September 30, 2014

September 27, 2014

guest post: at the fair


Amy sent me this picture from the Hairy Man festival this afternoon.

garden notes, mmxiv-ix-xxvii

guest post: hello, deer


Bren sent me this picture from her mom's house near Canyon Lake this morning. 

September 26, 2014

farewell, whiskers


Take care, old friend. We will miss you.

September 21, 2014

doeskin preserve with penny and family, xxmxiv-ix-xxi





















Penny's first trip to the nature preserve. (We pinky-swore that she would accompany me here at least once annually for the next 30 years.)

September 20, 2014

field notes, mmxiv-ix-xx



After an early walk with Ondine I got the bike out, pumped some air into the tires and rode a 10k to the lake park and back. It's been a while. I was worried that because the bike's been sitting so long I'd have to adjust the shifter (a fiddly operation on a Sturmey-Archer 5-speed hub), but it worked fine. It was a nice ride, although at one point it came to me all of a sudden that I'm well into my 50s...when did that happen? (I'm fantasizing about riding to grandbaby Erin's house for a Sunday morning breakfast, but I'll have to find a safe route - some of the road crossings are daunting - and get in better riding shape . That's probably more like a 30k round trip.)

September 19, 2014

September 17, 2014

o&p, mmxiv-ix-xvii


yes. just, yes.

Leica M Edition 60. $19,500. (This is why the great painters of yore had royal patrons.)

September 15, 2014

good news!


A couple weeks ago I realized with a start that it had been months since I'd seen a grasshopper. That seemed especially strange since at certain times of year around here it's hard not to look like Pigpen from the Peanuts in a cloud not of dirt, but of bugs. Since then I've been keeping my eyes out, and finally spotted this little fellow on a prickly pear pad yesterday afternoon. For the sake of the birds and the frogs, let's hope it's just a cyclical dearth.