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Art on the Wind

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, art, creativity, happenstance, home, inspiration, Thoughts on August 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

This morning: hot oatmeal and a cool breeze from the patio door. We leave the door open for the fresh air, which brings the scent of wildlife to entertain the cat, as well as some of the unexpected moments of aggravation and joy that help make a life.

Aggravation: noise from a construction site down the block.

Joy: halfway through breakfast, I hear a beat, a pattern drummed out as from a wooden handle on a large metal surface. It is from the construction site, but it is not the sound of machinery or backup beeps or men shouting. Is it a wheelbarrow, a water drum, a backhoe scoop? Whatever the source, there is both intention and musicality. A bored worker, perhaps, or an aspiring musician. Or just someone inspired to create a moment of beauty in an otherwise average day.

And then send that art out into the world, carried on the wind.

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Best In Neighborhood

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, Thoughts on August 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today, a moment of happiness.

Picture it: the sun has finally come out, the day is warm and the wild things have voted our little yard Best in Neighborhood. Mr Man and I are having lunch under a canopy on the deck out back. This is not a day to consider the cracked boards or the layers of pine needles or the gutter gunk. It’s a day to see the four juvenile robins play-fighting to determine who will get the upper bird bath first, and then squawk when they are all pre-empted by a grackle. It is a day to notice that we are hosting not just animals, but families. The chipmunk has two smaller companions, Mr and Mrs Cardinal are both present, a pair of mourning doves stop by, there are three woodpeckers at the feeder, and the black-capped chickadees shepherd smaller versions of themselves first to the suet, and then to the nyjer, and finally to the sunflower seeds. Squirrels also visit, black and brown and grey, including one flicking the longest, plushest tail I’ve yet seen. There are sparrows and more finches than I can count, a mix of brownish, reddish and a vibrant shade I’m calling Attention-Grabbing Gold.

The extra shot of happiness comes when I realize that our yard is doing an admirable job of being exactly what our wild neighbors need.

The yard is not particularly photogenic. The bushes are a little scruffy and what grass persists is overlong. Hastas and honeysuckle and sweet woodruff sidle up next to lamb’s quarters and dandelions, violets and goldenrod, clover and daisies and oxalis. I don’t mind. It provides water, food and shelter, and is homey and inviting in a way that over-manicured spaces frequently are not.

And our wild neighbors don’t mind a bit.

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A Good Year

Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, anniversaries, cat herding, Chewbacca, home, Writers on July 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A year ago we adopted the cat who would later (much later, fine, it took quite a while) be named Chewbacca. He is the sweetest cat I’ve ever had, and I’m more than glad we kept looking until we found the right fit. Kittens are cute and all, but adopting this older cat from our local rescue was the best thing we could have done.

Recommend.

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*This* is what treadmills are for, right?

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Lions Teeth

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, nature, Thoughts on May 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

My lawn is lovely, with white and purple and yellow flowers. The dandelions are going gangbusters, as they do. And I’ve just been out front tidying them up in the hopes that my neighbors won’t get too stressed out about our lawn’s diversity.

In that vein, I give you a brief history of that underrated flower, the dandelion.

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Incremental Improvements

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, Thoughts, ugh on May 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Still sick, but back to work. Slowly.

“I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before.”
— Sidney Poitier

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Calling It

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, yay on April 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

There is still a patch of snow approximately two inches by three inches in the front yard, but it’s melting so fast that I feel comfortable calling it.

It’s our last day with snow, hooray!

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Poultry Power Activate!

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cat herding, home, Thoughts on April 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Gave the cat some chicken bits this morning and he is now certifiably insane.

Calm your crazy, kitty!

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*Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash*

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The Light of Longer Days

Posted in Favorites, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, garden, home, Spring, Thoughts, violets on April 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

We have our first flowers in the backyard. Violets, small and brightly colored, peeking up through the felled branches and unkillable Creeping Charlie and pine litter.

I know that many of you have had green grass and flowers for weeks now, but not so in my neighborhood.

Here, I wait. And watch. And finally, the light of longer days helps the first amethyst petals brave an unpredictable spring.

Welcome, little ones.

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Life, Man

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, appliances, home, Thoughts, writing on February 11, 2023| 2 Comments »

Yesterday, I gave my mother an appliance-related pep talk. Their fridge was making an ugly sound, but they managed to fix it, yay.)

Today, our dryer threw in the towel. Literally, as in, no matter how many times we ran the thing, the towels (and sheets, and shorts, and socks) refused to dry. Ruh-ro.

Enter Mr. Man. Trusty voltmeter in hand, he forged into the depths of the laundry room and after a valiant battle, emerged victorious. (For definitions of “victorious” that involve 3–5 day shipping of replacement parts.) The heating coil had snapped, so it was perhaps unsurprising that it could no longer perform its function.

So it was a no-writing day. Still, while the day was a bit of a wash (heh), it’s looking up!

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