Lots of friends are posting their goals for 2012
and I'd like to share one, too:
I hope to to see the beauty that's always there waiting for me to notice.
We've already gotten at least a foot of snow and it keeps falling.
Zippy filled the feeder and put out another suet cake this morning
and it's a feeding frenzy out there.
I was just making pumpkin pies and kept stopping to snap photos.
This guy's up on the wire overlooking the scene, and the various jays (blue, western scrub)
keep flying to adjacent wires where they appear to be taunting him.
The hawk doesn't seem to much care
and comes across as rather zen-like amidst all the hubbub.
I was all excited when I saw this photo I took today:
Hey, I said to Zebu, it's Three Turtle Doves.
To which he replied, "I think the song goes 'Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves.'"
So I looked up The Twelve Days of Christmas and, sure enough, it's Two Turtle Doves.
Well.
I'd rather not break up the trio so if you'd be so kind, either squint your eyes
and pretend these are Three French Hens OR miscount the birds
and end up with only Two Mourning Turtle Doves.
Thank you.
The thermometer reads 8 degrees
and I'm so very grateful for my warm home.
I filled the feeder this morning after shoveling
(a profanity-filled exercise due to steamed-over-eyeglass-induced blindness)
and am enjoying the flurry of activity out there.
The House Finches and Mourning Doves coexist peacefully
but there are some birds who never seem to fit in the the crowd.
Juncos are often chased from the feeder
but today's odd-bird-out is this Spotted Towhee.
Is it just me or does it look as if he's wearing an executioner's mask?
Dude, there might be a lesson there.
This was me in February 2009 as I embarked on Flexibility Quest:
This was me in January 2010 eleven months into Flexibility Quest:
This is me after neglecting regular yoga practice for the past eight months or so:
image from morguefile.com
Don't be a fool:
If you're doing something that makes you feel good
and is good for you, keep it up.
I'm here to tell you that rusty joints ain't no fun.
Yesterday I went to OccupyDenver.org to find out what supplies were needed
and after loading up a plastic bin with various items, I drove downtown and
joined OccupyDenver.
Approximately 70 tents were set up on the grass in front of the capitol building
on land that is designated state park property.
There were canopied structures along the sidewalk for check-in, donation drop-off, and
Thunderdome, the kitchen that served hundreds of meals per day for the past several weeks.
While I was there, supporters dropped off cases of bottled water, cash, and small US flags.
People came by, made their own signs using available cardboard and a crate full of markers,
and protested along Broadway for a while.
I didn't make a sign because I had so many thoughts and issues and emotions in my head,
I couldn't focus enough to be coherent. Instead, I selected an enormous sign from the pile:
WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
For a couple hours I held that sign next to a woman who'd been inspired to her first political action
by the courage of those speaking out via occupations around the country.
She has a young son and we talked about the various ways things are royally messed up for our children.
She said, "No wonder there's no one message out of all this. So many things are wrong, how do you
pick just one?"
True, that.
Here's one of the many intelligent young people leading the way:
Here's one of the many senior citizens in attendance holding his I'M PROUD TO BE A MOBSTER sign:
While it felt good to connect with the 99% community, I felt down much of the time
because about a half-hour after arriving, I learned the CO governor, Denver mayor, and
CO attorney general had held a press conference saying they were evicting the protesters
that night. For their safety and well-being, don't you know.
Early this morning, police in riot gear descended upon #OccupyDenver and broke up
their camp. Twenty-three people were arrested and belongings were thrown in the trash.
Please check out this slideshow from Denver Post photographers.
This protest is far from over.
#OccupyWallStreet is still going strong and there are over 100 occupations taking
place around the country (and in several cities around the world).
Thank you to all the people who honked and waved in support yesterday.
And to the angry man who flipped us off as he drove by, I wish you'd consider this:
1) Last weekend I read I the first draft of my latest middle-grade novel after letting it sit awhile.
2) All week I've jotted notes and zeroed in on characters' motivations and reconfigured the plot.
3) I followed editor Kendra Levin's Five-Step Revision Plan, and created a
"one paragraph summary" that inexplicably mushroomed into multiple paragraphs.
4) I swing between moods of exhilaration and freak-outs about my chances of pulling this one off.
5) And then today I realized that, despite the first draft being written in first-person,
the story needs to be told in third-person.
Here, Tracy, gaze upon the starling to calm your nerves:
© Tracy Abell 2009
I wish everyone a wonderful weekend filled with epiphanies and maybe a few feathered friends!
Ever since July when I first heard about the planned occupation of Wall Street,
I've wanted to pack my bag and join the brave people speaking truth to power.
Occupation and bodies in the streets seemed like the best way to shed some
light on the criminal behavior of Wall Street and its political enablers.
And it's working.
I'm still here in Colorado but I just joined the Virtual March on Wall Street.
Here's my message:
I urge you to check out the link and read messages from people all around the country.
It's powerful stuff.
Folks are hurting in a big way.
But there's power in numbers and there are lots more of us than them.
We are the 99%.
(Watch livestream here.)
Yesterday Zippy, Zebu and I went to Casa Bonita to see Wildebeest perform.
I'd never been there, but it's common knowledge people go for the entertainment
rather than the food.
Here I am, Vegetarian in a Strange Land, with the dinner everyone above
the age of two must buy:
I moved the mound of food around the plate, but it was pretty obvious I ate nothing.
We were seated right next to the stage that is flanked by a waterfall and sits above the pool
for the dive shows. This was our view across the restaurant:
Here's Wildebeest in a skit with Chiquita the Gorilla:
And here he is in another skit with Black Bertha (Black Bart's sister):
Here are Zippy and Zebu exploring the lower level dining area:
This table got my vote for Most Claustrophobic Seating:
It was such fun watching Wildebeest get up on stage and do his thing.
We're thrilled he landed a job that makes him happy and brings smiles to lots of people.
Even when he tries to pretend otherwise.
I'm contemplating going back to one of my novels and doing an overhaul.
I've read it for the first time in almost two years and believe I've got The Fix.
Doing so will mean some demolition and reconstruction,
and a fair amount of sweat and tears.
The thought is a bit intimidating, but I've always enjoyed swinging a crowbar.
This morning as Zebu and I drove to his friend's house to pick him up for school,
we passed a house with trash cans set out at the curb.
And next to those trash cans, was Something Unexpected.
We picked up Zebu's friend and then drove back past the trash cans.
I stopped and after a hurried consultation, Zebu jumped out and grabbed The Caped Crusader.
© Tracy Abell 2011
I offered Zebu and his friend dibs, but neither was willing to carry him through the school halls.
Not to mention their uncertainty about him fitting in their lockers.
So Batman came home with me and Lebowski hissed when he got his first look,
but The Dude's over it now.
I'm thinking today is going to be a very special day.
1) Wildebeest thanked me this week for not letting him watch much television
when he was little because he believes that made him a good reader.
2) While I drove Zebu and his friend to school Tuesday morning, Zebu laughed
at one of my jokes! In front of his friend!
3) Wildebeest ate an entire helping of Zippy's curry the other night and said,
"This is really good."
4) Last month Zebu complimented me on my texting speed.
5) Grasshoppers have some seriously trippy gription going on:
Wishing everyone a wonder-filled weekend!