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
Lately a sense of inertia has come over me. Days are so much shorter than they were even a month ago, so much colder than they were in high summer heat here in California's Central Valley. Each day I get a vivid show of how Earth turns its northern hemisphere away from the sun … Continue reading Of light and darkness
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
Some of Yosemite's wildlife have been getting awfully comfortable during the tourist-free period they have been experiencing. Bears in particular made free with fruit in the park's apple trees. The national park closed to the public for many days while over a thousand firefighters wrestled down a monster wildfire close to the park, two good, … Continue reading Yosemite Bear is hiding again
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
Lately many miles of protected national lands are being opened to fossil fuel extraction. Opinions are so very divided on how to proceed with this... Native tribes in the southwestern USA oppose reduction of national parks such as Bears Ears in favor of oil, gas and coal leases. To them the "empty" acreage is … Continue reading Losing touch with the ancients
Rising Over the Smoke 