Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Another Beautiful Day






71 degrees with a very light breeze. Lots of clouds passing over, but no moisture. This morning when Kilo and I left to walk there were two ducks on the pond. I didn't notice them until I had scared them and they were taking off from the water. They looked really good - maybe I'll get a photo tomorrow.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Monday






Beautiful day, 64 degrees and almost no wind. This has been an incredibly dry Fall and Winter and the fire danger will increase from now until we get either snow or rain. The dust in the air causes some great sunrises and sunsets.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Almost Midnight

It seems that I'm completely out of touch with medicine, especially the having babies part. A couple of days ago Cashmere asked if I would take her to the hospical at 6 am tomorrow so they can induce labor. It just happens to be my only day off and I told her okay, then spent yesterday and part of today arranging Monday. I have a lot to do so my thoughts were - get up at 5 am, take her to the hospital, and, although I really didn't have a specific time frame for the birth, I was figuring that all of it would be finished fairly quickly and I would just wait around and probably bring her back home by noon. (Why not? Heart surgery patients are out the next day. Or did I make that up?) I saw her today when she was making sure that I would be ready by six, and asked if we would be back by noon. She started laughing and told me that it would take while, maybe even a couple of days, and I could leave after she was checked in. Also, her husband will show up when he gets off work. I hope she doesn't go into labor on the way. Even I question my competence.

Afternoon, and a Storm Might be Brewing




(Not so Early) Morning






Have found that walking to music is nice. I have been in a Jethro Tull mood lately and used Through the Years. What a great CD. The songs Budapest and We Used to Know seemed to especially fit the morning landscape (you know it rippled just a hint of muscle, but the boys and me were headed West, so we left her to the late crew, and a hot night in Budapest).

Friday, January 27, 2006

Sunset






I was finally out for a very nice sunset.

Friday Morning






Too warm for a coat. There has been a hint of moisture for the past couple of nights and the clouds are very nice today. A storm should be passing through in the next 48 hours, but no one expects moisture, just cold wind.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Just After Midnight

"so when you look into the sun,
look for the pleasures nearly won,
or was it better than to run,
than to spend the summer singing,
and summer could have come - in a day."

I have always loved that song, (Jethro Tull Stand Up), and now I see that winter can also come in a day. This week Mr. Bill reached the end of his pond maintenance activities. I still hope to keep it nice enough that he and my sister will be able to enjoy it to the fullest, but neither of them can do the physical labor any more, and it happened in a day. This is sincerely freaky. My brothers and sisters and I are older people now, and I didn't notice it happening. Still don't see it in myself, but according to all that is good sense, atrophy is there or lurking. And right now I'm also understanding that being uncomfortable with such things leads to babble. I just babbled because it bothers me that we are old. Not so much because old is bad as because there aren't any other stages between old and dead.


Time for some Ripple.
No, not the wine of my hedonistic adolescence, the Grateful Dead song (of my hedonistic adolescence).
"There is a road, no simple highway
between the dawn and the dark of night
and if you go, no one may follow,
that path is for your steps alone

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow"

Hearing it makes me feel more comfortable, and now I have decided that losing the ability to do hard physical labor isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Almost Independence Day"






The Van Morrison song, not the holiday. It's been running through my mind all morning.
Beautiful day. Slept until noon and then we walked for an hour. Kilo is totally bored with the normal routine, but gets cranky if we don't at least make an attempt.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Back to Midnights for a While




I've been too busy to take pictures at night but daytime is good enough.

Jauary Ending






Warm but partly cloudy for most of the day. The environmental intensity that usually drops by around the end of February has shown up early.

Saturday, January 21, 2006