary) where crucial information is revealed.  The world of muggles (mundanes) is ignorant of this world of witchcraft.  Lucky for Harry (Clary), he (she) is aided by the friends of his(her) mother, including the lycanthrope Remus Lupin (Lucian, affectionately known as Luke).

 I ended up really liking the first book, but it was a struggle to get through the first of it.  There was a LOT of borrowing, and I couldn't help but wonder if this story started its life as a fan fiction spin-off. Not a bad thing – but it got to the point where I wasn't sure I’d be finishing the book because of all the similarities. The best part, of course, was the end, which me flipping through the pages super-fast – I could not put it down. Cassandra Clare can write a powerful ending.

Instant 2 Minutes of Peace

www.calm.com

   

This is my new favorite website - bless the people who came up with it! 

I am so busy, splitting myself between school, home, and writing - I just don't have much time to stop and breathe.  I have so much to do to even keep the house in order with three rambunctious boys, let alone finish little projects like giving the dogs a doggie door. I'm a big fan of yoga, but my time to do even that is so short that I often go weeks without any decompression.  Even my garden is barely pulling through this year, and life is just stress, stress, stress!

And then a friend showed me this. It's genius.

After opening the site on my laptop or phone app, I pop in my earbuds. Then I scroll through natural scenes until just the right combination of visual beauty and natural white noise takes me to a more peaceful place.  A voice leads me in directed relaxation for the pre-selected time of my choosing.  

For those few minutes, I can set my worries aside.  There is plenty of time to be consumed by the rush of life. But for now, this is my time to connect with myself. By having a mental health moment, I can recharge enough to be all the things I need to be.  If I'm lucky, there might even be a nice vinyasa in my future!

Baby Raccoon!

            My youngest, Colin, a friend, and myself went to the canyon.  Asher and Beckette were at a cub scout campout with their dad.  The three of us camped next to the river, and its bubbling song was the backdrop to the crackling fire and roasting hotdogs.

            That evening, we went for a short hike. On our return trip, we ran across a baby raccoon.  The first thing Colin wanted to do was pick it up, but I kept him away.  I thought perhaps its mother was somewhere nearby, and we didn’t want to interfere.

           

The next morning, a scratching at my tent woke me up.  I unzipped it, and there was our little raccoon.  She was very far from where we’d seen her last. Of all the sleeping families in the area, she'd chosen our tent to burrow under.  Shivering and stiff, she was unable to really walk or move anymore.  Mom was obviously not around, and we couldn't leave her to the elements.  We warmed the baby by the fire, and brought her home with us when we packed up that night.

           

            We called her Maggie Mae, and fed her out of a tiny kitten bottle.  Colin learned to roll his R's to purr like Maggie, and Maggie adopted him as her new daddy, following him around like a particularly devoted puppy.  It took a week for us to find a rescue that would take the baby over the winter.  Maggie would live with other feral, rehabbing raccoons until spring time, forgetting about people, and learning how to be a raccoon again.

            She was adorable, and it was tempting to keep her as a pet.  But she was part of nature, and that was where she belonged.  It was painful to surrender her to the rescue. We miss Miss Maggie Mae, but we hope she quickly forgot us.  Fear of people is the only thing that will keep her safe.