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POET AMBER ROSE TAMBLYN

at City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco

WOLF MOON

Photo by John Lund

It´s January 28, and I´m awake at 2 am when I hear this loud whining crying human sound that seemed to come from inside the house, then another sound that is like a growling animal sound, loud, but I´m still focused on the darkness inside, searching for the sound. Then I realize it´s coming from outside, and I open the blinds to look out the front window, and I see a wolf standing at the edge of the sidewalk in front of my door, his long snout angled up, howling at the moon. Wolves are very rare in California, but I know this one resides locally. Sofia, on the other end of the house, is awakened and recognizes the call of the wolf. I listen to the howling like it´s music. Is this a sign? A few years ago there was a mountain lion in the same spot in front of my doorway. It reminds me of Aldo Leopold´s lesson about wolves in "Thinking Like A Mountain" that characterizes ecological thinking. "Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf." Having once believed that the eradication of predators, the wolf and mountain lion, would preserve the deer, but didn´t recognize the imbalance it caused, Aldo transformed his thinking to recognize the wolf with a sentiment of ecological integrity. He understood the nature and mystery of the howl. I listen for several minutes, amazed that the animal does not go away, and the howling is louder than any other animal I´ve heard outside. I ran to my room to get my phone to realize I could take a picture. I looked through the peephole of the door and he´s in the same position howling, and as soon as I open the door, the wolf runs away. I didn´t realize it was January´s Full Wolf Moon  until I read Bob Weir´s twitter feed when I got up:

"Welcoming in the first Wolf Moon of 2021! Occurring in Leo, it's said to be the luckiest and most prosperous day of the year. The sun shares its light with the generosity of Jupiter, marking new and bright beginnings..." 

The wolf does more than howl to communicate. They whimper and whine, growl and bark, yelp and snarl, smell, about 100 times stronger than our ability , as is their hearing and sight, they are strong with sharp teeth, and they fear humans and tigers, but humans are not their enemies and they will not attack unless provoked or threatened. The wolves can be our brothers, protectors, workers and lovers as their mates and mothers feed their babies with milk.

The wolves come to play, prancing with their fingers, happily and causing others to dance merrily, rump in the air and bushy tail wagging.

WolfCompany.info

e-mail: Books1st@Gmail.com

Bookface.Reviews

Author: Dave Eggers

Illustrated by Shawn Harris

TRAILER

Johannes, a free dog living in a large urban park, narrates this story.

He howls like a coyote and runs at the speed of light.

 He is The Eyes, who sees all in the park,

and reports to the elder bisons, who are The Keepers of the Equilibrium.

He cannot and will not lie. 

Children´s Middle Grade Action & Adventure Book

For Children of All Ages

Review by Uncle John

BOOKFACE.reviews

Recommended

When The Moment Comes

Mother Earth

By Deborah Santana

The first time I hugged a tree was twenty years ago. I was reading the books of Sun Bear, a Native-American medicine chief and sacred teacher of Chippewa descent, to become more educated about restoring balance to the earth. Sun Bear wrote that if people “wanted to survive the coming earth cleansing, to be part of the new earth, would have to reestablish very personal ties with the natural world.”I grew up in San Francisco in a neighborhood with cement sidewalks. My interaction with the natural world consisted of making mud pies with my sister in our backyard. Sun Bear and other indigenous leaders teach that the earth is sacred and we must honor its spiritual offerings to have harmony in life.

So, on a hot summer afternoon, I wrapped my arms part way around a rough-barked oak tree and heard the heartbeat of Mother Earth. I tried not to think about the bugs that might crawl up my arms or the dirt that was making a dusty pattern on my face. I was in a moment of awakening, doing something I was completely unfamiliar with…I was hugging a tree and developing a relationship with the natural world.

My head felt like it was spinning in the energy pulsing from the trunk. Standing still, with my arms extended, my heartbeat matched that of the birds in the branches, the horses on the distant hill, and the quietly moving insects on the ground. Our hearts were all beating to the drumbeat of Mother Earth, and I knew I was not separate from the trees, from the soil, from the poppies, roses, and doves in my garden, or the whales migrating from Alaska to Mexico. Hugging the tree awakened my connection with the origins of natural things and their relationship with me. Since that moment, when I walk on the Hoo-Koo-E-Koo trail on California´s Mt. Tamalpais or on Dol Dol Road in Nanuki, Kenya, I notice the landscape with a tree hugger´s sensibilities: the natural world tells me a story of a loving creator who guides me in my life.

Excerpted from The Lions and Me, by Deborah Santana from the anthology

Nothing But The TRUTH So Help Me God

Anthology by

A BAND OF WIVES

Nothing But The TRUTH

 So Help Me God

FROM THE SHELF

UNCLE JOHN'S NIGHTSTAND

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