Walking Continues

The world steadily grows better  because the human mind,  applying itself to environment,  makes it better...  with hands...  with tools...  with horse sense  and science  and engineering.  ~  Robert A. Heinlein,  The Door Into Summer It was coffee until after the units were complete. I figured it was not an accident that my first order from the Haak Winery was delivered just before the COSTCO delivery. Yeah, I needed to improve my environment. There is plenty of room here, but disordered (okay, "disorder" is my middle name, but I can organize...some). What's the point of a porch or garage if there is no sensible storage? So after hitting the internet, it became clear that COSTCO had my solution. And in two short days after the order the solution was delivered in two boxes by UPS. Fortunately I saw the guy arrive and talked him into bringing them into the front hall (It's too cold to work in the garage. These things have wheels, I c...

What I'll give you Since you've asked Is all my time together Take the rugged sunny days The warm and rocky weather Take the roads that I have walked Looking for tomorrow's time Peace of mind -- As my life spills into yours Changing with the hours Filling up the world with time Changing time to flowers I can show you all the songs That I never sang to someone before. We have seen a million stones Lying by the water You have climbed the hills with me To the mountain shelter Taking off the days One by one Setting them to breath In the sun. Take the lilies and the lace From the days of childhood All the willow winding paths Leading up and outward This is what I give This is what I ask you for Nothing more. ~ Judy Collins, Since You've Asked It was a pandemic wedding.  The masked bride and groom showed up at the courthouse and were joined in-person by the officiant and a witness (as family and friends attended virtually).*  A search of newspaper articles recently had disclo...

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few. ~ Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson How about a bee - one bee - and a Golden Eye. Or a butterfly - one Queen butterfly - and Frost Weed Attempting to supply the "revery," we wandered at the edges of the woods, through the meadows, along the banks of the river, through the pasture where horses once grazed, to the top of the earthen dam. There we observed the evidence of beavers, but my sister wouldn't let me put "beavers" in the title. "We didn't see the beavers," she said.* "But we saw the EVIDENCE of beavers," I replied.  The beavers had stripped the bark from this side of the tree. It was a lovely morning with dogs** exploring, pollinators buzzing and flitting, flowers and grasses moving in the gentle breeze -- all watched over by oaks, pecans, hackberry, chinaberry*** (sad to say), ash juni...

The bird hunting a locust is unaware of the hawk hunting him.” ~ Portugese We were heading back to the car after a wonderful walk in the park - herons, wildflowers, friends, silly dogs - when we noticed one of the Red-tailed Hawks, so common in this park, perched on a pecan tree high above the creek bank. Clearly a Buteo , but was it one of the Red-shouldered Hawks who make this park home? The early morning sun makes all birds "red" But it was definitely a Red-shouldered Hawk The hawk took off and flew downward - low along the creek. Then the outraged squawking of a Great Blue Heron filled the air. I held my hand up to my sister, silently asking her to wait, as I hustled over to the creek. We saw four Great Blue Herons and one Green Heron on this hike. The squawking continued. Was the hawk attacking the heron? This made no sense to me (I envisioned shish kabob of hawk pierced on the sharp beak of the heron) and I was compelled to try and witness the  drama that was being pla...

And in the end, this end, here is what I believe. The heart is a wild and fugitive creature. The heart is a dog who comes home. ~ Helen Humphreys, Wild Dogs It has been some time since I have been out to see my friends' progress on restoring their riverside property to its natural state. CPW and JW are "retired" but have not stopped. They are family people. They are caring folks - concerned not only with those who share DNA with them, but also the country, the land, and anyone they think needs them...or needs a walk through the meadow.* After synchronizing our calendars, we found a morning when we were free for a little hike - and it was amazing. While there will always be challenges with the damage done to the land in the name of progress and production - small quarrying, overgrazing, introduction of non-native (and sometimes destructive/invasive species) and the like progress is being made.   There remains a long "to do" list, but the "done" list is ...