Computer Memory

I capture all the gems 

With just a click 

On the box - ‘download’. 

These crystal baubles then 

Order themselves in a line 

With mathematical precision

In some dark place. 

I will probably never 

Stumble upon again,

Hidden in some Delphic language, 

In some password-protected room. 

And their value 

Is only when I, not another, 

Bring them back to light.

But only if I blunder onto them 

Before I, myself, have been placed 

In some dark sectioned place 

Where there is no clicking 

And silence reigns.

Familiar Visitor

It was one of those odd early mornings about 3:30 AM.. yes, early! I woke up to go to the bathroom and then felt too rested to fall back asleep and headed to the living room to read a light silly romance that had been a break from my usual historical or biographical or environmental books.   I was near the end and perhaps could finish before sunrise.

 A light caught my eye through the French doors, and at first, I thought it was some new ugly spotlight from a neighbor's dock across the way.  Some of my neighbors are so fearful and perhaps a bit superstitious since they seem to think the light will chase away anything nefarious from their empty weekend getaways.  Yet, as I focused more carefully,  I  saw the glow was high in the trees and not a light but a soft vanilla moon smiling down at me.  A perfect spring night and sailing slowly across the Western sky with the black silhouette of new green leaves gently dancing in the front at the edges.  It was a celestial prom night, perhaps.

I felt that I had been blessed with such a lovely gift.  It was as if an old friend was smiling at me from a distance reassuring me that everything was in its place 'once again and for a while ' where it was supposed to be, pushing away my usual misgivings.  The shining circle seemed to gently grow as it moved closer to the horizon.  

I would have missed the light show if I had stayed in bed.  

I stepped outside, barefoot and camera in hand, without a tripod and impatient to try to capture the moment.  A bird was singing a single intermittent note as if to call forth the sun.   No mosquitoes, but the very tiny biting flies would soon find my warm breath, so a stolen photo would have to suffice.  The second photo below was on a calmer night with a steadier hand and was much earlier in the month when the moon was just an infant.

Of course, the news told me later that this full moon was the Flower moon and would be eclipsed for those on the West Coast in just a few hours.  But no dance show for me.  My orbed friend was too shy.

Keeping Up

For those of my readers who are lucky enough to have healthy and happy children, I wish to caution that keeping up with them gets harder each year. 

I am in my mid-70s and my daughter's family of pre-teens and teenagers is very much into physical activity. My daughter planned a "glamping" trip over the weekend as a Mother's Day event. The trip included sleeping in fancy Teepees that had electricity and indoor plumbing and spending the day doing things like kayak/canoeing, bicycle riding, and rope climbing. I participated in the first two but have outgrown ziplining and tree climbing! (In retrospect I think the trip was to keep the rest of her family happy while pretending it was a Mother's Day event. Also, it was her Mother's Day of course.) We all are vaccinated or in the case of my daughter's family recovered from COVID and they are soon to get their shots.  Most of it was outdoors and masking was only when they were in groups of others.

My son and his wife joined us as well, but even they had trouble keeping up.

Below a montage of memories from the event and wishing those of you who have children, a belated Happy Mother's Day and perhaps, one that was very simple where they just took you out to dinner.

I Write the Best Posts at Night

Just as I drift (attempt to drift) off to sleep, I can write the very best posts for this blog. I come up with wonderful subjects that can lend themselves to concise or elaborate text. Ideas that are meaningful and compelling. Subjects that are interesting or intriguing or just friendly and familiar.  When I wake up in the morning my ideas have all pixelated into the disjointed fog just like those photos that are enlarged all out of proportion to their original digital information.

Since my fifteen-month illness disappeared faster than this spring's tulips, I have felt more creative and energetic.  But I find these are just feelings and not something that is manifested into concrete production and activity.  I am back working on my free weights and my running on the elliptical, but there are many days that I can find excuses to put this off until the following day.  Excuses like the exercise clothes I have really should be washed, I must wait to digest my recent meal (which becomes an excuse to wait until just before the next meal), or finally, I have to clean out the inbox of my emails.  

My creativity is there for this blog, but when strained through the clean light of morning,  it also comes out flat and must be put off until after the news, after the gardening, after cooking.  Excuses.

Most of my readers are my age...old.  Their lives do not stand still as they move forward with the challenges of aging.  I go to their blogs and find I have missed a crisis or two or even three!  I feel guilty for sitting on my thumbs when the real world is still turning.

Perhaps I should write about the new fellow that has moved in quite comfortably under the deck.

Yet, I do believe that the real world is once again getting back to order and people are once again moving at a quicker pace.  There is a large group of people in my country who are on a hate fest and who will not be happy until they 'win' whatever it is they think they are pursuing.  But the larger group of people just want normal and courteous discourse and freedom to love the nature of the world once again.  I think they would even be willing to read a boring blog or two to inject normalcy back into their lives.

I will write soon about the goose saga.  With encouraging and discouraging photos, because us old ladies have not much else in our lives but birds.

My coffee is now cold, so I am off to read your blogs and hopefully to comment!