1. It is November already. Where did October slip off to?
2. Halloween is over, bring on the turkey's.
3. Seems the grand kids are learning the ways of Halloween a lot better--things went pretty quickly this year.
4. Football. baseball, hockey--who can keep up with all of it?
5. Makayla was a trooper last evening in her costume watching the festivities of the kids running from door-to-door.
6. Shopping in Ellicott City on a nice autumn Saturday was an almost fun experience.
7. The trees have lost their leaves already. Yellow today and gone tomorrow.
8. Just a bit of frost--the other night. We've pulled the sensitive plants inside. But there will still be nice days.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween dog
Halloween 2010
Anyone who knows me, knows that I do not appreciate Halloween.
I'm not sure what the purpose is to dress up as scary creatures and troll the neighborhood looking for trouble.
Asking unsuspecting homeowners to pay a ransom or be tricked!
But that written, Makayla does have a costume and will be trick-or-treating tonight with the grandsons.
While on the surface this festival is all about goodness and fun, it has very dark undertones which pull at our hearts and cause sleepless nights.
But, funny enough the name Halloween really draws from the day it precedes--All Saints Day. A holy day celebrated by the church where the saints of the church are remembered and celebrated.
Now the festival (I refuse to call it a holiday) has become a huge commercialized venture coupled with parties and many social events and opportunities.
But, on the other hand, I do enjoy the little kids in their costumes and the fun that they have coming to the door and saying those magical words: "Trick or Treat!" It makes me smile to see their smiles behind their masks.
So while I don't appreciate Halloween--as such, I do enjoy the children and their enthusiasm and I guess that is what it is all about.
But, on the other hand, I do enjoy the little kids in their costumes and the fun that they have coming to the door and saying those magical words: "Trick or Treat!" It makes me smile to see their smiles behind their masks.
So while I don't appreciate Halloween--as such, I do enjoy the children and their enthusiasm and I guess that is what it is all about.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Spider lurking in the tree
Outside Nicole and Mike's home the other afternoon was a very large spider--going about the business of creating a huge, just in time for Halloween web.
The web was not confined to only one tree, not this industrious arachnoid was busy involving two trees into its web. I wonder if it was hunting for small birds or children? This is an example of an orb-weaving spider and according to the description, it was doing exactly what it is known for--weaving a large web between objects.
This also must be small animal week--given the depressing blog yesterday about the small frog that attempted to cross the parkway.
This spider though is big! Compared to spiders.
It was a very industrious spider and I am sure it will be rewarded with a satisfying meal of some large insect.
I was fascinated, for a few moments, watching the spider work. After a while though, it noticed me and ceased working and began watching me watching it.
It was an interesting stand-off and the spider proved victorious when I got bored watching it do nothing and moved along.
But is was a beautiful afternoon after the storms to notice the bugs and animals around the area.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Frog and Traffic
It was suicide--I knew it was.
There was nothing I could do but watch and wait for the inevitable to happen on the rain swept morning highway packed with other commuters headed on their way to businesses, schools or other places of labor to spend their day.
It was still night even though it was morning. Made darker still by the low-hanging graphite colored clouds pouring rain down upon the landscape.
The headlights of my car reflected very little of the wet, soggy scenery back to me.
Although my speed was significantly reduced from the normal 50 to 60 miles per hour--even creeping along at 15 mph there was no hope.
I first saw it as a streak of white bounding in front of me. It continued with some regularity bounding across the road with all of the traffic.
A small animal, I presume a small frog, crossing the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the height of the predawn rush hour. It was bounding up into the air and back down again. Playing a real world game of Frogger--only this time there would be no resurrection for round 2. The consequences this day were permanent.
In the steady rain even with the wipers removing the water from the windshield only moderately efficiently, it was easy to see this small creature and consider its impending fate on the three lane wide highway.
I was saddened.
But, I am always saddened by the carnage along the roads.
I wonder if the frog had a last thought as the tire of the car in the lane next to me transformed it into a two dimensional creature like a cartoon drawing.
What is it like to be alive--and then not? That fast.
I looked down the road at the miles of red tail lights strung out before me like so many Christmas lights. I turned up the radio to see how bad the delay was going to be this morning and worked to remove the thought of that ill-fated road crossing from my mind.
Still, it haunts me a little.
I don't like unhappy endings.
The endings where the underdog fails--and then dies.
What chance does a small frog have against a car on a parkway?
The same as a cat or a dog or a raccoon.
None.
There was nothing I could do but watch and wait for the inevitable to happen on the rain swept morning highway packed with other commuters headed on their way to businesses, schools or other places of labor to spend their day.
It was still night even though it was morning. Made darker still by the low-hanging graphite colored clouds pouring rain down upon the landscape.
The headlights of my car reflected very little of the wet, soggy scenery back to me.
Although my speed was significantly reduced from the normal 50 to 60 miles per hour--even creeping along at 15 mph there was no hope.
I first saw it as a streak of white bounding in front of me. It continued with some regularity bounding across the road with all of the traffic.
A small animal, I presume a small frog, crossing the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the height of the predawn rush hour. It was bounding up into the air and back down again. Playing a real world game of Frogger--only this time there would be no resurrection for round 2. The consequences this day were permanent.
In the steady rain even with the wipers removing the water from the windshield only moderately efficiently, it was easy to see this small creature and consider its impending fate on the three lane wide highway.
I was saddened.
But, I am always saddened by the carnage along the roads.
I wonder if the frog had a last thought as the tire of the car in the lane next to me transformed it into a two dimensional creature like a cartoon drawing.
What is it like to be alive--and then not? That fast.
I looked down the road at the miles of red tail lights strung out before me like so many Christmas lights. I turned up the radio to see how bad the delay was going to be this morning and worked to remove the thought of that ill-fated road crossing from my mind.
Still, it haunts me a little.
I don't like unhappy endings.
The endings where the underdog fails--and then dies.
What chance does a small frog have against a car on a parkway?
The same as a cat or a dog or a raccoon.
None.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Enemy of Good is Better
It's true.
Sometimes I spend so much time trying to achieve perfection that I become wasteful--can I make it just a little bit better?
How much time do I spend trying to make something good, perfect? Or a little bit better?
Is it an act of pride?
Is it productive?
No, sometimes it is not productive at all. I can spend 90 percent of my time striving for a modest improvement--and I could have spent the additional time doing something really important.
An acquaintance of mine is publishing a new book of his poetry titled The Enemy of Good is Better.
Chris and I sit in front of him and his wife at Orioles baseball games as we have the same 13-game plan package. Over the years we have gotten to know them and look forward to chatting with them during the games. Catching up on life and talking about friends and family and the rhythm of life.
Only within the past year did I realize that he is a published poet--with his own book and a number of very prestigious awards. I purchased his first book--The Clock Made of Confetti. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and the poems--they are complex reading poems full of images and history and emotions.
So it was the title of his new book in pre-publication which really stirred me thinking about the use of time trying to make thing just a little bit better--when they were really good.
Nothing good, it seems, survives. It must be better or it decays into chaos.
Sometimes I spend so much time trying to achieve perfection that I become wasteful--can I make it just a little bit better?
How much time do I spend trying to make something good, perfect? Or a little bit better?
Is it an act of pride?
Is it productive?
No, sometimes it is not productive at all. I can spend 90 percent of my time striving for a modest improvement--and I could have spent the additional time doing something really important.
An acquaintance of mine is publishing a new book of his poetry titled The Enemy of Good is Better.
Chris and I sit in front of him and his wife at Orioles baseball games as we have the same 13-game plan package. Over the years we have gotten to know them and look forward to chatting with them during the games. Catching up on life and talking about friends and family and the rhythm of life.
Only within the past year did I realize that he is a published poet--with his own book and a number of very prestigious awards. I purchased his first book--The Clock Made of Confetti. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and the poems--they are complex reading poems full of images and history and emotions.
So it was the title of his new book in pre-publication which really stirred me thinking about the use of time trying to make thing just a little bit better--when they were really good.
Nothing good, it seems, survives. It must be better or it decays into chaos.
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