First, a thank you and an apology I’ve been having trouble keeping life and the universe together lately, putting me behind in some crucial communications. I’m a week overdue to say thank you to SK and D3 (who know why). So thank you, D3 and SK, and I apologize for my belatedness. I also owe quite a few emails, which I may still be a while getting to. Into the woods for berries While working on a prospective writing project today I got a last-minute invitation from Furrydoc to gather early-season ground-creeper blackberries. I usually wait until August for the…
Category: Rural and small-town living
Life far from freeways, Starbucks, malls, and other benefits/distractions
This morning a codger whose house I frequently pass stopped what he was doing, thrust his chin out, and gave me the Seriously Big Stinkeye. Not for the first time, either. I knew my crime: I was driving five miles an hour under the speed limit. Yes, under. A couple months back he flagged me down and lectured me for going the speed limit (25 mph). He wants the limit reduced to 15 mph. Anybody exceeding that earns his wrath for endangering pets and wildlife (never mind that most of us are pet owners ourselves and the neighborhood tends to…
Over at the Cabal forums we’ve been discussing a couple of related issues: being as prepared as possible before moving ahead with plans; and why people make choices to live in seemingly crazy places — like that one that’s now disappearing in lava in Hawaii. I took not the hard-hard line, but also not the softline on being prepared for what you’re getting into. Sometimes you just have to take a leap, but such leaps are best taken once you’ve thought things out and learned what you can learn. That pulled me back to a moment I’d prefer not to…
Nothing heavy today … I live in a park. And today is perfect park weather. I live in a park. Not the country. I can walk to the library, post office, grocery store, and city hall, though I’m in the wayback. And it looks more like city park than a farm or a wilderness. I was ouside on a lounge chair reading when the trees drew my eye over the top of the book. I looked up, suddenly felt the joy of being in some lush, though undeveloped spot. And I asked myself, “What are you doing sitting here today…
Today is St. Walburga’s Eve, better known as Walpurgisnacht. It’s a holiday that’s retained a whiff — heck, a whole snootful — of paganism despite honoring a Teutonic Christian saint. In Finland, it’s Vappu, one of the four biggest holidays of the year. On Vappu, you party and drink sima, a homemade low-alcohol mead that sounds suspiciously like prison hooch. Neighbor J is Finnish. Tonight she’s taking me to a Vappu celebration. Its promoters emphasize the Christian nature of the day. Yet they’ve chosen to feature a showing of the original Wicker Man — which as I recall ends up…
Oh, you have no idea how delighted I am to be able to say that. It’s 420 and the local cannabis dealer was mobbed this a.m. for its annual sale. It’s a beautiful shop run by nice people and I’m so glad to see it making a (you’ll pardon the expression) hit. It’s beloved by recreational users, cancer patients, pain patients, people with digestive issues, and certainly by the ‘crats who collect marijuana taxes. While the budtenders are mostly young kids (who, for some reason have taken to wearing Bob Marley dreads despite most of them being white and female),…
Much colder, but serene and totally spring. These were taken within about a 20-minute span as morning fog lifted. They’re shown in the order they were shot. The fog was more persistent as I moved farther inland. Click to embiggenate.
Cold and windy. More winter than spring. But beautiful. Click to embiggenate. This one I “painted” lightly in the GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program). This one I painted more heavily, which may not be apparent until you enlarge it.