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.