Mrs. Smith
Posted on | March 13, 2010 | Comments Off
I was in front of the house this afternoon looking at Elaine’s succulents and a car stopped at the curb. Two women, one older, wanted to talk. The older woman had lived next door many years ago.
I brought her in the house, to the deck. Showed her the gardens, magnolia and other blossoming trees. She was transported by memories.
We talked for awhile. She is 93. Her husband had been a bishop at the Latter Day Saints temple up the hill.
Mrs. Smith
I got to give back a bit today.
Walk well. God is love.
Waiting
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | Comments Off
A few consumables. And the food to start with at the border and for two resupply points. That’s all that’s left to buy. I think. Oh, socks. I want more socks.
Last night I ordered new trail runners — New Balance 910s, 15 EEEE! Head lamp, batteries, pad, DEET, Purell wipes. A thousand packets.
I won’t be able to pack for about ten days, as I wait for the last of the supplies to arrive.
One more thing. Practice attaching the big mosquito net to the tarp. I want to be able to do that quickly.
Trim toe nails, finger nails. Get hair cut.
Drive to Jeff’s house. And the journey begins.
Walk well. God is love.
It’s Lent
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | Comments Off
. . . and I have a new sin.
Saint Benoît yogurt. One of the fine things taking place in this part of the world is the increasing availability of artisanal foods. What joy. Riches. Achievable riches.
Walk well. God is love.
Gotta get outta here
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | Comments Off
A good reason to not be on the trail today: rain blowing at 50 miles per hour.
So. I’m sitting at home. Thinking, planning, journaling, Face Booking. All things PCT.
I got in the gardening I had planned this morning while waiting for the garage door repairman to show up. Seems Elaine left the back door on her Subaru station wagon open when opening the garage door . . . . I am so glad I didn’t do that. Anyway. By the time I was ready to hike, the rain came. Off and on.
Why didn’t I wait to decide on a hike for mid-April?
Walk well. God is love.
Night magic
Posted on | March 7, 2010 | Comments Off
One of the reasons I hike long trails and sleep “cowboy style” — under the stars. On every clear night I have seen shooting stars.
The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.
Walk well. God is love.
They have begun to kill people
Posted on | March 5, 2010 | Comments Off
. . . or to try to.
The man who flew an airplane into the Austin building housing the IRS, the man who shot Pentagon guards. Hatred of government. Hatred.
I would like to see Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), the Senate Minority Leader, condemn these acts unequivocally. It is difficult for him because of his base base.
There will be more killing until it becomes a habit. A part of the fabric of the country. Expected.
And the target list will expand.
Homosexuals. The teabaggers hate homosexuals. Jews. Christian fundamentalists support Israel now. And make efforts to show comfort with Judaism. It is an not a comfortable relationship and will change. Dramatically. Blacks. No surprise there.
Walk well. God is love.
Wet
Posted on | March 2, 2010 | Comments Off
I think this is the longest period of frequent rainfall in my life.
The view from my back door
Soggy, slick trails, mud in the garden. Weeds, weeds, weeds. And yet.
I looked out my back door this morning, ready to complain. No one would hear it, but I thought it my due. And then I looked more carefully. Part of my disappointment was about what I have and miss — at this time.
The table. How fine it is to sit there and eat the produce from the garden. And to feel the sweetness of the air. How fine it is that the garden is so very happy with this rain. The new yellow onions are six inches high! And the hill behind the garden that gives me my morning view from the bed. Thank you God for the day.
Reality is. Perception changes.
Walk well. God is love.
One day of sunshine
Posted on | February 28, 2010 | Comments Off
I was doing some gardening this morning and walked around checking the fruit trees. The citrus are in their glory. The apricot trees were bare, and the fig had small leaf buds. I just returned from a neighbor’s home and the apricot trees have put out the tiniest leaves. One day of sunshine.
Spring is not here. Over the next five day forecast, three days of rain are included. But. Living things out of doors are quickening. Growing. Ready for the light and the warmth. Life.
I am enjoying getting things ready for Elaine — for her kitchen and ease of maintenance. It is a sweet time.
And now I’m off for a walk on the ridgeline.
Walk well. God is love.
The same
Posted on | February 28, 2010 | Comments Off
The same people; the same mindlessness.
Frank Rich wrote an op-ed about the rising anger and tendency towards violence on the right. As if Andrew Joseph Stack III’s flying an airplane into the building housing the IRS in Austin were, in effect, tantamount to Fort Sumter before the Civil War. His is a view I have held for some time.
I was at my Republican nephew’s house in Austin during President Bush’s first term and told him that I thought that Americans were more divided than at any time in our history except for the Civil War. And that I thought it likely there would be some kind of armed revolt. I thought it might come from the poor and out-of-work. But it’s not. It’s from the same old group as the Civil War. The mindless right. Acting on passion, not information. Responding, not evaluating. Moving in the direction of an animal’s mindless killing. And there is a burgeoning effort to subvert the armed forces.
Walk well. God is love.
Better than DEET
Posted on | February 28, 2010 | Comments Off
N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide
Lynne Wheldon recorded what I think might be the first commercial video about the Pacific Crest Trail: How To Hike The Pacific Crest Trail. I have watched it many times. Virtual hiking. He raises issues and has edited in responses to these issues on various subjects, including mosquitoes.
Please understand that a lot of hikers are moralistic about “natural” substances. And can drone on and on about them. There is an email list, the PCT-L, where experienced and would-be hikers exchange information. And opinions. There is frequent conflict between what I call the tree huggers and the wingnuts. I tend towards tree huggerdom. Many hikers begin hiking the PCT using citronella — a “natural” substance — to ward off mosquitoes. But.
In Lynne’s video, he asks hikers who have completed hiking the Pacific Crest Trail what they use against mosquitoes. It’s hilarious. He has edited short clips showing the responses: “DEET.” “DEET.” “DEET.” “DEET.” “100% DEET.” and so on.
Why am I writing about mostuitoes? And what is better than DEET?
We have a neighbor who has extended part of his house to create a large den/family room. The room has a flat roof that collects water. And attracts mosquitoes. And this morning there were nine big ravens turkey vultures feasting on mosquito larvae and mosquitoes drinking water on our neighbor’s roof. Better than DEET. Well, not really. But I’ve already written the entry. Hmm. I’ll leave it up.
Walk well. God is love.
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