response to missed photo op + giveaway!

In response to yesterday's post, I received this comment:

Fogged in

Visibility under one-quarter mile

Big fat fly

Buzzing around in front window

Non-descript gray bird

Pecking for food

In the grass

Camera on the table

No batteries

I loved it. It cracked me up and that set me to thinking. I'd like to have you all share a poem, an extended haiku, a free verse--something you wrote about a missed opportunity (photo or otherwise). Make it funny, poignant, silly, absurd, real--your choice. Leave it in the comments and I will pick a random commenter to receive a Tshirt of your choice from the options on the right. Two options that are not pictured include "Don't Make Me Call My Soeur" (for my Canadian friends) and "Don't Make Me Call Your Sister" (for those of you who don't have a sister--born or chosen).

Since I am out of town, I will choose the commenter at random on Sunday the 26th at 5:00 p.m. PST. I can't wait to read your entries.

To make up for the missed op, the deer arrived in the back this morning, giving me ample opportunity to shoot them--photographically, of course.






This was over my deck railing. They really did get this close:

missed photo op

Sunday morning
Top down
Headed for adventure
Not one
Or two
But six

Deer

In the neighbors' yards

All seemed young
Yearling sized

One had antler bumps
He looked up
When I noticed them
And spoke to him
Then went back to grazing

Good grass here

My camera
In the bag

thought i was screwed

You can do anything you want to do as long as you keep a good attitude and keep working at it. But the second you give up, you're screwed.

~ Dolly Parton ~

...but I didn't give up.

I am on vacation this week. I didn't know if I would be able to upload pictures or my blog. My first attempt, I said, "I give up." And then I didn't. Hallelujah--pictures and blog seem to upload.

i love dolly

I have a place of worship in each of my homes. Even in my apartment, I have a little pray-do where I can kneel. I pray as I walk around, but it's a way to remind you that it ain't gonna hurt you to get on your knees and humble yourself before God.

~ Dolly Parton ~

The latest AARP Magazine printed an interview with Dolly. Go ahead and click the link to read. What an amazing woman! I love her tenacity, common sense, sense of humor, and self-confidence. You'll be seeing more quotes from her here.

I also love The Muse of South Prairie. Go on over and read her latest essay/post. Dolly ain't got nothin' on her--except a few million dollars. And after you read it, go on...shake your booty. That's what I'd do.

Tell Pesticide Peddlers: We support Michelle Obama's organic garden.

From TrueMajority.org

Dear Friend,

The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has a bone to pick with Michelle Obama. MACA represents chemical companies that produce pesticides, and they are angry that - wait for it - Michelle Obama isn't using chemicals in her organic garden at the White House.

I am not making this up.

In an email they forwarded to their supporters, a MACA spokesman wrote, "While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made [us] shudder." MACA went on to publish a letter it had sent to the First Lady asking her to consider using chemicals -- or what they call "crop protection products" -- in her garden.

I just signed a petition telling MACA's board members to stop using Michelle Obama's garden to spread propaganda about produce needing to be sprayed with chemicals. I hope you will, too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/wh_garden/?r_by=-2003055-elkVfHx&rc=paste

Thanks!

Love Thursday ~ 04.16.09

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.

~ St. Augustine ~

virtue

Virtue means doing the right thing, in relation to the right person,
at the right time, to the right extent, in the right manner, and for
the right purpose. Thus, to give money away is quite a simple task,
but for the act to be virtuous, the donor must give to the right
person, for the right purpose, in the right amount, in the right
manner, and at the right time.

~ Aristotle ~

explanation and update

Apparently, the sign in yesterday's post doesn't make sense unless you understand that I live in the Pacific Northwest. I love bamboo and tropical plants. I have several tropicals in my yard, so when I saw the sign at Cistus, a wonderful nursery on Sauvie Island, I knew that explained my "disorder."

Here's the latest on the garden:

(herbs)

(lots of other stuff)

(celery)

(red leaf lettuce)

(romaine)

And now for the bamboo update! Get a load of this:

(the new shoot is the one in the foreground--it is now at least 18 inches tall)

No other new shoots have been spotted to date. If it ever stops hailing and the sun comes out, I am sure the next ones are just waiting to pop through the surface.

i've got it...bad

Welcome back from the weekend, everyone. I hope you are all being "passed over."

happy easter

"It makes you feel better about your own success if you don't just hoard all that money. I always pray to God, 'Well, give me enough to share and enough to spare.' "

~ Dolly Parton ~

raise your hand

God has no other hands than ours.

~ Dorothee Sölle ~
German theologian and writer, Suffering (1973)

i probably shouldn't post this picture...or this quote

(I am starting to place peanuts in the crook of "Frank's" arm so the squirrels will get used to going there to eat. I am hoping to start getting some pictures of him holding them. I guess you could say my timing was off.)

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~

You gotta love that woman.

love thursday 04.09.09 ~ oh, what relief!

What a tremendous relief it should be...to discover that we don’t need to prove ourselves to God.

~ Desmond Tutu ~

yes...what then?

(calla lily)

What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?

~ George Eliot ~
Middlemarch (1871)

transformation

These...

...became these...

(daffodil)

The first principle of nonviolent action is that of

noncooperation with everything humiliating.

~ César Chávez ~

Bamboo shoot update:


Compare it to this. Today, after two days of 75 degree weather, the shoot is 7 inches tall. Two days ago, it was about 4 inches tall. Now it is past the third knuckle. No new shoots on any of the other plants so far.

what would wanda drink?

(aquarium at harbour towers hotel, victoria, bc)

I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.

~ W.C. Fields ~

How about you? What do you drink? Oh, come on...share with us.

3rd party csa

Do you know what a CSA is? It's Community Supported Agriculture. In a traditional CSA, a farmer sells "shares of the farm" and the shareholders receive a portion of the crop. It is a great way to get fresh organic vegetables and fruits and a good way for farmers to stay in business in this economy.

For a couple years, we were "sharecroppers" with a CSA in the region. This year, they decided not to continue to serve the area in which we live. I'm not sure why, probably because it involved trucking the produce a couple hours and gas prices continued to rise. Also, they may have had enough customers in their immediate area that they were able to meet everyone's needs (theirs and their customers) much closer to home.

We were left with "What to do?"

S.O. did the research and came up with "Your Backyard Farmer"...right here in our area. YBF provide several different levels of service and this year, we are having them do the whole thing. They prepare the area, irrigate, plant, harvest, and send us recipes. Works for me. Maybe next year, we will go up a level and have them teach us how to begin working the farm ourselves.

(our garden plot...or farm close to home)

(the cardboard kills the grass and they don't have to do
the back breaking work of removing the sod--plus,
they participate in recycling by having a relationship
with a local appliance store and take their
large boxes off their hands)

(step two: bean poles and pea vines are up)

I have a purple thumb myself. I've never been very good at keeping plants alive so this is a whole new adventure for me. I am so looking forward to having live food--fresh, organic, live food.

I'll keep you posted with pictures along the way.

OUTRAGE

If you haven't yet, please go here. And then go here.

And then, write or call your congress people.

Because if these bills pass...what will it mean to this?

(our organic third-party csa garden)

More to come about the garden.

bamboo update

If you compare this:



...to this:



...you'll see that the shoot has grown a couple more inches. In the first picture you can't even see the knuckle joint. In this one? Way past.

Oh, this is going to be a fun spring and summer...

...if it ever stops raining...

...and the sun ever comes out.

They say it will be 70 degrees this weekend and that should bode well for more new shoots. Stay tuned.

yellow

That's all. Just yellow.

Song running through my head: Mellow Yellow by Donovan

Love Thursday ~ 04.02.09

Our first bamboo shoot. It is hard to tell, but it is about 3 inches tall. When I first saw it, it was 2 inches tall. I came in the house, got the camera, ate lunch and went back outside. It grew an inch!
I am going to love watching the bamboo grow this year--if we ever get sun again.

PS -Today is my birthday. Delurk and let me know you were here. I know you're out there somewhere.

like...the theme of the day

(lichen)

There is nothing to make you like other human beings so much as doing things for them.

~ Zora Neale Hurston ~
Dust Tracks on a Road (1942)

Song running through my head: Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band

food

(pantry at Navarre)

When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.

~ Dom Helder Camara ~
former Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Brazil

follow me...if you'd like

(darth vader playing for change in victoria)

We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together, and if we are to live together we have to talk.

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~
in The New York Times (1960)

[At the request of graceonline, I added the "Follow Me" widget to my sidebar. For those of you who have already joined me, thanks. I love seeing you there. If you haven't yet, I invite you to join the party. There's always something to see around here.]

what would wanda do about an alcoholic friend?

Wanda, what would you do ... ?

A dear friend is an alcoholic and prescription drug abuser. She has been on antidepressants for years. She mixes booze and pills, knowing they can kill her. Recently, her shrink prescribed amphetamines to "help her get out of bed."

She talks of suicide every time I see her. She claims her therapist and her prescription shrink know this. I am beside myself with worry that the combination of speed, downers, alcohol and carelessness will finally do her in. What would you do?


PRAY.

Seriously. I would pray for wisdom about what to do in this situation, as well as praying for my friend's well-being. Then I would listen for inspiration--both from my inner voice and from interactions of those around me.

You say this person is a "dear friend." How fortunate that she is dear to you and I presume you are to her, as well. Does your friend know she is an alcoholic? Does she know that what she is doing is abusing drugs? Those may seem like stupid questions, but sometimes people really don't know. They might know something is wrong, yet not know what the problem is. If this is the case, I would talk to her. I would share my concern about her behaviors and her suicidal tendencies and tell her that these are symptoms of something being out of balance for her. Let her know that it is not because something is wrong with her and that with the right kind of help and treatment, she can get some help and relief.

I might offer to go to an appointment with her to share my observations with her therapist and/or psychiatrist. They may, in fact, know about her thoughts and feelings as your friend states; however, she might be relieved if you were to offer to go with her to share your insights and support her through this tough time. If she refuses...well, that is her choice--even though it is a crappy choice she is making. If she won't agree to have you go with her, you can ask her if you might talk (or write a letter) to her therapist and prescriber. Again, she might say no, but what does it hurt to ask? If nothing else, it reinforces for her your concern. If she says yes, mail the letter--don't ask her to deliver it. On the slippery slope of substance abuse, such missives can get lost if placed in the hand of the user. If you call the treaters, let them know that you are aware that they can't share information with you and that you talked with your friend who knows you are calling. They may simply say, "Thank you." They may even refuse to talk to you, but if they listen, you will know that they do know about your friend's alcoholic behaviors in conjuction with her drug use.

Another option is to do an intervention on your friend. This would take planning and I would recommend involving a professional to guide you through the process. Interventions can be life saving for the substance abuser. If her family and other friends will participate with you, the intervention is even more potent. Part of the reason for having a professional involved in the intervention process is to help come up with options, both for your friend and her treatment and for you if she refuses. You need to know what your limits are. For example, will you stop talking to her if she doesn't get treatment? Is she welcome to talk call you only if she hasn't been drinking? What will you do to take care of yourself once she decides what she will or won't do.

And, of course, the bottom line is that your friend does get to make her own decisions. Unless she is threatening to do harm to herself or someone else, she gets to make her own decisions, bad though they might be. If she is threatening to do harm and you believe her, call 9-1-1. Get her help immediately. Don't try to convince her of anything--just get her help.

This is a long answer to a short question about a complex issue. What would I do? I would talk to her. I would do my best to get her some help, share information, be supportive. And...most of all, I would take care of myself. If she refuses to do anything to help herself, I would do what I need to do to set my own boundaries--difficult though it may be.

I send my best wishes prayers to you and your friend. May she choose life.

That's what I'd do.

Wanda

who is my brother?

(where's Wanda?)

How do we learn to love our enemy? By seeing him as a brother who is tempted as we are, and attacked by the same real enemy which is the spirit of hatred and of "Antichrist." This same enemy seeks to destroy us both by pitting us against one another.

~ Thomas Merton ~
from Passion For Peace

I watched Milk tonight. While it was a great film, I wouldn't call it uplifting. When will we learn? No...really...when will we learn?

Song running through my head: Where have all the flowers gone? by the Kingston Trio

the beckoning of lovely...by amy

Karen at Chookooloonks comes up with the best stuff. In her Love Thursday post yesterday, she included the link to the video below.

For some reason I cannot explain, it moved me to tears. Good tears. Heartful tears. Yes! tears. Hopeful tears. "Yes, we can" tears.

This is a perfect example of how art brings people together and connects us. Thank you, Karen for introducing me to this wonderful piece. Thank you, Amy, for even coming up with the idea.

Take a look. See if you are moved, too.

May your every day be filled with love.

Larry ~ Love Thursday ~ 03.26.09

If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.

~ Michel de Montaigne ~

i don't think it's a chain, so what is it about these port towns?

(portland, oregon)

(port angeles, washington)

i mean no disrespect but from the back she looks like neptune

(victoria)

...so of course, I called her Neptune the entire time we were there. It's just one of the stupid things I did to make my sister laugh. It worked.

And if you look closely, the moment I took the picture, she had a visitor...atop her crown.

Looks like there was a little present left on her bosom, too. See? After that, being called Neptune doesn't seem so bad, does it?