Sidetracked Charley

BoBear  at the Pond's Edge   Smoke is blanketing my valley from the fires all around my state and just south in Santa Fe but it rained and I thought if I was quick I could get out on an early morning photography trek with my dog. You just had to be careful which way you pointed the camera. Avoid most shots with a sky line especially pointing south. The sky was white in that direction and all the hills in shades of gray. But pond reflections were blue. And toward that direction the colors were more true. It was also easier to breathe if you walked into the woods and away from the smoke filled valley. But the white sky offered a great backdrop to the dark forest. So in conclusion BoBear and I had a nice walk but I came home to my house in the Valley of the Little Coyotes with a cough and a headache, but some good photographs.  See my other Blog, Creative Journey for the black and white versions of the smokey hills. 

Keep a weather eye on the horizon Oddly one of my favorite Pirates of the Caribbean movies was At World's End. It seemed a the time vaguely prophetic. And at the moment channeled. But then, I have always figured most creative artists, regardless of the medium, are closely tied in with the cosmic consciousness. I felt as far back as December a wicked wind was coming. Or in Star Wars vernacular, a disturbance in the force. In early March I was on a campaign to get things like my new to me vehicle accomplished and groceries stocked for spring break. When the lock down order came from our governor on March 11 I was not surprised in the least. Anxious yes, because Colorado closed its ski area's first and our resort seemed determine to welcome to Angel Fire. As an introvert I like my own company and I was in the midst of a very creative time. March moved into April and I was most concerned about the lack of rain. Then the morning weeping began. Not for me or my future with m...

Has it occurred to anyone yet that we are at that special time when Trump said it would just go away? It is even worse than that. We are at that part of the calendar when most viruses seem to go dormant. And we are having infection rates of 70,000 a day. If this is the lull before the fall second peak what will that look like? And heaven forbid flu season this winter. Wondering, if we survive, if this time will go down in history as the second dark ages. We seem to be denying science and throwing truth sayers under the bus, calling out the troops on those demanding a hearing on their grievances. Can we be very far away from burning witches. Okay, I admit we seldom burned them. Joan of Arc maybe. We drowned them, hung drawn and quartered them, stoned them, pressed them, tortured them to death. And at one time in England, during the Black Death, we locked them in the house with all their relatives sick or well and waited for them to all die. Then landlords could rent the pro...

It is not raining here I knew it had been a while since I posted a Dark Times Journal entry. But my last post was May 24th! My only excuse is things just got too dark on too many fronts. And my favorite time to join with my muse and wax poetic is in the mornings over coffee. Sadly it is when I cry most. There is a test Skinner did with cats where there were two boxes. He would shock the cat in the box it sat in and it would jump to the other. If he shocked it there the first time the cat would jump back to the original box. But soon it would not jump at all. It would just huddle down in the box and shiver regardless of the shocks. I think I am that cat. I have been that cat since I mailed in my primary ballot. And realized it didn't matter. Everyone was corrupt. Both parties were beyond saving. And just possibly our best hope was for all the old white men in government to die of Covid-19. Then I finally got my stimulus check. I wasn't that desperate for the money. For ...

Peaceful Co-existence When in Rome do as the Romans do, was one of the earliest pieces of advice I can remember clearly. It had multiple versions and adaptations, from always treat the property of others better than your own to you are a guest here so behave as one and If you don't like the rules you do not have to play. Later in my rebellious youth I questioned the rules but quickly found I had the best success when I fit in with my audience or when in Rome once again. I have always behaved as a guest when travelling to new places. After all isn't travel about learning new cultures as well as taking 505 selfies before landmarks? You definitely never litter, you are always polite, you engage the locals in conversations not lecture them on your opinions of how things should be run, you never bring a boom box to a high mountain meadow or keep your cell phone on during a concert. Above all life works best if you follow the laws and rules of where you are at. And if you...

March to the End of Day I am a loner. The term these days is introvert. When I was a child my mother called me painfully shy. I stuttered so that seemed to fit. I chose the edges of life. The corners of a room, the far side of the playground beyond the swings. And because of my chosen position I became an observer. I admit to being a people watcher. But I would rather watch four footed animals. They behave better. Humans can be inspirational but they often disappoint me. The pandemic has been education in human nature. In adversity people show who they really are. I got a political call yesterday. I quickly informed the caller I had already mailed in my ballot. He impressed me when he didn't ask if I had voted for his candidate but congratulated me in voting by mail. He then asked if I needed anything. Did I have masks, and enough food? Or just someone to talk to. I informed him I was making masks for as many of my friends as I could. And in spite of two garden fails had f...

Petrified Forest Let me take this opportunity to express what a huge mistake the old white men of the United States are making. The Millennials cannot even cook their own breakfasts. Or cut their own hair. But that is a cheap line. I participated in a web conference yesterday about developing plans to open up the economy. First just because we open the doors does not mean they will come. Sixty-six days of staying to ourselves has taught us things. Gray hair is not such a bad thing for one. And it is possible to assemble your own Reuben sandwich. But the people in a row at the top of the webinar page were not young. And it occurs to me the same can be said for those of us on the board of an arts organization or the library board. In point of fact us long term volunteers have long realized that the young are not moving up into vacated positions on the village committees to support events and organizations which depend on volunteers. As as we cancel one event after another whic...