red in tooth and claw

Sharp-eyed Joan spotted a hawk sitting on a log a short ways into our woods, having a meal. I walked very slowly (step, pause, step) towards him and got one decent picture --- click on it -- before he decided to fly elsewhere with the carcass.

We investigated the log and found, in addition to some plucked garlic mustard, a bunch of grey feathers plucked from the raptor's prey.

Everybody's gotta eat.

Two Weeks Eyes Closed Mostly

In late March I spent two weeks in Fairfield, Iowa. Why Fairfield, you wonder? I was there for two weeks of, not exactly a retreat, let's call it an ongoing meditation intensive, on the campus of Maharishi University of Management (MUM).

Let's start with some views of downtown Fairfield. The town has benefited immensely over the last 35 years from the University and the community that sprang up around it; it is much more vibrant and well-off than most rural county seats in SE Iowa. Within a block or two of the town square there are a dozen restaurants and cafés, at least three art galleries, and a chocolate shop. Here are some views of the square.

The courthouse is undergoing some renovation.

A new building is the Fairfield/Jefferson County Arts and Convention Center.

I had to step back to frame the whole complex.

The back of the center has a spectacular mural.

A popular café, bookstore, and meeting space downtown is Revelations.

About three blocks north of downtown there is a double-tracked railroad that carries huge amounts of coal from places such as Wyoming to the east. Here, an empty train of roughly 100 cars heads back to the open pit mines. Two engines in front, one in the back.

There's not a lot to describe about the hours I spent meditating with a large group; I can refer you to the official TM (Transcendental Meditation) website. Here is the Men's Dome, or the Maharishi Patanjali Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge if you like long titles. I was inside from about 7am-noon and 4:30pm-6:45pm -- not all the time was spent sitting; there were structured breaks.

The women have their own, separate dome. The long title? The Bagambhrini Golden Dome for Ladies.

Just beyond the Ladies' Dome, the Golden Dome Store provides organic shopping and simple evening meals if you don't need the full selection at the student union.

You may or may not have heard about TM over the years. I learned TM when I was in college, and the TM organization(s) have evolved a lot since then. Fees have gone up and down and up and down, and a wide range of additional programs have been added. These include complementary medicine (Maharishi Ayurveda), astrology (Maharishi Jyotish), and Vedic architecture (Maharishi Sthapatya Veda®). Research into TM continues as well, and further efforts to improve society and the individual keep sprouting. Having built up over the 50 years of Maharishi's teaching, it can be a confusing amount of material, and sometimes it is odd-looking from a Western perspective.

Although I've long been regular with my meditation program -- it does me good -- sometimes I've paid attention to these add-ons and sometimes, such as the late 80s, not at all. Some of the programs help explain the TM experience, putting it in a larger context; some, even if well intentioned, may not make a lot of sense. As more than one wise person has said, "Take what you can use, and leave the rest." Or, from another tradition, there are thoughtful discussions regarding inquiry and acceptance here and here. An MUM student newspaper offered a common student view of this dynamic.

The campus has been undergoing renovation to accommodate the principles of one program, Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® (MSV). Thus you will find most campus buildings facing east, the most auspicious direction, or north. South or west entrances/exits have become for emergency use only. These east orientations gave me good sunrise photographs of campus buildings as I walked to the morning meditation program. Here is the Henn Mansion, renovated rather than torn down because it had a north entrance.

Next to the Henn are several fresh, east-facing MSV buildings.

Just across is the Argiro Student Union.

I was staying off-campus, renting a room in an MSV house, and thus "living in vastu," as the phrase goes. My room was in the closer of these two MSV homes.

On my morning commute I would also pass by the Men's and Ladies' Peace Palaces, where various Maharishi programs are offered.

The campus land that is unsuitable for buildings, according to MSV, is being restored to Iowa prairie. Sadly, I don't have a good prairie pic to show you.

Behind the library is an open area where the Sustainable Living students have various projects. These include a cold frame, for starting vegetables, a solar oven, some sort of oven/kiln, and other items.

I was intrigued by a small rock formation that's not quite a labyrinth, although it has four 'entrances' you could use to reach the center.

Two or three miles NNW of Fairfield is Maharishi Vedic City, the first new incorporation in Iowa in decades. This is one of several developments in Jefferson County marketed to those folks who have wholeheartedly adopted MSV and other Maharishi-branded programs into their lives. (Others include the North Campus Village, Abundance EcoVillage, which offers off-the-grid living, and the nascent Cypress Villages.) One afternoon I went with a friend to check out some of the Vedic City sights. First, we stopped at The Raj, a Maharishi Ayurveda spa that has a top-notch organic lunch buffet, open to the public. (Try the mango lassi.)

Next we went past a residential section of Vedic City on our way to the Maharishi Vedic Observatory. Note that all houses face east, have a vastu fence, are absolutely symmetrical left/right, and have a kalash (central roof ornament).

Here's a photo of the observatory as you approach it. (The best view would be an aerial one.)

The building on the far right horizon is Vedic City's Peace Palace. Here's a zoom shot.

Looking back at the residential section.

We didn't have time to visit other Vedic City features, such as the Rukmapura Park Hotel and Chalets, or to apply to attend a public performance at the Vedic Pandit Campus.

I should mention, being a fan of walking and biking, that Fairfield/Jefferson County has a great trail system that passes by the north edge of the campus. In the last year an overpass was built over Highway 1 so that walkers and bikers no longer need to dash across, hoping that southbound traffic wouldn't crest the hill just as they started.

It's quite popular.

You can get a recent aerial view of the campus from Google Maps.

As a parting view, here are the two domes seen from the student union.

In between the two, there stands the Maharishi Tower of Invincibility (referring to the positive effects upon the nation and the world of large groups of meditators gathering together).

My modest powers of meditation probably didn't amplify any effect on the United States much, but the two weeks were beneficial for me, and the people I met were congenial. I'll be back.

More ornithological sightings

I hope the readers of this blog aren't getting tired of ornithological sightings; we sure aren't. The barred owl I stalked with my camera this morning was skittish, so I snapped one good pose and then left him/her alone. He's definitely chosen a favorite spot to perch in the daytime, where we've seen him stay for hours.

Papa cardinal was enjoying the sun.

 

Owl on Tax Day

We think the barred owl chicks in the sycamore behind our house must be large enough that the parents can leave them alone from time to time, one always staying nearby, and large enough that the parents have to spend more time foraging to feed them. Today we've spotted an owl several times and once, early this morning, we saw both. We're hoping this means that we'll be seeing a lot more of them, and then the chicks, over the next month to six weeks. Here's a photo from today:

 

Sunset Squirrel

A picture taken at sunset of a backlit squirrel. Or, maybe, the Chesire Cat?

Any photo effects are serendipitous artifacts; the photo was taken through a window screen!

Spring Wildflower Walk

A couple of days ago Joan and I took a quick swing through the small woods behind our house to check on the spring wildflowers. Spring beauties are all through the area.

Joan spotted some wild ginger, which blooms close to the ground.

Here's a closer view of the flower.

Some sections were carpeted with mayapples.

One was already setting a blossom.

It is also a good year for Dutchman's Breeches. Actually, it has been an astonishing two weeks since the end of March. It is as if we jumped from February temperatures to June.

Similar to Dutchman's at a casual glance, but morphed, is squirrel corn.

Joan's keen eye spotted a Solomon's Seal.

A phlox, too.

Near the back of the woods, closer to a small creek, were some Virginia bluebells.

A sign of the early warmth ... a solitary (so far) trout lily flowering.

An out-of-focus violet violet. The colors are enchanting.

It was a satisfying walk, especially knowing that all too soon these ephemerals will die back and the poison ivy will be sprouting. Meanwhile, Joan and I have spent time this week plucking out garlic mustard on our property -- the warm weather is encouraging it to set seed early -- and we aren't through yet!

Mama Cardinal

A pair of cardinals has established a nest in, off all places, the honeysuckle on the stairs leading up to the deck. We told them that we would minimize our traffic up and down those stairs, but couldn't eliminate it entirely. We hope they understand. At least they are on the outer, not inner, side of the railing.

Mama cardinal is very well camouflaged amongst the vines, except for her bright red beak.

She's been sitting faithfully on the nest for several days. During mama's occasional trip to the birdbath, just a few feet away, Joan checks out the nest. As far as she can see, there are only two eggs. Three to four is more typical; possibly it's a young pair.

In case you're wondering, we've had occasional owl sightings (aural and visual), but the adults are still tending to the eggs/chicks and there have been no photo ops yet.