From the Water

The view from the water in a busy port city is fascinating.  First, it is not the perspective that a typical viewer usually has.  Most things are oriented to the street: the door of a shop; its window displays; signs; flowers and landscaping; lighting. 

The water side is the working side.  The delivery access.  The place where the seafood catch is delivered to land.  The docks where the gasloline tanker unloads its cargo. 

Back doors.

It's the place where ships are built.  This is the oldest continuously operating shipyard in the United States.

You get to see the undersides of bridges.

And all the while, you're on the sea, smelling the sea and its air, feeling its power and majesty.

The Gift of 50

I thought that turning 50 meant the gift of a wakeup call.  Here was a shockingly clear marker defining the last half of my life.  There were 50 years of life spent, spent, spent.  "Wake up," 50 said.  "It's slipping away."  "Pay attention."  Although happy and feeling saturated in the moment, I also sometimes felt as if my hands were outstretched, fingers grasping at the ephemeral substance of time, trying to hold it still.  It was the primary reason I started this blog.  I needed to pay attention by recording my days and experiences through words and photographs.  I marked time by trying to remember details and focus on the moments of my day.

It came to me the other day, that the very act of that grasping makes time even more evanescent.  The energy it takes to notice the fact if its passing chases it farther instead of keeping the moment close. The bittersweet irony of time.  Like a dream.  Instead, immersing oneself in the moment by living it, and forgetting about how quickly the moment is passing, makes the moment the most realized.  Just gulp the moment and swallow and love it and move on to the next.

More Adventure

I am so excited about this little beauty.

No, not my dog (though she IS cute).  I have been wanting to kayak for years and years.  Now the adventure begins.

I live in a place that offers so many opportunities to get outside and explore by water.  There are so many lakes, ponds and waterways, as well as a gorgeous rocky rugged ocean shorelline (this kayak is too small for that, though).  I can't believe it!  Now I can throw this on or in the wagon and head out for adventure whenever I want.  The potential is tingling in my fingertips.

You Can Tell It's Hot When the Pool is 85 Degrees

...and the vegetables and flowers have to be watered every day.

...but, the dog still just wants to play.

Red Eft

I started this post nearly one month ago!  What has happened to the time?  This was June - perfect weather days with occaisional rain.  These adorable little creatures are called Red Efts.  They appear on the forest floor after rain, turning my morning walks with the dogs into a tiptoed dance as I try to avoid stepping on them.

I've seen them summer after summer, but did not know until now that what you see in this photo is but a stage in the life of a Eastern Spotted Salamander.  At other times in its life, it lives in the water.  It is born in the water and lives there in a larvae stage, with gills, for several years.  Then it leaves the water and lives on the land for several more years as this bright red teenager.  Finally, this flamboyant creature returns to a pond and turns a more camouflaged olive green.  This little thing can live for 15 years!

For some reason I am delighted to have discovered this fascinating and unexpected life journey of this unassuming little creature who so bravely stands its ground on the damp leaves as the dogs and I clamber past.  There truly is wonder all around us. 

And now, nearly a month later, this photo can make me smile, feel the cool morning dampness and hear the quiet of that morning, even as I sit now in the nasty clamour of air conditioners in the middle of a heat wave.

review - Last Night In Twisted River

Several of you have asked me what I thought about John Irving's latest, Last Night in Twisted River.  Unfortunately, from the very first pages I was disappointed to realize that his writing simply isn't very good.  John Irving's talent instead lies in his imaginative plots, where characters do unexpected things and are very colorful.  Mr. Irving describes the North Country, as people from New Hampshire call the Northern parts of the state that border on Canada, very robustly, if not stereotypicallly.  The rougue North Country spirit is embodied by one of the characters, and he is facinating.   The other two main characters are not as interesting.  The son turns out to be a writer, educated at Exeter in New Hampshire, just like all of Mr. Irving's other books. 

Because I was not inspired by the writing, though, I neglected it.  I let it sit for long periods unread and unloved.  So much time passed between resting and reading (it's a long book), that by the end I finally became fond of the main characters and wished I had paid more attention to them.  Still, I have to say, bad writing, bad plot, but loveable characters who grow on you.

These are the days...

These are the days.  These long, lustrous, and luscious days.  I think nearly this whole month of May shone with glittery sunshine.  Fitting then that this long weekend, marking the end of May and the beginning of summer, was spent luxuriating in the perfection of the landscape and weather. 

Even the dog had a roll in the ferns and wore them for the rest of the day like a fairy crown.

When it rains, the skies present a gift, as if in apology for the momentary loss of sunshine.

I've been so bedazzled by this time of year that I can hardly bear to come inside to post.

I seem to be having difficulty getting on blogger during the day. I either can't log at all or it's slower than molasses in January. Is any one else having problems, or is it just my network?

Garden Time Around the Corner

This is a stirring sight in our household.

It means that it is almost garden time.  The growing season is short up here in the Northern side of the US.  So, to help ensure that the vegetables have enough time to produce their goodies, we give them a warm head start inside.  When the weather turns to snow in April, these infants stay safe.  When freezey breezes toss the apple blossoms into the air, these pampered babies stretch their roots in their pre-garden sanctuary.  By the end of May when there is no more chance of frost, we give them their chance to feel direct sunshine and rain at last - that is until we eat them!

     

Stepping Stones

I found

that someone had placed

two stones,

centered in a muddy puddle

along the path.

The unexpected discovery

made a touching impression,

that along the path of my

morning walk

in a place that creates

some struggle,

some inconvenience of stride

from having to jump or

feel a cold dampness soak my socks,

someone went out of their way

to place two rocks,

flat and level,

just so.

I can continue easily.

Step. Step.

I'm over the mud

and on my way

to the song of the wood thrush.

The stranger's anonymous kindness

feels like a friendly hand

stretched out

just when I needed it.

Save the Oceans - Buy Seafood Wisely Using Your iPhone

Formerly titled, Worthwhile "App" - Seafood Watch.

I've known for some time that what seafood I chose to buy could have an affect on our oceans.  Yet, I was often confused about what I was supposed to buy, or not buy.  Farm raised?  Wild caught?  I thought I heard somewhere that it is better to buy smaller fish; they're lower on the food chain, I guess.   I thought I heard somewhere that talapia was a good choice.  Then I heard that it was not.  How was I going to find real answers in the midst of so much misinformation?

Then I discovered a resource to answer my questions - an app I could get for my iPhone!  I guess I should have known.  Yes, there is an app for that!

I only got my iPhone because my husband was crazy to get one, and if he got a cool new phone, I was going to get one, too.  As anyone who has one knows, there are hundres of thousands of useful, no-so useful, and downright stupid "apps" to buy and add to your iPhone.  Well, here is one that Everyone should dowload and Use!  And, it's FREE!

"Fishing practices worldwide are damaging our oceans—depleting fish populations, destroying habitats and polluting the water. Informed consumers can help turn the tide."

This tool, from the Monteray Bay Aquarium, is a must have for all your seafood purchases, whether at your grocery store or restaurant.  We consumers have the power to save our oceans.  It seems hard to imagine that our vast oceans, which have been a boundless source of food for all of human history, could be on the verge of destruction, but they are.  Our growing human population and technological advances in the fishing industry are taking their toll.  We must pay attention to what we consume to ensure the continuing bounty of the seas.

 I am now using this guide whenever I choose seafood.  Before I used this guide, I found it difficult to remember which seafood was appropriate to purchase, and which purchases were contributing to ocean destruction.  For example, some farmed seafood are good choices, and some are not.  So, simply following a farmed or no farmed, plan does not work.  Similarly, the same kind of fish or seafood can be sustainable or damaging, depending on the type or location of its harvest.  But, the mere fact that your choices are complicated is now no excuse for not using your purchasing power to restore our oceans.  You do not even need to have an iPhone to get the guide.  The aquarium's website had a downloadable pocket guide containing the same information.