The Perfect Beauty of Imperfection

John is back in his shop, turning (pun) out bowls and weed pots (vases for dried stuff) and other stuff. This one caught my eye. It's from a piece of oak, grabbed from a pile of firewood. 

I love seeing the bark with bits of lichen and moss still attached.

And the grain is really cool-- and will show up even better once this piece is fully dry and oiled or varnished.

I saw this shallow bowl (sassafras? he's not sure) in his shop and was smitten with the flower (looks like a poppy to me) image caused by a knot and a bit of rot.

And when you turn it over, there's a rooster... at least that's what I see.

 

In the Time of Daylilies

 

From Watergate to Jan 6 . . .

In the summer of '73, we had bought the upper part of what is now Wool Branch Farm and were camping out in the barn with our one-year-old. The Watergate Hearings were underway, and we listened, fascinated and thrilled that the sleazoid Nixon was finally being exposed.

That was when John asked Clifford, the farmer whose land this had been, how he felt about Nixon.

"I wouldn't trust that man in my meathouse with a muzzle," was his colorful reply.

Clifford was a man of little education but tremendous experience and savvy. I wonder where he would stand today.

Because here we are, almost fifty years later, listening and watching as an even greater sleazoid is being exposed. As with Nixon, many of us were already aware of his corruption but it's nice to see the timeline of the events leading up to and during Jan. 6 laid out so clearly. Seeing video after video of the unhinged mob that was storming the capitol brought a real sense of the chaos and the fear they inspired. Meanwhile, some of the same GOP congresspersons who were cowering and calling for help, are looking back and calling it no big deal. 

Meanwhile, the cultists and the Faith not Facts crowd seek to change the narrative or flat out deny the truth of what happened. Hollywood actors hired by Pelosi was one response. 

I wish Clifford was here.

 

And There Were Fish!

Our little goldfish pool has been without fish for some while. There were only a few small ones (acquired by mail at a ridiculous price as there seemed to be no local source) and they disappeared over the winter. 

John undertook an overhaul of the little pool, getting rid of much of the water weed and generally tidying it up. But we needed goldfish. 

Thanks to Face Book, I asked on a community page and was directed to a bait shop(!) in Hot Springs.

Eureka! They had goldfish at a very reasonable price and John drove over and brought home a dozen. Along with a minnow and a few snails.

Jenny supervised as John put the plastic bag of fish in the pool to allow the water temperatures to equalize. 

                                                     

 

After about fifteen minutes, the fish were released into their new home--where they promptly hid under the water weed. 

But it's nice to know they're there. And they'll eventually emerge.

Or not.

                                                                                       

 

Remarkably Old

Recently the New York Times had an op-ed piece titled "Why Are We Still Governed by Baby Boomers and the Remarkably Old?"

The opinionator pointed out that Baby Boomers and the 'remarkably old' (those born before the end of WWII) tend to be out of touch with today's realities and, as politicians who are mostly old white men, look back of the days of their youth (the Fifties) as ideal and would like to return to 'simpler times'-- ignoring the fact that minorities and women were effectively marginalized or worse during that golden era. 

It's a terrific essay, well worth reading. (See link above.) I've only touched on it because what jumped out at me was that phrase 'remarkably old.' That's me! I'm a pre-Boomer, therefore remarkably old.

Actually, I am embracing that term. I like it a lot better that senior citizen or elder or retiree or golden ager or wrinkly or geezer or any of a number of unfortunate designations. 

Remarkably old sounds like an achievement. I'll take it.

 

Random Rambling

Just heard from the camera repair shop that my good camera is going to have to be sent by me to the manufacturer to have the card reader replaced AND it's going to cost over $500 plus over $100 for shipping.

Arrgh! Now I have to decide if I want to spend that (or more) for the repair or if I can find a lesser camera that will give me some acceptable macro and decent zoom capacity.

The camera on my phone isn't bad-- but I want a bit more. The old camera--a Sony Cybershot RX 101V is actually heavier than is comfortable and something a bit lighter would be nice. My previous camera, a Nikon D90 with the 18-200 lens, was the one that I thought took the best pictures and was the most intuitive to use.

I tend to shoot only in automatic and usually on the spur of the moment sans tripod--all the bells and whistles of a serious camera are wasted on me.

So, it's on to a bit of research while I make up my mind . . .

(Below is a drive by shot of what appears to be a wedding party outside the Madison County courthouse

 

Daybreak and Nightfall

Beautiful words; beautiful times of day...

 

Blooms

 

Report from Corycat

The Woman seems to have decided it was time for my closeup.

 Whatever.

This, by the way, is The Face I use when The Nuisance they call Jenny tries to bounce at me. It works. Today I was on the porch trying to come in as she was going out and she backed down and then made a wide detour around me. Ha! One just has to be firm. 

                                       

Life is pretty good these days. There is a screen door in our part of the house with a loose place at the bottom which means I have a private entrance/exit. Sometimes Angeline will brave up and go out but not often. The only real problem is that sometimes The Woman allows our food bowl to get half empty. Half empty! The bare bottom showing on one side! That's when I give her The Face. What a travesty! The Face says.

Angeline doesn't do The Face but boy, does she come running when I shame The Woman and the kibble rattles into the bowl. Angeline has a hidey place in the box springs under The Woman's bed. She's what you might call an introvert. 

I, on the other hand, have this nifty bed That Man made with a mattress and quilt The Woman made.  At last, they seem to understand what is due to me. The bed is quite excellent but when The Child is here, she will appropriate it for her dolls. 

I graciously humor her and don't even do The Face. She is even more bouncy than The Nuisance.

 

Josie the Decorator and Story Teller and Artist

We went upstairs to my office. It is also where Meema's ironing board and sewing stuff are. She gave me a basket of fabric because I am pregnant, and I want to make a quilt for my baby.  This piece of fabric has beautiful fish on it.

But first I decided to make a surprise for Meema. While she was ironing some stuff, I told her not to look and I decorated the Whole Room with the pieces of fabric. 

When it was done, Meema said it was beautiful. I think so too.

Then we went downstairs to check on Dolly and Margo. They are always up to something and sometimes I have to put them in Time Out. I brought down the fabric so they could see it.

Then I made up a story. Octalia was evil, and she was capturing Dolly who was a princess. (Octalia is really nice--this was pretend.)

Octalia had Princess Dolly all wrapped up, but Prince Margo rescued her. Thank you, said Princess Dolly. The End.

Later, I tried out the acrylic pens my fairy godmother sent me. They are fun to use, and the colors are really bright. They are really for painting on rocks, but I wanted to try them on paper first.

This is a princess. She has on a purple blouse and a long blue skirt and a very fancy tiara. And that is her pet mouse. Also there is a bird and the sun.

Meema says that princesses are overrated and little girls are even more special. But she really liked the tiara. Maybe I will get her one some day.

                                                                                               

Summer Scenes

My good camera is in the shop so I'm relying on my phone's camera to capture what strikes me as the essence of early summer. If only I could share the smell of the new mown hay. . . and the magnolia. And the honeysuckle which is everywhere but I didn't get a picture of it.

 

A Mystery

This charming little book appeared in our mailbox yesterday, sent from Amazon and bearing no other information. I was pretty sure I hadn't ordered it but just to be sure, I checked my account. 

Nope. It could be an amazonian glitch--my friend Sandy has been receiving quite a few unordered things--some quite nice and Amazon has told her to keep them. 

Or someone is playing fairy godmother to me. If so, raise your hand. And accept my heartfelt thanks. So lovely to get a surprise!

The book is full of delightful illustrations (and I'll be studying them closely as I love the combination of ink and watercolor.) Also, it just looks like a Comforting Sort of Book for these troubled times.

Thank you, thank you--whether you are a friend or a computer glitch, I am in your debt!

 

Rabbit, Rabbit