PRESERVATION HALL, NEW ORLEANS 1987
photos
Monday Madness: CAT CONFESSIONS
Once upon a time I had six cats and two cat doors; three were inside cats and three were outside cats. These were their names.
SAMSON
MACAVITY
JELLICLE
SYLVESTER
CALLIE
WHITE CAT
All but Macavity are buried in the back yard. Today I am down to my last cat, Wiccan. She is 15 years old. I hope she goes before we do because no on else would take her. She does not like to come inside. We bring her in only in bad weather. Daughter, who loves cats, would not take her because Wiccan does not like her and hisses if Daughter tries to come near her. Son would not take her as she does not play well with his two dogs when he visits.
WICCAN RESTING IN A FLOWER POT
EASTER MEMORIES
DAUGHTER AND SON
1969
AN APACHE BLESSING FOR THE VERNAL EQUINOX 2015
May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May your walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.
-Apache blessing
A Crone’s Coast on 11/28/14
Weather for the Thanksgiving holiday was outstanding with sunny clear skies and mild and pleasant temperatures. For us on the coast it is this perfect fall weather that makes us glad we stuck it out through the hell-hot summer. Night rewards us with the mystery of moonlight cascading down on water as smooth as sea glass.
The day after Thanksgiving Grandson, taking a break from college, took these photos as he rode his bike along the bay. I could not resist sharing part of my Texas coast as I have much to be thankful for this holiday season.
THANKS ALL WHO VISIT MY BLOG AND SOMETIMES LEAVE A NOTE!
FISHING PIER
BEACH VEGETATION
RIG UNDER CONSTRUCTION
CHEERS FROM THE COAST!
THANKS TO GRANDSON FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE HIS PHOTOS TAKEN WITH HIS PHONE.
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX 2014
Photo by Husband
SIGNS THAT FALL IS COMING TO THE COAST
1) The whooping cranes have left Canada and are heading for Texas.
Photo from Wikipedia
2) Hummingbirds are swarming my feeders and it is time for the Rockport Hummingbird Celebration. One year a woodpecker helped itself to the feeders. I have not seen it this year.
Photo by Husband
3) I will be looking for white pelicans to arrive before long. They arrive in the fall and leave when it gets warm in the spring.
4) The stores start to fill with faux leaves, pumpkins, wreaths, cinnamon scented candles, bibelots and everything we need to decorate our homes and pretend that we have a real fall season where the leaves turn a golden hue, and drop poetically to the earth.
Franciscan Winery, Napa Valley Photo by Husband
5) I pick a Syrah from Texas Hills Vineyards to celebrate the autumnal equinox. Texas Hills Vineyard is a small but elegant winery just outside of Johnson City. We picked up this bottle there last year.
Photo by Husband
HAPPY FALL TO YOU!
BIRDS IN THE BACK YARD
We have many birds that visit our backyard, but my favorite birds are these Desert Bird of Paradise, caesalpinia gilliesii.
There was one outside my bedroom when I was growing up in South Texas. Several years ago nostalgia set in as I began searching for a plant but could not find one anywhere. Finally, I ordered seeds from Trade Winds Fruit in Windsor, California.
Today I have five Birds in the ground, two in pots and plenty of seeds. I harvest the seeds, in a pod rather like a snow pea, when they are dry and rattle slightly. The first year I brought the pods in the house and put them in a bowl in the dining room. The pods would dry out more and pop open as seeds and pods flew into the air.
They lose most of their leaves in the winter and come back in the spring and bloom through the spring and summer and sometimes into fall.
PHOTOS BY HUSBAND
HIPPIE PLEDGE
I found this pledge via the blog Russell Ray Photos and wanted to use it. One of the comments was that it was an old hippie pledge, if so, it is still a good pledge today. My thanks to Russell for sharing it. He has a great blog showcasing his excellent photos that often feature Southern California and a cat named Zoey. Peace and love to all!
BIRD WATCHING CAN BE DANGEROUS
One morning this spring Husband and I were having our morning coffee in the living room and watching the birds in the back yard. Two hummingbird feeders were up on the edge of the veranda cover to welcome the first of those visitors. A large flat feeder hangs from a tree and small one on the fence stay up all year-long that provide seeds for the usual birds – many doves and an occasional pigeon. Recently we had seen colorful spring visitors – a pair of cardinals, a painted bunting. Squirrels stop by also to check their feeder in a tree for peanuts and sunflower seeds.
Normally our thirteen year-old cat, Wiccan, just naps in a chair outside after her morning meal or attempts to hide beside some ornamental grass near the bird bath in the hope of catching a feathered creature. She has slowed down with age, but I still occasionally find a pile of bird feathers as evidence of her success. However, I do try to protect them from her when I can.
As I sat there enjoying a second cup of coffee and the bit of nature in the back yard, a black streak raced across the veranda. Wiccan was after a bird. Husband jumped up and rushed out the back door. I followed quickly and held the door open as I watched him come back to the door with a small brownish bird in his hands. Perhaps it was hurt.
THIS BUILDING IN BODEGA, CALIFORNIA WAS USED AS THE SCHOOL HOUSE WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE ATTACKED BY THE BIRDS. HUSBAND TOOK THIS PHOTO WHEN WE VISITED THE AREA IN 2012.
The bird slipped swiftly out of his hands and seemed to be flying straight toward me. I raised my arms up in natural defense as Tippi Hedren did so many times in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 thriller,”The Birds.” This frightened bird veered off to the freedom outside while I lost my balance (one foot inside and one foot outside) and twisted to the left. I fell inside the house as I crashed into my favorite ornate floor lamp. My left ear hit it first…then my left arm…then my left hip…final stop…stunned on the floor. Blood dripped from my ear. All I needed was that green suit like the one Tippi wore!
My first thought as I sat there on the tile floor was concern for my lamp. Was the glass shade broken? One glance upward confirmed that it was not harmed. Startled Husband came to help me up. After I wiped the blood from my swollen and red ear, I needed another cup of strong coffee. (Didn’t Tippi get something stronger? Brandy, perhaps?) I had no broken bones – only a few bruises the next day. So be careful when you are bird watching. It can be dangerous!
The 50th anniversary of “The Birds” is this year. I may have to watch it again with new appreciation!
A LIGHTHOUSE AND A WEDDING
Point Cabrillo Light Station
Perhaps because I live on the coast I enjoy visiting lighthouses. On a trip to northern California last fall we visited Point Cabrillo Light Station near Fort Bragg. Today it is a state park. The grounds contain a restored lighthouse keeper’s home and several guest houses set back a bit from the lighthouse itself. Nature trails allow visitors to experience the natural beauty of the rugged Pacific coastline in safety.
The website describes its history this way:
“Although Point Cabrillo was surveyed by the U. S. Lighthouse Service in 1873, construction of the Light Station didn’t begin until after the 1906 earthquake. The demand for lumber to rebuild San Francisco meant that maritime commerce on the north coast was at an all time high and a Lighthouse was critical to the safety of the ships and their valuable cargo. Construction of the Light Station began in 1908, and the lens was illuminated for the first time on June 10,1909, under head keeper Wilhelm Baumgartner.”
Our visit was at late afternoon. Near the lighthouse keeper’s home a large white tent was set up in preparation for a wedding. The tent had a wooden floor and tables laden with white flowers. In front a bar had been set up so that guests could take a drink with them as they strolled down to where the ceremony was to be held near the edge of the bluff . White chairs were lined up for the guests. A cello and violin duo would provide the music. The setting sun would make a dramatic background for the nuptials. This was a wedding California-style.
Full view
As we were walking away from our tour of the lighthouse, a couple from the wedding party approached us. The man asked Husband if he would take a photo of them. As Husband took the camera the couple moved closer together and tilted their wine glasses in classic style. The late sun and old lighthouse made a unique backdrop for this striking couple. He was tall, trim and dark in his black pin-striped double-vested suit and cowboy boots. Her long blonde hair fell just right as did her short draped skirt that was accented casually with a wide silver belt; cowboy boots completed the polished western look. Think J. R. and Sue Ellen Ewing. They might be from Texas, I thought.
Husband returned the camera and the man expressed his thanks. In my best Texas tourist accent I said, “Where are you all from?”
“New York,” he replied with a smile as they walked away with the California sun highlighting their wine.
Coastline behind the Point Cabrillo Light Station
THE COASTAL CRONE 