Cleanse ye your eyes, so that ye behold no man as different from yourselves…. See ye no strangers; rather see all men as friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness. ~Baha'i
Around Thanksgiving fall really started to put in an appearance here. Trees along neighborhood streets in Madera, California put on their scarlet and deep red tones, some went brilliant gold. I wish I could give you the names of these lovely beings, but alas, my knowledge of the numerous imported trees around the region is … Continue reading In which a hummingbird tribe sends me a message
This is the final blog that I will write on this faithful small MacBook, for which I traded in my last iMac two and a half years ago. Another state, another life, a different, much smaller notebook to make the transition away from New Mexico with me. It's a peek at other goodbyes, as well. … Continue reading Changing seasons, out and in
There is a surreal feeling I should be getting when setting about selecting another place to live. Perhaps I should mention that I am the sort of impatient person who gets daunted by too many choices, loathes going into large stores and generally gets a big headache when forced to spend more than twenty … Continue reading Home sweet home, revisited
Summer life in the middle of the Golden State For over a month Weather Underground greeted my inbox daily with the message: "Warmer than yesterday", Ummm, yesterday was 103º, how different can warmer feel? .... More like a loaf of bread being pushed into an oven? And a smokey oven, at that. California's catastrophic wildfires, … Continue reading When it’s 105º… or not
Even with a fresh t-shirt feeling clammy around my ribs within two minutes of putting it on at 6:30 this morning I was excited about the day ahead. Triple digit temperatures? Bah, get on with it… We, my daughter, her husband and I, were due to sign papers this afternoon to rent a nice house … Continue reading Moving, or not, with Craigslist
As I start each new decade in life I have asked myself, “Am I grown up yet?” … And back has come the response, “When I grow up I want to [insert one adventurous goal or another]. So okay, I guess the answer could be Not Yet. This year's birthday, though, brought me up sharp … Continue reading A hospital stay for my birthday!
"My thoughts and prayers are with you" is a phrase in the air constantly whenever (pretty often these past few years) there is a horrible big event ranging from mass shootings in schools and elsewhere to wildfires and floods. But how much change occurs as the result of the expression? Pretty much none, at least … Continue reading …Prayers … and actions! are with you
Of late I’ve been thinking of special, secret places I’ve loved in the past, wondering why it’s so difficult to find such a spot now. When I was a child we had a forested area on the hill behind our eastern Massachusetts home. That’s where my grandmother and mother would take my brother and me … Continue reading Special places of the mind, feet and … wheels
Fall tends to start off, for me, with a sense of glory. Flaming leaves to look forward to. Bright pumpkins, fresh roasted chili, people seeming to draw closer together as the days grown shorter and cooler. By mid-ish November things are turning more bittersweet, generally, for me. I start feeling cooped up, hemmed in, pushed … Continue reading Trees and Shuffle Puffling
Thank you Lord, for offering me so many rides around the sun, for good family and friends. For giving me strength to get through difficulties, awareness that events that I have so rebelled against furnish me with strength. In time, if I let them… Things we take for granted. The mystery and wonderment at … Continue reading Change the unjust laws
Rising Over the Smoke 