Autumn Beauty

After too long an absence, here are some looks from my dying but beautiful gardens.

Bloom Gone

End of season coneflower

still alive!

C

 

Patti’s Private Pumpkin Patch

The garden smells of decay, the leaves drying and swirling, flowers blackening, bees swarming for the last of the nectar.  The tomatoes are fading, the pumpkins ripening, neon shades of orange, some still a faded green.  They are stocked in bins outside the grocery and hardware stores, gourds in nets, ready for picking–and payment by weight.

But, my friend Patti has been visiting a pay-by-the-carload pumpkin patch north of the IL border for fifteen years, packing the car with a rainbow of pumpkins. We played a couple hour of hooky to visit her secret spot earlier this week, gathering pumpkins on their opening day.  What fun we had on a lovely autumn afternoon!  The first car in, we parked by an open field dotted with pumpkins, scattered gourds on the ground. We traipsed back and forth, pumpkins in hand, tiny ones in a bucket piling higher, the trunk filling.

babies

Once the car was filled with green and orange pumpkins, tall and round and skull-shaped ones, the search was on for the elusive white pumpkin.  We wandered in the fields, sneaking a few more treasures, but we only found four small white ones intermingled with the orange ones.

A full load!

All this, for only $65.  Plus an afternoon of  sun, searching through fields, spending time with a good friend.  Worth the late nights catching up working. Plus, the porch looks great with the decorations, and the kids are ready to carve them, toasting the seeds.  C

 

Artist Missing

Morning beauty

The elusive artist remained unseen, but his work he left to view.  A lovely site on a foggy morn. C

 

Summer Saturdays in Odell

 

 

Talk about a small town!  This is Odell, IL along Route 66.  I took these pictures on a road trip a couple weeks ago.  I wonder what they do for fun in this tiny town.  C

 

Quiet grain mill

side of the grain mill

 

 

Saturday afternoon traffic

 

Goin' to the store--wondering who was taking pictures of the grain mill

 

No Parking!

Sadly, no time for the tale I long to tell.  Maybe tonight.  Here are a couple photos from a recent trip to Blue Harbor Resort, in Sheboygan, WI.  Another great weekend with close friends doing the WI thing–Friday night fish fry where we were the only tourists (good perch and shrimp too! ) but hate that you can still smoke in bars and restaurants.  That lingering smell on my clothes and hair I do not miss), bike riding, beaches littered with flocks of raucous seagulls, a sunset, a thunderstorm, cocktails and cards.

 

LOVE!

C

 

View from the Back

Wow–Monday is tough.  Not only are we back to work on a cold, snowy morning, the economy worsens, another of my friends has lost a job, another house in the hood has not sold, and I have to pay bills with a knot inside as the  dow drops yet again.

I try to move forward, keep my spirits up, knowing that today I have my family, my work, my home, my friends, my health, my hobbies–albeit much scaled back, potential for another project. But I will keep my world close, hold it tight, watch it carefully, and wait cautiously for the sun to rise again, the air to warm, the ground to bloom in tiny swells and hope, hope, hope. 

Sometimes the view from the rear of the boat is more glorious than the front.  We move unknowingly to the back, then sometimes we huddle there–dance amongst friends, laugh with strangers, sing with ourselves, and wait watching, together, as the changes abound. 

We will hope for the mundane, maybe see the wonderous.  But we will see it together, smiles and tears blended into the waters below.

C

 

Miniscule and Massive, Simultaneously

Riding on a ship with no land in sight, surrounded by the turquoise blue then steel-grey waves, a watchful warming sun and swiftly moving breezes, we saw no land for twenty-four hours. 

Gazing over the endless waters, an occasional ship in the far off distance, that ride made me think about  how truly small we physically are.  A speck. Of no significance.  Flick this boat like a fly and we disappear.

But I turn away from the waters, towards my group of friends, for the final day of the trip still laughing, joking, dancing, swimming, sitting, reading, sharing, sleeping. Truly joyful, as we live  in each moment, strangers picking up our energy and  sharing it with their groups, passing it around. 

And I realize that while we may be miniscule in the view from the clouds, in our small sectors, with our friends and family and fears and lusts and mysteries and goals and wonders, we do have an impact, we do love, we do have a reason to be, to laugh, to cry.  Our spirits, when we share them, are wider than the oceans, taller than the clouds.

And we should be so thankful, and are so lucky when we can experience freedom with the ones we love most.  Thanks girls, for another amazing holiday.  C

 

A Dog’s View

What do our dogs think, as we go through our daily routines and family growth and contractions and changes?  I wonder it often,  as Zoe follows me around the house, wanting to go on every car ride, every walk, giving loving kisses when her family is sad.  And Annie, as she ages (17 in two months!) does she still want to be here, with her creaking bones and slips on the stairs, but always the most gentle of creatures I know?

Zoe and fave toy

 

Annie and the snow

I just read an interesting novel called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein,  the entire story told from the dog’s point of view.  Do they really have human thoughts as they watch TV with us, go on our physical and spiritual journeys, become part of our worlds as we age together?

The story itself is hopeful, heartbreaking, and honest.  No spoilers here, you will have to indulge yourself in the story. It will be worth the journey. Can a dog tell a story that isn’t true, without embellishments?  I doubt it.  I have no interest in auto racing, but I found the parallels in the driver stories and life to be fitting, and they kept my interest throughout. 

Some of the quotes made me think about my life, and how I need to step up to more challenges:

“There is no dishoner in losing the race,” Don said. “There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.”

Wow–how many times do we NOT take the chance because we are afraid to lose? Or become complacent in what we know.  We can only grow and learn and experience by trying.

And from Enzo, the dog,

“Inside each of us resides the truth,” I began, “the absolute truth.  But sometimes we believe we are viewing the real thing, when in fact we are viewing a facsimile, a distortion….”

The post dedicated to my friend Kerry and her Lab friend Gracie, who just left us.

C

 

100 Posts and Counting

When I first began this blogging journey, I did not know where this odyssey would lead.  100 posts later (a surprising realization this morning),  the path has been like those I traverse with my dogs–well travelled at times, quiet at others, smooth, then bumpy, then twists with comments and direction from family, friends, strangers, authors, and others; sometimes happy-others frustrated or angry or bored, perhaps not consistent in tone but consistent in honesty.

I hope you will continue to join me on my quest, with words and poems and photos and laughs and tears, as I search through the grayness, searching for light and hope and wonder  and surpirse of the amazing simplicity and complexity around me.

I understand this blogging more than facebook, and welcome the comments of many, where people I never really knew don’t have to be my fake friends, but only have true thoughts–even as they disagree with me, no cyber-snubs here.

It only seems fitting to end with random but loved photos, taken by me. Happy post 101!

sleeping beach chairs

after hours

C

 

Our San Diego Excursions

For those who asked me what to do in San Diego, it is a candy store of adventure: playlands, beaches, shopping and  phenomenal sunsets for those who seek it. The entire western border of beaches, tidepools,  dolphins riding waves with surfers unending beauty itself.

We stayed in a lovely condo in Oceanside, about 40 miles north of San Diego, right on the beach.  My son and several of his cousins ventured with the dads to Legoland–as Bob calls it “Crack for Kids.”  Being the Legomaniac, he was obsessed.  Kids over 12 might be bored, but the younger set can play for hours with the legos, ride the rides, see the amazing Lego exhibits.

Everything was set for the Lego innauguration.

 

 

You could spend each day at a different park, with an unending budget–which we did not have.  We made the right choice and spent the day at San Diego Wild Animal Park, since there is nothing like that around here.  On the tour around the park you feel like you are seeing the animals in the natural habitats, as you learn about how many are endangered or almost lost from civilization.  All the kids and adults loved it!

There were also mini-habitats for birds and monkeys.  And fun (shhh..they’re educational) programs.

 

The older girls wanted to shop, shop–ick. But they found a couple stores in La Jolla to spend their money in, after I made them hike in Torrey Pines State Reserve.  Not the most spectacular place I have hiked, but pretty enough, with relatively easy, but hilly 1 hour hikes. 

jumping tide pools

But even with all the explorations we did, the kids really wanted to just head to the beach and play in the sand, find shells and rocks, jump the waves, grab the waves, play volleyball, and hang out with each other and us.

We adults looked forward to the evening sunsets on the deck, drinks in hand, an array of food and cameras spread on the table.

sand time!

view from the deck!

It was a wonderful place to visit.  Hope you enjoyed your 70th, mom! C