Jane: Botanist, Lawyer or Chief Geologist?

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I found this lady in an antique store in San Luis Obispo. While giving back some new life to her photograph, I wondered about where Jane might be these days, and what she may have done with her life.

Don't you think she may have become a research geologist and done a lot of fieldwork in the Mojave desert?

Rank Sentimentality: Making Time Stand Still

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Thanks to http://barefootliam.deviantart.com/

for making this vintage clock face available in the public domain

Quiltin' the Blues

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Evening Music: Owls

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The owls are always nearby on our regular post supper walk. We hardly ever see them, but we know them by their voices. I sometimes wonder what notice they take of us.

City Bound: Angels and Crocodiles (Part 4)

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I wonder if everybody have one animal that really scares them, but secretly they find it kinda intriguing. For me, it's crocodiles. Crocodiles seem like a much bigger deal than alligators, which are equally deadly. l hunt crocs out at the zoo, the aquarium, and I tried to find one when I went to Costa Rica.

I pick up any any book or magazine with a nature story showing a picture of an innocent flamingo fluttering down, looking for her shrimp. You know the next picture, SNAP! My favorite Number One Ladies Detective Agency story is the one where M'ma Ramotswe - hey wait a minute. Maybe you haven't read that one yet. Go straight to your library and look up Alexander McCall Smith. Then sit down with a big cup of red bush tea and don't expect to get up until you finish the first book.

Where was I? Oh yeah, crocodiles.

The same urge that draws me to crocodiles likewise interests me in cities - not something I really want to be close to, yet so intriguing. As you may recall from the previous three episodes *, I took a day off and rode my bike to the train station and on up to San Francisco. From there I biked along The Embarcadero and eventually went on out to Fort Mason. The road from Fisherman's Wharf, past Ghirardeli Square, up and over the hill, was crowded with people visiting for Fleet Week. This event is a demonstration of the United States naval power, and an excellent military recruitment tool. Everybody had their noses turned skywards as The Blue Angels demonstrated their prowess. No doubt about it, their skills are awesome.

I thought about crocodiles a lot while I was watching those pilots.

* City Bound: Car Free to San Francisco (Part 1)

City Bound: Biking The Embarcadero (Part 2)

City Bound: The Ferry Building (Part 3)

Dancing on the Wire

Like Araneidae on the wire,


Like a drunk in a midnight choir.

I have tried.

in my way,

to be free.

With apologies to Joe Cocker’s “Bird on the Wire”

Please click on the picture above to really appreciate this lady's beauty

Performing in the Moment OR Who's Paddling This Canoe Anyway?

Marcia and I performed together today. We did "Nell Cor Piu Non Mi Sento" a lovely Italian aria from the 18'th century. I got to sing.

Marcia played BOTH flute and piano. First, as we rehearsed it, she played the introductory part before the vocalist comes in. I stood and attempted to look both reflective, and a little humorous at the thought of my 18'th century boyfriend's infatuation with me. Being a first soprano, I made it clear that I would EXPECT him to be infatuated. Because that's the way first sopranos have been made since the dawn of time. We rule. We carry the melody about 95% of the time. And we get real cranky the other 5 percent, because we don't actually read music as well as the other voice parts, not really having to do it as often.

I was in the moment! Oooo I was enjoying singing the song so much that I forgot to hold out the 'nellllll' right a the most important part! That was the part where, as we had practiced, Marcia was going to stow her FLUTE on the stand and move her hands up to the piano to play the accompanying chords. Buuuuuttt, gosh I was SO into the moment, I just knew she'd come right along with me.

I LOVED IT, but maybe, just MAYBE it was not as fun for the woman switching instruments mid-stream. It was kind of like she was out there in a canoe, paddling away with a Steinway under one arm and a flute under the other - doing all the work to keep the boat bobbing in the stream. Meanwhile I was standing upright in the canoe, at the prow, singing "Loookkkk at Meeeee. I'm going down streeeaaaammmm!"

It was extremely nice of her not to drop me in the flood.