And the answer is......

   










Halle is THRILLED!

Is Miss Hope a Canine Good Citizen??

So after starting the blog with the intent to keep it up, and after getting "Hope" and thinking I would have so much fodder for the blog, I find that I have done a miserable job of posting.

Hope is finishing her first dog obedience class (Beginners) and has done quite well.   Tomorrow they are having an AKC Canine Good Citizen test, which was originally supposed to be next Saturday after her test for her class which is this coming Monday.  But there was a scheduling conflict, and now her CGC test is tomorrow.

I'm glad, actually, because it will be a good pretest for her 'real' test on Monday.  The CGC is a preliminary step for becoming certified as a therapy dog.  She will need to complete one more obedience class (Novice 1) and if she does that and has passed the CGC, she can get a little vest and start making visits.

There are many opportunities in Ttown for therapy dogs.  They have a new program using them to provide support to children who are testifying in court, plus there are the more typical visits to hospitals, and nursing homes.

I was particularly touched to read that there were 14 therapy dogs walking through the crowd at a memorial vigil after a recent mass murder in California.

One of the funnier things about Hope, is that she has little kitty friends who visit her.  There are now 3 of them.  Two are feral siblings, who were born last summer, and one is a cat that seems to belong to the neighbor behind me.

Two of them actively play with her, the silver long haired (neighbor's) tabby, and the grey tabby.   The brown tabby is a little more shy, but she has decided that it is OK to hang out, and let me take her picture from close range today.

However, Halle is not amused at the trespassers, and alienators of Hope's affections.

 Hope just wonders where and when it was made clear that her herding skills were to be honed by practicing the herding of cats.......

Tenting Tonight......Godspeed the 45th......

So the lyrics that have been on my mind for awhile now, come from an 1864 song, that I learned in music class in elementary school (thanks Carnegie Elementary)........It is perhaps amazing that on the eve of my 60th birthday,  I remember so well the lyrics from this song.  At the time I learned it, the Vietnam War had not started, we were at 'peace', yet the lyrics and sentiment stayed with me.   In fifth grade we made pillows with symbols on them for Camp Fire Girls.  I still have mine, the one symbol that has remained in place, and which I know well the meaning, is a dove of peace.   Again, we were not at war at this point in this country; war protesting had not become 'trendy', and then as now my heart breaks for those touched by war.  Those who bravely, and not so bravely answer the call, the loved ones left behind, the 'collateral damage' along the way.....but the lyrics of this song written so long ago, say it better than I....

Tenting on the Old Camp Ground....

"We're tenting tonight on the old camp ground,

Give us a song to cheer

Our weary hearts, a song of home,

And friends we love so dear.

Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,

Wishing for the war to cease;

Many are the hearts that are looking for the right

To see the dawn of peace.

Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old camp ground

We've been tenting tonight on the old camp ground,

Thinking of days gone by,

Of the loved ones at home that gave us the hand

And the tear that said "Goodbye!"

We are tired of war on the old camp ground,

Many are dead and gone,

Of the brave and true who've left their homes,

Others been wounded long.

We've been fighting today on the old camp ground,

Many are lying near;

Some are dead and some are dying,

Many are in tears.

Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,

Wishing for the war to cease;

Many are the hearts that are looking for the right

To see the dawn of peace

Dying tonight, dying tonight, dying on the old camp ground"

Let us send up prayers for safety of our Thunderbirds, the Oklahoma 45th,  and all in harms way, and comfort for those left behind......How can anyone tolerate the loss of 7 of our own since deployment the end of June, or in truth in the past 3 weeks?

Chain saw massacre part deux

I realize that many of you have been waiting breathlessly for the next installment of the great chainsaw adventure......so the Ryobi one+ items came and hmmm not to quote one of my heros, but not enough power.....so all of them went back....and I became determined to fix my corded chainsaw without the proper size wrench (wrenches we don't need no stinkin wrenches), or hex key....(the hex key wasn't returned to me by someone who borrowed the chainsaw)....anyhoo.....I fixed it.....got the chain back on and tight (also without benefit of the 'manual'.....)....Yay.....I always wondered when my dad and granddad's mechanical skill genes would show up.....proving once again...it's never to late to turn out like your parent(s).....!!!!

Unexpected....

I didn't plan this evening to be shooting pictures of  fireworks through barbed wire, in fact I didn't plan to take pictures of  the fireworks from this show at all.  In fact I even forgot that there would be fireworks at the Country Club not far from my new house.

It did bring back memories of many years in many different houses being able to see the fireworks from this same Country Club.

We were not members, of course, that is a privilege for the rich and famous in our town.   The picture with the barbed wire made me stop and think more than I had already on the meaning of freedom.   How many people have seen similar sights from behind barbed wire......what is the cost of freedom, and why do so many choose to do things that ultimately lead to the loss of their personal freedom......

Those musings also seem to fit with the irony of this shot.....

What a month

So as I look at my blog I see that I so far have written one post in June, and that was on the 3rd.....and here it is June 29......clearly after the unexpected death of a dear friend on June 3, the subsequent working with others to support the family, culminating with singing with the choir at his memorial service, I have been at a loss for words.

The fact that I started this blog after buying his used camera, so that I would have pictures to tell my stories (since as we all know a picture is worth a thousand words...)....hasn't made it easier.

I found myself doing many things to cope, and learned a great deal about myself in the process.   I helped a friend move on 3 different days, have spent much time in the yard pulling weeds, and Johnson Grass, mowing, moving (one more time) the 10 Holly bushes, digging up the landscape evergreens that I killed.......

So much of my life I have dealt with emotional pain by doing hard physical work, usually working at a stable, doing the things that make one's muscles tired, and cause much sweat and the dirt to cling...yesterday while attacking the unwanted grass in the yard, I realized that there was no way to tell if I was sweating or crying; I had water flowing down my face in rivers.

A friend said of our friend's death that he and someone else had been trying to make sense of it. They had commented that he was a person who did the things that he loved, and threw himself into those things, and that our lesson should be to do the same.

I pondered that in confusion for a moment and then realized that exactly 1 week after his death, I got HOPE.
The wonderfulness of her name (she was the second of 3 sister puppies, FAITH, HOPE and LOVE), is second only to the wonderfulness of her.

She is a good, potentially great dog, especially for a puppy, and Halle absolutely loves her.

So in losing my friend, I have gained a new reason to blog.....and it's the Story of HOPE.......

We are heartbroken......

We lost one of the great ones today, a man of many talents, a man with much love for his wife, children, step-children, and grandchildren.  A man quick with a smile, and love for his friends and of life.....An Edison grad, a music maker extraordinaire, a man dedicated to preserving memories for others through video, through pictures, through recording....

A man who became my friend, my mentor in preserving music for others, the person from whom I got my camera which has allowed me to take pictures, for my blog, to share with others, for therapy for me, and through this who allowed me to be closer to my dad, who was in so many ways like him, a photographer, a man who knew so much about so many things....

My heart breaks for his family, for our music family, and for the myriads of friends who loved him.

With each picture I post, my heart will say...thank you Moby for being my friend.

Judging a book by its cover.....

The other day I was looking out my sliding glass door and saw a huge cloud of birds flying.  As I watched I was struck by the gracefulness of their flight as a whole, it was like ballet in the sky, and I realized that once more I was watching a flock of Pelicans.  Yes, they are still here, and I have never seen anything so beautiful in flight as a flock of Pelicans.

To look at them, I'm not sure any of us would believe that they could actually get airborne, let alone fly well, and certainly not in the way that they do.

And one more time I realized as I was standing there marveling at the beauty, I did not grab my camera in time to capture their flight on video.

Hopefully I will have the opportunity soon, as their beauty is something I would love to be able to share.  The still pictures included here simply do not do justice to the beauty of their flight......

So much love, so little time

In the past several days, I have gotten word of the High School age son of a friend who is in ICU following a car accident.   He has not completely regained consciousness, although signs seem to point toward recovery for him.  This news comes along with the news that the middle school aged son of another set of friends has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Reminders that come with all too frightening speed that those we love (or ourselves) may be facing a life threatening event, or may be gone tomorrow, or even today.  

In the words of a song sung by our favorite son, Garth Brooks, "if tomorrow never comes, will (they) know how much I love them"......

.and have I done all that I can do to express that love by making things easy on those I love, if the life threatening or ending event happens to me?  Are my wishes in writing, are the people who need to know my wishes informed as to what there are and where to find documentation?

Tough conversations to have to be sure, but acts of love to do beforehand, so that those we love do not have unnecessary pain added if something happens to us.....and conversations to have so that if we are the ones with the decisions that we know what our loved one wants so that we can carry out their wishes in love as well.

And one of the most loving things of all.......Wear your seatbelt, insist that others in your car wear them, put children in child safety, and booster seats, and make sure that they are working properly.........

***Note:  the author of this post brought to you by a seatbelt/shoulder belt that worked.....

Pelican talents continued....

So today's news includes the story of Ralph the Pelican, proving that our feathered friends are more than just precise weather predictors.

They have a sense of fun, and love of travel, as well as the risque.  For more here the link to the story is below.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_212348565.shtml

And in addition to all that, they are some of the most beautiful birds in flight that I've seen.  Their flying formations change, in a way that can only be described as balletic, swooping and dipping in flight, and morphing from a V, to an S, and back.

How something which appears so non-aerodynamic, can fly so gracefully, and so well in formation, is a mystery to me......

Clearly, they do not worry about the idea that functionally a bird with that body type should not be a graceful flyer........nor do they let the reality of their less than ideal aerodynamic design stop them from providing poetry in the sky.......

Definitions......

So after multiple downsizings over the past number of years, I have learned to live in a somewhat humble fashion, which includes doing laundry in the apartment laundry room.  To encourage myself, I have this plaque in my living room.

Shortly after I bought it, I realized that one of my favorite neighbors had a doormat that said, "Simplify Life".

All these things made sense, given our lifestyle.

Today however, I became quite confused when I saw this car, in the parking lot of our most upscale shopping area.

In case the car isn't immediately recognizable (perhaps more difficult if you live simply), it is a Porsche Carrera 4 Convertible with a MSRP of  around $100,000......

I'm  thinking one of us isn't in touch with reality..........

My new weather forecasting experts

So a little over two weeks ago we had weather with temps in the 70's.  The week before we had had some snow predicted, and got a little bit.  The night before the snow, I went walking and took my first pictures of "Pelican Island", and the pelicans in flight.  They seemed quite happy on their sandbar, with the approaching snow, and evidently stayed put through the cold, and into the next week.

That next week with the 70 degree temperatures, I went out and took more pictures of the pelicans.   On Sunday of that week, the temp had dropped into the low 40s and high 30s in the afternoon (24 hours from the 70 degrees), and I went to check out the pelicans.  They were gone, no sign of them, totally disappeared in 24 hours.   Snow was predicted for about 36 hours later, and I started thinking 'uh oh', if the pelicans have completely disappeared, what are we in for?

The answer was the largest single snow fall in the city's history.   It was quite shocking for everyone in terms of the impact on travel and the city, and we just now received more snow, although not nearly as much.

Also as is typical, when the roads were still treacherous with snow, and ice, there were many people out on the river paths, which had (priorities and all) been plowed, unlike the streets.

But today, the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, and this weekend promises temps in the 50's, which is much more typical of our weather....snow one day, shorts and t-shirts the next.

From here on out though, I'm listening to the pelicans to determine when to worry about snow, and when to not!

Some joys need no words.......

The power of coincidence

 A little over 3 years ago a young teen girl that I knew disappeared from school one Friday evening in early November.  Volunteer search teams were organized and about a week after her disappearance, I joined the search teams.   In total, I went out on 21 days, including Thanksgiving, a cold blustery day, when we had a total of 6 people going out.  I went out that day with the father of another girl who had disappeared years before and been found murdered about 2 weeks after her disappearance.

During that same period of time the following excerpt was published in the UUWorld....and the coincidental nature of the two events hit me in a way that I can't describe.   In early March of the next year, her jawbone was found, miles and miles away from where we had been searching, but in a place that perhaps helped the jury to decide the guilt of the person accused of her disappearance and murder.

She was found the Friday before his preliminary hearing the next week.  A hearing at which many of us felt there would not be sufficient evidence to charge him with murder, as she had not been found, so who was to say that she was actually dead, let alone murdered.

In another odd twist of fate, I went to church yesterday, primarily to take pictures of our young adults vocal ensemble, for our adult music program bulletin board.  I knew that we had a guest minister, who had been speaking at various activities all weekend, and I had read her bio, but somehow the significance had not registered.

When she was introduced yesterday and began to speak, I realized that she was the same minister who had written the excerpt that I had read in 2007.   I was profoundly moved by her sermon, as were many of the singers, and members of both the congregations who heard her at the 10 and 11:30 services.

At the end of the first service, for the benediction, she recited The 23rd Psalm, with the word 'Lord' replaced by the word "love".   I had been recording the service but did not have my recorder on at that point, I was thinking that I might ask her for a copy later.   As it happened, I was there also at the end of the second service, another 'coincidence' having forgotten my rather pricey music recorder in the loft, and only realizing as much after I made it home.

But for the second service, there was a different benediction.   But my prayer had not been forgotten, for as I reread her words from 2007 today, there it was.....  "Love is my shepherd, I shall not want, Love makes me lie down in green pastures, Love leads me beside the still waters....."

I was able to speak with her after the service, to buy a copy of her latest book, and to ask about the article in the UU World.  At that point, I was unsure if she had written it, or if I had misrememberd the article, or if even there was such an article.  In my mind, the person who wrote the article was a grey haired woman of 60 something, which did not fit with my experience of Kate Braestrup yesterday; a vibrant chestnut haired sprite.

So today, I went online to the UU World, to back issues, and trusting my memory pulled up the winter 2007 issues, and there it was, the excerpt from Kate's current book at the time.....which follows.... note the date....11/1/07......Cori disappeared 11/9/07.

One thing I am sure of

'God is not less kind, less committed, or less merciful than a Maine game warden.'

By Kate Braestrup 

Winter 2007 11.1.07

http://www.uuworld.org/spirit/articles/50622.shtm

The river, she wins......

So after fighting a strong sense of making a wrong choice by moving away from the river, as well as leaving the wildlife that shares this area with us, my 'little room with a view', the friends I've made here, and the endless variety of opportunities to either walk, or run, for as many miles as my legs will take me......

and after spending a sleepless night with my shoulders and neck tied in knots, (painful ones at that), and after thinking about the new house, and the other places I've looked at, and how none of them have the opportunities for Halle to view her world, and watch birds, squirrels, cats, dogs, portulaca possum, and various other friends and creatures.......

and after thinking how can I continue my blog which is titled 'Bon Temps on the River.blogspot.com', if I'm not actually ON the river......

I realized that one more time in my life, I was trying to force myself to do something that may have made sense at some cognitive level, but that made no sense to my heart, and soul........to say nothing of something that made no sense to Halle...she says 7 moves are quite enough for her taste, thankyouverymuch.....

So I'm staying...for once I managed to make the decision before I'd done something that would have been harder to undo (like signing a contract).......

And we supposedly have weather moving in, with freezing rain and snow predicted....Here I have my gas stove, so that if the worst happens, I can still  have hot food, and hot water, and coffee, and some warmth.....and we have Frankie who will salt our sidewalks to keep us safe, and each other for company......

Life is good, it is OK to just stay as I am, in fact it is more than OK it is fabulous......to be good with where I am......but it is a lesson that somehow I must keep learning.....

Now may be the time......

I have spent much of my life living within a mile of my river, if not on its banks.....soon after moving into an apartment literally on the banks of the river 4 years ago, there was suddenly talk of how much better the river would be if commercialized.

The talk centered around taking 100 acres of the west bank of the river right at the exact point where I lived.   Nothing was said publicly about taking out the apartments, but there was no way I could see to get the 100 acres without tearing down my home and the home of many others.

The river has a path along both banks which gets lots of foot and bicycle traffic, yet, the west bank is 'the road less traveled' and so has many sights that the east bank doesn't.  The trail along the east bank is also bordered by a 4 lane road.  The speed limit is 40 mph, but many seem to feel that doesn't apply to them, and routinely whiz by going 50, 60, and up from there.

Thus the westbank is quieter, has more opportunities to view wildlife, and to slow down.   So when the talk came of 'commercializing' it with restaurants, bars, etc, my heart sank.   I protested loud and long to anyone I could find, wrote letters explaining how there seem to be so few areas left where people can be close to nature, without car traffic.

One such experience came when I was walking the path, and a grandfather, and grandson passed me on bicycles.   The first I knew of them was as I was walking down a steep incline with a right angle turn at the bottom (if you go straight, you get to go swimming in the river).   One morning I heard someone say, "Do you know how to use your brakes", and thought uhoh, and turned to see the grandfather, and grandson who might have been 6 or 7.   The grandson replied 'yes' and smoothly passed me, and safely made the turn.

I caught up with them again later, as they had stopped.  The young man was picking up goose tail feathers and giving them to his granddad to keep.  One was pretty much like another, but the grandfather was carefully taking each one and putting them in his backpack.

Again they climbed on their bikes and road off.   Further down the path was a little inlet adjoining a floating amphitheater.   They had stopped there again, as the boy had seen many turtles sunning.  There were also several little blue herons wading in the water, and people had stopped to take pictures of them.

The boy was wanting his grandfather to take pictures of the turtles as well.

Living there, and watching people's joy as they had these brushes with nature, to me is priceless.  The path is open to anyone, and all its delights are free.  There are many of us who can't take fancy (or even not fancy) vacations to wilderness spots, or national parks, but we can enjoy these sights free, and without extensive travel.
I had recently seen this article which to me seemed to express the feelings and thoughts that I have about my river........http://blog.nature.org/2010/10/why-we-love-rivers-our-threads-of-wildness-and-mystery/

To commercialize this area seemed sure to change the whole 'vibe'.   I decided rather than sit there and wait for it to happen, I would simply move to the other bank.   There it is more congested, with fewer opportunities to witness nature, and with more traffic, traffic noise, and exhaust, but it is still rather unspoiled compared to some places.  I felt it would be safe from further development because there are old historic housing districts nearby, and I was sure the residents of those places would not want commercial development en masse next to their homes.

So evidently I was wrong, and now the plan is to develop both sides of the river, with the current plan to take the apartments where I live (which were quietly sold for such a purpose 3 years ago).

So I've decided rather than stay and worry about when and how and where I'd go, and what will happen to all the creatures, great and small who live and travel through here, I would just move further from the river.

A type of 'out of sight, out of mind' defense.  I also decided to try to once again buy a little house, where I can have my own small nature preserve, albeit without a river running through it.