While most media outlets are currently focused on the nature of upraised hands (e.g., the St. Louis Rams' silent protest of grand jury decision on Michael Brown case), I got to thinking about one of my walks in Southern Illinois nature before the recent onset of winter-like weather.
SAM and I like to visit a nearby state park and walk around a bit to see what we can see. As you can see, this photo (above), taken sometime in October of this year, reveals a stump extraordinaire. "Go back!" she seems to say. Or "Turn left!" or right, as per your perspective on the situation. As per my comment to a sibling this evening: "Why can't we all just get along?"
I don't know. I guess I'm stumped. Perhaps Aughra has had her outstretched finger (or removable eye, as the case may be) on the right idea all along:
"What was sundered and undone shall be whole, the two made one.”
The last time I held out my hand for this blog, Winter was winding up, and we were headed for a place where it tends to linger. Not for long, we thought. Just for a season or two. Yes, the house in Florida is on the market, but it will never sell. We forgot what someone once told my parents who were anxious to sell their house at the time. Something along the lines of: There may not be a house for every fool, but there's a fool for every house.
By the time the house in Florida had sold, we had our eye on an oldy-but-goody one here. Actually, my foolish imagination had an eye on her before we ever saw her. A lovely, grand lady dressed Victorian or Edwardian style floated above SAM's head as he slept. Not literally, of course! She was in my dream, and the next day I found her, solid as a brick house, in a real estate listing online. Initially, SAM must have thought I was nuts. Buy a house based on a dream? Sure honey. I know you're a little shook up about moving from Florida (again), but you want us to buy a house that's more than 100 years old???
Okay, so she's not brand-spankin' new, but then neither are we. We've got some mileage on us. Besides, she's had a lot of work done to bring her up to speed. More is needed, mainly outside; I'll grant you that.
Ginkgo fruit, anyone?
Underneath those leaves lurk bushels of ginkgo fruits (imagine the smell)
Most of that work, though, will have to wait until Spring arrives. Hopefully, by that time, the ginkgo-stinko fruit will have dried up. The sun will come out again and warm the soil...
The last (I hope!) of the cruel Winter winds blew this tiny hummingbird into a screen on the North side of our patio a few days ago. He was stuck fast by his tiny beak. I'm not sure how long the poor thing struggled to extricate himself from the screen that held him prisoner. I only wish that I could have found and freed him before it was too late.
A portion of our small veggie and herb garden is climbing high this year on the same arbor that framed our daughter's wedding ceremony on Pensacola Beach last year. Pea and thornless blackberry vines anchor the flimsy structure and provide a foreground for SAM, the perennial lawn care man.
There is nothing flimsy about these structures under the arbor. They managed to hold up through weeks of wedding preparations as well as a strong sea breeze on that April day a year ago (note the ruffled hair on the sturdy female structure flanking the bride). The flowers and greenery framing them are fake, of course, but the smiles are real.
We lost most of our tropical plants this past winter, including the palm tree that our former renter planted. It was never meant for this climate. Apparently, she (the renter) wasn't the gifted horticulturist she thought she was. The citrus trees that I planted, pink grapefruit and satsuma, all died as well. Apparently, I'm not the "Master Gardener" I thought I was. I think I'll snip a few leaves from Sweet Melissa (lemon balm) and slink off to make myself some tea. Maybe listen to some Allman Brothers' music too.
Right about now, on this Fat Tuesday, the party day known as Mardi Gras is either reaching a feverish crescendo or winding down to a hungover whimper in cities along the Gulf Coast and in various other Catholic strongholds around the world. I've never understood this headlong, headstrong, mad, crowd rush to feast and drink before a fast. It's not particularly beneficial to one's health and could actually harm someone who is serious about fasting. But then I don't imagine there are too many individuals caught up in the crescendo who flip the coin of feasting to reveal the need for fasting and its companion: Reflection.
I'm glad that I've reached the ripe old age where I have an excuse to escape the partying and parades and settle down with The Good Book, some Shakespeare, or a good blog like Cosmos English Writing Blog. My Japanese blogger friend knows a thing or two about taking a step back from the mad pace of life and finding the tenderness, the sweetness we often miss when we grow up, get caught up, and start to "grow wide withal."
One of my favorite places to turn back and wane my temple is Torreya State Park. We traveled from the west, when the weather was at its best, and took a chance to hike and camp there a few weeks ago. Daughter came, traveling from the east (she wouldn't miss it!) to grace SAM and me with a visit, toting her guitar and musical talent along to sing a song or two and maybe inspire...
A post about Torreya, a place to build a story, after hiking, whilst sitting around the fire.
One of several headstones found near a trail in Torreya State Park
Winter Storm Leon's Ice Leans On The Pool Enclosure Last Night (I warm up by imagining Chihuly's Persian Ceiling covering the icy white canvas)
Once we recovered from the flu-like illness that plagued us for most of December, SAM and I headed south to the Florida Keys for some funnin' and sunnin', hoping to escape the cold air those Canadians keep sending our way...
Arctic blasts chase us as we wind our way down the west coast of Florida. We take our sweet time, stopping along the way at Crystal River (much too cold to swim with the manatees)...
Park Ranger tossing heads of lettuce (looks like Romaine) to manatees taking a "Spring Break" from the cold
and Naples (love the warm, indoor exhibits--Chihuly's Ceiling and other works--at The Baker Museum; "sorry, no cameras or other recording devices to be used inside")...
We finally make it to the Keys where we enjoy a few days of sunny warmth, a fishing expedition with Cap'n Perry Scuderi among the mangrove islands...
Good eatin' size snapper and sea trout
and some mighty fine food at various local restaurants, including Lazy Days Restaurant, recommended by Cap'n Perry for its "you hook 'em, we cook 'em" preparation of fresh snapper.
Once we have our fill of fun and sun in the Keys (not really! I wanna go back!), we drive part way up the east coast to visit some of SAM's relatives. One of them, 97 now, seems to go on forever like the lady in Tom Petty's song. Her kids joke that she's determined to outlive them.
Sobered by the visit, yet somehow fortified or steeled by it too (remember the irascible someone from another trip?), we cross the state again. We stop in Clermont and find Lakeridge Winery, complete with a wonderful wine host (Doug) who breaks up the monotony of highway travel with his lighthearted banter. Who knew that wine (and its imbibers) could be so funny?
One of our last stops on the way home is Fanning Springs State Park. Though it is close to sunset, and the evening is predicted to be another cold one, we need a place to stretch our legs and use the "facilities" so we pay the entrance fee and take a short walk to the springs.
Once again, we find that the manatees have made their way inland to warm up for the night. I hope for their sake (and ours!) that this cold weather ends soon. Truth be told, most of Florida just ain't fit for much funnin' or sunnin' so far, this winter of 2014 :(
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