Recently an earth bio reading was done on my new grandson, Vorian. A Native American shaman surprised me with the reading, I hadn't asked for it. He said that my baby grandson is an Indigo, and that this was only the second reading he had done for a baby in which the subject was an Indigo.

 What is an Indigo? I'm sure there are many different definitions at your disposal, if you care to do a keyword search on the Internet. It involves a set of characteristics that make up an individual's personality and behavior patterns. The important thing is that Indigo people are being born on the planet now to help bring in the Dawn of Peace, to build the bridge for the Crystal and Rainbow Children, and help them cross over into a New Era of Love and Truth.

Indigos are intelligent, creative, curious, rebellious and emotionally sensitive. A lot of them have trouble dealing with society and suffer frustration and rejection. They can display anger or they can withdraw. Most have a burning desire to change and improve this world, but may help hopeless. They are certainly more advanced than most of the individuals on this planet.

Is Vorian one of these people? According to the reading, yes, he is very special. Time will tell, of course. But we have already seen a couple of things that confirm the possibility.

Right away, after he was born, Vorian was able to hold up his head. At less than a month he was pushing himself up, butt in the air. The best thing his mother told me was that he "laughs" when he goes to sleep. She describes it as his excitement at getting to be again with his angel friends.

I liked that. And I look forward to getting to know this new little angel, whether he's an Indigo or not.

For more on Indigos, get a copy of the August Star Beacon, which just came out. It has two excellent articles this month, "Are You an Adult Indigo?" by Rev. Rainbow MoonWater, and "Indigo's Secrets Fears" by Jennifer Hoffman.

Check it out! https://earthstar.tripod.com/ESP_dir/subscribe.html

Posted by earthstar at 8:42 AM EDT

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Mood:  happy

On Monday morning, June 23 (2008) I became a grandmother. Vorian Brent Ulrich was born in Alamosa, Colorado to my oldest son, Ryan, and his wife Trish.

Vorian is their first and will be their only child, and the few pictures I've received show he is just as cute and lovable as I imagined he'd be. His other grandma reports that Vorian is a "good baby," but Trish says he prefers the night life and sleeps all day long.

I'm going to fly to Colorado sometime soon to meet Vorian and learn what being a grandmother is all about. How exciting!

They named him Vorian (stress on the first syllable) after a character in DUNE.

You can see the little guy's picture in the DISC-ussion column in this month's (July 2008) Star Beacon. Go to https://earthstar.tripod.com/TSB_dir/Disc0708.html.

Granny Annie

Posted by earthstar at 9:12 AM EDT

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Mood:  chillin'

Looks like we’re finally getting some good summer weather. May was wetter and colder than I remember from last year. Our garden was put in late, due to the soil being too muddy. And it didn’t help that I threw my back out for several days from the rototiller.

We had a successful hatch on Jackson Run after the fourth broody hen got serious. The spotted Sussex whom I named “Spot” managed to hatch two identical Araucana chicks on April 24. Actually, I discovered several days into her broodiness that Spot was sitting on a light bulb. I snatched that away and placed four fresh eggs out of the refrigerator underneath her. Spot sat for 21 more days, with that entranced look on her face. What a delight it was to discover the two baby chicks from the fertile eggs.

Spot took good care of her two chicks, but a couple of weeks ago, while my husband and I were away for most the day, one of the chicks vanished. With a sinking heart I knew something had killed it. We didn’t want to think it was possible, but we now suspect our cat, Jessica, helped herself to a miniature chicken dinner while we were gone. Jessica had been outside, and she remained outside without coming in to eat the rest of the day. To top that off, Jessica must have had a guilty conscience because she stayed out all night!

When the mother hen appeared to abandon the remaining chick, I took measures to secure the poor little thing in the cat carrier for several days, until the little thing could be better equipped to resist harm. At night I’d let it out to mingle with the other birds in the hen house. Mother Spot ignored her youngster, for the most part. Eventually, we decided to throw caution to the wind and let the little bird out to run with the others. Somehow Spot has reclaimed her maternal instincts and the two can be seen running around together. Little “Suzy Q,” as I named her, is as happy as can be to be free again.

We lost an adult chicken last week to a predator — our first real loss this year. I was mowing and discovered the pile of feathers in our field. My first guess was a hawk. However, two days later, in the early evening, there was a major commotion in the chicken yard. I stepped outside just in time to see a coyote with a bushy tail take off into the woods from the fenced-in chicken yard. Within minutes the dog was after it, but the coyote naturally got away.

How helpless and scared it feels to know you have a predator and that it will undoubtedly come back! I debated on whether to keep the birds penned in or inside their house all day. That just wasn’t an option. Why have birds if they can’t be happy and free range like they are used to doing? The solution was putting a radio up and blaring it into the woods all day long. I used to do that in Colorado, and it worked. So now we have golden oldies disrupting the beautiful silence of our property during daylight hours. I had to sacrifice something to save the birds. So far, so good!

Now here’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. One of my hens dropped an egg outside, next to the pond by their chicken house. I picked it up and thought, “What the heck is this?” The egg was green (Araucana) but it was three times larger and heavier than a normal-sized chicken egg. I took it inside and showed the family. “That’s a turkey egg,” said my stepson. “Maybe it’s from that heron we see,” suggested my husband.

I thought about hatching it in an incubator, but on Sunday morning we broke the humungous egg open, and you’ll never guess what was inside! First, the white and the yolk of a normal egg poured out into a bowl. But then… THEN another fully formed, hard-shelled green egg came out… and inside of THAT was a normal white and yolk like the other one.

Posted by earthstar at 3:55 PM EDT

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Mood:  energetic

Recently I re-read one of my favorite novels, THE GLOW by Brooks Stanwood. I was pleased to discover that I was just as captivated by it now as I was 26 years when I did a review for it in the local paper. The following is the article published in the Snowmass Village Sun on Feb. 3, 1982:

Review by Ann Carol Ulrich

Once in a while a gem comes along, but due to ignorance it sits on the bookshelf untouched for a year or more. Such was the case with The Glow, a novel by Brooks Stanwood, published by McGraw-Hill in 1979. Somebody gave it to me for a Christmas present two years ago, but it was only recently I rediscovered it and only minutes into it that I knew I was in for a good read.
 
Jackie and Pete Lawrence are a young New York couple who have just passed the 30 mark and decide they need to improve their lives. They take up jogging, prompted mostly by Pete's reading an obituary on a friend who keeled over at 39.
 
Looking for a decent apartment for a halfway reasonable rent seems to be a harder task for this big city couple than it may be for locals in the Roaring Fork Valley. After weeks, actually months, of searching and finding dumps no better than their present abode, the Lawrences are ready to give up.
 
In the meantime, Pete has been faithfully jogging, agonizingly working up to a mile and a half in Central Park. When a thief makes off with his jacket (obviously containing his wallet), a group of senior citizens who are also out on their daily jog, witness the crime.
 
Because they can run circles around poor Pete, these oldsters help out by retrieving the jacket. As luck would have it, the wallet is gone. But later, the theft is something Pete celebrates with Jackie over champagne as it leads them to the apartment of their dreams.
 
It all seems too good to be true. The landlords are the three couples in their late 50s who met Pete while jogging in the park. They just happened to have an apartment available in their building, and they enjoy (THRIVE ON is actually a better phrase) having young people around them. That, along with strenuous exercise and health foods, they claim, is their secret to youth, vigor and happiness.
 
Shortly after moving in, Pete finds himself caught up in the health club atmosphere of the apartment building. He swims laps in the indoor pool, works out on the Nautilus, joins the "Twelvers" (as they call themselves) in their jaunt around Central Park.
 
At first, Jackie is critical and a little baffled regarding the strict regimen of fitness almost forced upon them. The older folks are getting on her nerves, to put it lightly.
 
The fact that they seem to be right at the door when she's getting ready to light a joint or down a martini is only the beginning of her complaints. It is only when one of the landlords sets his attractive and athletic niece out as bait for Pete that Jackie "straightens up" and becomes a devoted convert to fitness as well.
 
And once she is hooked, running several miles a day, keeping up with Pete, even training herself to run in races, Jackie realizes how good life is. She and Pete have never felt better. They are in terrific shape and find they have no time nor desire for a social life outside their jobs and their building.
 
Things go sour, however, when one of the other young couples like them in the building vanishes overnight. Although Pete seems willing to accept as truth all he is told, Jackie's doubts plague her sanity. The nightmare has just begun.
 
The Glow is a thriller for sure. For readers who love mystery and suspense, I highly recommend it -- as long as you have time to indulge in a book that can't be put down.
 
For those who jog, this book is particularly intriguing. But I feel I must warn you -- coming from one who does run on occasion, jogging may never be the same as you find yourself glancing anxiously over your shoulder.

Check out more writings at The Literary Works of Ann Carol Ulrich, www.anncarolulrich.com.

Posted by earthstar at 4:59 PM EDT

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Mood:  caffeinated

It's the end of the month... another issue of TSB has just been proof-read and is ready to take to the printer's...

So I'm just going to relax and have a little fun with a SILLY QUESTIONNAIRE. You've probably gotten one or two in your e-mail box from time to time. My son sent me this one. I'm filling it out just for the heck of it.
             
         01. NAME: Ann 

         02. NICKNAME: Crab

         03. SEX: F

         04. AGE: MYOB

         05. BIRTHDAY: July 17

         06. HEIGHT: 5'2

         07. LOCATION: Somewhere on Planet Earth

         08. EYE COLOR: Green

         09. STRAIGHT,GAY,OR BI: Straight, of course

         10. WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE: A small middle-aged Terran woman
         11. ARE YOU A VIRGIN: Not likely

         12. FAVORITE RELATIVES: My three sons

         13. FAVORITE ANIMALS: Birds and Mammals

         14. MEMORY YOU MISS THE MOST: Holding my babies in my arms

         15. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUIJA BOARDS? Be careful with them.

         16. GUYS WITH OR WITHOUT HATS: If they wear hats, they're probably hiding something, like baldness!

         17. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, GIRLS, WITH OR WITHOUT NAIL
POLISH: Never

         18. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD: Don't have one

        19. FAVORITE CONCERT YOU'VE BEEN TO: MGHS band (but that was so darn long ago!)

         20. IN THE CAR, AC OR OPEN WINDOWS: Depends on the climate

         21. DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: Yes

         22. SCHOOL: MSU, but that was long ago...

         23. FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Professional Backpacking (I wrote it... but what ever happened to it???)

         24. FAVORITE MAGAZINE: Nexus New Times

         25. FAVORITE SONG(s): Blue Planet (by Richard Gregory)

         26.FAVORITE COLORS: Green, purple

         27. FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL: Shredded Wheat

         28. FAVORITE FRUIT: Peaches

         29. FAVORITE DRINK: Water

         30. FAVORITE SOUND: Trickling stream water

         31. FAVORITE SMELL: Fresh mountain air (oh I miss it...)

         32. THINGS YOU HATE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX: Arrogance

         33. WITH OR WITHOUT ICE CUBES: With

         34. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A MEMBER OF THE OPPOSITE
SEX? Sensitivity and sincerity

         35. FAVORITE THING TO DO ON THE WEEKENDS: Do what I want without anyone else to interfere

         36. FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK: Man of La Mancha

         37. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: Cat and Dog games

         38. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?: Back in Colorado, I hope

         39. WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU WOKE UP THIS MORNING?: I'd better let the cat outside.

         40. DO YOU GET MOTION SICKNESS?: No, but do you want me to?

         41. ROLLER COASTERS - DEADLY OR EXCITING?: I don't do roller coasters any more

         42. PEN OR PENCIL: Pen

         43. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE: First I check the Caller ID

         44. FUTURE SON NAMES: I'm through

         45. FUTURE DAUGHTER NAMES: Did you hear me?

         46. ARE YOU A GOOD FRIEND? Very good

         47. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA CAKE? Either

         48. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE? Yes

         49. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Not since I last checked

         50. THUNDERSTORMS - COOL OR CRAZY? Way cool

         51. DO YOU EAT STEMS OF BROCCOLI? No, disgusting

         52. GUYS - IF A GIRL ASKED YOU FOR THE SHIRT/COAT ON YOUR
BACK, WOULD YOU GIVE IT TO HER? I'm not a guy

         53. GIRLS - WOULD YOU EVER ASK A GUY FOR HIS SHIRT/COAT?
Yes, why not?

         54. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY OCCUPATION WHEN YOU GET OLDER, WHAT WOULD YOU PICK? I'm already older... maybe a consultant of some kind... how to fill out stupid questionnaires...

         55. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ONE COLOR, WHAT WOULD IT BE? What kind of a person dyes their hair multi colors? This is a ridiculous question.

         56. IF YOU COULD GET A TATTOO, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Invisible

         57. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BRAND OF GUM? I don't do gum

         58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? "Biggie" (guess who says that?)

         59. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Yes, all the time

         60. WHAT'S ON YOUR WALLS IN YOUR ROOM? Which room? Oil paintings of space... and mountain scenes

         61. IS THE GLASS HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL? Half full

         62. WHICH DO YOU PREFER - COOL RANCH OR CHEESE DORITOS? I don't do Doritos... yuck

         63. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR SNAPPLE? I don't do Snapple either

         64. WHICH ONE, COKE OR PEPSI?  Both are poison

         65. WHAT KIND OF MILK IS YOUR FAVORITE? Milk is poison

         66. IF YOU WERE TO KILL SOMEONE, WHICH METHOD WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Fly swatter

        67. ARE YOU A RIGHTY OR A LEFTY OR AMBIDEXTROUS? Mostly right-handed but also ambidextrous (such as in sports)

         68. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? What kind of a question is this to ask a professional typesetter?

         69. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ATTACKED BY A BIG DOG? Thor?

         70. DO YOU EVER SAVE YOUR AOL/ICQ CONVERSATIONS? Dont' do chats

         71. DO YOU EAT CHICKEN FINGERS WITH A FORK? I didn't know chickens had fingers

         72. IF YOU COULD BE ONE GARDENING TOOL, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU BE? Weedeater

         73. WHAT KIND OF SHOE WOULD YOU BE IF YOU HAD THE OPTION TO BE? What kind of questions are these, anyway??? I was raised a Schu...

         74. IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING TO THE PERSON YOU HATED THE MOST, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Smother them with love (but really, there's nobody I hate...)

         75. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, MUD WRESTLING OR JELL-O
WRESTLING? I don't do wrestling, nor mud, and rarely Jello.

         76. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? Hiding places for the cat

         77. WHAT'S THE BEST NUMBER IN THE WORLD? One

         78. WHAT'S YOUR DREAM CAR(s)? Subaru Forester

         79. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? Conversations With God

         80. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PERFECT DREAM DATE? I've already had it

         81. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY? Because I like wasting time early on a Sunday morning.

         82. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SHAMPOO? Prell

         83. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TOOTHPASTE? Spry

         84. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PICKUP LINE? What is a pickup line?

         85. WHAT TRUCK DO YOU LIKE, FORD OR CHEVY? Ford, naturally.

Posted by earthstar at 8:38 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Sometime last fall, we had company for the weekend, and my husband and I decided to give up our bed and sleep out in our travel trailer. We had done this many times in the past when we had overnight house guests. This time was different because of my husband's dependence on oxygen. We figured we'd give it a try... what the heck? He had some portable tanks, so we took them out to the camper and lit the propane heater, excited at the prospect of "roughing it."

Neither of us got much sleep. We weren't used to a smaller bed, and it was a cold night. I kept worrying about my husband's portable oxygen tank running out, and would rouse myself about once every hour to check and see how close it was to empty.

Also, he was talking in his sleep. At one point he said, "Paden City."

Paden City is a town across the Ohio River from us, in the state of West Virginia. We may have passed through it once or twice since we moved to this area, and we weren't that familiar with it. Why my husband had said "Paden City" in his sleep was a mystery to me. So, I asked him in a low voice, "What about it? What about Paden City?"

Still in his sleep, my husband mumbled, "Have to move there... to Paden City."

Yeah, right. I smiled to myself and tried to get some sleep. At some point I dozed off, and what do you think I dreamed about? Paden City! I dreamed I was at a job interview in some kind of publishing business, and I was planning to move to Paden City and go to work. I even dreamed about what the town was like and a little house with a small fence in the front yard, where I was possibly going to live. Everything was quite vivid in my dream.

When I awoke in the morning, I told my husband about my dream. "Paden City?" he asked. "What did you dream about that for?" Then I told him what he had said in his sleep. He couldn't remember anything about it, of course. So we laughed about it.

Several months have passed since we had that experience in the trailer. I have never forgotten the weirdness of it, but now I have a fascination for a little West Virginia town that I pay particular attention to every time we drive through it. I often wonder why Ethan dreamed we had to move there, when we've got such a nice place here in the woods on Jackson Run. And why did I pick up on his dream and dream about it myself?

I guess we'll never know the answer, and I'm sure it's nothing important or even metaphysical. It was just one of those strange things that happens. Dreams are interesting, and symbolic in many ways. Perhaps one day I'll know the meaning of Paden City.

Posted by earthstar at 5:25 PM EDT

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Mood:  cool

Well, it's January. The holidays have passed (they sure came fast and went away even more quickly!). This is the time of year when time just seems to drag. There are good days and there are bad days.

I'm grateful to have bad days because they make the good days seem even better. Some days are gray and kind of depressing. Other days are sunny and inspiring. My husband might be really ill on a bad day, but then there will come a good day when he's more like his old self, and I forget that his time with me is limited.

Actually, there's always something... even on a bad day... that I can say happened to me and was good. I've made a practice of counting my blessings every night before I go to sleep, and thinking of at least two things that happened this day that I would call successful.

Often, I can come up with more than two things... yes, even on a bad day. Good days are exceptional! Bad days are really just good days that we didn't recognize.

So far, January has been a good month. I try to greet each new day as the potential for a GREAT DAY. And it usually is. If you expect to have a GREAT DAY, chances are... you WILL.

Posted by earthstar at 3:20 PM EST

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Mood:  happy

Well, it's happened... there's a Grandchild on the way! I am SO excited!!!

For years I have been waiting for one of my boys to make me a grandmother. Just a few years ago, it ALMOST happened... but thank goodness it didn't, since circumstances were not prime.

Circumstances STILL are not the best for Ryan and Trish, but... God's Great Plan is in motion. Sometimes these things happen when we feel we're not ready, and we grow fearful and anxious about whether it's the "right" thing to do, or not. But Divine Order can often fool us.

I had to remind Ryan that when I found out HE was on his way, his father and I were also taken by surprise. That was almost 32 years ago, and now here he is, going to be a father. I know that it will work out, and once the little bundle arrives, they will be ECSTATIC!

When is the blessed event to occur? Sometime around the end of May, I've been told. I am so happy I have something wonderful and uplifting to look forward to in 2008.

Posted by earthstar at 7:45 AM EST

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Mood:  special

November 11 was Veterans Day, not today, but the nation is celebrating it today because state and federal employees need a day off. Like Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a day of the year when we put our focus on those who went into service for our country, who put their lives on the line, and they certainly deserve recognition.

My brother, Jim, went to Vietnam and survived. Unlike most Vietnam vets I know, he escaped many of the "after effects." So many of those people are now in bad shape, either physically or mentally. I can't prove that their exposure to war or whatever they encountered during that phase in their lives was to blame, but it appears something affected them in some adverse way.

Our friend, Will, is dying of liver cancer, and he was in Vietnam, probably exposed to Agent Orange. I've known others who already made their transition. It seems so unfair that these people, who put their lives on the line for freedom and service, had to sacrifice so much. Will is the gentlest of souls, a really good person, and I admire his positive attitude and acceptance with so little time left.

My father was a veteran of the second world war as were my uncles. Back then, it seems war was a more glorious thing than it is now. At least back then, our country was united and fighting a threat that seemed real.

These modern "wars" are nothing but political games that profit only a few... the power-hungry, oil-thirsty, fear-pushing and misguided authorities who managed to con the rest of the world into costly and unnecessary conflicts that kill not only our troops, but so many innocent people on foreign soil. And for how many years will we be paying for it all? What excruciating debt has been placed upon our descendants?

I realize the military is a necessary part of our society. I believe in the security of a defending force and the idea of "peace keepers." They should be used here, to protect us from adversity, which also includes acts of nature (floods, fires, storms), and to help secure our borders. But it is wrong to exploit our sons and daughters in a drawn-out war for the greed of a few bad apples who gained power.

Thank you, Jim, Will, Neal, Chris, Frank (deceased), Chuck (deceased), Emma, Fred, Dad (deceased), Uncle Ken, Uncle Roger (deceased), and countless others who are veterans. Thank you for putting your lives on the line... I admire you!

Posted by earthstar at 7:38 AM EST

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Mood:  sad

The days of November are here. Gloomy, dismal days... some. Today is cold, gray and blustery, reminding us that winter is not far away.

I know the time is not long now when I must say goodbye to my Special One. I have been letting go for many months now, and we are not afraid to talk about it, or even joke at times about it.

Only God knows how much time is left. I don't want to guess or speculate, based on any observation or feeling. Things could change, after all. It is not up to us to decide these things.

My feelings right now are on hold. I can't feel sad... yet, because he is still here with me, and I treasure each day with him, even those that are rough getting through.

It's hard to understanding what he must be going through. I grow impatient at times. I feel resentment, and then I chastise myself for being so selfish as to dwell upon my own woes.

It is difficult not to think about what lies ahead, however. I don't want to think about how I am going to get along without him. I've depended on him for almost 18 years now. I can't bear to think of him not being here... no longer feeling his warm body beside me in bed... or the sound of his voice... it will be so final.

Has it been selfish of me to keep him from leaving? Was it wrong to make him promise to stay with me as long as he possibly could, when I'm sure he is more than ready to move on, without the encumbrance of a body that no longer serves him as it once did?

Gloomy days of November... nostalgic, oppressive days and nights... yet the sun will shine again. Spring will arrive one fine day.

Posted by earthstar at 4:09 PM EST

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