Posts from the ‘Front Porch Musings’ category

It was a dark and stormy night…

…or to be more exact…it IS a dark and stormy night. I write this post with thunder rumbling and getting closer. The sky is dark at 8:00 p.m. an hour and 45 minutes before sunset. My S.A.M.E./NOAA radio has alerted twice for severe thunderstorms.

I cannot help thinking of and missing Karl…knowing this weather would be so upsetting to him.

…Bear, it does not faze. Bear is lying on my bed. The window is open, lightning is flashing and thunder is rumbling and he is calm.

Bob is under the daybed in his room!

It is a dark and stormy Saturday night.

The grass has been mowed. The yard and house and woods grasses glow green – more so against the backdrop of the stormy skies.

But during a time of light…

Mariposa Lily.

The woods has a bumper crop of Mariposa Lily this year.

Beautiful.

CRASH, BANG, BOOM and a flash of lighting! The storm approaches. It is raining…harder.

Time to unplug. Happy Saturday evening.

Happy Birthday Dear Mama!

My Mama, me, Miss Dixie Lee Morgan…us girls :)!

Mama and I have both cut our hair and trimmed some pounds, but we are who we are and we are happy to be us.

I am VERY happy to be my mother’s daughter and to be where she and I are in a wonderful place of sharing the love of food, of cooking, of books, of pets, of animals, of life and of each other.

Happy Birthday, Dear Mama!

Celebrate!

I know!!! – it is Thursday night before Memorial Day weekend and “burger” day is Monday…the holiday. BUT! – my workgroup met a huge deadline today and it went well with only minor glitches and all are pretty happy to have completed the project. So, even though it is Thursday, with Friday to go…and not yet the “holiday” … I am celebrating. Yes, there are 7 burgers and only Bear and I to eat them…not all tonight :)!

It has been mostly gray and rainy but this afternoon, it cleared, the sun came out and it is a perfectly cool and crisp 50F with clean, clear air. Bob was on the front porch with me as the burgers cooked. Bear and I ate our burger supper and then had a wonderful cruise around the loop ending with a treat on Beardog point.

It is Thursday night, before the THREE (3!!!) day weekend. A huge goal was reached. Bob, Bear and I are healthy and happy. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. For this day and for this moment, we celebrate!

A year in the life of Bear

Monday, May 14, it was one year. May 14, 2011, Bob and I went in Wild Thing to Spokane, WA to get Bear. ( Bear in the Air ).

We have all learned a lot this past year. Even in the last month, Bear has changed in ways that suggest that he is still adjusting to being part of the Family Summers. I believe that he knows this is his home, that he is well loved and wanted, that Bob is his family. There are days when I see sadness in his eyes…missing his George? missing his first home? But those times are fewer and further between and short-lived.

I speak to Bear of Karl, Zack and Gus. I speak to him of my great love for him and gratitude that he is my dog. I speak to him of George and his first family and that I understand loss. I ask Bear about Karl, Zack and Gus. I tell Bear that he is a first-rate bear dog! I speak to both Bob and Bear about being kind to one another.

This past year is different than anything I imagined it would be. It has been a good year and I am grateful for every moment of it.

What was the name of Jacques Cousteau’s research vessel?

If you didn’t watch “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”…BUT, you recognize the wildflower above…

No???

Calypso is the name of Monsieur Cousteau’s ship and the wildflower is a Calypso Orchid…one of my favorites and rare to find in my woods. This year I have found 5! And they survived last weekend’s snow.

Calypso – such a fun word to say. If you were fortunate to grow up with Jacques Cousteau and his grand passion for the undersea world, you are very fortunate!

Calypso was a sea nymph in the Odysseus myth. Additionally, the etomology of “calypso” is something hidden…to cover, to conceal: appropos to the ship as well as the wildflower :) !

The Calypso Orchid – so small and from the top…only a bit of purple leaf.

But, when you really look at what is hidden, what is concealed…

Incredible beauty. An orchid. An exotic. Calypso.

In honor of beauty, passion, exploration and the seeking of knowledge and understanding:

Lyrics | John Denver lyrics – Calypso lyrics