Episode 13: Peppermint Broth

Please note that this is a machine transcript, and is being cleaned up as quickly as possible.

LENA: Do people question your existence since you've barely left your home since March of 2020? 
LAR: Or are you just really good at staying indoors and avoiding people in general. 
LENA: Well, you might be a cryptid. Come hang out with us. 

LAR: Hi, I'm your host Lar. 
LENA: And I'm your host Lena. 
LAR: Welcome to the Cryptid Clubhouse: a friendly podcast for friends. 
LENA: Yay! I wasn't going to say yay and I did.
LAR: Oh no, and then, because you “yay-ed” it made me yay.
LENA: Yeah it's like when your mom says “are you gonna say yay just because your friends say yay too?” 
LAR: Yes, mom, because it's involuntary. 
LENA: That's right. 
LAR: Somebody said yeah, you gotta say it too. Also I have a baby so we're trying to teach her stuff like yay and clapping hands and stuff like that. Ugh, what have I become. Anyway. So yeah, it just popped out, I can't help it. 
LENA: It does. Well, it's hard too 'cause I'm always so excited that we got through the intro. Which- and this is not news to patrons- but if you're not a patron you do not know the struggle that we go through. 
LAR: The angst every time. 
LENA: Every single episode we're like, wait, shoot. How do we start this? How do we get this plane in the air? And then once we get through like actually our very simple intro that we recorded every time I'm like… Yay! 
LAR: Yes. We did it!
LENA: Yes! Off to a great start. 
LAR: Did I remember my name? 
LENA: I I hope so isn't it funny how it's like it's almost like… putting on your seatbelt, something like that. 
LAR: It’s so autopilot. 
LENA: You say and then like later, you're like what did I say? I probably said something really stupid, but you didn't, but like it's it's in the back of your head that you're like hm. You probably said something really weird. And now it's out there forever for everyone to hear. 
LAR: Well, that's what we get for making a public podcast and putting it out there on the interwebs.
LENA:  I was going to say it would be really nice if you could remove certain things, like, say, the awkwardness that we go through every single time when we try to do the intro from your brain. Now--
LAR: Our Brian.
LENA: Our Brian. Now this could potentially someday down the road be a possibility. 
Uhm, thanks to something that I learned on Tumblr. That evidently scientists have found a way to remove memories from snails. 
LAR: Wut.
LENA: What is hilarious to me on a lot of levels? I mean, I guess they're saying that this is going to potentially help with people who have like PTSD, but that it it actually will remove. It's like not the not necessary. Really, all of the memory, but like the parts of it that are like just like the parts that are causing people distress and then it impacts your daily life etc. However, yeah they did it with snails which. The article that I then looked this up to read about it did not go into a whole lot of detail but I'm really curious. How did they know? Right?
LAR: Oh, this is-- so many questions are coming to mind right now.
LENA: It's this snail, right? So like, how do you? How do you? How do you know that a snail has forgot? Successfully forgotten something?
LAR: How do you know that it now has memories, first of all.
LENA:  Right! 
LAR: What are their memories? 
LENA: Yeah
LAR: and how do you know that it worked? 
LENA: Right, and it's a snail. So how do you tell? Well, I mean, I'm sure there's like some paper out there that I could read if I really wanted to, and I'm sure there was something about like they probably had them memorize how to do a task or something like that. Which again is a snail. How would you train a snail? 
LAR: Yeah, why it snails? 
LENA: How do you incentivize this snail? -- I don't know, probably because maybe their brains are really simple and it was easier to... I don't know. Anyway, I was just I read this and I was just like I had to bring this to the clubhouse. Uhm, because we seem to have a thing for snails. Evidently it's become a thing, a thing now yeah. But it also just opened up so many questions for me, yeah, namely, how you tell? It's not like you can be like, OK, so now I'm going to teach you the ABC's. But then I'm going to wipe your memory of the letter B and then so when this little snail goes to sing its ABC's, it just goes A-C-D. And you're like, yeah, I did it. I wiped that snail’s memory. I just. I think it's hilarious. Snails though.
LAR: I never thought that I would spend so much time thinking about the neuropathways of a snail.
LENA: No. Never. But now you do.
LAR: Yeah. 
LENA: On more than one occasion. 
LAR: I wasn't thinking about their neuropathways. I was thinking about my own neuropathways.
LENA: Oh, that’s true. Your own neuropathways.
LAR: My own poor neuropathways.
LENA: I should say- you never would have thought that the topic of snails and humans neuropathways would be a recurring topic. 
LAR: Yeah
LENA: That you shall, have now thought of. 
LAR: You know all of this, though, really begs the question, though of the scientists. Meddling with snail brains. What have they done? I mean, I've seen Jurassic Park, like, yeah, anything can happen. I've you know these little snails. You just you don't know which way this is going to go. 
LENA: But maybe now in there having like doctored with these snail brains, they're going to create these super genius snails who now have No Fear. Because they will then know how to remove these unpleasant memories. And so these snails are just going to like--
LAR: Fearless snails, why does it sound like a good thing? This sounds like a terrible idea. Now I'm just like imagining all the snails like doing weird stuff. 
LENA: Doing snail stuff without fear. 
LAR: Without fear, yeah, exactly look at me sitting right next to this birdbath. It's gonna turn out fine. 
LENA: Yes, I'm sure it's fine that us playing God with these little snails brains and deleting memories from them is not going to come back. Come back and bite us as a species. We'll say this. This podcast is going to age really poorly in 10 years when snails have taken over the world. 

LENA: Speaking of things that you never thought you would think about. So another thing that I also learned on Tumblr is that evidently, scientists, another group of scientists
LAR: We say this with airquotes
LENA: I just like to think that there's just like one group of scientists that whenever it says like “scientists say” or “scientists do” or like whatever, it's just this one It's a group of maybe like 5 scientists and they're just doing all of the sciencing sciencing for everybody. Uhm, evidently some scientists somewhere have figured out how to have spinach. I think it was spinach. Send emails. 
LAR: What? This wasn't where I thought you were going with this. OK, hold on, you gotta start from the beginning with this one. 
LENA: OK, so basically I mean it's for a good cause basically. Evidently because plants are so sensitive to pollution in the soil. So that somehow these scientists figured out how to have the spinach send an email when levels of certain chemicals or whatever, and the soil reach, reach, reach a point or whatever. So they get an email from the spinach that's like, “hey, can you come check out my soil? There's stuff going on with it.” 
LAR: OK. That’s actually really adorable. Does it use emojis? 
LENA: I don't-- what kind of --- yeah, man--- what kind of emojis would spinach use? Not snails know for sure. That would probably be scary for them. 
LAR: Is there a spinach emoji?
LENA: I don't think so. The first thing in my head was the green heart. I feel like they would send the green heart.
LAR: Probably probably some sunshine. 
LENA: Yes, that would be a good thing. How cute would it be if they only communicated in emojis? 
LAR: There there is no spinach. 
LENA: There is no spinach that's terrible. Well, that maybe that'll be the first email that they send is excuse me. Why is there not a spinach emoji? 
LAR: There is a bowl of salad. I mean, you could pretend that there’s...
LENA: Would that be upsetting to them though? 
LAR: I'm not saying that the spinach would use it. 
LENA: No you’re just saying.
LAR: I’m talking about for our own use.
LENA: House plants, though. You gotta find my theory is that you just gotta find the ones that Work for your environment.
LAR: I think that's part of my problem 'cause I. I'm like forcing some of them. 
Because they came with me from a different house that had windows facing a different way and I'm like “no guys. Please just stay with me.” 
LENA: Yep no. I used to think I was really bad at plants and it just turned out I was bad at the wrong plans I was doing. Yeah….
LAR: What?
LENA: I was bad at the plants that I was trying to force to live with me.
LAR: Meaning that you're good with the right plans. 
LENA: That's correct yes, yes. 
LAR: Would be the positive spin on that. 
LENA: Correct. Why word something positively when I can word it negatively? 
LAR: I mean, that's my usual MO, but I'm trying to work on that. 
LENA: Yeah, no. This is a friendly podcast for friends. 
LAR: Yeah, we want to be encouraging. 
LENA: Positive. Encouraging.To ourselves as well as to you.
LAR: Exactly 
LENA: It’s a work in progress. 
LAR: Yeah, spinach makes me think of lettuce. I have have a slight addendum.
LENA: Oh, an ad-den-dum 
LAR: About our weird conversation that we had about people steeping romaine lettuce for its uh, homoeopathic healing properties. 
LENA: Yeah, heavy air quotes on that one. 
LAR: Yeah so. OK. I don't know why, but this like did not even occur to me. But a friend of the show, Landon- hey Landon- reached out to me to say, all right so with this romaine tea situation. If nothing is blended into it
LENA: Uh huh.
LAR: And if they don't actually eat the lettuce?
LENA: Uh huh.
LAR: Is it technically…. well 'cause we were like "is it tea? Is it soup?" He was like actually, isn't it technically a broth? Which is not quite a soup.
LENA: Correct. It's soup adjacent. 
LAR: It is. But then I was like, Oh no, there's like a whole other category that we-- 
LENA: Oh no. 
LAR: Have not discussed yet. 
LENA: Oh no, we haven't gotten into broths. 
LAR: Goddamnit, Landon 
LENA: Oh, thank you for that upsetting and correct point.
LAR: OK like what's the different? Oh man. OK, so we got a break it down.
LENA: Uh oh.
LAR: So tea vs a broth.
LENA: Mm. Yes.
LAR: Knee jerk reaction there is tea is like dried. Usually it's like dried leaves of something that you add like the boiling water to. A broth would be usually a fresh thing?
LENA: OK, so when I-- OK. 
LAR: Depends on like what area of the world too though 'cause like you know some people do add dried beans dried dates dried whatever to their broth, yeah. 
LENA: OK so my first my first set kind of knee jerk reaction to the whole broth situ was the first thing I sort of thought it was like a chicken broth or like a beef broth or something like that, but obviously you have... pretreated your broth medium? Whatever you want to call--
LAR: The water?! What are you saying?
LENA: No, that they no. The thing that you add to the water?
LAR: The bullion?
LENA: Yeah, whatever the...
LAR: For those of us who don't cook.
LENA: Yeah, the the the broth, the ingredient that makes the.... that's not the water. The thing that's taking the bath in the water. 
LAR: Your bones or your vegetables or whatever. 
LENA: Yeah, yeah, generally at least as far as like the meats go, those have already had some sort of process done to them. They've already been cooked or like whatever. Yeah, I don't even- I don't even know what is the.. is the difference between a soup and a broth that, uh
LAR: A soup has stuff in it?
LENA: Yes, I was going to say OK, OK? So...
LAR: Which is Landon's point, if they're not eating the lettuce, and if they're just drinking the left- like the liquid. 
The it is a broth.
LENA: How-however, does that then mean that tea? Is a broth.
LAR: Well, right, so that's why. OK, so like what is the difference? Is it because tea is like, typically certain types of plants that have been dried before you steep them?
LENA: I think. I think tea is almost exclusively dried. I mean, a correct tea, not like a lettuce tea. 
LAR: The only exception that I'm thinking of is sometimes when you do like homemade teas? Like say you pick mint from your garden to make tea like you're not going to dry your mint before you shove it in your tea. However, at least if you make it the way that like we made it growing up, you have a black tea bag. In addition to like a bunch of fresh mint leaves. 
LENA: But were you actually making peppermint broth? And you just added some tea.
LAR Well that's.... I mean.... 
LENA: (laughs)
LAR: I don't know what to think about this now.
LENA: OK, let's just Google what is the difference between a tea and broth... Things that you never thought you would type in. What is the difference between tea and broth? Ok, there's a Quora. This person just says tea is usually made from plant material, which is left to infuse for a few minutes. Broth is made from vegetables plus and or minus meat. These ingredients are then boiled for several hours and the liquid is drained off. 
So therefore, according to this person, the only difference between tea and broth, real significant difference is that is the a broth is left to boil for several hours, however--
​
Well and they tried to say plant versus vegetable, but ah. 
Right? 
They found the same thing anyway. 
Right? 
However, now I for example leave my I often will leave my peppermint tea bag in my tea for a long time. So does that and then not make it. 
By that definition, broth, although technically it's not continuing to boil. 
 
Though if you like kept refilling it. 
That's true, this is a very slippery slope. 
 
From now on I would refer to my peppermint peppermint broth. 
 
No one can stop me. Nope. 
 
LENA: Greetings friends, it is I Lena, here with some messages. 
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Now our next episode will be out on August 10th. I feel like I say this every time it's a new month, but man, I can't believe it's August- or it will be August- already and not just August, but August 10th. Anyway. 
On that note, let's head on back to the clubhouse. 

LAR: Hey Lena?
LENA: Yeeeees?
LAR: Do you have a fixation station you'd like to share with us? 
LENA: I do, um, so this is something completely different. I have a fish now, I've had a fish now for like a month, maybe a little maybe longer. I'm not really sure how long? But if you happen to follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I got a fish tank, oh back in April. And I got some live plants for it and I was doing the whole tank cycling thing. Which if you're not a fish person and you're not familiar with it, when you get a tank, you have to cycle it. It's called cycling, but it's basically you put in a little bit of ammonia and like some good bacteria and you have to get this cycle going, where basically the good bacteria eats the ammonia. Because ammonia is really bad for fish. 
LAR: You mean you don't just fill up the tank with tap water and throw the little dude in?
LENA: No, please don't do that. Please don't do that to your fish. And not and not even like oh, I'm just going to like pour some tap water in and then let me like put in the conditioner like no you should actually technically like let it go for a couple weeks. 
And it's it's a. It's a whole thing. Anyway--
LAR: Well, and this is, This is why it's a fixation station because you are going above and beyond what is normally done.
LENA: Yeah, what most people think and the other thing too is I got a beta fish and like most people are just kind of like they just throw throw him in a thing and he's fine. They're not no. They need a lot more care than most people think they do anyway. But yeah, I actually got like a little chemical testing kit and so I was like getting--
LAR: So you can be one of those scientists. 
LENA: So I could be one of those scientists. Scientists say yeah, and so I was like testing the water and then when I was like, OK, I think I think things are good enough. 
I got I got a fish and uhm I have never. I've never had a fish with this much personality before. Uhm, I I used to have fish back in the day. I haven't had a fish in a while. 
But he- I named him Ye Baiye after a character from Word of Honor and he Is very much obsessed with food and he's always ready, he's always ready to like fight. Which is funny 'cause he's like exactly like the character I named him after. He is just the most observant and interactive fish that I think I've ever had. Most that I've had, they'll just kind of chill. You know, they'll do that. They'll do their thing, but he very much is like if he sees movement in the room here that comes up to the glass and he's like with what's going on. You can't feed me with going out. Right you you gonna feed me or what. And then if I don't feed him. 
That I could tell. 
He's like what he gets pissed with you. 
He does, he does. He's a he's a funny little fish dude and it's actually funny because I almost didn't buy him. I almost didn't notice him 'cause he was. You know like how they have all those those stacks. 
Yeah, like a little tough. 
Those stacks of fish. Yeah he, oh, he's grown so much he's like doubled in size. 
Well, 'cause he's got space. 
Now he's got. He's got a 10 gallon tank now with live plants. He's living the the cushy fish life. 
He's happy. 
I happen to like 'cause I was. I was actually looking originally for like a white beta fish and they didn't have any and most of the fish seemed like just kinda like lethargic and whatever like. 
I don't know if I'm going to buy a fish and just for like I just happen to like Crouch down and then he was at the very very bottom shelf and as soon as he saw like movement. 
He came up to the edge of the little thing was like. 
Let's go, let's go. 
Oh, I suppose that's the one I was like. It's him. I'm gonna take him home with me today. Yep, so yeah yeah isn't it funny how? You just know. Yes, like when you yeah. 
And you're like that. 
 
 
 
Like when you meet your. 
 
Yeah, yeah, no, it's yours. 
Yeah it does. 
 
Yeah, yeah there was a black one that I was thinking about. Maybe getting and then I saw this little dude and I was like Oh no, I have to take you home yeah But yeah he's he's he's a funny like I said I've never I've never had never had a fish with this much personality before. I also too. 
 
 
Have snails. 
They're all. They're all named Bob. 
Uhm yeah, as they should be. Yeah, the the plants that I got. OK OK don't be like me when you get aquatic plants, you're supposed to like put them in a bleach bath. 
As they should be. 
 
First, UM. 
I didn't 'cause I didn't feel like it. 
Wait, so you went through all this other effort, but yet you're like I can't be bothered to? 
We, uh. 
 
Do this one thing correct. 
The place for the first thing, though, so I figured that even if there was, it wasn't like there was going to be something weird in the plants that. 
Would kill off all my fish or whatever. 
Right, they came at the very beginning, right? They were like the very first thing that I got. 
 
Yeah, no. The maybe a week or two after I was kind of like is that a snail? 
Oh, and then yes, it was a snail. I have many snails in my tank. It's a whole thing again with the snails again again again with the snails. They haunt me, they do, they follow us everywhere. 
 
Uh, yeah, but he eats them, though I think a little bit, so he's he's he's he's helping to keep keep down on the numbers because who? 
 
 
So what you're saying is the remaining snails in your tank really should. 
Uhm, sign up yes. 
Uhm, sign up. 
For the clinical trials of snail memory erasure. 
 
Yeah yeah, I'm sure they probably have some real traumatizing. 
Uh, memories of this little little beta fish coming Oh my God he's such a jerk so again I name it's like he he's like I named him. 
I just did it. 
 
So you gotta watch out for that. 
You gotta watch out for that. 
So I have I have. Yeah yeah you really got to be careful what you name your pets guys. 
 
And your kids. 
And so there's, uh, there's like roots, there's like a root system of these. I have a floating plant anyway, so the snails will like. 
And and they're like little, they're like little they're so small and and so they'll like, very painstakingly like crawl up the glass and then like go across the the root that's stretched across the top of the the water level. Anyway, this little. 
This is it. 
Is it? 
Derek, he knocks them off, so as they're like carefully going across the little root bridge, he comes up and he's just like POW and knocks him down and you see him like float to the bottom. 
And then an hour later you'll see them like a third of the way up the glass, it's. 
 
Like oh, they're just back at it, man. 
 
 
But yeah, so I'm obsessed with. 
It's like it's like the level in a video game that you just. 
This little dude. 
Can't pass, it really is. 
 
 
Yeah, I love that little fish. 
I like him. 
 
But yeah, so my fixation station is also about. 
Aminals, oh. So we're apparently talking about live creatures today, yesterday. 
 
Yesterday in the fixation station, it's the animal episode. 
This might get like really rambly, and it will probably like bring on another, like side topic from this, because it is connected. 
Even though I wouldn't put it necessarily all under fixation station. 
 
 
But it's relevant, uh, my, my current. 
The thing is, is burps. 
Berbes the verbs the verbs. 
Berbes the verbs. 
I'm I'm really into birds right now. 
I've never not loved birds and I don't know if it's like a. I'm like returning to childhood interests right now. It might be all good one, yeah? 
Returning to the nest. 
 
 
 
Yes, uh, yeah. So I'm just. I'm like really into birds this summer and like. 
Multiple facets of it too, like not just bird watching, but bird studying like looking and also like looking up information about birds. 
Yes, uh, looking through bird books because those beautiful glossy pictures just really excite me. 
Uh, looking through bird books because those beautiful glossy pictures just really excite me. 
Pictures just. 
 
It's not the same looking it up on the Internet. It really isn't, you know, yeah. 
 
It's really. 
 
There's something about like flipping through the pages and then. 
You're like that's it, that's the one. 
Exactly, there's like a little a little thrill there. Yeah, yeah, I don't know I'm just like really into checking out. 
There's just a lot. 
 
 
 
The birds that are on my property. I have a few different feeders and my toddler and I both are really into just like oh, do you see that one over there and I have a little a bowl of water that I keep on my deck for for the birbs in the squirrels and so I just I like. 
 
Keeping an eye out throughout the day for whenever they come to get a drink or take a bath and. 
We just we just stop everything and watch them. 
Guys is a murder. 
Yeah, uh, in particular there's two birds like like act like, not two types of birds, but like jewels, two individual birds that. 
 
 
And it ended too. 
I just I really love one is a red headed house fish. 
Oh, he's. 
 
And he's he's pretty vibrant. For one like I mean, they all have this like red head and it goes down to like a red chest and they have kind of like brownish bodies. 
They're very small. They're like little tiny finches. And yeah, this one in particular. He's just he's very vibrant and he, I think, rolls the Ruth. Listen. 
Ha ha ha. 
How many bird puns we can like get in and he I don't know if this is common or not, but he's got 2 ladies. 
 
Oh, so it's really amusing watching him come to the birdbath with his two gals. They bicker with each other, but he's just like he is. 
 
Oh, that's funny. 
Just he's chilling. He cracks me up. And then there's another one my like, a special favorite. It's called a Carolina. 
 
Wren and there are these little teeny tiny birds. They're they're brown. They have like a long tail on them though, and they have like this tannish creamish chest. 
They're so little. 
 
And they have like these long, sharp little beaks, but those colors to the colors almost like fade into each other. 
There's a selfie. 
They're like, really, really cute little yeah, they look cute, horrible and and I feel like they'd be really soft and minky, even though I know they wouldn't be. But like my brand wants them to be minky. 
Oh, they're they're adorable. 
I know I. 
I know. 
I wanna Penguins. 
So bad, apparently these are a type of bird that some people have like. 
Not domesticated, but like they have been able to like. Get them to eventually feel carpal like taking seed out of their hand and stuff and I'm like Oh my God, if I did not have children to take care of, I would literally spend all day outside trying to get this bird to be my friend. 
Uh, But yeah, there's one in particular. His nest must be like someplace like right by the House because he is constantly on my deck. 
And he sings to me every day and he's just he's so cute. He's very sassy. He's got a lot of opinions. 
 
 
 
Well, yeah, I just I really love him and one of my favorite things about him is that he does this little little dance where he like bobs up and down. 
But he, like every time that he bobs down, he like turns the other like a different direction before he bobs back up. So he's like constantly changing positions and it just makes me think of. 
 
 
 
 
I might be really dating myself here. 
Do you remember this phenomenon of 32nd bunnies? 
Yes, OK OK. So for people that don't. Don't know I don't even know if the website is still up. I hope it is. 
We should check this right so there is this. 
Grabbing working right now. 
When we were youth, there was this popular website called 32nd Bunnies and it was this. This guy had done. 
 
Animations of all these different popular movies like got them down to 32nd clips and they were all acted out by these animated bunnies and it was is so good there's some that are just they're perfect. 
Anyway, there's he did one for Jaws and I think it was at the end of the clip. He has one of the little bunnies just sitting there and he's like. 
Like kind of bobbing up and down, and he's going. 
Do you? 
Do you remember that one now? 
And like if it's just like the way that he like bobs up and down, it is exactly the way that this little Wren on my deck bobs up and down. So every time I see him, I just like hear the 32nd. 
 
 
Bunny in my head like. 
Singing the jaws tune it. 
Looks like that website is still around. Oh yeah. 
Looks like that website is still around. 
I was concerned because it was done with flash, that even if it was still around, you wouldn't be able to watch the videos, but it looks like either the original dude or somebody else collected them, it's. 
Angry alien com. Angry alien productions. Yeah, it's the 32nd Bunnies Theater library. 
Kelly, right? 
 
Check it out, check it out. It's sunny, yeah. 
So yes, yes. 
Yes, oh man, that that was a. 
That was a. 
 
 
Throwback did I bring it back? 
For you oh man oh man. 
 
 
I think. 
 
One of the things I've really enjoyed about watching the burbs is that in order to actually watch a bird or a squirrel or a deer like whatever a thing like that it forces you to be present. 
Or well. 
 
In a way that other things don't. 
Yeah, I feel like I don't know about you, but being present is one of the hardest things. 
Yeah, especially this last year plus yeah. 
Yeah, especially this last year plus. 
Yeah, like it's just the way that our brains are working. It's not. It's not easy to be present, but it's important. 
To be present like I I, I know there's like so much like you know in like spirituality, community and like you know, like the new age like. 
 
Health yes. 
 
Community of like being present and like they put a lot of emphasis on it and I don't think that's realistic, you know, but I do also agree that. 
I don't remember exactly how it's worded, but there's like that one mean like where it's spelled out, or like you know, if you're spending too much time thinking about the past you you're like worrying and grieving over past, or if you're like. 
Thinking too much about the future, that's anxiety talking, and you can't really be too much of either of those things. 
If you're like staying in the present, so like I do agree that being present is really good for your mental health and it lets you soak up experiences. 
In a good way, you know, make make the best of things but. 
Yeah, I think memories is. 
 
Especially two at a time now, like when we do feel so disconnected because of, you know. 
A whole host of different things, right? 
Most of different reasons. 
 
Let's write out the whole long list, yeah? 
Yeah, we won't. We won't get into that. 
Yeah, I think that's been something that's been an of an extra extra challenge lately for I think everybody. Yeah for sure. 
But yeah, being present it just kind of like noticing that that was happening. 'cause like you know I, I was like why am I so obsessed with birds all of a sudden, huh? 
And I started like piercing it together. 
Like piercing it together. 
That it was not just the bird itself, but it was the feeling that I had watching the bird was what I really kept seeking out and I was like, well, why is that? 
I mean, it's cute, so obviously I'm getting like I don't know endorphins or dopamine or something. 'cause it's cute. But yeah, I think it is being. 
Right? 
Present and like giving myself a break from things just feels really good and it it actually like jogged my memory. 
So I used to be really into meditating. I found as like you know, in my early 20s I was having really bad anxiety and. 
And I was introduced to meditation and I really took to it and I used to meditate just about every day for a couple years straight. 
And it was. It was great. I really enjoyed it. I did well with it and I don't know what happened. I can't meditate anymore. 
My my Brian refuses I I don't know what happened but I can't do it so. 
I started thinking about there has to be other ways to put yourself in a meditative state that's not meditating. 
'cause obviously like just because I used to and now I can't. I know that that's not an isolated thing. 
I'm sure that there are people that never have been able to meditate, so we all need to find that thing that does the same thing. 
Even if it looks. 
It this is going to get Super Rambly guys, and I hope you can like stick with me here. But I've been thinking about it now for like 2 months I thought I would, just I would sure it. 
Uhm, it spurred on a thought of what it means to be present, not in like a meditating hippie. 
Like Guru kind of way, but just like what it means. 
Yet to actively live presently in your life. 
And I took it one step farther, and I'm like, whoa, what does that look like seasonally? Because if if you are living actively presently in your life, or that is going to look different depending on what season of the year you're in, the season of your life that you're in so. 
This whole summer I have been making a point to just let myself think about what that looks like. 
And actually doing things that represent being present in summer. So this summer I've made, I've made a point to like really slow down and just notice things so it started off by just watching the burps. 
And then I took it a little bit farther and that I was really studying. 
The trees in my yard, like actively watching them as they change from spring to summer. To now we're like in high summer so everything looks like **** already. 
In my yard. 
 
Like it's so hot and it's so humid it's like nothing. Nothing is happy right now. 
I guess you're so hot here. 
 
Hey yeah. 
 
But yeah, just like actually noticing like what the leaves are doing as the days go by. 
My toddler and I planted a very tiny garden, so I've been making a point, usually twice a day, even if the garden doesn't need anything but still going out like every morning and every evening. 
Just to look at the plants and we started them all from seeds so I actually like really paid attention. 
To like what each seed was doing when it starts sprouting how fast the sprout was growing to. Now we have big plants that are producing and we're harvesting stuff most mornings. 
It's so exciting. 
And it is. It is exciting. And it's so simple and it. 
It feels I don't know. 
It's so satisfying. 
It is like it's it's like a. It's like a weird thing in my brain 'cause like uh like on the one hand like this is so silly. 
Yeah, yeah. 
But also it feels so good to just be present in the moment and like really noticing. Like how does the air feel today. 
How does the sun feel today? Also paying attention to like the trajectory of the Sun, not just like throughout the day. 
Day, but also paying attention to like what it's doing. The overall pattern. So obviously like we're already past like the solstice. So now it's like starting to get dark earlier. Thank God. 
 
I'm ready. 
 
I'm ready, yeah yeah I don't know like it sounds really hippyish and it sounds like you could be spending a lot of time doing this. 
But like I just, I'm making a point to do it for just like a couple minutes in the morning and then a couple minutes again at night and just doing that as me. 
 
 
A huge difference and I can tell when like if the weather has been awful and I've been having a lot of storms coming through and stuff. So obviously like some days like I don't. 
Holy huh? 
 
Yeah, I don't. I don't get out there at all. 
I don't get out there at all. 
And I can tell that I haven't gotten out there at all like I just I feel. 
Emotionally off, I'll notice that I'm like way more anxious. 
If I'm struggling more with like this grief and trauma that I'm like currently processing, like on the days that it is the hardest for me like then I'll be like oh I also have not been outside now for two days and I haven't slowed down. I've like let my mind just like wander out of control and like start racing. 
 
My love. 
 
And like thinking about all the things that I need to do. OK not being present. 
Right, yeah, I don't know. 
It's just really interesting and I'm like trying to keep it very focused on like the summer. So obviously this is gonna like change. 
 
As we go into fall and I don't know what it's going to look like. 
What's the thing I think? 
Yeah, I think that'll be really interesting to see the evolution of that experience and not even just like from summer to fall. 
But say like next summer like how is next summer going to be different from this summer, you know, yeah? 
Right? 
I I'm sharing this 'cause like I hope it. 
Inspires somebody else to maybe think about doing the same thing. So I think part of the conversation and all this too is not just like being present for your mental health or like whatever blah blah blah like I get it like some of that stuff is so talked about like to the Max that it feels really contrite. And I think it's like easy. 
To dismiss, which is probably reason why I think I'm just like so bad at it. 
But I think there is a Co conversation there of asking yourself what it is that you even really want. 
What is that you? 
 
What's the type of person? 
That you actually wanted to be. 
And I'm not talking like like don't make this like some really like overblown like. Well I want it to be a millionaire like no, not like scale it back. 
Scale it back. I'm the type of person that wants to watch XYZ type of show that I'm not even like letting myself indulge in or whatever and. 
And I realized, you know what I am, the type of person. 
That once in the evenings, after I put my kids to bed to just sit out on my deck, sipping on some whiskey. 
I read until the sunlight diminishes to the point that I. 
Can't see the words. 
And then. 
I just I stay there. I sit on my deck waiting for for my bat friends to come out the lightning bugs to come out. 
To come here. 
 
 
I've been watching this one star. I look for it every night that I do this. There's this one star that comes out first. I actually think it might be Jupiter. I'm really bad at figuring out. 
Like what's what? I think it's Jupiter 'cause it has like a reddish. 
 
I mean. 
Hue to it and it's in like the South, which is, I think we're due period right now anyway, so I look for that guy and I've been watched because I've been doing this like most nights. 
This whole summer I've actually been able to see like the the path that is taking so like when I started doing this a couple months ago. 
That's really cool. 
As a way to just like calm my anxiety down, it started out that this, like red dot, would show up in the sky to my left and I would look for it like every night like to my left and it's like slowly creeped crept correct if. 
To like the center and then the weather has been so bad I haven't been able to do this for like a good two or three weeks. Last night was the first night I was able to go out and do it again and now. 
The center and then the weather has been so bad I haven't been able to do this for like a good two or three weeks. Last night was the first night I was able to go out and do it again and now. 
My my Red Star is actually on my right, so like this much time has passed of like doing this and I like never would have noticed the trajectory of the planet. 
Time has come. 
 
 
 
You know, if I wasn't making the time and also giving myself the time to just just be to just sit out on my deck. 
Ha ha. 
Release myself from all these responsibilities that I tell myself like I have to do I have to do I have to do? 
 
No, I don't. I can sometimes give myself a break and just take care of myself, take care of my mind, take. 
 
 
Care of my heart, Yep. 
Work through this really heavy **** that right now. 
I have to work through and I'm finding nature. 
Work too. 
 
And being present and paying attention to these little tiny things. 
 
I it's been fantastic and I hope I never give this up, you know? 
You know, and I'm excited to see where it's going. 
I'm excited to see where it's going. 
Morph and turn into. 
 
 
Yeah, and. 
We'll have to check in in a couple months and see like once the seasons have changed like what what has changed about your your your mindfulness experience. 
Yeah, I would love that. 
I would like that it would it. 
I would that it would it. 
Yeah, yeah, I think that'd be cool and I really hope that like somebody listening to this like hears it and maybe feels like this would be beneficial to them too. Or they're just. 
Inspired to do it for the sake of doing it and. 
And everybody can pick their own thing. 
 
Well thank you Lena, for hanging out with me. 
Well and thank you all for hanging out with me and thank you everybody out there for hanging out with us. I hope hope you all are doing well and that this is. 
 
A little bright spot in your week as you listen to us and we all hang out together. 
A little bright spot in your week as you listen to us and. 
Yeah learn yeah, thanks for choosing to come on into the clubhouse today and hang out with us. Yeah dude, that is like so wild to me. So like it's just. 
 
 
It's the coolest thing that yes, we can hang out and we can. Just like be dumb and talk about whatever and. 
 
 
Yeah, yeah, but there's actually people out there that find us amusing enough to to hang out with us. 
But there's actually people out there that find us amusing enough to to hang out with us. 
I hang out, I hang out with our clubhouse friends, yeah? 
I hang out I with our clubhouse friends, yeah? 
 
Yeah, I love you guys. 
I love you guys. 
 
 
Hey, I'd say we we start with the game. Maybe we should end with a yeah. 
I don't know, man, that's like a lot of energy. 
 
Do you like that? 
Do you that? 
You're like that's not ending show energy. It's starting show energy. 
That is starting show energy. 
Until next time, remember that Mothmen thinks you're special and he loves you very much.