Discovery Drafts

Sunday was stormy from early on, but not so early that I didn't get to the beach for about a half an hour.  I came home to a sleeping daughter and two sleeping dogs, a magazine, and a warm drink.  I read Sierra magazine, and I found out my laptop uses more energy in a year than the average Haitian.    The storm ended just as I finished the ol' chores, so we made our way back to the beach.  The light was incredible.  The waves glowed and highlighted one intrepid surfer who made his way up and down the beach faster than we did.  He worked with the wind, but we fought it. The wind was strong enough to blow Adella's ponytail holder right out of her hair.  Hoodie to the rescue!  Clyde and Maeve found plenty to inspect along the way.  Maeve looks kind of like Boris Yeltson when she runs in the wind--which she loves to do.  She shepherds Clyde whenever he  goes all hound dog on her and gets sidetracked by the world. A beautiful day, a beautiful life.  Beautifu

Winter here:  very beautiful. Today's Flowers

Skywatch Friday

We celebrated Christmas at home early so we could make our way to my parents' home in Pennsylvania.  There, the dogs showed us how relaxing is done.  (They do it well.) Then, Adella and I spent a rainy day on the road to get to paradise.  The skies offered a B&W paradise, but we were happy for it in any shape or form.  Speaking of form, we came across this reindeer turtle kinda dude.  At first, I saw a turtle and then a reindeer and then a bit of both.  Now that it's Christmas morning, I'm thinking this is a reindeer who's flat out ready for the beach after along night!  Adella, Clyde, Maeve and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!  Our World Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday

 Della unplugged from the world for a little while on Saturday.  Later that day, I came across this new display on her bedroom wall.  It says, "When Words Fail, Music Speaks."  This is a quote of her friend who arranged music her school band performed in the spring to honor the memories of the 26 innocents who lost their lives to a sick young man last December 14.  Her recalling these words from so many months ago stopped me in my tracks, but I knew better than to say anything.  She had closed her door to have her own thoughts, and I was glad to be a witness to the outcome. Anyway, she was practicing her music for state's and was busy playing her clarinet and then listening to a recorded version to evaluate her work.  Last week, her music teacher asked her to be junior conductor next year, and her already respectable commitment to her music intensified.   I have a tin ear, and I am illiterate when it comes to music (beyond knowing what I like).  Still, I knew e

I took this photo of a pine tree near my home on Tuesday, after we received snowfall that shut down every school district in the state but my own.  When I came around the last curve before home on the return journey, I saw our old friend in her new white cloak, and I breathed a sigh of relief.   This tree has supported many a child over the past 15 years that I have known it.  I remember years ago when Adella and her little friend climbed to the very top in their Crocs (Remember them?) and called down to us, laughing.  We had turned our backs for three seconds and missed the climb.  There they were up in the sky enjoying the sunset and the sight of their parents hopping around in dread, though they probably mistook the sight for a happy dance.  Down they came and all was well.   As the years have rolled by, more and more little kids have climbed this tree and done the same thing even as footwear styles have changed.  This tree has supported all children regardless of their sha

Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

 St. George's Episcopal Church in Middlebury, Connecticut, outdid itself with its gingerbread village this weekend.  There were castles and cottages, creches, and the one and only...  Grinch!  Here's a gingerbread Whoville house and the Grinch's at his lair and Max just below.  Here's a nice little church, though it isn't St. George's, which is made of brick.  Around the corner and down the lane from the church was this hockey rink.  This was the first time I saw a gingerbread one of those. Here's a scale version of a cabin that stands in upstate New York.  I learned this from the guy behind me who owns this cabin, which he built with his own two hands (he showed me his two hands).  He and his wife were blown away that their friends would make this replica, with bunnies and deer and all.  It was nice to see this stranger so pleasantly surprised. Our World Tuesday

My daughter's high school's agricultural academy sold poinsettias to raise money for its program.  They were beautiful, healthy plants, and I was happy to buy three.  The girls running the show were all business, but they did a great job wrapping the flowers and protecting them from the cold. Today's Flowers

Sunrises here always make me feel like I am in Tir Na Nog.  Miss it.  Love it.  Wait for it.  What else is there? Skywatch Friday