Proud: That question keeps popping up, again and again.
Woke up...create a
journal, old ways, a new way
what am I proud of?
Proud of things I am actually responsible for
what about being proud of others and how it reflects on me
False pride
What are you proud of?
One owl, many crows, 1 hawk, and 16 lizards. Did some reading about owl life. Crows circling, a pair...ready to nest? Owls are one of the earliest nesters, I read. Crow pair sits in the nearby tree, we move on.
While rereading Theo of Golden, pink pen for notations by my side...I pause as my own memories of those I've known come wandering in as a parade of characters from a lifetime of years gone by.
My elongated pause has me silently drifting, thinking of a small array of people from my past. A variety of relationships...long term or brief moments in time...only in passing or in deep, deep connection. Relationships from family to workplace to professional workshops to people I called friends...all but in only my memories now.
Today gray skies, subtle shifts in tone, not void of color entirely, but through the day a wash of bland, muted gray takes over. In comparison to to the illumination of the sky last evening, where the pinks, blues, and purples morphed into deep indigo. The Witches Hair glowing in the last light of day.
Yet, today the sky, a milky solid gray, water pours down, slapping against the windowpane - demanding to come in and rattling the frame in its frantic request.
As I wrap up the on and off writing of this post, the sky begins to clear, enormous bulbous white clouds arrive and boldly present themselves, even if only for a few minutes before the gray washes over them again. The reciprocal conversation between the sky clouds may continue for some time, until the quiet of dusk or the drum of the rain, calls no winner, but just settles things down, either in quiet or steady sound. Peaceful.
Fado: Discover Traditional Portuguese Music | Portugal | Viking
I love color swatches. I love paint samples. I love palette play. Up until now, I've only looked, but never tried it. I decided to start small, using my set of 12 Inktense colored pencils, in the order I keep them in the tin. I colored light-medium-dark as best I could and then added one more block with water added (on the far right). I added their company designated names to complete the record. I've really enjoyed this kind of play in videos I've seen...on Deb's dreaming bee blog. I once saw a video where the shades of mixing was related to coffee. How much milk was added, making it very light - to - 'black' pure color. I wish I had saved that to view it again. Anyway, perhaps I will play with this some more.
The 'man things' - things that belonged to my birth-father, my dad or J. (and my mom too!) - how I study them when cleaning and consider the stories they must hold. The man's valet is on it's 4th "owner", with plans to pass it down once again when that time comes. The knife was 'lost' for a long time, well over a year...and spontaneously turned up again this week. Now, where had it run off to and what was it doing?
In looking at Grace's mug of utensils last night, I notice one that looks similar to one I have. I got curious. It turns out that it is a "fruit, cranberry or tomatoes" serving spoon, made by Leonard, silverplate, pattern: "Acorn". This one belonged to someone in my mom's family. I have no idea who, as it was not familiar to me when I laid eyes on it. But, I thought it was pretty and unique, so I hung onto it. I have to say, as someone who lives around a lot of acorns...these don't entirely represent them to me. My research shows one can be had for about $5.00-$25.00 online shopping.
I am reading a new book. Finally. I'm enjoying it and will post more soon. I'm so happy to have gotten hooked into a book again.
#11 Catching Rain Or Not
I tried to catch some rain water from our last storm. However the patio is deeply covered and I did not want the mug to get blown off, so I tucked it on the the table out there. The wind was not as fierce as the first storm, keeping it in a pretty dry spot...so my cup does not runneth over! This had me considering the old thoughts of how much is enough? To one stranded in the desert, this may seem an abundance.
It's been between the 50°-60°'s, mostly gray cloud covered skies. Today, some blue has busted through. Yay!
We were excited to go to the bridge and check out the river after our big storm. We were not disappointed!! Can you believe the difference in just 5 days?! There was barely a sandbar to see. The river stretched from bank to bank and roared by. Truly. You wouldn't believe how loud our lil river was. And yes, that is an uprooted tree floating out there. The top two pics are the same direction/orientation I always take for comparison. So, the top pic looks East, towards town and the second pic looks West, towards the freeway and the highway to the ocean beyond that. I again took photos of the river between the two trees. Amazing difference.
It turned out to be quite a rainy walk. Not a hard rain, but we were pretty wet by the time we got back to the car. It was so interesting to see this area in a different weather environment. No bright blue sky, no puffy clouds and lizard filled sandy soil. Instead today showed us where the water flows during a rainstorm and the brilliant green or shiny look of a well-watered world. We were presented the wildness that happens after a big wind/storm event (look at that fence!).
The fallen tree in the photo above had a bunch of fungi. Can you see it down there? Someone had driven a vehicle through the wood chips/mud area making a mess, but likely having their fun in the rain. We found the little duck (a bee-duck?) in a gopher hole and rescued it, only to decide to play Pooh Sticks with it on our way back. J. chucked it in the roaring river - where we caught a momentary glance before it bobbed away. When we raced across the bridge to see it come through, I mistakenly thought the bright orange would make it easy to see. That was not so and we only caught sight of it for a second, before it tumbled off towards the sea. You can see a simple MAP for the river's path at the link. I've probably put this info here, but I will again anyway...more information on the Santa Clara River. Because this river often doesn't have much water flowing, I forget that it is one of the last wild rivers in the area and is an important resource for wildlife.
Anyway, watching the orange duck disappear down the river (probably screaming "Hey! How'd I get here? Where am I going? Help!!) had me remembering this old book, which was a favorite of my son's. The difference here is that this duck was wheeled and made of wood. But they both had quite the adventure!!
The MUG SHOT mug is on the porch, ready to catch any wild rain that may fall. I chose to leave it safely tucked in between the turtle and a empty pot and not on the railing where the wind may blow it to smithereens!
On the 21st, we walked at the bridge. It'd been a while. Things looked different, more bare land peeking through. We're looking forward to going again after the current storms pass through.
As for the storm, this is a big one here. A lot of rain and wind. A lot. We are fine. For those of you who watch news and wonder, we are in an area that has been getting flood/debris warnings, but really don't affect us here at home. So, we're fine.
On this day of Christmas (for those who celebrate), I’ve lit the green friendship/money candle once again and have the blinds pulled all of the way back to see our patch of gray sky. So, here I sit, listening to the wind whistle through the corridor, the crows having a conversation and light switch rain when it falls...on and off and pouring and stopped...
I plan on going nowhere and doing little. 🙂
I stumbled on to this video and got a kick out of it. "Midsomer Murders" is our favorite nightly watch these days, for the reasons Neil Dudgeon mentions. Storytelling that stands the test of time. We laughed at him doing the music with his hands...just like I do! I wonder how many others have these comforting rituals of preferred viewing and traditions of how that takes place? Do you have a special show/music? Do you have snacks and rituals involved in the way you spend down time? Isn't that nice?
Neil Dudgeon on the Return of Midsomer Murders | This Morning
I've got a Medicine Bag going on the little loom, fun things to watch and listen to, two grandchildren made picture frame gifts with their photos included (not here on the blog though) and J. by my side...all things to be grateful for.
Back to the bridge of the 21st...
Even with the trees bare, some of the plants look like they think it is spring. Two of the tension wires on the bridge were unhooked. It had me thinking of a bra strap...with two unhooked eye-hooks, does it do its job? Mmm? More beautiful clouds and wonky contrails...sunlight on grass. I am wondering how green it will all be after this storm?!! It's already been looking green, just since the last bit of rain we got. The two plant life photos are one of our favorite scents on the trail, Coastal (or California) Sagebrush. Aren't we lucky to enjoy such a beautiful spot? Walking together, investigating the natural world and all of the while, me telling what I now call Swiss Cheese Stories (the kind where I forget half the details as I tell it!) 😀
As I move off from writing to other things, perhaps I'll listen to some great music again. I've already listened to this one the other night...but what a moment in time captured. I may just listen again today.
