Colchicums

When the colchicums bloom, can fall be far behind?

 

Things proceed apace.  this year, the Invernal Equinox and Jim’s 60th birthday coincide, so preparations for a  party this Saturday are ongoing.   Mostly this consists of cleaning house, but there has been a certain amount of mowing going on as well.

The sauna shower had to be repaired again.   It seems that when we drain the water tank the pipes do not always drain perfectly.   Then they freeze, and this does not help the faucets and shower in the least.   This installation has been repaired at least two times previously.   This iteration included the installation of heat tape on the pipes, which hopefully will solve the problem more or less permanently.

That task turned out to be more complex than one really wished, since it involved taking the hot water tank out of the sauna completely, and removing panelling to get to the pipes.  Of course, when it was all put back together there was a leak in the solder joint of one of the pipes, but this was dealt with and after three (or four — I really can’t remember) days it is all ready to go.   While he was at it, all the wood supply was removed and the sauna thoroughly cleaned so hopefully there will not be any spiders in there when we fire it up.   Not that this would be much of an issue once the sauna gets to its 180º F operating temperature, any spider so unlucky as to be living in it pretty much dies.

So while I have been cleaning house, a few truths have occurred to me.    If you want your stove to stay clean and white, don’t cook.   No matter how careful you are, a drop of spaghetti sauce will wind up on the ceiling.  (This has always been a mystery to me.)  Mother was right.   You should wipe the counters and cabinets down every evening when you are done doing dishes.   This will keep them clean and then you won’t have to spend two hours scrubbing them every two months.    (Good luck with that one)   Something will always have “stuff” on the bottom of it when you put it into the refrigerator.

Gravity is the law.   Compost happens.

Into every life a little dust must fall.  If you don’t clean it up, it will turn into a lot of dust.

I need to dust my house, but evidently I don’t “need” to do it as badly as I “need” to plant my fall cover crops…

 

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Irony

There’s a certain amount of irony involved in life, you know.

I was reminded of this the other day when I was out working in the Stroll Garden, specifically the “Scree Slope” portion where I have all the sedums and hen and chicks planted.   There are wonderful dianthus there too.

Here’s a fairly recent shot of the area, taken from within the Japanese Rock garden.

Truly, it is quite wonderful right now.   But if you zero in on the rocks in front of the sedums, you will see that the maples propagated themselves quite nicely this year.   There are “helicopters” all over the place.

I spent about an hour and a half out in the area, removing the maple seeds, in addition to cleaning out the leaves that blew in last fall.   There were plenty of weeds to pull as well, which is sort of how I justified the rather obsessive compulsive clean-up I was engaged in.

So the irony is I can spend hours hand picking weeds and trash out of a garden, but at the same time pulling my vacuum cleaner out of the closet and running it around the house just seems like too much effort.  I am GOING to do that job as soon as I’m done with this post.  And I am NOT going to photographically document the grass clippings in the hall that rode in on my bare feet, or the dust kitties under my desk, nor the drifts of Ruby’s fur that have accumulated at the edges of the dining room (spring is shedding season, you know).   I shall leave all that to your imaginations.

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I find this ironic too.   This was our weather forecast for this area for this day.

Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Breezy, with a south wind between 22 and 29 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t that pretty much sound like “We don’t think it is going to snow, but we really have no clue as to what is going to happen, so be prepared for just about anything.”

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I found this on Facebook the other day, posted by one of my friends.    It struck me as ironic, and wrong headed too.

Karma is a two-way street.

I’m thinking that one ought to look at that statement and contemplate the fact that NO ONE goes through life without hurting anyone.  Sometimes it is purposeful, sometimes it is accidental, sometimes it is a knowing thing, and sometimes it is from lack of attention.  Sometimes a person who hurts you is lashing out because you have hurt them severely.    Lots of scenarios exist here.

So, the question I think one needs to ask is something like, “Who did I hurt that is now watching me be hurt and feeling lucky because God let them watch?”

One can get philosophical here and meditate on the fact that Mass murderers go free, dictators reign seemingly unharmed, nations trample upon other peoples and remain powerful and profitable, Rupert Murdoch and Rush Limbaugh are rich and free.  You could wait a Very Long Time to see your nemesis screw up and pay the price.   Maybe even a couple of life times.

The other thing that occurs to me is that it is a pretty sick thing to find joy in the pain of others, or to sit by, gleefully rubbing your hands together waiting for them to screw up so you can watch them flounder around.

Perhaps the focus should not be so much on “You hurt me!” but rather on “Who have I hurt?”  Perhaps making amends for your  OWN transgressions is a better karmic path than sitting back waiting for the axe to fall on someone who you feel has transgressed against you.

Perhaps.

I could be wrong about that.  That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?

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Now, I believe I shall deploy my vacuum and maybe even a dust rag.  That way, if the tornado develops it will be destroying a nice clean house.

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Beach day

Yesterday was a wonderful day.   Jeri, her very good friend Monica and I were allowed to use Jeri’s friend Douglas’ car and we drove to the Pacific Coast and spent the day on a very beautiful beach, Playa Herradura, which is near Jaco.

Of course, in the tropical way, things did not occur according to the plan, which was to hit the road at 10.   No one woke up when they expected to.   No matter, the beach was not going anywhere.  We got a call near the time we were thinking to leave to let us know our driver was coming soon.   We waited, reading some good books.   Another call.   The car would not start, they needed a jump start.   A taxi was called from town to provide the necessary juice, which took some time.

That accomplished, she drove to the gasolinera where the lack of water in the battery explained the dearth of power available for ignition.   That remedied, she realized she had forgotten her phone and had to go back home to retrieve it.

Finally she arrived here, full of apologies, and we went off down the mountain to the beach.   The drive was great!   We made a wrong turn at Orotina, and had a little scenic side trip, but eventually we found the right way and arrived at the beach, which was still there, just as we suspected!

We found ourselves hungry, and found a lovely little beach-side soda where we consumed a delicious lunch of steamed vegetables, rice and slightly grilled fresh tuna, accompanied by the ubiquitous Imperial cerveza.  Our driver, very responsibly, drank only ginger ale.  Satisfied, we walked across the little street and found a place to spread our towels and enjoy the ocean.

Once again I was reminded of how important it is to not look too closely at the great beauty that surrounds me, for the close up view of the very wonderful coastline was marred by much trash scattered hither and yon.  I just don’t understand why humans everywhere feel it is just fine and dandy to throw their litter all over the landscape.   I never will.

After enjoying a swim with my two companions, I left them to sun themselves and walked about a mile down the beach to a spot where a lava reef broke the sandy expanse.   Since I was barefoot, I did not want to clamber over the wave polished rocks to the next small expanse of sand.   Instead, I beach combed my way back to my two companions, slowly.

When I arrived back at the towels, my two friends dutifully admired my handful of colored rocks and broken shells.   I could tell they were humoring my childish enthusiasm for the lovely things the ocean had given me that day, but not laughing at me.  It was fine.

It was such a satisfying day, plenty of sun for a while until the afternoon’s rainy season clouds mitigated the heat somewhat.   We lay on the beach, drinking water and talking.   I don’t know when I have laughed so much:   Monica has led a very full life during her 40 or so years, and the stories she shared were told with wry wisdom and satirical humor.

Her experience driving her BMW in Holland and Germany and over the Alps was quite evident as she expertly drove us back over the mountain to Atenas on the old road, past fincas and barrios and little towns, over streams full of rain, through rain forest decorated with bromeliads and ferns, the roadside ditches full of cosmos and impatiens.  Back at Calle Mimi, Douglas made us wonderful hamburgers for dinner and then gave us a ride home before he went off to his job managing a local bar/restaurant.

An altogether satisfying and wonderful day.

Today, I clean the bamboo shades and wash windows here in preparation for our departure, while Jeri goes to town to have lunch with a friend.   She really can’t be here while I do this, her respiratory system would NOT tolerate the huge dust that will rise during this chore.   I only hope that the dust has settled before she gets home.

There are some things we obsessive/compulsives are good for!

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Earth at night

This image was copied from the Astonomy Picture of the Day on NASA’s site, published October 1, 2006.  Click on the image for the full impact.R. Simmon (NASA/GSFC), NOAA/NGDC, DMSP Digital Archive

With all the talk about global climate change, I wonder why no one has suggested that possibly it might be a good idea to cut back on some of the night lighting that we throw around all over the place.   I realize that illuminating landmarks and architecture such as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, various and sundry cathedrals all over Europe creates wonderful night time vistas of great beauty.

But I wonder if we really can afford to burn so much fossil fuel?   Especially since the vast majority of people are actually sleeping at night.   Perhaps if we wanted to see the illumination, we should have to put our credit cards through the slot to pay for it.   Then we might have some sort of concept about how much it costs.

Anyway, Our Fair City here in Lebanon has a giant flag pole with a giant flag that was recently installed out by the interstate, and I’m darn sure that illuminating it all night is not adding to the beauty of the night.  Yes, yes, flag display protocol dictates that it be illuminated, but when the winds have torn the flag apart and the pole stands empty, the searchlights shine on regardless.  And what about  all those ridiculous rotating search lights that the McDonald’s corporation has mandated be installed on the top of their stupid fast food joint franchises (I REFUSE to call them restaurants). They shine all night to give the lost and lonely travelers upon the Interstate Highway system hope that their desperate quest for french fries and fried pies can be satisfied at the next available exit.

Our species is so stupid sometimes.

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Current Events

I have been sitting back taking in some of the rhetoric and “comedy” that has been on the air waves since the United States made its inroad into Pakistan.  It has all seemed rather crass and brassy to me.   In spite of myself, there have been a couple of jokes that made me laugh, but mostly I found it all un-funny in the extreme.

The other day I ran across a quote on Sue O’Keiffe’s blog, Sacred Circle Mandalas, and I have taken the liberty of posting it here.

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King was onto something here.

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