Weblog 239
September 05, 2010~ 12:00 am
Today I received the most charming picture of my friend Annette's squirrel-feeder- complete with visitor! It warmed my heart...
just look at that healthy, happy little guy! My greatest joy when I take my walking breaks at work, is to wander over to the oak tree that grows beside the building where I first check the hole in the wall where some enterprising furry-tailed 'guests' have made a home (to see if a head pops out at me when I whistle) --then to check the tree itself. It's a great gnarled thing with loads of branches, but there are two particular U-shaped bends between trunk and large limbs, where my friend lolls about, looking down and watching me, blinking and studying my movements.
The first time I spied her up there earlier in the week, she made the most pitiful and frightened warning sounds-- and kept that up the whole time as I stood there, talking soothingly to her. By the second day she had accepted my presence, and trusted that I wouldn't hurt her-- just wanted to look and talk. She's now quite happy to lounge there in her spot, catching the cool breezes that reach her bower-- and to watch me watching her from below. She even cranes her head around now as I leave. She knows me- I can sense it. I brought some unsalted pistachio nuts and laid them on the ground, but I think there's just too many tasty acorns right now for her to show interest. (When I walk there, it sounds like small cap pistols going off...lol....there is such a layer of them already peppering the grass.)
Squirrels represent playfulness to me. They know how to enjoy themselves, and seem to take great delight in chasing one another- jumping limb to limb and running across the high wires strung pole to pole -oblivious of height or danger. Ever since my sister brought home the tiny Beatrix Potter books, one by one from the local library where she worked after school, I've loved Squirrel Nutkin.
He was the antic one. The guy who taunted Old Brown the owl, who lived on the island with all the trees that produced nuts. Each day Nutkin, his brother Twinkleberry, and assorted friends would sail across to the island, bringing mice and eggs as gifts for Old Brown in exchange for permission to take their share of delicious nuts, but Nutkin would play. He would taunt Old Brown and scamper about, joyfully slinging riddles at the cantankerous old bird, never getting a rise out of him.
While the other squirrels busied themselves gathering nuts, Nutkin would bowl or entertain himself, always thinking up ways to caper about in front of Old Brown to annoy him. LOL!!! I think all squirrels are Nutkin. Each boisterous, busy one of them.
Old Brown finally snatches Nutkin up one day, and takes him into his tree house to skin him. Nutkin escapes... but loses his tail in the bargain. To this day, the book says, all squirrels chatter and shout from the trees just like Nutkin, complaining of his lost tail. Do I believe this? A big, 'small-child part of me' does. It's never gone away, my love of these creatures.
Although I have to say that my favorite Potter character is Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the hedgehog laundress.
She's not only adorably chubby and cute in her 'people clothes'- it's also a book I owned. My sister bought it during a 'used book-getting new ones' sale at the same Carnegie Library, and I treasured it! Tiggy would do all the laundry for the forest creatures, and she sang while she washed clothes. "Lilies white and clean, O....with little frills between, O.....smooth and hot, red rusty spot....never here be seen, O!" LOL!!! I still remember that little song, after all these years.
We're imprinted with good stuff as well as bad when we're knee-high to a grasshopper. With luck, the happy stuff sticks. It fills the bricks and strengthens the mortar all through life. I noticed on Saturday evening that my grandchildren, who have already started back to school this week- Bill to second grade and Kay to full-time kindergarten, had much to interest them outside of old gram during the visit. They had a friend over and occupied themselves quite handily, chasing around the yard, off by themselves now. Not hanging about every minute. The young, young years.....that's the magic time. That's the window when we are able to inject the wonders for years to come. After that, the world pushes in.......but once the magic takes, that golden dust lands on the shoulders, stays through all our lives. I believe it.
I have my love of squirrels to prove it. They're all Nutkins. All children are little Hansel and Gretels. We all lived in a wonderland once. We carry it forward, deep down inside.
How lovely.
Tuesday marks the one year anniversary of the passing of my 21 year old cat, Beethoven- much beloved by Wayne and me. Saturday evening, Wayne brought two scented joss sticks to light and stick into the ground in front of our little buddy's grave. The pink rose bush is in full bloom there, and the incense smelled sweet on the evening breeze. We stood there a few moments watching the smoke rise, and I could her Wayne quietly reciting part of the Buddhist heart sutra-
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
Gone, gone, gone beyond gone, utterly beyond. Oh what an awakening
No coming, no going.
No after, no before.
I hold you close to me,
I release you to be so free.
Because I am in you, and you are in me.
Because I am in you, and you are in me.
How fast the time flies. How deeply love cuts into the heart. Even to the smallest creature, their passing hurts. For all those who have loved and have lost the earthly presence of that love, I say this prayer for you as well. We are all clingers on this planet, learning to loosen our hold...... but never giving up the stirrings of beauty in each singular day. It's all short....it's all miraculous.
September 06, 2010~ 7:00 pm
Another BEAUTIFUL day in Pittsburgh! Temperatures in the high 60's, sunny and comfortable. My sister is off with her husband visiting National Parks in Utah, so I went early to visit mum and do her laundry. We had a pleasant afternoon, watched some golf on TV, took a swing on the canopied swing, had dinner together. Dolores at our Table 6 was VERY EXCITED because she'd won first prize in a writing contest for seniors. A short story about an old tree. She said she'd never written anything before, and to have taken first prize had her on cloud 9.
All in all, a very relaxing day. Now I'm getting ready to watch 'Lars And The Real Girl' on DVD. How swimmingly sweet......a movie, and tomorrow OFF from work! Good weather, good visit, good movie. I'm in HOG HEAVEN. :)
September 05, 2010~ 12:30 am
Sadly, the 'Lars' film lured me in and charmed me-- then the DVD hit a glitch and wouldn't play any further on my machine. LOL!!! Sometimes that happens (though not nearly as often as it used to happen with VHS tapes. Those rentals were like playing Russian Roulette.)
I switched gears completely and watched 'BROTHERS' instead.
Devastating story. Dynamite performances by all actors in this gritty ensemble, with a knock-out performance by Sam Shepherd, who plays Gillenhal and Maguire's father- a retired marine with a bit of a drinking problem, and his own ghosts from Vietnam. This was a hard film to watch because it's so emotionally naked. Two very different brothers from a military family- one the 'hero', one the black sheep - with conflict and love running very, very deep. There were toe-curling scenes from Toby Maguire's capture and incarceration in Afghanistan, but without that, the character's hell when he comes back home would not feel 'personal' and electrically painful.
Even the two little girls who play the daughters are remarkable in their fidelity to being 'real kids', and in my book, children in movies can either make or break a film; these two little ones truly enhance an already seering story. The film has left me shaken-- and I cannot understand why it didn't get better press. Perhaps it's because it is such a difficult story to watch-- but the critics who gave it a 'so so' need their heads examined. 'Brothers' is raw, complicated human drama at its best. And it never flinches.
Much as I was enjoying 'Lars', I'm afraid it feels like whipped cream with a cherry on top when held next to a story with such megaton impact.
I'm glad I had 'Brothers' on hand...it was a movie weekend afterall. (And yes, I believe I've already said I have tomorrow OFF. TOMORROW I AM OFF WORK......glory halleluiah!)
September 06, 2010~ 12:45 pm
Slept wonderfully. Last night I dove back into the book my daughter gave me for my birthday, called 'Supernatural Pittsburgh And Its Suburbs'. (I'd been reading the 'Buddha' book by Deepak Chopra that Wayne bought for me, also for my birthday, but couldn't resist opening the spooky one. LOL!) First off, it's not really spooky, but a homey mixture of hometown reminiscences of childhood Halloweens, snippets of local legend, lots of history references, but it's so known to me- the neighborhoods, the tone, the photos- that I find it utterly charming. Almost finished it last night.
Today I am basking in sweet sloth and enjoying every minute of it. That's what 'Labor Day' is for.....a time out to reflect on how hard we all work, and to celebrate ourselves a bit.
Annette emailed the CUTEST pictures of a hedgehog once she'd read the blog. If there is a more adorable creature on this earth, I'd be hard-pressed to name it...
either rolled shyly into a ball in the palm of the hand, or staring back with black, soft eye, pink paws and little pink ears......
nope. I couldn't name it. How perfectly perfect! Thanks, Annette. You got a big old 'oooo' and 'ahhh' out of me. I love him.
September 08, 2010~ 6:45 pm
Great weather continues! And THIS made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. LOL!!
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Today I received the most charming picture of my friend Annette's squirrel-feeder- complete with visitor! It warmed my heart...
just look at that healthy, happy little guy! My greatest joy when I take my walking breaks at work, is to wander over to the oak tree that grows beside the building where I first check the hole in the wall where some enterprising furry-tailed 'guests' have made a home (to see if a head pops out at me when I whistle) --then to check the tree itself. It's a great gnarled thing with loads of branches, but there are two particular U-shaped bends between trunk and large limbs, where my friend lolls about, looking down and watching me, blinking and studying my movements.
The first time I spied her up there earlier in the week, she made the most pitiful and frightened warning sounds-- and kept that up the whole time as I stood there, talking soothingly to her. By the second day she had accepted my presence, and trusted that I wouldn't hurt her-- just wanted to look and talk. She's now quite happy to lounge there in her spot, catching the cool breezes that reach her bower-- and to watch me watching her from below. She even cranes her head around now as I leave. She knows me- I can sense it. I brought some unsalted pistachio nuts and laid them on the ground, but I think there's just too many tasty acorns right now for her to show interest. (When I walk there, it sounds like small cap pistols going off...lol....there is such a layer of them already peppering the grass.)
Squirrels represent playfulness to me. They know how to enjoy themselves, and seem to take great delight in chasing one another- jumping limb to limb and running across the high wires strung pole to pole -oblivious of height or danger. Ever since my sister brought home the tiny Beatrix Potter books, one by one from the local library where she worked after school, I've loved Squirrel Nutkin.
He was the antic one. The guy who taunted Old Brown the owl, who lived on the island with all the trees that produced nuts. Each day Nutkin, his brother Twinkleberry, and assorted friends would sail across to the island, bringing mice and eggs as gifts for Old Brown in exchange for permission to take their share of delicious nuts, but Nutkin would play. He would taunt Old Brown and scamper about, joyfully slinging riddles at the cantankerous old bird, never getting a rise out of him.
While the other squirrels busied themselves gathering nuts, Nutkin would bowl or entertain himself, always thinking up ways to caper about in front of Old Brown to annoy him. LOL!!! I think all squirrels are Nutkin. Each boisterous, busy one of them.
Old Brown finally snatches Nutkin up one day, and takes him into his tree house to skin him. Nutkin escapes... but loses his tail in the bargain. To this day, the book says, all squirrels chatter and shout from the trees just like Nutkin, complaining of his lost tail. Do I believe this? A big, 'small-child part of me' does. It's never gone away, my love of these creatures.
Although I have to say that my favorite Potter character is Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the hedgehog laundress.
She's not only adorably chubby and cute in her 'people clothes'- it's also a book I owned. My sister bought it during a 'used book-getting new ones' sale at the same Carnegie Library, and I treasured it! Tiggy would do all the laundry for the forest creatures, and she sang while she washed clothes. "Lilies white and clean, O....with little frills between, O.....smooth and hot, red rusty spot....never here be seen, O!" LOL!!! I still remember that little song, after all these years.
We're imprinted with good stuff as well as bad when we're knee-high to a grasshopper. With luck, the happy stuff sticks. It fills the bricks and strengthens the mortar all through life. I noticed on Saturday evening that my grandchildren, who have already started back to school this week- Bill to second grade and Kay to full-time kindergarten, had much to interest them outside of old gram during the visit. They had a friend over and occupied themselves quite handily, chasing around the yard, off by themselves now. Not hanging about every minute. The young, young years.....that's the magic time. That's the window when we are able to inject the wonders for years to come. After that, the world pushes in.......but once the magic takes, that golden dust lands on the shoulders, stays through all our lives. I believe it.
I have my love of squirrels to prove it. They're all Nutkins. All children are little Hansel and Gretels. We all lived in a wonderland once. We carry it forward, deep down inside.
Tuesday marks the one year anniversary of the passing of my 21 year old cat, Beethoven- much beloved by Wayne and me. Saturday evening, Wayne brought two scented joss sticks to light and stick into the ground in front of our little buddy's grave. The pink rose bush is in full bloom there, and the incense smelled sweet on the evening breeze. We stood there a few moments watching the smoke rise, and I could her Wayne quietly reciting part of the Buddhist heart sutra-
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
Gone, gone, gone beyond gone, utterly beyond. Oh what an awakening
No coming, no going.
No after, no before.
I hold you close to me,
I release you to be so free.
Because I am in you, and you are in me.
Because I am in you, and you are in me.
How fast the time flies. How deeply love cuts into the heart. Even to the smallest creature, their passing hurts. For all those who have loved and have lost the earthly presence of that love, I say this prayer for you as well. We are all clingers on this planet, learning to loosen our hold...... but never giving up the stirrings of beauty in each singular day. It's all short....it's all miraculous.
September 06, 2010~ 7:00 pm
Another BEAUTIFUL day in Pittsburgh! Temperatures in the high 60's, sunny and comfortable. My sister is off with her husband visiting National Parks in Utah, so I went early to visit mum and do her laundry. We had a pleasant afternoon, watched some golf on TV, took a swing on the canopied swing, had dinner together. Dolores at our Table 6 was VERY EXCITED because she'd won first prize in a writing contest for seniors. A short story about an old tree. She said she'd never written anything before, and to have taken first prize had her on cloud 9.
All in all, a very relaxing day. Now I'm getting ready to watch 'Lars And The Real Girl' on DVD. How swimmingly sweet......a movie, and tomorrow OFF from work! Good weather, good visit, good movie. I'm in HOG HEAVEN. :)
September 05, 2010~ 12:30 am
Sadly, the 'Lars' film lured me in and charmed me-- then the DVD hit a glitch and wouldn't play any further on my machine. LOL!!! Sometimes that happens (though not nearly as often as it used to happen with VHS tapes. Those rentals were like playing Russian Roulette.)
I switched gears completely and watched 'BROTHERS' instead.
Devastating story. Dynamite performances by all actors in this gritty ensemble, with a knock-out performance by Sam Shepherd, who plays Gillenhal and Maguire's father- a retired marine with a bit of a drinking problem, and his own ghosts from Vietnam. This was a hard film to watch because it's so emotionally naked. Two very different brothers from a military family- one the 'hero', one the black sheep - with conflict and love running very, very deep. There were toe-curling scenes from Toby Maguire's capture and incarceration in Afghanistan, but without that, the character's hell when he comes back home would not feel 'personal' and electrically painful.
Even the two little girls who play the daughters are remarkable in their fidelity to being 'real kids', and in my book, children in movies can either make or break a film; these two little ones truly enhance an already seering story. The film has left me shaken-- and I cannot understand why it didn't get better press. Perhaps it's because it is such a difficult story to watch-- but the critics who gave it a 'so so' need their heads examined. 'Brothers' is raw, complicated human drama at its best. And it never flinches.
Much as I was enjoying 'Lars', I'm afraid it feels like whipped cream with a cherry on top when held next to a story with such megaton impact.
I'm glad I had 'Brothers' on hand...it was a movie weekend afterall. (And yes, I believe I've already said I have tomorrow OFF. TOMORROW I AM OFF WORK......glory halleluiah!)
September 06, 2010~ 12:45 pm
Slept wonderfully. Last night I dove back into the book my daughter gave me for my birthday, called 'Supernatural Pittsburgh And Its Suburbs'. (I'd been reading the 'Buddha' book by Deepak Chopra that Wayne bought for me, also for my birthday, but couldn't resist opening the spooky one. LOL!) First off, it's not really spooky, but a homey mixture of hometown reminiscences of childhood Halloweens, snippets of local legend, lots of history references, but it's so known to me- the neighborhoods, the tone, the photos- that I find it utterly charming. Almost finished it last night.
Today I am basking in sweet sloth and enjoying every minute of it. That's what 'Labor Day' is for.....a time out to reflect on how hard we all work, and to celebrate ourselves a bit.
Annette emailed the CUTEST pictures of a hedgehog once she'd read the blog. If there is a more adorable creature on this earth, I'd be hard-pressed to name it...
either rolled shyly into a ball in the palm of the hand, or staring back with black, soft eye, pink paws and little pink ears......
nope. I couldn't name it. How perfectly perfect! Thanks, Annette. You got a big old 'oooo' and 'ahhh' out of me. I love him.
September 08, 2010~ 6:45 pm
Great weather continues! And THIS made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. LOL!!
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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