Prostate Cancer Adventure

by | Feb 1, 2024 | Reflections/Profiles

Phone Call Sets In Motion Action

In early 2005 Rich received an attention-grabbing phone call that set in motion a prostate Cancer Adventure.

“Are you sitting down?” Dr. Rippentrop asked.  “Yup,” Rich replied. “You have prostate cancer. Come to my office tomorrow and bring Marion. I’m going to give you options,” he said.

A cancer physician with a robust sense of humor is worth his or her weight in gold, and Dr. Jon Rippentrop shared his wondrous humor that’s stacked on solid medical credentials. As we sat nervously in his office he winked and said, “You have no symptoms and feel good. You don’t need to do anything about your prostate cancer……and the good news is you won’t have to do any retirement planning!!!!”   We chuckled at his humor because we knew he was about to give us hopeful options.

Treatments

Then he presented several possible treatments for this prostate cancer adventure. We chose to proceed quickly with surgery and, later, radiation. On December 27, nearly 18 full years after his prostate was removed Rich had a semiannual meeting with Dr. Rippentrop. Rich’s PSA test showed undetectable.  “Looks great!” said the doctor.

Science works. Wise researchers developed the PSA test and our astute family doctor noted Rich’s rising psa during annual blood tests before physicals. She referred him to urologist surgeon Dr. Rippentrop, who conducted robotic surgery. It worked.

Rich has enjoyed good health all these years and is appreciative of the outstanding science and wise physicians who helped him along his cancer journey. Fortunately, prostate cancer, like some other cancers, responds well to early detection and treatment.

Back Sliding in Receptivity to Scientific Knowledge

Modern medicine is amazing but there is sad news. Charles Kenny’s relatively new book, THE PLAGUE CYCLE, is a history of how medical researchers learned to prevent or cure many contagious diseases that felled millions of people in years not far back.  Both Rich and Marion remember receiving the then newly developed polio vaccine they took as children. Certainly, their parents were appreciative of the new vaccine. The polio scourge that struck so many children is now virtually unknown. Thanks to science. While cancer is different from microbes that spawn contagious diseases, scientific advancements over decades help ALL live healthy lives. Sometimes we take this for granted.

Kenny’s last chapter reveals disturbing medical backsliding. Far too many people believe Internet hucksters who plant unfounded fear of modern medical treatments and vaccines.

Ruining Everyone’s Day

A diagnosis of a disease or contagion alters people’s lives. Avoiding vaccinations puts lives at unnecessary risk.

Prostate cancer isn’t caused by a microbe and has no symptoms in its early stage. The PSA test helps a physician identify and treat it using a variety of techniques while there’s still time. It’s a lifesaver.

Winding Pathways owners Marion and Rich Patterson urge everyone to get annual physicals, appropriate medical tests, and vaccinations.

Find Joy in January

by | Jan 25, 2024 | Nature, Reflections/Profiles

Lots to Experience in January

(reworked from the Patterson’s “Iowa’s Wild Side” column
originally in the Cedar Rapids Gazette)

Winter in Iowa is erratic. Mild. January thaws. Grey, damp, and achy mornings. Frigid. Blustery. Sunny, sparkling days when all is right. We have it all. Here are ways we a find joy in January.

Some people escape to warmer regions. Most of us hang tough and grumble. At Winding Pathways, we’ve found that simple observations can enliven and deepen our appreciation for the change of seasons.

Sit Still

Bundled up in his Carharts and sitting quietly downwind at dusk, Rich notices deer begin to move. Stars and planets glow. Five geese honk and wing across the waxing moon. A photographer’s dream. An owl’s call fills the stillness left behind.

Wildlife freeze as the great horned owl’s ghostly shape floats silently to a branch near our home. Puffed to twice its size, a buffer against the cold, it waits. Several long minutes pass. Then, a rabbit cautiously emerges from the prairie stubble. An opossum noses hungrily at the compost heap. A startled mouse scurries across an open space. With talons extended and yellow eyes gleaming, the owl drops.  After a brief scuffle, only bits of fur remain.

Observe When You Drive

Another way we find Joy in January is by taking drives. Across a frosty Iowa road, we slow as four deer race across a field, leap a barbed wire fence, and dash to safety beyond busy Highway 30. We speculate what startled them.  A short time later we observe a face-off between a grazing cow and a foraging hawk. Neck stretched out, nose to the wind, the cow eyes the hovering hawk.

From the comfort of our home, we watch birds. Siskins, when the weather is cold, Carolina wrens when winters are mild, hang around the feeder and shrubs loaded with berries. A red-headed woodpecker pecks at suet. It rattles noisily and jabs its lance-like bill at the less aggressive birds. Its strong bill is great for hammering insects out of frozen trees and pounding holes in ice-encased water baths.

January Ice

Black ice is another winter phenomenon. While not fun to drive on it is intriguing on rivers, ponds, and lakes. One Kansas winter an Arctic airmass plunged into the heartland and gave us a chance to peer into the dark depths below.  A snapping turtle slowly swam through the thick water.  Ice skaters reveled in the unusual event.

Nowadays we enjoy Arctic air from the inside. A small pool is just outside our window near the feeders. Sometimes, when temperatures drop quickly, and black ice forms we can see “through the looking glass” so to speak.  A small aerator keeps a circle of water open. Small birds hop to the edge and drink.  The overwintering goldfish appreciate the extra O2.

And we enjoy hot chocolate during January’s dormant month.

 

 

 

We Found A Way to Thwart House Sparrows!

by | Jan 18, 2024 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Birds, Nature, Pests

Frustration Yields to Creativity

Reprising the blog on thwarting House Sparrows. Here is a recap of our initial frustration and subsequent ways to encourage native birds and discourage exotics.

As we wrote earlier, hordes of House Sparrows almost made us give up feeding birds. We’d fill our feeders each morning and hope to watch juncos, cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches visit on cold winter days. Unfortunately, hordes of House Sparrows began arriving. We don’t mind feeding a few, but dozens soon devoured all the expensive seed, leaving empty feeders for native species.

Coming Up Short on “Expert Advice”

We asked bird experts what we might do to discourage House  Sparrows and tried several of their ideas. Nothing worked well, so we experimented and came up with a few tricks that seem to discourage House Sparrows to a degree yet let other species eat. Our tricks aren’t perfect and sparrows still come, but not in huge numbers.

Here’s what we did:

Altered filling time:

We noticed that cardinals, jays, chickadees, and nuthatches visited feeders in the early morning and late afternoon, but House Sparrows came more late morning and toward the middle of the day. So, we put out small amounts of seeds early in the morning and again in late afternoon. Often our feeders are empty mid-day when the house sparrows prefer to visit.

Used a different type of feeder:

Male House Sparrow on platform feeder

Eating from platform feeder

Sparrows enjoy feeding on the ground, on horizontal tables and other flat surfaces, and from silo-type feeders with long perches and large openings. We took down our standard silo feeders and replaced them with a silo shape feeder made of hardware cloth with a quarter-inch mesh.

Used different types of feed

In our quarter-inch mesh feeder, we put a mixture of black oil sunflower seeds and hulled peanuts. Native birds seemed better able to extract the sunflower from the mesh than House Sparrows. The peanuts don’t fit through the mesh, but many native bird species peck at them through the wire and extract pieces of peanuts. House Sparrows seem less able, or willing, to do this.

We also stopped feeding cracked corn and millet on the ground. Sparrows love them.  Instead, we now toss full kernels of corn on the ground. Sparrows can’t swallow the big seeds and are unable to peck them apart. Woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, and nuthatches swallow or carry away the big seeds.

Put up with some House Sparrows

Our system helps deter these pesky exotic birds but is far from perfect. House Sparrows still visit and eat seeds but not as many as before we started using these tricks. Maybe they’ll work for you.

A few of you have shared.  Now Others Can Share.

Winding Pathways is eager to learn other ways to deter House Sparrows. If you have discovered something that works, please let us know.

 

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Journal Writing Helps Recall Events

by | Jan 11, 2024 | Travel/Columns, Wonderment

What did I do yesterday morning? Did I make it to that meeting last Monday? Darn.  I can’t remember. I’m forgetful. Fortunately, my journal writing isn’t.

18,250 days

Every day since April 1973 I’ve written a simple journal entry on small format lined binder paper. Haven’t missed a single day. Entries aren’t great writing and are rarely emotional. It’s not a diary. On some days I write only a few lines, while I might fill a page on more happening days.

My journal records about 18,250 days of my life. Combined notebooks take up about three feet of shelf space.

Uses of Journaling

Man reaches for journals on shelf

Journals

Useful? Yup. When did we go to Yellowstone National Park?  I remembered the month and year but not the dates. In minutes I found those dates in my notebook and learned what we did each day. What did we do on Christmas Eve 18 years ago?  My journal reminds me.

My notes are simple, short, and often skip perfect grammar, but they are meant to bring every day into clear memory………so each journal entry records something distinctive about that day. Here’s a simple entry:

Monday, January 16, 2023: Weirdly warm with temperature in the 50s. Made new plywood shelves for my tool cabinet. Payton (a neighbor kid) was visiting when sirens blew warning of a potential tornado. We sheltered in the basement. No tornado here but one hit near Williamsburg, the first January tornado in Iowa since 1967.

Like Brushing Teeth

I’ve been journaling for so long it is as routine as brushing my teeth. Blank journal paper goes with me on trips, and I’ve even scribbled entries by lantern light at campgrounds.

My memory lapses.  My journal never does.

What are Ways YOU Remember?

People have other ways to remember or “journal.”  Share some and we can post on Winding Pathways

Labyrinth Travels 2023

by | Jan 4, 2024 | 1080 Labyrinth Blog, Labyrinths

Each January I post labyrinth walks of the year.  Below are labyrinth travels 2023.

Wide Travels

Branching out from the Heartland, we explored different regions of North America and took in labyrinths along the way. Some labyrinth travels 2023 were deliberately to walk certain labyrinths. On other labyrinth travels 2023 we encountered serendipities of labyrinths and medicine wheels.  Along the way, we met new friends and reconnected with long-time friends and colleagues.

Spanning the years

Spanning fall 2022 into winter 2023, the Nassif Community Cancer Center hosted a time for home goods walks.  Staff and cancer clients walked the dual entry (processional) labyrinth leaving canned food goods, hygiene items, warm clothing, and backpacks.  Matt Schmitz, the coordinator, routinely picked up and organized items that he distributed in mid-January. Two friends, Tom Hess and Lynda Black Smith yet again helped design the labyrinth. Tom an engineer and Lynda an artist.  A team. What great friends to have who get down on hands and knees, chalk out the design, re-adjust and tape…and re-adjust again to make all this work well. Thank you!

Wanderers and Worshipers

Usually around the New Year friends stop by to walk and bless the Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth. It’s odd to see it without snow as winter begins in earnest. Throughout the year, both friends and pilgrims from afar surprise us to walk.  Always a welcome treat.

Each Friday since the Pandemic began, Veriditas has held Friday Finger walks that attract participants worldwide. Think about that!  For close to four years, Veriditas has supported people through difficult times. The following is loyal, new people join, the programs are engaging, and we have fun!  Four that I guided in 2023 with staff support were: First Walks, sharing about our first, or memorable, encounters with labyrinths; Drop Preceeds Flight, how we pick ourselves up after difficult times; Fair Things, how we can use HeartMath to counter the negative impact of events that seem to overwhelm us; and Walk In Beauty and Balance during this high season of holidays and Holy Days. What a wonder-full way to support labyrinth travelers 2023 worldwide.

The Minnesota Labyrinth group, organized by Lisa Gidlow Moriarty holds a winter walk each January.  Some years labyrinth walks are outside, other years inside. Fortunately, the 2023 walk was inside a lovely setting overlooking one of the myriad metro lakes. Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion welcomed us into her home and we met again at Kanuga Retreat Center in North Carolina in the autumn. This link shares the many labyrinths she has known across the world.

Westerly

The Black Hills are always a treat to visit even in late winter.  Meeting with the Ohlens in town and at Terry Peak and visiting with the minister at Emannuel Episcopal Church where the lovely labyrinth wants attention.  The minister is working to make the labyrinth accessible. Rapid area has many labyrinths to explore and some Native American symbols and structures, too.  An impending storm chased us home early. Yet, memories linger of the sacredness of The Hills.

Medicine Wheel, Valley City, ND

Modern medicine wheel

Another intriguing structure of the West is a modern-day Medicine Wheel in Valley City, ND! In pouring rain we exited the Interstate and reveled in the care and intricacy of the wheel and the proportional alignment of planets represented by various stones reaching far out from the wheel. This is worth a stop and walk and reflection.

Closer to Home

 

Closer to home, Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center, in Hiawatha sponsored four cross-quarter dates. Director, Leslie Wright skillfully guided novice and experienced walkers contemplating the changes of the year. She used each walk as part of the requirements to become a Veriditas Trained and Certified Facilitator. Always a joy to attend and participants shared tender perspectives. April found high school friends and me walking the Cangleska Wakan labyrinth in Solon, Iowa. And, then enjoying Dan and Debblie’s ice cream in Ely. Naturally, Bottleworks Labyrinth downtown draws walkers for a quiet stroll in an urban setting.

Easterly and South-Easterly

Cedar Lake North labryinth

A favorite stop

Tucked into the North end of Cedar Lake in Denville, NJ, is a charming labyrinth nestled among trees and stumps – remnants of Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Irene. On our walks or paddles around the Lake, we usually stop, walk, and appreciate the care of the owner for the charming structures. A gentle pause.

Autumn found me winging my way to North Carolina’s mountains.  So much to take in with walking a labyrinth with a Veriditas colleague in Greensboro, NC, touring with a sibling in the Bedford, VA area, catching up with an OWAA colleague in Johnson City, and presenting with a Canadian Council colleague at The Labyrinth Society’s TLS Gathering.  “Channeling Mr. Rogers: How the Ancient Path of the Labyrinth Can Guide Us as Modern-Day Helpers.”

In Greensboro, Vicki introduced me to a lovely courtyard labyrinth wanting some attention.  What a challenge to renovate this to its glory.  The dual entry labyrinth at Kanuaga Retreat in Hendersonville, NC, fulfilled its duties as close to 100 walkers gathered, sang, laughed, learned, and walked. Leslie W, from Ontario, and I walked quietly sharing thoughts on our presentation. In the main assembly hall, participants walked the large labyrinth in the presentation, “Labyrinth Activism: A Powerful Practice for Peaceful Change.” One particularly meaningful program was the pre-dawn “Forest Bathing” walk on the large outdoor labyrinth.  The waxing gibbous moon and brilliant stars twinkling through crisp mountain air completed a sense of connection.

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Into Canada

Summer Solstice found us camping in Montana, then lodging in the hamlet of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada, attending a Legacy Labyrinth and Activism workshop at The Crossing, and exploring The Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan, Canada. The skies are amazing, the weather incredibly mild and inviting like the sirens’ songs. Madonna regaled us with stories of pioneer days centered on the importance of aprons in women’s work.  We are working to have her come and present in our area with stories, songs, and dance.

In July a friend drove us to Stratford, Ontario, Canada, where a Council colleague and I firmed up collaboration on our Kanuaga talk, ate at local eateries, took in the town, and, of course, walked their splendid backyard labyrinth.

South

September is a fine month to travel in, even going South into heat.  And, how hot the weather was!  While we initially plotted several labyrinths along the way, we found ourselves taking different paths. One potential labyrinth in Gulf Shores, AL, proved out of reach. Ah, well.  But, unexpectedly on the way home a stop in Carbondale, IL, near Southern Illinois University we found a charming labyrinth next to a funky coffee shop/breakfast eatery.

 

Home

Naturally, the Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth gets a nod – spring, summer, fall, winter, wind, rain, snow, heat, cold. People walk, turkeys trot, deer browse, vultures swoop over, kids romp, adults help burn, and plants grow.  And, that wraps Labyrinth Travels 2023.