It’s going to be 100 degrees soon. I need to go out for that jog before the heat of this day arrives in earnest. But that can wait just a moment longer… The light in the backyard is magical. The flowers of spring are still enjoying the (relative) cool of morning, but even that will soon […]
Monthly Archives: May 2018
Lizards
Sun, 27 May 2018, 10:09 PM (-06:00)
It was hot, because summer is now upon us. But there was a slight breeze, and it felt good sitting in the shade. Bill was on the bench. I was in a nearby chair. We were discussing something, I can’t remember what, because I wasn’t doing a very good job listening. He could tell I […]
Eastern Screech Owl
Fri, 25 May 2018, 07:48 PM (-06:00)
The sun was beginning to go down behind the trees across the street. Miss Izzy was sprawled out on a slab of limestone in the shade of the Flame Acanthus. I was sitting on the bench nearby marveling how it can be that the heat can feel so good when you’re in the shade … […]
Now
Fri, 25 May 2018, 07:58 AM (-06:00)
He asked me into his office. He had heard that I was leaving the company. Since we had worked together for years and had a good relationship he wanted to talk. I suspect that he really wanted to try to convince me to stay. But when you leave a tech job behind for teaching, everyone […]
Singing About Seasons
Wed, 23 May 2018, 01:28 AM (-06:00)
Pam had the students work through an exercise that involved finding people in the large room and writing their names to icons for the four seasons on some cards she had passed out. She walked back to her table and started some music. The room filled with the low roar of people talking. They all […]
Discussions I Didn’t Ask For
Tue, 22 May 2018, 12:58 PM (-06:00)
1. The Health Care Center The phone rings. We never pick up anymore, because well over 90% of the calls are junk. We really need to just cancel the landline like the cool kids have long since done. “Hello,” a robovoice announces. “This is the Health Care Center calling about the health plan you just […]
Lizard and Snake
Wed, 16 May 2018, 07:33 PM (-06:00)
On my way to water the tomatoes, I spotted a Spiny Lizard sitting on a log in the sun. It did not move. It was watching me warily. I turned to get my camera from the house. When I returned, as I walked barefoot on the grass, I kicked a flimsy twig, swooshing it out […]
Time for Transplanting Soon
Tue, 15 May 2018, 08:52 AM (-06:00)
It’s amazing what happens when you push acorns into the dirt — as long as you defend them from squirrels. Check ‘em out: four Monterey Oaks in the foreground and a Lacey Oak photobombing from the back. It’ll be time for translating, soon, where soon is defined as: after the resume and cover letter are finished […]
I Watched a Sparrow
Tue, 15 May 2018, 08:38 AM (-06:00)
In the cool of the morning, as a breeze blew in the back, as the sun peeked over the top of the duplexes on the other side of the alley, as birdsong filled the backyard, I watched a Sparrow. It flew in, gliding between the tree trunks, landing on the leaves beside a long log that […]
Without Fail
Sun, 13 May 2018, 10:42 AM (-06:00)
Without fail you’ve wanted to know how my sore throat felt. Without fail, you’ve felt the aches and pains and sneezes lurking. Without fail, you’ve asked how things were going, asked when the test results would be in. Because you’ve always cared to know, and you’ve always held your arms around me. Happy Mother’s Day, […]