CDR for May 25, 2020 – Monday – the things that went right

It rained last night, and we really needed rain. It made the topsoil pile a little muddy, but the weather was cloudy the whole day and there was sometimes a slight breeze, so I was able to get both raised beds completely filled. They are ready to plant.

Ah, but we need seeds, right? And we got seeds – at the little local HomeHardware store.

Then Stuart got a call from South Carolina, which he answered for the lark of it, and it turned out to be Lowe’s (the hardware store chain) to tell him the microwave we ordered was at the Ottawa store ready for pick-up.

We got a little cleaning done in the garage. There was a large, broken snowblower in the back corner that we got to the curb, along with some other pieces of metal and junk. We hoped that someone would recycle it, and, yes, a woman driving a pickup truck filled with mostly metal junk rang the doorbell and asked for assistance getting the thing up into her truck. She collects the stuff and her husband fixes things. Maybe he will fix the snowblower. It doesn’t need to go to the dump, anyway.

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And to top it off, the batch of yoghurt turned out great, and the little red squirrel was cuter than ever.

There were things that were not perfect today, but I will take these good things. Be well. Stay safe. Treasure the good things.

Snow photos from the edge of a storm

These photos were taken at about 7:30pm from the church driveway. 

It was snowing heavily.

This is a cherry tree.

The snow-dipped branches formed a candelabra, as if to light the pink grey sky.

Heavy, with wet opalescence.

 

 

Happy Halloween – 2013

Confession: I was a witch at work today.

Lost…

5 years ago today.

This year at Corona and Bowtie…

This year, we did the Corona and Bowtie hike on Sunday morning.  The light was not spectacular for photography.   The path was icy/snowed only on the back side of the hill past the railroad crossing.  I practiced walking on the slickrock all the way to the moqui steps, and this year at Corona and Bowtie I crossed the steep slick between the steps and the pipe ladder.  Last year, the vertigo was too much and I had to stop after the moqui steps.

Corona Arch, Moab, Utah

 

Corona is a very typical arch.  I mean, if you were to “draw an arch” from the Arches area, although there are arches of all sorts, this is the shape and type of arch you would draw.  For one thing, it sticks out nicely from the rock face and one can easily see daylight through it from almost all angles.  For scale, those dark bits under the arch are bushes that are taller than people.  There are people under the arch, but they are kinda tiny.

Bowtie Arch, Moab, Utah

Bowtie is a pothole arch, where the cavern of the arch has been pierced by a pothole.  It is harder to photograph on an overcast day, and it is probably not a morning arch.  Noon might suit it better.

These arches are not within the Arches National Park (which I guess an Easterner like me is agast at).  Therefore, pets are allowed on the trails.  Many human parties (including ours) were accompanied by dogs.  (Yeah, cats have so much more sense.)  It was interesting to watch the dogs as well as the humans navigate the steep slip rock, the moqui steps, and the ladder.  Those who have been walking on this kind of ground since childhood and youth are easy to spot.  Our Max is new to the land and its hazards, so stepped on a patch of dried up cactus and had to have his paws cleaned up.  (He is OK. Of course we felt terrible.)

In the afternoon the kids and dog left for Denver, and the 5 of us and Bill and Margaret went into the valley below the Island in the Sky onto Shaefer and Potash roads.  It is impossible to take bad photos in the canyon, unless the jeep bounces too hard when you are pushing the shutter.  We went to Thelma and Louise Point and then my sister and I jeeped on further while the others shimmied down into a wash for a hike toward some petrified wood.

Island in the Sky, from the canyon

Tomorrow I fly out from Denver to Maryland, just ahead of a much-longed-for snowstorm.  Monday was a shopping day, and the drive back on I-70, beating the traffic jams by perhaps and hour.  Today went to telecommuting and medical appointments for several family members, with me as the driver.  While waiting in a surgical center I rehearsed Gerry Muller’s Seven Last Words arrangements and started study files for some other Triduum liturgies.  I am going home with nearly 500 photos to edit, and a card of videos, too.

 

 

Moab 2013 – Arches National Park

This is the first day of our Moab 2013 trip.  A large group hiked Fiery Furnace.  Those of us with knee and back problems chose to work on photography and take smaller, flatter hikes.

On the Fiery Furnace hike, you walk down into fin formations on slickrock and shimmy between fins and jump over cracks.  Only one of our party was injured this time.  She slipped on ice and into a crevice.  Above is a view of the trailhead area of Fiery Furnace in the morning.  The light changes continuously, so the rock formations constantly change appearance.

Yvonne and I drove from Fiery Furnace toward Devil’s Garden, and passed this delicate fin formation on the way.  The Arches Park changes constantly as rocks fall and arches collapse or are sculpted.  While there is a real culture of preservation, the one stricking aspect of this park is the continual processes of nature that build the pinacles and arches and eventually destory them.

These fins even look fragile and transient, although I am sure people climb into them.

One of the arches we took a short hike to is the Double Arch in the Windows section.  Above is a long shot of the arch formation where you can just make out the double arch.

Walking closer, you can see the two arches more clearly.  It is very difficult to avoid getting people in your shot in the winter, and next to impossible in the summer.

Here is a view from within the arch.  My sister says you with think I photoshopped the sky, but it is really blue.  It is better with a few clouds for contrast, but today we only had a daymoon and some con-trails.

Max, our grand-dog was our companion on our trips, waiting for us in the car, because dogs are not allowed on paths.

I started the hike into Devil’s Garden while Yvonne and Max played in the parking lot, but the path was packed slick snow, so I didn’t go far.  Nevertheless, there were many (unphotoshopped) sights to photograph.

It is really different to be in this wilderness, where nature rather than people generates the stress, as well as the peace.  It is quite, with only a little people noise in the winter.  There were ravens whirling in the air currents and disputing territory.  Ah times it was so quite you could hear their wind slice the winds.

I hope you find some peace in your life today.

 

 

Blooming Amaryllis

Before I left for Colorado, both amaryllis bulbs bloomed.  The Red Lion bloomed first, and is a beautiful, deep, dark color.

The Minerva bulb was huge and lept up so quickly, it boomed perhaps 10 days after the Red Lion. Minerva didn’t grow leaves first, but put up to really large buds on 20 inch stalks.  I think I should have downloaded more photos of Red Lion, since it is quite pretty.

Luckily, it bloomed extravagantly just a few days before I left for Colorado.

This photo shows the flower in the best color.  They are white-rimmed with dark red patches.

Both buds bloomed silmultaneously, forming a giant bouquet.  These blooms are not as trumpet-shaped like the Red Lion, and have the appearance of orchids.

May you have flowers to cheer your days, too.

 

 

What was left!

This is the tiny leftover ball of ombre fingering yarn that makes up one of 2 strands of the multicolor row in Blanket 2.

Whew!

Flat tire Saturday – Thanks to AAA

It was quite a surprise.  It happened when I was crossing Randolph, and I pulled into Rodmann’s parking lot.

I called AAA and got help.  They sent a rescue car quickly.  And when the rescue car couldn’t help (because the spare tire wouldn’t drop from under the van) they sent a tow truck – whose driver did get the spare unstuck and put on.  The spare is quite ugly!

It works (although the lug nuts needed to be tightened.)  I finished my errands (delivered yarn to the convent, went to the office supply store, and got groceries.

Odin woke up to say Hi when I came home.

The tire seems to be in good shape, although it is old.  John bought them, and he’s been gone 5 years.  Perhaps I need new ones.

The Utility Pole – Happy Ending

The broken pole has been removed and all the wires have been moved to the new pole.

Sincere thanks to all who helped with this!

There are several other old poles in and around the neighborhood that have been replaced with new poles, but which have the old telephone and cable wires on them, so can’t be removed. However, none of these are as broken-down as this one was. They are eyesores, but not currently public safety issues. The Holiday Park Neighborhood Association hopes they will be removed soon.