Friday, October 31, 2025

ANOTHER Vintage Vehicle

Dr.'s appointment with Brent Gillespie forced us into the melee. It was this or a guy in a bunny suit. 









Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Craig Foster, Johnny Clegg & Juluka

The guy who wrote My Octopus Teacher has written a memoir. On p. 51 he mentions Johnny Clegg & Juluka. One of the things I enjoy now is having the time to look up everything. When Craig tells of buying a home nea False Bay, I look it up; the bay, that is.






Here's Johnny Clegg





A concert..   





Juluka is Johnny Clegg with a different group.




































































Walk

Our 3rd day in a row of walking. It was yesterday, the 28th. It's now 8 minutes past midnight.





Michelle gave Christy Teratoma and Raised In Captivity










Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Diminishing Sight

We note the diminishing abilities as a way of acknowledging the opportunities. My magnifying glass arrived this morning.



I chose the childs model for its nifty color combination, size and the fact the entire lens is the same magnification. Oh, and it was the cheapest.




I'm thinking maybe of getting the hat.





Bonsai the Cat






Monday, October 27, 2025

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Urbanity

I awoke to the sound of thunder! An unexpected and pleasant contrast to the loud mufflers and sirens.



I assess the day through the kitchen window. The large locust tree across the way is the barometer of Fall. The cantaloupe seeds drying by the window contain my hope I'll be here in the Spring. The box with its yellow lid (outside) contains an assortment of BDSM toys -- ropes and such. It rode up front on the roof so when we passed through checkpoints I could say, "Wellllll, this one's full of BDSM stuff "...and I'd offer to let 'em see. None ever took me up on it. 🥸 I hope to find a recipient one of these days.

At my behest, we stopped mowing. It invites mice for the cat and once a hawk settled for awhile to dine on a pigeon it had taken. For a while there was a squirrel. It's a small way of keeping a measure of wildness nearby. Michelle says there are over 8 species of grass.




I've started bringing in a few things. Kristen's *Seated Nude* has been a major help. The white lump at the end of the bed is the down quilt from Canada she gave me for Solstice in 2020. It has a large coffee stain that unequivocally declares it's mine.

In the bookcase are reminders to the otherwise fading memories. The green Rosenthal plate that I dropped earlier this year I glued together using thinned Elmer's -- as my karate instructor advised. When he first moved to Albuquerque he worked with a restorer of fine antiques. He used Elmer's.

Mom's fav color was green. Her china collection was in a buffet cabinet along with her Japanese doll and other treasures. When she died I sent the rest to my brother in Texas. 

Next to the plate is a copy of The *Velveteen Rabbit.* 



On the shelf above is Kristen's Valentine card, a couple of iconic carrots (prime motivators) and stuffed animals from Michelle. So much love!!!





The urban wasteland. I'm grateful for indoor plumbing and a place to keep the stuff.

We had a nice rain. The three houses to the east are owned by a slumlord. The one next door often seems to be a halfway house / brothel / drug dealers lair. Fortunately, the last few sets have been quiet...mostly. 

The Sandia Mountains, increasingly obscured by multi-storied apartments, provide a marker to the passing of time as the sun crests their horizon from a different spot each day.

We've done what we could. The cholla, chamisa, apache plume, russian sage, spanish bayonet and big sage,   provides safe haven and nesting for families of thrashers and roadrunners. 

Out in the triangular area next to the sidewalk are some of the cantaloupe vines that did so well.

Neighbor Harvesting a cantaloupe. Ziggy, the dog, alerts everyone.




Sunday, October 19, 2025

Barbie - Six Versions

 

"I'm a Barbie Girl" again but in the style of six classical composers -- Josep Castanyer Alonso



Cellist Becoming YouTube piano sensation reshaping classical music






Saturday, October 18, 2025

Joanna Connor

 Such enTHUSiasm!!! 



Walkin' Blues

6/2/18

Western Maryland Blues Festival

Hagerstown, MD





Unbelievable Version of Walkin' Blues





Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Laurens van der Post



It may have been Barry Lopez's citations in his book Horizon of some of the other explorers that set me to reading the books by Wilfred Thesiger, Laurens van der Post, Gertrude Bell and others.

The six videos below are narrated by van der Post and were directed & shot by Paul Bellinger whose Youtube channel is where they're from.


Laurens van der Post's:


Testament to the Bushman Programme 1: In the Beginning




Testament to the Bushmen: Children of the Desert



Testament to the Bushmen: the beginning of the end






Testament to the Bushmen: Of Gods and Medicine





Testament to the Bushman: Man the Hunter





Testament to the Bushman: Women the Provider






























Friday, October 10, 2025

Entropy

It was clear a few days ago.

The black folder w turquoise is Michelle's "death pak" from French Mortuary.

The blue and white rectangular box holds a spanking new automotive part most likely for the 1961 Dodge Lancer Michelle's grandfather bought new. We sold it in 2015 for $1,000.00.


The pen holder is a souvenir from Japan. It did duty as a cigarette holder in its hey day. (The phrase hey day originated in the 16th century as "heyda," an expression of cheerfulness or surprise.)




Northwest of the pen holder is Michelle's desk.








Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Ghost Ranch

It's a few miles north of Abiqui. Georgia O'keefe's house is there and a substantial amount of acreage that folks can wander without worrying about trespassing or encountering trespassers.

The month-long residency includes a casita; one side is a bedroom with a mini kitchen and the other is a studio.




Since she's not exclusively devoted to painting, doesn't affect the nuances of the plein aire folks, and even though she writes she hasn't had anything published and since she works in clay and patching compound (gypsum), and is known to be living an "examined" life, she's something of an iconoclast.


Pedernal



She was pretty nervous, but as she walked up to her casita, tears of happiness welled; she'd made it home...again.

















Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Von Karajan & Ghost Ranch

She had two nights at The Inn at the Delta in Espaňola waiting for Ghost Ranch to open at 1:00 pm today.


Anniversary Bouquet on Table


I unearthed the bio of Karajan in the pile Steve pulled from Phoebe. Between listening to all the pieces mentioned (through the Jabra headphones from Brett) & exploring all the places on google maps, I'll be busy for years.




Monday, October 6, 2025

Victor Vescovo

 

https://colossal.com/team/victor-vescovo/









Why would anyone would want to bring back paleo animals when our eco-system can't sustain the current wildlife? Because they can.

Ah, well. 




Sunday, October 5, 2025

Off To Ghost Ranch



We're loaning her the 2008 Honda FIT for while she's at Ghost Ranch. 

We had a few hours and went to pickup a delivery from Sol Ranch. Then stopped at Trader Joe's for a few items and some flowers for our anniversary. We celebrated 9 years on the 3rd.




Then up to the ice skating rink. It was the first place we were together. Afterward, in 2016, she sat on the hood of her Volvo and said, "I want you."

Today she was happy to say it's still true.




After she left I shot a few arrows. The first three were amazing. Practically shot themselves. The 4th went right a couple of inches & the fifth was just wild.