SoCS: Caves, Caverns, Glow Worms, and Heading into the Light

May 9, 2020 by JoAnna 25 Comments

Today’s SoCS post is: “cave.” We can use it as a noun or a verb. And Linda says, “Enjoy!” which I will!

Caves can be mysterious and scary. They can also be shelter. One of my favorite book series starts with The Clan of the Cave Bear.  There are several books in the series by Jean Auel who writes about the woman Ayla in prehistoric times. It’s about survival, love, learning, and sacred places. The last book was titled, The Land of Painted Caves. I loved the books so much, I named my daughter Ayla almost 27 years ago after reading the fourth book. Seems like yesterday in some ways. 

Caves have always fascinated me. Though I haven’t visited many, I have been to Linville Caverns a few times. The temperature is always 60 something degrees in the caverns. You have to take an elevator down for the guided tour.  (These caverns are closed right now due to COVID 19 which makes sense for such tight spaces.)

Here are some photos inside the caverns:

               

My son and granddaughter study a stalactite 

Inside these caverns, runs a stream containing trout. They say a couple of guys died in the caverns many years ago from lack of ventilation and smoke inhalation. Too bad. That’s not what I want to write about. But it’s good to remember if you’re gonna have a fire in a cave, you have to have ventilation. A cave with a veranda would be nice. Maybe some potted plants….

Some day, I’d like to visit a big cave and just hang out in there for a while as long as I’m at a safe distance from bears or crazy people. No. I don’t want to be stuck in a cave with a crazy person, unless of course they are fun crazy – in a silly way, but they can also be quiet and still. A cave is a place to be reverent. That’s how I would be if I went to New Zealand’s glow worm caves. Take a look at this in full screen with the lights out.

 Can you imagine?! This looks alien, but it’s right here on planet earth!

Sometimes, especially lately, I think I would like to hide out in a cave, but not a cold one. A woman cave. I might even have visitors. But I would have to come out sooner or later. A long time ago, I painted a picture of coming out of a cave of darkness. It was shortly after my divorce.

Do you see someone in the upper right yelling at me to stay in the cave? I didn’t plan that in the painting, and I don’t know who it is. Maybe it’s just a rock.  Or maybe this rock face is telling me to get out of the cave. But the main focus has to be the sunlight and the trees beyond the cave. That’s where I was was headed. Into the light.

…

SoCS is brought to you by Linda G. Hill. For more info, guidelines and streams, visit:

https://lindaghill.com/2020/05/08/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-9-2020/