As much as I loathe this aging thing, I’m beginning to recognize that I am now a healthier person in terms of self-worth and knowing who I am and where I fit in the world. That’s been a good trade-off for the wrinkles. ~ Patty Duke
June 24, 2021
Life does have a way of leaving its mark upon the body. But hey, it’s good to know we can still fly, torn wings or not.
Dark-eyed Junco. November 12, 2021
Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
November is typically a tough month for me due to the lack of daylight and the overall brown palette. This one’s been even harder due to my clomp-clomp boot. Tomorrow will be two weeks of inactivity, but it feels like two months already. And because my foot still hurts, I can’t stop wearing it yet. My follow-up appointment/verdict isn’t for another week, but I’m going to be smart and clomp around until I hear otherwise.
All this is to say that I was heading for an emotional crash a couple hours ago. But I turned my attention to something I’d been dreading and putting off, and what do you know, I feel so much better now! Funny how that works. *ahem*
Here’s to an improved mood and sunny summer memories! And if you’re in need of a boost, I hope this cheery sunflower also brings you a smile.
In my backyard. July 3, 2021
November doesn’t last forever.
One of life’s simple pleasures: the sun illuminating Marcel’s pink ear.
November 19, 2021
This image from yesterday is especially pleasing on this no-sun, gray and cold afternoon.
Smoothie additive
also my new medium
edible artwork
Tell all the truth but tell it slant. ~ Emily Dickinson
Eaglesmere Lake Trail. September 28, 2021
Was Emily the original spin doctor?
I’d just sat down to upload a photo of our blooming Christmas cactus when my phone rang. It was Wildebeest, in tears. Young Dolph, his favorite rapper whom he listens to all the time, was just murdered in Memphis. My son cried, “He has kids! Why do people have to murder each other?”
All I could do was listen to his pain. There’s no making sense of the senseless.
November 17, 2021
Rest in power.
Only one of these robins is in focus, but I don’t think there’s mistaking the other’s mood which can only be described as angry-bathing.
November 14, 2021
There, all better.
November 14, 2021
It’s gray and gloomy today, belying the unseasonably warm weather (which refuses to give us a drop of much-needed moisture!), so I went in search of a cheery image to brighten the day. I selected a photo of sedum that’d bloomed in the front yard last summer.
June 10, 2021
I then went in search of a quote to accompany my photo, but was unsuccessful. Instead, I learned that sedum roofs are quite popular in other parts of the world. Sedum has a very shallow root system and not only that, “The metabolism of Sedum differs from other plants. At night, carbon dioxide is absorbed through the stomata and converted into malic acid. During the day, under the influence of sunlight, the malic acid is decomposed and photosynthesis takes place. The stomata in the leaves are only open at night. During the hot and dry day, moisture loss is minimized.” How cool is that?! And how beautiful is this roof?
Image found here
My new dream is to live in a little cottage covered by a sedum roof.
It was 35 years ago today that Zippy and I had our first date. At the time, I lived in North Hollywood and he lived in Bakersfield. It was a tough time for me and I desperately needed to get away from my tiny apartment for a day or two, but was living in poverty and couldn’t afford anything. I knew Zippy through my brother (they’d gone to college together) and we’d recently reconnected via several phone conversations, so I brazenly invited myself for a visit.
Bakersfield is no one’s idea of a getaway, but I was thrilled at the prospect of being somewhere else. When I arrived that Friday evening (knuckles scraped and bleeding as a result of my hand slipping while prying a very stubborn lid off a bottle of the engine additive needed to keep my poor old car running), Zippy suggested we go hear some live music. Chris “Hammer” Smith and his blues harp were at Suds Tavern which was located in the Wall Street Alley. The tiny place used to be a fire station and fire horse stable, and reeked of character. And cigarette smoke (of which I was a contributor, ahem). We had so much damn fun, drinking beer and dancing dancing dancing. During Hammer Smith’s break, we ran across the alley to Guthrie’s Alley Cat where there was a pool table and even cheaper beer, then dashed back for more live music.
Guthrie’s Alley Cat
Fast forward: I ended up moving to Bakersfield for two years (before we moved to Anchorage) and we logged a lot of hours dancing at Suds and shooting pool at Guthrie’s. Turns out, plenty of people thought that alley was in “the bad part of town” and stayed away. To my mind, that scene was one of the shining lights of that hot, dry, and dusty city. I was thrilled when I met a fellow teacher who shared our love for that alley.
Alas, Suds is no more. It’s apparently now a restaurant called Two Goats & The Goose and, because I couldn’t find a photo of Suds, I’m including this image to show the exterior (with an accessibility ramp that was not present in the 80s).
Turns out, Guthrie’s Alley Cat is still in business which makes me very happy. All these years later, I’m very glad Guthrie’s was part of my introduction to Bakersfield. Mostly, though, I’m grateful Zippy graciously accepted my self-invite.
September 28, 2021
Nature sets the stage
with perfect purple placement
take a bow, Mother
It means even more to me than usual to have winged visitors to my yard. Because I’m currently stuck in a walking boot, I haven’t been venturing out much at all. So, today I dedicate my gratitude to these four birds, in the order in which they appeared.
First up, is a House Finch that immediately flew to the bath right after I’d cleaned and filled it this morning:
Moments later, this Red-breasted Nuthatch came for a drink:
Then another male House Finch posed in the maple tree:
And this afternoon, while taking a break from revisions, I spotted a radiant Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay:
It’s only Day 4 of my walking-boot-sentence and the Herman Munster clomp-clomp-clomp is already wearing thin. All gratitude for birds!
November 8, 2021
It could be worse. Much worse. After all, instead of stopping when I felt pain after landing on a rock while running the trails on Friday , I ran another couple miles (and then spent the weekend in serious pain whenever I accidentally put weight on my left foot). Doh.
But today’s x-rays didn’t show a stress fracture so it’s possibly only soft tissue damage. I have two weeks in this fine dancing boot and then go back for a follow-up. (Shout-out to Zippy for somehow finagling a podiatry appointment for me this afternoon!)
Young moose, Lower Cataract Lake. 9.27.21
Some days are a slog
each step a muddy struggle
bull-headed or not
American Robin. November 3, 2020
Funny how something is an instant “known” and then, upon closer examination, can turn into an “unknown.” For example, this insect I photographed back in August while visiting the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Clearly a grasshopper, right?
August 20, 2021
Well, I just went down the proverbial rabbit hole in an attempt to more specifically identify the type of grasshopper. I’m admitting defeat. Apparently, there are over 100 species of grasshopper in Colorado and to my eye, the markings on their legs are quite similar.
On the other hand, this immediately “unknown” insect was quickly identified via an online search as Tetraopes texanus, otherwise known as the Milkweed Beetle. Oddly, this particular beetle is not on a milkweed (and no, I’m not even going to try to identify this plant).
On this cold, damp, gray November afternoon, I’m basking in the warm memories of that visit to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge where keen eyes reap intriguing rewards.
Hope everyone had a spooky and chocolatey Halloween. Welcome to the second-to-the-last month of the year. Here’s a pretty foliage-quilt picture for your Monday.
View from hike around Lower Cataract Lake. September 27, 2021
And yes, I am having a little trouble adjusting to this new week and month.
Boldness is sexy, especially when it’s done with a wink. ~ Matthew Hussey
October 12, 2021
Happy Caturday from bold, sexy Marcel.
October 29, 2021
Saline memories
years of nasal cleanliness
neti nose me best
It might be nearing the end of the day, but it’s never too late to share gratitude. Today I am grateful for a productive critique session with my critique group last night. As always, the Writing Roosters had good insights and offered suggestions that will make my beloved novel shine.
And to celebrate, here’s a bouquet of wild asters that remind me of a fireworks display. I photographed them last summer as we hiked the Oh Be Joyful Trail.
July 15, 2021
Oh, to be joyful and filled with gratitude.
Outlaw Apiaries. August 7, 2021
Here are two of my favorite things: honey bees and lavender.
July 18, 2019
We still have a few late-blooming stalks of lavender (this photo was taken a couple summers ago), but not a lot of bees around. Which is why I was surprised over the weekend while reading outside on a bench I’d pushed up against the side of the house to avoid the wind. Surrounded by concrete and brick, engrossed in the pages, I became aware of a faint buzzing that got louder and louder. A honey bee flew next to my outstretched leg before landing on my arm and then my chest. After a brief pause there, it flew to my collar. Much closer to my ear (bzzzz bzzzz ). And face.
Bees fascinate me more than freak me out, however, I admit to feeling a bit nervous about this buzzing visitor. Still, I maintained my calm, congratulating myself on the chill attitude. Until . . . the honey bee moved down to the end of my sleeve and crawled in my sleeve. Chill attitude officially over! I shrieked and shook my arm to dislodge the bee, which seemed to take forever due to the layers I wore.
When the bee safely flew away-away, I chided myself for panicking. And then I remembered the terrifying bees-in-clothing experience I had years ago, and cut myself slack.
Fortunately, this latest bee interaction was entirely friendly and bees still rank among my very favorite things.
As the Democrats (who currently reside in the White House and hold majorities in the House and Senate) negotiate against themselves to gut Biden’s Build Back Better plan, I encourage you to read this op-ed from Senator Bernie Sanders, published in a West Virginia newspaper on October 15, 2021. It lays out the specifics of the 10-year $3.5 trillion BBB plan. Specifics that are wildly popular and hugely supported by the people, specifics that many don’t know because the Democrats and corporate media have done a miserable job explaining what this reconciliation bill is all about. This plan contains policies that are desperately needed if we are to survive.
The Democrats, with all their power, have an opportunity to do so much good. And yet, here we are. Forced to watch from the sidelines as they eliminate all the good for the people and planet from the bill. This NEVER happens when it’s time to vote on a military budget. When it comes to the military industrial complex, there’s always enough money and zero debate. That’s when Democrats and Republicans join together for a resounding YES!
The powerful elites are making life-threatening decisions while the planet literally burns. Senator Manchin is a coal baron with a massive conflict of interest when it comes to climate policy, but he gets to dictate the removal of the most important piece of climate legislation which, if enacted, would eat into his profits.
This is why people (such as myself) frequently say “I hate it here.”
All of it. Fangs, the barely hidden claws, and yes, the filthy window.
October 16, 2021
Not really sure why. This week was illuminating and productive in a number of ways and I accomplished a lot. Still, today’s been tough off-and-on, and right now I resonate with Marcel’s expression.
The good news is that this feeling won’t last forever. In fact, just looking at my silly kitty’s face has lightened the gloom.
September 24, 2021
Unusual sight
solitary wee bushtit
flockmates await her
Tracy Abell 