Hippy Hollow

AuntJo sent me a ticket for my birthday and to Austin I flew! She planned wondrous surprises for me, which included eating the world's best barbecue at Salt Lick Barbecue in Driftwood ... visiting Arnosky Flower Farm with a gorgeous, new, bright blue barn filled with ripe golden watermelons, handmade goat cheese, and flowers galore ... going to the Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Austin, which is a fabulous, counterr-culture movie theater and restaurant (every row of seats has a long counter top in front for the tin buckets of beer on ice, hotwings, giant bowls of popcorn with REAL butter, burgers and more that Alamo serves).

But ... there is nothing quite like Hippy Hollow, a clothing-optional park, at Lake Travis. After a full day playing on Saturday, AuntJo and I (AuntJnfr) were trying to decide what fabulous thing to do next that night. Without a moment's hesitation, AuntJo and I looked at each other and said, "Hippy Hollow!" We loaded our floaty stuff into her truck and headed for Lake Travis.

We parked, walked down to the lake's edge, stripped and plunged into the velvet water of Lake Travis, filled with minerals ... non-drying ... perfect temperature ... heaven!

It was curious to see people of all shapes and sizes au naturel at Hippy Hollow. A man hiked down to the water's edge in nothing but a pair of hiking boots. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves without the slightest inhibitions. AuntJo quit playing in the water and stretched out on the rocky beach. I floated, swam, rode the tiny waves and listened to speed boat engines underwater (they sound like a chainsaw). Then I joined AuntJo for some basking in the evening glow of an Austin summer. Perfect!

After a couple of hours, we were exhausted from our full Saturday of fun, we loaded up the truck and drove back to AuntJo's.A trip to Austin just would not be complete without Hippy Hollow.

Sky Orcas

     From late winter to early summer, I enjoy taking a daily break, ahem, naked, outside. I call this nakedjoy my "Listening Time." Feeling the sun and the breezes in places unaccustomed to such wonders. Listening to birdsong, grasshoppers, buzzy insects, wind in pines. Watching clouds, hawks, airplanes.

     My Listening Time is for being, not doing. My rules are simple. Do not interrupt me. No phone. Nothing to DO is allowed.

     When I lived at the property with the barn art studio, I use find my nakedjoy behind the barn. It was glorious in the winter because the barn blocked the chilly wind.

     One late-winter morning, I lay quietly watching the sky. Puffy clouds floated by. As I lay there, I noticed several turkey vultures circling directly above me. Uncanny coincidence that they began circling directly overhead, don't you think? Did I look like a carcass to them? Hmm.

     Anyhow, I watched them for a long time. They were so graceful. Their white undersides and black wings, their grace and power, gave the impression of orca whales in a sky ocean. I let my imagination run wild, until I was floating on my back in the ocean, completely relaxed. 

     Since then, whenever I see turkey vultures in flight, I think "sky orcas." Finally, I decided to write a song about them.

     My 16-year old son Justin and I share our writing with each other on a regular basis, so I shared "sky orcas" with him. 

     "Mom, don't show this to anyone else, okay? They're going to think you were tripping or are insane. Especially, if they don't know how you came up with the concept."

     All of a sudden, it hit me how funny the whole thing was. The turkey vultures circling over my naked body. How feasible the idea of "sky orcas" seemed to me. That it would have never occurred to me that someone could think the concept odd. I started to laugh. Justin joined in. I laughed harder. So did he. And so on and so forth until we were both rolling on the floor in pain. All said, I present my song, "Sky Orcas":   

I.

sky orcas slipping through blue

cloud foam floating by

on my back with my arms spread

carried by the tide

chorus:

the tide is coming in right now

and, yes, that will change

and then i’ll ride it out to sea

and do it all again

II.

i feel infinity swelling

with each little breeze

i want nothing but the life i’ve got

i have everything i need

chorus:

the tide is coming in right now

and, yes, that will change

and then i’ll ride it out to sea

and do it all again

III.

celestial oceans within me

love breaches in my soul

a song arises from the depths

and i know, i know, i know

chorus:

the tide is coming in right now

and, yes, that will change

and then i’ll ride it out to sea

and do it all again

IV.

sky orcas slipping through blue

cloud foam floating by

on my back with my arms spread

carried by the tide

jnfr