Welcome to my Moonbox: a gathering of musings, learnings, and aspirations held (perhaps, sometimes only briefly) by the many expressions of me, Sarita.
From the desk:
Spring
welcome to the sky
whistling as you come
downward and close
you see grass lifting
shed fur in the shrub oak
pick soil by bird beak
canter round the throat
of my morning
how I wish to hold on
bury myself with your belonging
you belong here, mother
and the only way
to remember is to curl
up, away, into, beneath, over
again do I see you
again do I know how
Life updates: One major update…we adopted a kitten! Since returning home from Colorado Springs post-surgery, we patiently awaited a long-haired male to show up at one of our local humane societies. Why so specific? Patrick is allergic to cats, yet long-haired cats tend to not affect him very much. The last cat I had, back in college, was male, and I just loved how he grew into such a big, cuddly cat. So, we’re hoping for similar personality and size. We also purchased special cat food proven to diminish the common allergen in their saliva after only 3 weeks of consumption. Since bringing him home, Patrick has only had a couple of mild reactions, so things are looking good! We adopted our little baby at 2 months old and he is a dark gray/black color. Thus, we’ve named him Humo (the h is silent), which means smoke in Spanish.
As for post-surgery updates, I’m maybe 90% back to the upper body/shoulder mobility I had before. I’m having issues with my left shoulder, however. I must have strained a muscle, given that everything had atrophied, and therefore am waiting for the muscle to heal up enough to continue strengthening it. It feels sore and weak when I try to do certain movements, so once it feels ready, I’ll reintroduce gentle arm training again. I still experience some tightness around the implants, thus I’ve been continuing to stretch and massage out any scar tissue.
In my running world, I haven’t had the comeback I was hoping for. By now, I was hoping to have ramped up to over 30 miles per week, but I was stuck at 20 miles for about a month. This was because, well, I attended a run club track workout (speed) and likely wasn’t ready for it given how fresh I was in my return to sport. I think I was only three weeks in…*sigh. Got too excited! Anyway, my left shin became upset (posterior shin splint) and I spent 2.5 weeks mitigating it. This is a common injury I tend to face every time I return to sport after time off or when I’m in the midst of trying different shoes out. I was trying to avoid it, but, as I said, I was too excited about speed work, AND I’ve also been trying various shoe brands to find a pair that doesn’t hurt my feet. Double whammy.
Hope is not lost, however. I’ve successfully mitigated the shin splint and have been able to increase my weekly mileage. I’ve also settled into a shoe brand that finally works for me: Topo Athletic! Thus, training progresses…
FYI: If you want to listen to a recently released podcast interview that I’m in, make it all the way down to the MISC section!
[Previous: Moonbox Notes #28]
La Vida Mundial:
Public lands are in trouble, once again…
National Parks Conservation Association | National Monuments Under Threat
The Aspen Times | Can Colorado’s federal lawmakers still find a bipartisan path forward on public lands?
Outdoor Industry Association | The Outdoor Industry Summits Capitol Hill
The Sacramento Bee | The fight to save California public land from a Canadian mining company (public comment period ends June 16, 2025)
E&E News by Politico | Mike Lee seeks to reinstate public lands sales in megabill
HBD to all Spring birthdays!
Recent Top Pick Reads:
+ “Black Girl, Blue Leotard: How My Ticket to Belonging Broke My heart,” by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg, Narratively, Substack, Apr 11, 2025. The winner of a recent memoir prize, this short piece takes us back in time with the author to relive her 6 and 7-year-old confrontations with the shape of one’s own body in a space meant for “one size,” or rather, one way to appear among the crowd.
+ “This is Your Priest on Drugs,” by Michael Pollan, The New Yorker, Dept. of Psychopharmacology, May 19, 2025. The author discusses various studies conducted to determine/explore the connection/interplay between psychedelics and religion. The revelations of many participants are potent and trend universal, often removing the necessity for institution and freeing spirituality as a truly personal journey.
+ “Recipe for Dandelion: How to swallow sun,” by CMarie Fuhrman, Orion Magazine, Meditation, Jume 4, 2025. A beautifully written and innovative ode to the dandelion flower, how it touches and tastes the throat.
+ “Natural Intelligence: Mushrooms made the world what it is,” by Maria Popova, Orion Magazine, Examined Life, Summer 2025: The Future is Fungi, May 12, 2025. A brief meditation on how life itself is the kingdom of fungi and how the future of AI should have been modeled after it, not us.
Books/Mags in progress:
+ wife | daughter | self, a memoir in essays by beth kephart
Recent Listens/Watchings:
+ “Secrets of the Forest | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS,” NOVA PBS Official, YouTube, Apr 16, 2025. A fascinating dive into the importance, the role, the science of, and the climate-regulating attributes of old-growth forests.
+ “Waypoints: Songs of Reinvention | Graduating Student Recital,” Compositions by Liz Derstine, Vimeo Livestream, May 14, 2025. I learned about Liz Derstine through Mountain Hardwear’s Instagram, as she is one of their newest trail athletes. She is also a talented composer and musician. Watching her graduation recital was really powerful. Her songs tapped into so many layers of what I’ve experienced myself while out running and hiking, both during expansive, intense adventures and during the calm, revelatory moments of feeling kinship with the earth.
+ “Creative Approach,” by Rachel Heckerman, YouTube, Apr 29, 2025. A documentary about three unique artists, who are also science advocates and adventurers, who come together to challenge their individual crafts at Denali Base Camp. The film inspires us to both approach and discover for ourselves the intersections of craft and outdoor adventure, something I, of course, align with greatly.
+ “Arc’teryx Presents: Shaped by Wild,” by Arc’teryx, YouTube, Nov 29, 2023. A documentary about various individuals whose lifeways are deeply intertwined with British Columbia’s Coast Mountain Range. Through the region’s mountains, ocean, and forests, each person’s storyline is intimate and vast.
Writing/Projects: (updates are highlighted)
+I’ve begun creating a musical album! After decades of creating tunes for myself and wishing to do more with them, I’ve finally decided to take it upon myself to bring these songs to life.
+My film project: We are nearing a final cut and hope to submit to film festivals soon.
+I currently have 2 general submissions in the ether, two flash nonfiction pieces for a Narratively contest. The flash nonfiction piece for CRAFT Literary was declined.
+The hybrid essay/memoir I wrote in 2021, “Chuckwalla,” still needs some major revision and writing.
+I have a science fiction novella I’ve been working on slowly since 2017.
MISC/Brags/Swag:
- I was recently interviewed for a podcast and that episode is now live! Women’s Running Stories is a site all about women with deep connections to running. Listen to my podcast episode here —> Trails, FKTs, Finding Deeper Meaning in the Outdoors
- Fenix Lightning sent me two headlamps for my L2H endeavor, and they also provided me an affiliate link and discount code for you to receive 10% off! Enter AFSARAA at checkout.
Thanks for tuning in to Sarita’s Moonbox.
¡Feliz (fin de) primavera!
bivytales.com 
You two are amazing people – so proud to call you family.
Sandy Pfeiffer Thomas
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