UPDATE: We are fine. My sister is home, still iffy at her place...but home. sigh.
Back out today...our walk before grocery shopping...the path along the the wash - a part of the 'river system'.
It was a walk of gratitude for a beautiful day and NO WIND! It was warm, birds were singing, the sky - bright and clear. I just couldn't get enough of it.
I used to have frustrations with how the camera couldn't quite capture the correct colors or distance...how there are now floating things - smudges on the camera lens. I no longer care. I am not a photographer, in the professional sense of the word. I can't capture wide-angle shots or close-ups of the birds I love. But, I can be reminded of these moments, which helps me hold them a while longer.
Today I liked how the camera makes the path seem extra long and things far, far away. How the camera warps reality for a moment...making me think and appreciate even more.
Have you tired of this overpass bridge view yet? Yah, me neither. Today I look at the shadows of the dense shrubs, making a path of their own. I remember how we met two lovely, friendly, happy dogs - Winnie and Penny running along with their person. Part way up in those shrubs is a concrete drainage path. The dogs raced up there and gleefully ran parallel to the man below. I shared with J. what I'd learned on The Lookout you tube channel about building on hillsides and providing those breaks in the plant life, which allows for maintenance and fire breaks. These are pretty small ones and probably work more for water efficiency and erosion control. But, just the fact that I'd learned this during this time of fire made me happy. Information is power, right?!
I was so thankful to be OUT, to not feel threatened by fire, as I have the past week. It was beyond beautiful. sigh.
I had started this newest weaving...and then I could not stop! I stayed up late, surrounded by yarns and my loom...scissors and needle...I just wove and wove. I got lost in the process. In fact I got so lost that I wove right past adding the rusty nail in to hang it from! I was in the process of considering if I wanted it woven in, as I'd done the stick the last time or if I wanted on the top edge and how I would accomplish that. The next thing I knew...I was close to done! So, now it WILL go on the top edge and I am still not sure how. There is something so glorious in this mistake, in this kind of total immersion. I hadn't felt creative in days, so I truly, deeply welcomed this madness.
We paused for long moments discussing tree types and which are more fire prone (palms and pines as you see here)...we stared and shifted position and considered what kind of bird this was...sitting all fluffed up. Its shape making us unsure. As it flew off we could see, Scrub Jay.I wonder how long it will be before I don't look at everything through the eyes of fire? J. was gifted and read this book Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World months back and has been talking about it ever since. He's even got me noticing the WUI, especially since these recent fires. So, when I look at the views, I notice even more how the homes meet the mountain...and I wonder what will become of us and the land...and us with the land together.
I'm still unsure if I like the Oak Stick woven in or not. I guess I'll learn more when I add the Rusty Nail to the new weaving. Perhaps it will give me a better sense. I brought home a new stick that presented itself to me. Last night while weaving, a word came to me. I'd been thinking about the Word Cloth recently...but this new word disappeared from memory as soon as it arrived. As I sat with the cloth today, the possibility of a new word came to me. I considered a placement for it and it fit in every open space there is. Now, that's a word worth keeping! More on that soon.
We paused to notice the tiny daisy (?) flowers and posed for another shadow photo. He claims I take so many photos, all the same...I claim they are not the same because they capture each different moment in time. Today's photo tells the story of us, with a Fairy Circle of Daisies in our hearts. 💕
We came home to a gift in the mail...a thoughtful and delicious gift. Thanks! A part of that gift is a tiny handmade blown glass bluebird and birdhouse. A MUG SHOT was born! I had been looking at the mug recently and thinking: I wonder what will come to the Mug next? Will I have another creative idea to photograph? After all, the first 4 were such givens, but also such gifts. And then I looked at the tiny bluebird...the Bluebird of Happiness, right? And I thought, no matter what if your own little home doesn't hold happiness - your cup will truly be empty, even if it is materially full. Think about that one, eh?On ECM's video toady, she talked about how stressed and grief filled folks have been and how that has contributed to short fuses (tempers) and so on. That hit home, so I made an effort to focus on love in all of my interactions today (well most of them, that one checker at the grocery store is really a piece of work...voice trails off, reins pulled in...).
How do you regroup? How do you take care of yourself in challenging times?
May you stand together
May you make good magic
May you look away momentarily, if needed
xo
Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2025
#goodenough
