A red leaf.

I forgot everything else I saw yesterday morning. The first sunflower in bloom. The wispy pink and white morning glories. The white African daisy with its dark purple center.

The red leaf. Fall in summer.


"Hey!" said the sunlight.
Red leaf in bright light.
Red leaf in some light.
Red life in shade.
"Hey!" said the sunlight.


When I previewed the photos on the computer I saw it then.
Had I looked away? Had I blinked?
A shiny black bug on the red leaf.
Where did it come from?

A black-and-white map?
An overview of a terrain of some sort?
For reconnaissance?

A red leaf.

It's Mosaic Monday, so I thought I'd try something different today.  Good cheer, Everyone!

1. Have you ever had a vacation ruined by the weather or did you just work around it?
A change of weather is part of the adventure. My body still recalls the warm happy drenching from a passing rain cloud while waiting for a bus east of Waikiki.

2. What small changes do you feel people could make to give the planet a fighting chance against global warming?
I would've thought after 50 years, we have this down: Plant trees and vegetation; purchase appliances, vehicles, and machinery that are environmentally friendly; conserve natural resources; recycle, reuse, repurpose.

3. Are you adversely affect by the weather, such as SAD? I'm not aware of anything. 


4. How is the weather where you are and have you seen drastic changes in it during your life time?
Dry. If it weren't for the coastal weather drifting through a low mountain range, probably 80s would be unbearable.  It rained more around here when I was a kid. I think the change in weather is mostly due to human activity. Th…

LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color suggested I give Sunday Stealing a try.  It's a weekly meme, hosted by Bev Sykes, that comes up with a different list of fun questions, from elsewhere on the Internet, every Sunday. I think of it as answering surveys in magazines, once upon a time.

So, here I go with this week's questions.

1. If you could be a Muppet, which would you be?
The Muppets came along when I wasn't watching TV, but I did get hooked on the Muppet Babies. Among the babies, I would be Skeeter. She didn't get much play on the show, but from what I saw, the girl had a lot of gumption and moxie.


2. Why is a chicken crossing the road in the first place?
To see how a cow is out standing in its field.

3. What's your favorite muscle?
Heart or brain? Brain or heart? Without the heart pumping away, the brain can't live so I'll go with the heart.

4. Cheerios or Rice Krispies?
Snap, crackle, pop, please.


5. Is summer ever going to get here? 
Summer appeared in mid Ma…

"Have we seen this movie before?" I asked the Husband. "This looks familiar."

"I don't think so. But it seems like I've seen this scene, too."

Two weeks later, more or less, another movie. Said the Husband, "We already saw this movie."

"We saw the documentary about his life. But it does seem like we saw something else."

"This movie."

It turns out the Husband and I had seen the first movie, Olive Kitteridge but not the second one, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Two thumbs up for both of them.


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Missy Molly the pinky-nosed (wild) Cat sleeps anywhere she wants.  So, I shall tiptoe over toMosaic Monday.

I've been digging. Here a little dig. There a big dig. All over the yard, both front and back.

The last several days I've focused on finding shady spots for potted succulents in the backyard. Those parched guys looked so happy and relaxed after a few hours in the shade absorbing a long drink of water.  I've also been digging beds for the extra bean, tomato, and pepper seedlings that sprouted. I can't bring myself to throw them out.  They deserve a chance to produce fruit, too.

The Husband built a trellis for the beans to climb. Pretty cool, huh. Mama would've given him a giggle, grin, and an extra nod of well done.


This morning I dug the biggest bed for the tomato and pepper seedlings. Double dig, work in soil amendment, turn soil one more time, and let rest for tomorrow's planting. Daddy would've been proud, by golly, by gee that I paid attention to how he prepared the land for his vegetable garden. That's a story for another day.

Digging, shovels, ir…

Missus Lady said today's post is mine to do, if I like.

Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Missus Lady and Mister Man did errands today. Miao, miao. They skipped the pet store mowrrr because Missus Lady's mask flew off her head.

Said Missus Lady (which I'm repeating word for word), "I'd just pushed my mask up on my head and opened the car window. I heard a scraping sound so I leaned out the window to see if anything was dangling from the car. Nothing, but then I saw something pink fly by me. It was my mask."

"We turned around to fetch it. As Missus Lady got out of the car, a big rig ran over the mask," added Mister Man (not those exact words but that idea).

Miao, miao. Missus Lady retrieved her mask from the middle of the empty street. Miao. Because it was no longer safe to wear and Missus Lady is the designated shopper, my humans came home.

It's the green can for dinner tonight. Mowrr.

I am glad my Humans are home, safe and sound, even without different f…

The story I was told.

She was a child.
Ang ubing. Maybe three, maybe four.

She had fallen ill.
Masakit.
Dakes.
Terribly sick.

"She pinched the air," said Lola Julia, "like she was catching butterflies."

- 30 -

Mosiac Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf is where I'm heading now. Come join me.

"I want to be there," said the Husband.

Me, too.

The other day I was missing the sight of granite, miles and miles of exposed surface of batholith mountains. In particular, the Sierra Nevada mountain range. More specifically, Desolation Wilderness in the El Dorado National Forest, west of Lake Tahoe.


Every year, for nine years, the Late Great First Husband and I backpacked the Sierras. At least one trip was to our favorite spot, Pyramid Lake in Desolation Wilderness, above Horsetail Falls, off of Highway 50.

These photos are from my first backpacking trip up Horsetail Falls. The original prints were overexposed. Thankfully, I kept the pictures and was able to "clean" them up a bit in Photoshop.



Talk about following the First Husband with complete trust while carrying 25 pounds, more or less, of food, gear, and reading material on my back. I don't know what it's like today, but back then, once you got to the base of the falls, the way up and down the m…