In Praise of Dragonflies

 

Proud of My County

                                                                        

This was just announced for all students in Madison County, I am delighted! No more stigmatizing kids for their parents' inability to pay. 

Though Madison is pretty much a red county--with, perhaps, a growing number of blue voters, it has still done some good and progressive things. Our wonderful library is one, an amazing Health Department is another, and I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of because they don't directly touch my life.

Free meals at school makes me so happy (even though Josie, the picky eater, insists on a packed lunch.) As John said when I told him about the program, it makes us feel a bit better about our property taxes increasing. (Though to be honest, I don't actually know from whence the funding comes.)

Are we Woke, or what?

More Butterflies

The patch of Black-Eyed Susans outside our greenhouse door had a host of small butterflies visiting. 

Fritillaries of some sort? I can't be sure.

I sat on the steps with my camera and as I was snapping away, a hummingbird grazed my shoulder, on her way to sip from a nasturtium blooming in the pot beside me.

Alas, I couldn't try for her picture--if I'd moved, she'd have darted away. But it was nice to hear her humming there beside me.

 

It Can't Happen Here--Can It?

                                                                                

 The former guy has made no secret of his admiration for dictators, the likes of Kim Jong Un, Putin, and Viktor Orban. Now, it seems, he's hoping to become one.

In a recent speech to a Christian group, he revealed his dream:

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time," Trump exclaimed to a cheering crowd in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians," he added. 

"I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote," Trump said.

What?

Pay attention to what he's saying. This is scary talk. They'll "fix things" like they fixed the Supreme Court. With nothing to stop him, the Orange One could declare himself President for Life, after he'd pardoned himself and his gang of criminals. And you wouldn't have the burden of voting anymore.

Sounds farfetched? It's happened elsewhere. 

If you don't want the next election to be the last, VOTE! And be careful what you're voting for.

A Giddy Delight

                                                                       

It's been a real pleasure to see more butterflies this year. I can't identify the one in the picture (update: I think it's a Question Mark aka Polygonia Interrogationis or maybe a Comma) but there was an abundance of yellow swallowtails dodging around my car when I went to the grocery on Wednesday. And yesterday, a Black Swallowtail tried hard to come in the basement when I was doing the laundry.

Butterflies don't appear to have much sense--just giddy with pleasure at their existence, brief though it may be.

Which puts me in mind of some things I read recently: two pundits (male, of course, is there any other kind?) warned Democrats against being 'giddy' over Kamala's candidacy.

I plead guilty. 

After the sad disaster of the Biden/Trump "debate," and after the orgasmic crowds at the RNC, Kamala's new ascendancy and the rapid coalescing of the party around her are a real delight.

I know it's going to be a fight. I know nothing is certain--especially after watching Hillary lose, despite her overwhelming victory in the popular vote.

But so very many people are energized by this fresh start--young people, women, minorities--how can I keep from feeling just a bit giddy?

My Little Porch Gardem

 

What a Beauty!

In some alternative life that didn't involve a 4WD road, I would adore this snazzy truck for my vehicle. 

I love the paintwork and the wood, and it even comes with a handsome dog. (Don't worry, Sandy--the temps were in the mid-seventies, and it was cloudy.)

 

Moonrise? Sunrise?

Who knows? Not I. Nor do I know who took the picture (below) that I painted from. It's from the coast of NC, where John used to keep a sailboat, so he probably took it. Or our friend Vic, who also has a boat there, and is an excellent photographer. 

I have always liked the composition and the serenity of the photo, so I tried to paint it. But it kept looking too pink and washed out. So I deepened the colors with some Pthalo Blue and set it aside. 

When I returned to it, I found some tiny paint smears in the sky. Not removeable.

Hence the addition of a bird (crow? hawk?) being harassed by some smaller fowl.

 

From the Porch

                                                                                       
 

The Joy of Bubbles...and a Sunday Surprise

This was meant to be a wordless post, but after President Biden's laudable and selfless withdrawal from the race, I must say I'm delighted that Kamala Harris has the support of so many. What a historic moment if we elect the first woman president! 

I'm with her. For the sake of Josie and all the other little girls who deserve to grow up in a world where they are not second-class citizens, valued only as baby-makers, a world where climate change is taken seriously, and the social safety net is preserved.

As I said before, I will vote for whomever the Democrat nominee is--anything other than the dark vision of Project 2025 and the incoherent rage of the MAGA candidate.

But I'd really like to see a woman as POTUS. And I'd LOVE to see Kamala debate the Big Orange Liar.

 

Manhattan Beach

                                                                  

A widely acclaimed author (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award) turns her gaze to the US in the Thirties (Depression, Prohibition, gangsters) and Forties (WWII, Brooklyn Naval Yard, the Merchant Marine's important and dangerous role, and the sudden emergence of women as a vital part of the war effort.)

Eleven-year-old Anna Kerrigan is brave and clever beyond her years, but she doesn't know that her adored father is on the fringes of racketeering. She is devastated when, one day, he simply doesn't return home.

Nineteen-year-old Anna takes a job as a parts inspector at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. She is good at her work but longs to become a diver--complete with 200-pound suit and helmet, working on repairing the big ships. 

The intricacies of diving--the dangers and the exhilaration-are beautifully portrayed as Anna fights to prove herself. At the same time, she becomes involved with a dangerous but alluring man--a gangster with whom her father had dealings. 

All this plays out against a meticulously researched and beautifully evoked background of life as it was in these particular times and places. Wonderful complex characters, quietly beautiful writing, surprising plot--it's an absorbing read.

Josie (and Otter) in Recovery

 I had my tonsils out last week and I am still recovering. That means I get ice cream and special stuff and also get to watch more videos and rest. My voice still sounds a little funny, but I am okay and will go to dinosaur camp next week. I spent some time working on the hand puppets from the kit Meema gave me.

Also last week, Otter and Domino played fighting too hard.  Otter got a deep wound on her chest and had to go to the vet twice. She has a drain tube with a thing like a balloon in her chest and we have to keep her from jumping around. She has a stretchy little jacket to hold everything where it should be but it doesn't always work and the balloon thing falls out.

She also has to wear a cone-thing to keep from scratching at the wound. She doesn't mind too much but she is pretty bored with having to stay quiet and she still wants to play with Domino so Meema and I had to spend a lot of time taking care of her.

When all the dogs were settled down for a nap, I finally had time to play with the Castle People. I used my dump truck to move them out of the cabinet to the table.

What are they doing? Meema asked me. Is the knight on the horse attacking the Fairy Queen?

No! I told her, they are all getting to know each other. You see, there are two different kingdoms because the red and green king broke them apart and put all the fairy people in one and the other people in the other. But now they are getting to know each other and there is a party with music and singing and dancing.                                                  

I went and got musical instruments and started to sing the story of what had happened and how they were all friends now.

Carmen and Elsa are the best singers in the two kingdoms and they sang very well. It was a very fine party.

Later I built towers in the kitchen.

 

Seen Around

 

If, On a Hot Summer Evening. . .

Sometimes, nothing sounds better than a salad. A Salade Nicoise is pretty much a full meal. There's a little advance prep that, ideally, could be done in the morning before things heat up. Boil potatoes, hard cook eggs, steam green beans, make vinaigrette (fresh basil, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper,) and pour some on the cooked potatoes, then use it to marinate the thin sliced onions. 

Come evening, it's just a matter of assembling the ingredients--lettuce (or spinach,) a small can of tuna in oil, sliced cukes, tomato wedges, the potatoes, green beans, onions, hard-cooked egg, some olives--Kalamata if you don't have the little French ones, some capers, and the vinaigrette. 

And if, after a too hot day, a cooling thunderstorm moves in, it's nice to sit on the porch with coffee and, for Himself, perhaps a drop of something stronger. . .