Friday Music: Blues Run The Game

We first heard this song years ago when a dear friend sent it to us done by the artist Jackson Frank. We did a little exploring and found that a lot of musicians have made covers of his song. It's quite a beauty. We so love this version by Martin Simpson. It seems appropriate to post this during these times of global pandemics, insane presidents, horrific murders by police officers, and Roger's health issues. Roger is having a CT scan at the local hospital as I type this. Right after that, he is going to the Cardiopulmonary unit for a Holter heart monitor that he will wear for 24 hours. There is an ultrasound in the future as well. Yes, seriously, Blues Run The Game.

Halo With Contrails

Months into sheltering in place I forget what day it is. Is it Monday or Tuesday, are we in the month of June yet? Will we ever stop worrying? Did Roger remember to turn off the watering drip system? Should we get a motion sensor camera to see if a mountain lion shows up in our yard and to keep track of Skunky's movements. Did I wash my hands? Should I wash them again just in case? Do we have enough food in the house to last until our next trip to the store? When are we going to the store? What day is it...

Still I remember to run outside to see what the sun is doing with the ice crystals in the sky. Ah yes, the jets have been flying flying flying high. These two left the perfect contrails with that halo. Just a moment in time on a day I don't remember.

PS-- Thank you all for your comments on our Skunky video. We're so glad you liked it. No updates yet, but we're hopeful.

Skunky Update and Other News

We've been seeing Skunky come out from under the tool shed about an hour before sunset. She has been gathering straw from the unused raised bed in the yard. I was finally able to video her working away so diligently. She is such a hard worker. We think we'll be seeing skunk kits in a month or so. We'll keep you posted. So here she is, Skunky In The Yard.

In other news our neighbors here on our very quiet suburban little cul-de-sac have been discussing the two rather large piles of scat that have been found in their yards. One pile was behind the house across the street from us, and the other was behind the house about five doors down from us. The discussion is whether the scat is from a bear or mountain lion. Seriously. We're talking very large piles of poop. There is no consensus yet, but we're leaning toward mountain lion. Scary times in the midst of other scary times. It's a good thing we never go out at night. Yikes!

Friday Music: By Way Of Sorrow

I've been thinking about this song for a while. We are living in such challenging times, and I know so many who have been suffering for even longer. This song sung by the band Cry Cry Cry has the promise of hope.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Yellow Jacket

Through the rainy cobweb corner of the office window I saw you watching me.
No, I'm not letting you in.

An Interesting Anniversary

A friend posted this video (below) on Facebook. I had completely forgotten about the volcanic eruption of Mt. Saint Helen's 40 years ago today. I was living about 150 miles south of the volcano in Eugene, Oregon. My then-husband was a news photographer for the NBC affiliate there. Had he been on-call that weekend, he would have been on a helicopter with a news reporter, flying around that smoking mountain that had just blown away 200 miles of forest and sent ash around the globe. We woke to a big pile of ash on our car and all around on the ground. A few weeks after the eruption we drove up with a reporter to take a look around. There were still trees strewn about along the mountain roads. The mountain looked so different from its earlier days. We had driven by this mountain many times on our trips between Eugene and Seattle, WA. It was a smooth beauty of a mountain, lightly curved like a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Photos borrowed from the internet.)

After the eruption it looked like this.

You never know how your world is going to be changed when our earth does its eruptions and quakes and hurricanes and blizzards. Just a reminder of the power of our beautiful planet Earth.

Friday Music: Hawaii 78

When Roger and I were living in the Sierra foothills we listened to a weekly radio show that featured Hawaiian music. There were some songs that we fell in love with. This is one of those songs. Lately I've been thinking about this song, that voice, that longing. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's song is about Hawaii, but when I listen to it, I think of it as a song to our earth.

It's My Twin Brother's Birthday...

...and you know what that means. It's my birthday too! So, here is a bit of a look back at our 68 revolutions around the sun.

We went from this:

1953

1956 or 1957

1989

To this:

2008

2016

2019

In the blink of an eye! I haven't seen Michael since this last photo was taken. He lives 350 miles south of us, and we haven't gone on a road trip in more than a year. We have become even more ancient senior citizens, although we're still total goofball kids at heart.

The Guest Under The Tool Shed

Roger went to the local nursery the other day to pick up some straw to mulch the raised beds in the yard. He bought one bale, but didn't need very much of it, so he left it in the yard for future use. The next day he noticed this.

We wondered what would so carefully make a path like this right up to the little hole under the tool shed? Roger has filled that hole many times and covered it with rocks only to find his work carefully undone. But what could move this much straw and get the entrance covered up? What critter could do this truly admirable job? We didn't think a skunk could manage such a task, and how would it cover up the entrance and be inside? We thought about getting a motion sensor camera to reveal the mystery guest.

Well,  the next evening before sunset I noticed this skunk, who we now call Skunky, come out of her den under the shed and start prowling around the yard in the search for some delicious insects to eat. Here she is in the raised bed with our broccoli and string beans. She doesn't make a mess. She's very carefully rooting around.

The next morning I watched her dragging the straw into place using her front paws and backing up into the den entrance. She was methodical and dedicated to the task. I couldn't get a photo of it because I didn't want to scare her by opening the shades for a better view.

So, we're letting Skunky have the space under the tool shed. We suspect she'll have a litter of baby skunks soon. We hope the neighbor's cat doesn't interfere and cause a stinky mess out there. We're also hoping that when the kits are mature by late June or early July the whole family will move on. If you're interested in reading more about skunk behavior, I found this article very informative. It's called: Gardener's Best Friend--Master of Pest Control: The Skunk!

We'll keep you posted about our new "best friend."

Friday Music: When I'm Gone

I was a young teenager when I first heard this song in the mid 1960s. Phil Ochs' poetry and politics always moved me. It's good to remember the passion of that era as we move through this time of a pandemic, and here in the US an unbelievably dangerous man at the helm. I definitely feel disheartened and actually quite depressed about all of this, but listening to this helps me remember that I'm still here.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Contrail Shadow and What's That?

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see the contrail shadow left by the airplane. It's just a dark hint of the contrail shooting down to the left. We had to drive into the slightly bigger town just south of us to pick up a prescription. On the way back I saw the contrail and the shadow. So of course I had to click a pic through the windshield. When I downloaded the photos I saw the other "clouds" How did I not see that spider cloud when I saw the contrail? Had the pilot who makes beautiful sky art been here? Nope. It's just the reflection once again of our little menagerie of plastic critters on our dashboard. They have fooled me more than once. I do like that spider cloud though, even if it is a reflection of my imagination.

Quiet Times

The clouds over our house Sunday morning. They looked like they were dancing. The sky was full of clouds like this. Some looked like hearts with wings. Some looked like dolphins leaping from the sea. Some twisted like a spring in windblown beauty.

One looked like a dandelion about to scatter its seeds. I know, I have an active imagination.

I was going to write about today being the 50th anniversary of the massacre at Kent State. Why break hearts even more than they are already broken these days?

Life in the time of Covid-19 leaves us with very little to say. We are quietly waiting for whatever comes next.

How are you doing? We hope you are staying safe and healthy. 

Friday Music: Peace Divine

While listening to the 16 1/2 minute song Murder Most Foul by Bob Dylan, Youtube showed me many other songs on the right side of my screen. I noticed this song by Jackson Browne and thought I would listen after being entirely overwhelmed by Dylan's unbelievable, heartbreaking dirge. The beauty of Jackson Browne's song, also about death, is the perfect balance. Jackson doesn't mention it, but he had been diagnosed with Covid-19 in late March. He recorded this song on April 8th. So it was wonderful to see that he had survived the virus and was well enough to be singing such a song.