THE EYES HAVE IT

 I love the way our eyes are able to fill in the blanks to create the whole.

We are certainly miraculous creatures, that's for sure. There are many instances of this, of course, not least of which is life itself.

And aren't we fortunate to have dedicated scientists and medical personnel to help us maintain these wonderful lives?

Yup! You guessed it. The second dose of the Moderna vaccine is in and working as I write this. Friend Catharine and I were talking about viruses and what they are and perhaps aren't yesterday. This only brought more to mind how lucky we have been to get some sort of (imperfect) handle on this Covid-19 virus in such a short time.

Here's a big shout out to all those who have cared for and developed and served and rescued and invented and.... in the last year and beyond. These folks are a special brand of artists!

GIVING THANKS

 As traditional celebration hopes dwindle, there is still so much for which to be thankful. Just look at this wonderful natural fissure at Crystal Cove beach and the ocean and clear blue sky beyond.

Not everyone is this fortunate. This is not lost on me. At risk of sounding like some sort of Pollyanna each time I celebrate the beauties that surround us...they do bring great joy. Still, there is constant awareness that all is not right in the world right now. There is certainly no need for me to enumerate the negatives. We all know they are there.

And yet....I firmly believe there is room for gratitude in all of our lives. We just need to find it and hold on to it as tightly as we can.

SIXTY SECONDS

 

Commuting has certainly changed with Covid-19, hasn't it? Many of us are now using Zoom to work and meet and otherwise commune with others.

Is this helping with the negative impact other things Covid-related are having on our planet? Sadly, kinda doubt it.

Maybe we could take some of the down time and think of how our individual actions impact--climate, environment whether land or sea, and more. What might each of us change when this is over? Or will we be so desperate for a return to what we call "normal" that we will hop in a car or on a plane, travel, consume, etc. that it will just start up all over again.

Can we, in fact, save our planet? Hopefully, this election will go some distance toward a return to working on that. We'll see.

(Have had a lot of fun with these silly frogs in art cards lately. Thought this was gonna be a fun blog, but what was on my mind seems to have taken over. As Reese's says though, "Not sorry.")

ZOOMING AROUND

 

The screech of the hawk reaches my ears as it circles overhead on a cool fall morning. It seems to be asking, "What will this day bring?"

Well, I can't speak for that predatory creature, but for me it seems that a lot of Zoom time is on the agenda.

Whatever would we do without this marvel that seems to have reached its apex with Covid-19?The uses seem endless and, while not all of the ways that it gets used appeal to me all that much, it has definitely opened doors that might not have otherwise even been known.

While the creative play continues here and the birds screech and hoot and titter around me, the Zoom opportunities open the world as well. All good and somewhat of a distraction as we wind down to the final days of this vital election.

Don't forget to vote!

A TRIP TO MY LIBRARY

 

Always a heavy reader, this pandemic seems to have pushed the usual parameters. Piles of books. Two or three going at once. Going on Zoom webinars for book discussions. And more.

Reading and books have become a seemingly larger part of each day. And my library extends waaaaaay beyond the piles. There are books on my Kindle. There are books on computer. There are books to be read on my tablet. And on it goes.

Mysteries. New authors. Books on gardening. Book recommendations from friends. On and on it goes.

And here's my big recommendation out of all this (nope, not a particular book.) Watch the Thursday evening series from writingxwriters.  These authors hosted by Pam Houston are wise and wonderful. The questions are interesting rather than the often heard trite questions of author series. And these hour and a half webinars are FREE. You may donate to help out with scholarships, but, otherwise, these great talks will cost you nothing. Sit down with a cocktail or do you stretching or....but definitely tune in. You will find everything from poetry to nature to travel to fiction to a bit of politics.

Gratitude to authors and others fills me up when realizing how much the many books enlarge life.

SOMETIMES A BLESSING...

Families. Sometimes a blessing. Sometimes a curse. Always ours to cherish.

During this pandemic, many have lost members of their families, either family of origin or close family friends. Those of us fortunate not to have to say this hold our friends and family dear. Yet, even as we hang on tight to our loved ones, we should never forget how tenuous these bonds are. Gratitude and the occasional reminder to tell those close to us just how much we value their presence in our lives can be a part of each day.

MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!

One of the problems with observing social distancing, it seems to me, is that we get antsy. Wanting, wanting, wanting...to see friends and family, to go out to dinner easily, to take a road trip and feel the freedom of the road, to not need to always have at the edge of things all the "worry."

So many of the days start to feel as if there is a sameness to them that we push against. Still, change does not need to be measured in big ways to still be change.  

If you want something different,

do something different.

"Same crap every day"

doesn't describe the day, 

it describes your attitude toward it.

Steve Marshall

For me, taking a different direction to a different place on a daily walk makes for a variety I like. Looking for new ways to cook things grown in the garden certainly calls for a change of attitude. I always thought my thumb was way too brown for this gardening stuff. Exploring to find new and often exciting authors to read has been a real pleasure. Reading back through old, old journals allows for seeing things in a new light. Trying my hand at new or even sometimes languishing art forms has been fun.

It just seems there is always some way to move away from that "same crap." And, while there is still a wanting, a longing for this pandemic to be past, there has to be for me an attitude adjustment of sorts. I try...and that's the step to doing it for me.

And too good not to share:

baby owls

WHAT TO DO?

As the birds called out--the dove with "Who are you? Who are you?" the borrowed song of the mockingbird, and the raucous cawing of the crows,it occurred to me that we had been here before, needing patience beyond that which we could even imagine. Circumstances were different, but the idea that life is what happens when you are making other plans calls out the same.

Our calendars have more things crossed out than written. Birthday and graduation celebrations have been postponed or re-imagined. Weddings ditto. Funerals (and way too many of them for sure) put off, leaving folks with their grief process skewed. Even journal pages seem foreshortened due to the sameness of so many days. What will we find there when looking back over the years

Journal pages: Friend Catharine is writing a memoir and so is revisiting her journal for many of the thoughts she may have had "when." As we spoke of 2001 something called out for a revisiting of my own journal from that time. There are the "Where were you when they first stepped on the moon?", "Do you remember what you were doing when you heard John F. Kennedy was assassinated?", and from that year the simple mention of 9/11 brings back hard memories.

But each of those reminds me of human resilience. The desperation felt at the changes wrought does not last. We keep on.

In the early morning hours of 9/11/2001 the journal pages include a list of goals to accomplish in the coming week. Then, "the dust continues to drift over New York City, casting a pall over everything, even hearts and minds...and we all mill around, reaching out, touching, needing to be close, and isolating ourselves at the same time, wanting and not wanting at once...."

Today, five months into this pandemic of 2020, many of the same feelings are stirred up. In the days and months following that day in 2001 Americans came together in ways that were beyond heartwarming. Can we do that now? Is this Covid-19 so very different really that we cannot reach out to each other even from the very isolation that is imposed?

I don't have the answers, only the questions. Maybe that dove is only asking, "What to do? What to do?"  Can we be patient? Can we calmly accept?

WHO ARE YOU? WHO AM I?

What I CAN do

The urge to write "real" persists in knocking on my door. But what IS real? Who am I in all that is going on in the world right now?

Am I the older, wiser person who believes I understand the world? Hell, no!

Am I the Pollyanna who sees all through rose-colored glasses? NOT!!

So what is real for me on this July day 2020? 

I worry. I know moments of despair. I rage. I cry. I wonder why I seem to have no wisdom to impart, why there seems to be no context in which to focus merely on what I can control.
Everything is not fine...and nothing I can do is going to make it so.

And yet...there is the garden to tend. There is the writing I've committed to doing. There are mini-art projects to keep creativity going. There are wonderful and wise books to read. There are Zoom opportunities to hear authors talk about their work. There are YouTube videos where more gardening tips than one could ever use reside. Recipes to try. Friends to contact. Walks in new places and old, and increasing the miles because there is the gift of time.

And, speaking of time, much of what seems to be lost during this pandemic will eventually be restored if history can be believed. But time? It will be gone, not to be replaced or restored. Some things relating to time will just never be. And so I grieve. Being real, I need to acknowledge my grief for not only what IS, but also for what will never be.

That's not negative; it just is what is on this day in July 2020.

JUST IMAGINE...

Imagination. Seems like we need a lot of it right now in these troubling times. And it is working...in some pretty amazing ways.

Not only are parents and teachers tapping into their imaginations in order to teach and keep young people engaged. Not only are hospitals and staff tapping in to find new and creative ways to handle shortages of supplies and the glut of Covid patients with all that entails.Not only are restaurants and other "essential" businesses quickly imagining new ways to keep employees busy and business going. 

So much more can be attributed to imagination.

As I read through what scientists are achieving right now and the work done to re-fit plants to produce what is needed (but where the heck is the toilet paper?),I am truly amazed. Plants like GM and Ford are re-tooled and manufacturing ventilators. JPL scientists have designed one ventilator now that uses even fewer parts than previously thought required. Samsung has made a wristband that, among other things, buzzes when the wearer comes within six feet of another person. This last is being tested and used in some of the aforementioned plants to help maintain a safe work environment.

And, of course, there is so much more. I am sure many of you are aware of the innovative things that are taking place now. Please share.

We will get through this together...and apart because of these things and more.

Imagination. Ingenuity. Resourcefulness. Resilience. Spirit.

EARTH DAY 2020

A silly bird in a field of spring flowers

50 years! That's how many years we have observed Earth Day this day in the year of 2020. What have we achieved in those fifty years? 

Right now, with the Coronavirus keeping so many of us at home, we are able to celebrate cleaner air and cleaner water. Can we go out and celebrate the earth, though? Not so much. It is sad, but the blue skies are pretty wonderful to see, even from near to home.

However...what of the horrendous amounts of medical waste that are being generated (necessarily, of course) by Covid-19. Hospitals and nursing homes are using massive numbers of gloves, masks, gowns, etc--all disposed after use.
And what of the general public? No longer are we using reusable bags at markets. We, too, use disposable gloves for many things. We are ordering more online, which requires deliveries using much disposable packaging.

So, on this Earth Day I find myself wondering if in fact we have taken one step forward, two back. Only time will tell, I suppose.