Meanwhile in a valley in the Coast Ranges....

EN ROUTE

2012-01-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

En route to the old man who lives in a barn...
three large pink pigs root across a rain-greened meadow
an emu arches its neck to preen its belly feathers
a brown and white llama yawns at me
acorn woodpeckers call to each other from the oaks they tend, ancient specimens clad in moss and lichens

GENTLE RAINS

2012-01-25T11:04:00.001-08:00

Creeks rush through town, headed towards the Russian River, and low meadows become wetlands.
A barbershop quartet of frogs performs nightly for my walk from car to front door.

ON THE ROAD

2012-01-21T14:31:00.001-08:00

Things seen while driving this morning: three rainbows, three views of the Russian River running swiftly and muddied, three turkey vultures contemplating a small dead thing.

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS

2012-01-21T07:41:00.001-08:00

The eaves and trees talk to each other in Morse code

The birds add commentary

RAIN

2012-01-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

Before the rain:
A robin sits atop the garden wall like a fat red-bellied Buddha.

Rain:
In the rain
All trees loom
All birds are dark shadows on a field of gray
And only the frogs are singing

MOVIN' ON

2011-11-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

I find myself using this blog less often because, of the resources available to me, it is really the most complicated in terms of the use to which I most often put it: sharing links or photos about my life or about health issues or whatever, plus adding some comments to them.
I have had a blog over at tumblr for a while and it is MUCH more user friendly in terms of that kind of blogging. It is a blog, not a website you have to "join" in order to follow or browse in.
So I invite you to take a look at it and unless there is something about the format or page you really dislike, start following me there or just check it out whenever it's convenient for you. I'm not going to make this blog go away, but at least for now I will not be adding to it.
THIS IS THE LINK TO THE BLOG. It's url if you prefer not to click on the link is (CORRECTED DECEMBER 1) http://zanshinart.tumblr.com/

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN NO-SUGAR CORNBREAD

2011-11-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

I adapted a couple of recipes with my own way of doing things and here is Janet's Gluten-Free Vegan No Sugar Cornbread.
We are going to use it as a basis for pan stuffing Thanksgiving, but I wanted to try it tonight to make sure it's a good recipe. It is.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly oil a loaf pan.
Mix dry ingredients: 2.5 cups medium grind cornmeal, 2.5 cups flour mix (my general purpose mix 1 tsp stevia, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tb baking powder.
Mix wet ingredients: 2 cups almond milk (or rice or soy - I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk best), 1 cup applesauce, 2 tsp lemon juice or rice vinegar.
Add wet to dry. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake - set timer for 40 minutes, may take up to 50 minutes.

Flour mix, by weight: 8 oz rice flour, 8 oz almond meal, 6 oz sorghum flour, 4 oz potato flour. A bit high fat with the almond meal, but excellent flavor and texture for general baking savory or sweet.

THE OVER USE OF, AND LIMITS OF, MRI

2011-10-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

This article in the New York Times extends findings on back pain to other joints, and confirms what many of us have long felt: a positive finding on a scan does NOT mean it is causing your pain AND there is no substitute for excellent history-and-physical.

"...scanned the shoulders of 31 perfectly healthy professional baseball pitchers. The pitchers were not injured and had no pain. But the M.R.I.’s found abnormal shoulder cartilage in 90 percent of them and abnormal rotator cuff tendons in 87 percent. “If you want an excuse to operate on a pitcher’s throwing shoulder, just get an M.R.I.,” Dr. Andrews says...
"Dr. Green and his colleagues reviewed the records of 101 patients who had shoulder pain lasting at least six weeks and that had not resulted from trauma, like a fall. Forty-three arrived bearing M.R.I.’s from a doctor who had seen them previously. The others did not have scans. In all cases, Dr. Green made a diagnosis on the basis of a physical exam, a history, and regular X-rays. A year later, Dr. Green re-assessed the patients. There was no difference in the outcome of the treatment of the two groups of patients despite his knowledge of the findings on the scans. M.R.I.’s, he said, are not needed for the initial evaluation and treatment of many whose shoulder pain does not result from an actual injury to the shoulder.
"...Dr. DiGiovanni did a similar study with foot and ankle patients, looking back at 221 consecutive patients over a three-month period, 201 of whom did not have fractures. More than 15 percent arrived with M.R.I.’s obtained by doctors they had seen before coming to Dr. DiGiovanni. Nearly 90 percent of those scans were unnecessary and half had interpretations that either made no difference to the patient’s diagnosis or were at odds with the diagnosis."

CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, PROTEIN AND BONE LOSS

2011-10-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

Based on my last post, a couple of folks have asked about calcium, phosphorus and bone loss, wondering about my assertion that too much meat and dairy can actually pose a problem in terms of osteoporosis.

Dummie.com has a good simple explanation of the biochemistry of the ongoing cycle of bone growth/bone loss. One excellent reference page on the balance between calcium and phosphorus is from University of Maryland Medical Center. They do a very good explanation and make this point:

"Nutritionists  recommend a balance of calcium and phosphorus in the diet. The typical  Western diet, however, contains roughly 2 - 4 times more phosphorus than  calcium. Meat and poultry contain 10 - 20 times as much phosphorus as  calcium, and carbonated beverages such as colas have as much as 500 mg  of phosphorus in one serving. When there is more phosphorus than calcium  in the body, the body will use calcium stored in bones. This can cause  osteoporosis (brittle bones) and lead to gum and teeth problems. A  balance of dietary calcium and phosphorus can lower the risk of  osteoporosis."

So, what about milk? Well, it is very high in calcium but because it is very high in protein it ends up pulling calcium out of the bones. The issue is not eating calcium, its getting it into the bones AND then keeping it there. The website of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine mentions the Harvard University Nurses' Health Study (I've been a proud subject in Nurses' Health Study II for over 20 years now!):

"...a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who  drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk.1  Similarly, a 1994 study of elderly men and women in Sydney, Australia,  showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased   fracture risk. Those with the highest dairy product consumption had   approximately double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the   lowest consumption.2"

A Harvard page admits that calcium alone won't do it but for some reason doesn't even mention the possible role of lower protein in the countries they talk about:

"Additional evidence further supports the idea that American adults may  not need as much calcium as is currently recommended. For example, in  countries such as India, Japan, and Peru where average daily calcium  intake is as low as 300 milligrams per day (less than a third of the  U.S. recommendation for adults, ages 19 to 50), the incidence of bone  fractures is quite low. Of course, these countries differ in other  important bone-health factors as well—such as level of physical activity  and amount of sunlight—which could account for their low fracture  rates."

When I look for stuff on the internet, I may browse certain sites but tend to discount what they say: quacks selling special diets, vitamin pushers, lobbying associations for dairy and beef industry and of course major pharmaceutical companies. If one of those sites happens to mention research findings, I search forward for a more neutral report of that research. I did find one page worth mentioning, that of a woman getting her Masters in Nutrition at Tufts who has summarized some findings with good citations at the end of her essay. She notes:
"What is undoubtedly clear is that the more PROTEIN a population consumes, the higher its prevalence of osteoporosis. That's correct- there is a direct correlation between protein intake and loss of calcium from the bone. This calcium-wasting effect by protein has been documented time after time in studies for over 70 years. Something to remember is that along with the calcium in your glass of milk there is also a sizable dose of protein. How strong is the effect of protein on calcium loss? If protein intake is doubled without changing intake of other nutrients, calcium in the urine increases by about 50%.

This argument does not go unchallenged, of course. For example, intake of the mineral phosphorus has been shown to decrease protein-induced urinary calcium loss. The problem with this reasoning is that phosphorus intake does not offset the negative effect of protein. It turns out that as phosphorus intake is increased, there is a subsequent increase in fecal calcium. In fact, when a phosphorus supplement is given along with a high protein load, urinary calcium is decreased but fecal calcium is increased. Scientists have taken this biochemical evidence one step further: many studies have found a strong, positive association between protein intakes and hip fracture rates among different populations around the world. In any given population, the greater the intake of protein, the more common the prevalence and more severe will be the osteoporosis. How about some examples?

The African Bantu consumes an average of 350 mg of calcium per day (current recommendations for Americans is about 1000 mg per day) yet do not have calcium deficiency, seldom break a bone, and rarely lose a tooth. (Plenty of Bantus live past age 65.) They consume very low-protein diets with sufficient calories. Osteoporosis among the Bantu is very rare until they migrate to the United States and begin to consume a typical, protein-laden American diet.

Native Eskimos have the highest dietary calcium intake of any other people in the world-- above 2000 mg per day from fish bones. Their diet is also the highest in the world in protein- up to 400 g per day primarily from fish (Americans rarely eat quite this much). Native Eskimos have the highest rate of osteoporosis in the world."

THOUGHTS ON NATURAL SELECTION WHILE DRIVING THE BOONVILLE ROAD

2011-09-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Stu and I were heading over the hills to Boonville for the County Fair this morning. Going around a curve, we scared a couple of turkey vultures off of a dead squirrel. Ponderously slowly, they flapped to gain enough altitude to clear the pickup's roof, and spotting another car behind us, they made a desultory circle above the road.

I considered the conundrum of road kill for a vulture. They came into a world long before roads. Wherever an animal died, they could find it and, once the predators left, eat it at their leisure. They never needed to develop the grasping talons and associated muscle/tendon complex that the hawks, eagles and owls rely on to capture and carry off their prey.

I'm guessing that nowadays, in many regions, road kill is probably a major food source for turkey vultures. So I'm wondering if over time natural selection might lead to vultures with grasping talons capable of moving at least a small critter to a safer dining room.

VEGAN ME

2011-09-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

I rarely place personal medical information in a public forum but have decided to go public with my experiences in using a vegan diet to deal with developing insulin resistance. In my work as a nurse case manager I've seen too many people with diabetes do their best to follow the conventional advice they are given and remain frustrated by their inability to lose weight or have their blood sugars well controlled. So when I started on a vegan, low fat, low concentrated sweet way of living, I told myself that if it worked I would tell people about it.

I want to start by recognizing there is no one way of eating that meets everybody's needs. I know people who do very well on a regimen heavy on meat and very low on all carbs, even complex carbs. In my experience, they tend to be of northern ancestry, have pretty high metabolisms and a makeup that makes them crave lots of activity/exercise. If that fits you - go for what works for you!

Unfortunately, that is not me and it is not most of my patients. We have relatively slower metabolisms and have a genetic predisposition to lipid problems. With my older clients I also get concerned about the effect of high protein diet on their kidneys and of high phosphorous diet on their bones.

OK, so my story: I was largely vegetarian for many years and had a stable weight of around 135# for at least twenty years - which was more than I should have been carrying especially after my knee injury. Three and a half years ago, after we moved to Ukiah, there was all this wonderful locally raised pork and lamb, plus goat cheese and cow cheese....in a very short time my weight ran up to 148# and about a year and a half ago my blood sugars were found to be too high - a HbA1c of 6.4

My doctor at the time recommended I read "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes" and consider going vegan. I read the book and did a truly half-assed version of following it: "vegan light" or "2/3 vegan" - oh, I think I'll have eggs tonight....oh, it's hard to find something else at this restaurant, I'll have the fish, fish is healthy...and so on. I ended up losing weight nicely - came right back down to 135# - but my HbA1c stayed firmly unchanged at 6.4.

I went back to the book. I double checked the ADA website - yes, in fact, there is a basis for the vegan diet (animal fat, on a cellular level, interferes with uptake of insulin, which is insulin resistance or, put another way, glucose intolerance) and there have been studies done - although it is interesting that while the ADA website includes this information they are still mostly encouraging a diet with plenty of animal protein and fat. The point Barnard makes very succinctly is you can "trim" all the excess fat you want off that chicken breast, the meat itself is still full of fat.

The regimen is actually built on three things: veganism (no animal products, period), low fat (being careful about things like nuts, avocados, and coconut plus checking labels on convenience soy based foods that can be very high fat), and awareness of glycemic index (avoiding sugar and those foods that act like pure sugar once eaten, like potatoes).

That leaves all the vegies and fruit you can possibly eat, ditto beans and whole grains, tofu (and seiten or tempeh if you like them) and tofu based products, and in small amounts peanut butter and nuts. Eating out is easy at ethnic restaurants, impossible at most brewpubs, and "interesting" (limited/problematic) at other types of restaurants.

In terms of "sticking with it" I have gone "off" the regimen about once a month in order to treat myself to a whole grain muffin that had some dairy/egg in it, and have had Indian food that likely was prepared with ghee (clarified butter) a couple of times.

So, this spring I was 135# and my HbA1c was 6.4. Last week I was 122# and my HbA1c was 5.6.

Vibram Five Fingers ROCK

2011-09-15T21:59:00.001-07:00

This is a rare double posting - Zanshin Art blog + here - because I want folks to read it....

Ok...so my knee travails started 11 yrs ago when my ACL/medial meniscus blew out...lots of ups & downs, times off the mat....and the severe knee pain of osteoarthritis that has limited my training + other activities.

Since starting to work on internal stuff - which involves a fair amount of standing w/ weight shifts, which Really Bothers The Knee - I've also starting focusing more especially since the seminar in Seattle on what it means to really use natural movement, to have good structure, to relax, etc... and even with opening my hips more and letting them take over for my knees, my knee was Not Happy.

At the same time...over the years I've been less and less tolerant of shoes. A dozen years before starting aikido, I had a very bad case of plantar fasciitis, had both feet taped for weeks, was given custom rigid orthotics and exercises....and with time, it seemed the "better" the shoe was, the more rigid the orthotic was, the more my foot would fight it. I'd buy "good" shoes and give them away after two months. Ended up buying cheap shit and never wearing the same style more than two days in a row in an attempt to keep my feet happy.

As of two weeks ago I was down to three pairs of shoes I could wear, each with limited uses due to color or general condition. At home, going barefoot. So I decided to give the Vibram Five Fingers a try just to see if they would make my feet happy.

I bought them Monday, wore them in the office a few hours, very happy feet. I wore them Tuesday in the office six hours, very happy feet. Oh and by the way, my knee didn't hurt either day...
Wednesday I wore them all morning, then to my one hour QuiGong class (standing weight shifts on wood floor: ALWAYS hurts my knee), then drove my pickup an hour and walked down a dirt and rock slope to a patient's shack, visited, walked back up the slope and drove home. Did I mention my knee didn't hurt?

Today I wore them all day at work, seeing clients, walking around town...finally took them off to train at the dojo. During tonight's class, felt so good that for the first time in 11 years, I shikko'd - four steps - to demo proper body use to a newbie. My knee didn't hurt.

My structure and relaxation might not be great (yet) but hey, did I mention that my knee doesn't hurt?

One a.m., outside Seattle

2011-08-21T01:25:00.001-07:00

Through an open window, an unfamiliar, plaintive haunting call; it moves unseen through the night in the woods behind Katherine and Drew's house.

A bird...yes...an owl? Probably a large one. I quickly scroll to the owls on IBirds...barred owls are pretty big...play the call out the window.

The phantom out the window agrees it's a match as he enthusiastically duets.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE COUNTRY WHEN....

2011-08-16T18:45:00.001-07:00

...the advertisement for three new products named "Squeezy Buns," "Licky Things" and "Hanging Balls" is not for the toys at the local sex shop but the latest horse treats at your local feed store.
I can't make this shit up....

HALF SOUR DELIGHT

2011-08-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I sliced up one of my 2 week ferment half sour pickles and brought it to work. Walked around offering slices.

It was quite a lovely sociology experiment!

Three quarters of the people took a slice, popped it in, got a dreamy look or a OOOH grin, and started free associating about how {insert older relative of either gender} used to put up pickles or sauerkraut.

At home, the one little batch of kimchee is nearly gone. Half a bottle of half sours sits in our fridge - I think there are two and a half pickles in there. There are two more bottles of pickles fermenting to full sourness in the cooler.

Later this month we will be trying two variations of kimchee plus three sauerkrauts.

Kitchen science rocks.

THIS AND THAT

2011-07-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

The weeks fly by.... It is full summer here, the tomato plants reaching for the sky, the first group of perennials have been deadheaded, and the goldfinches, nuthatches and black headed grosbeaks bring their fledgling to our sunflower seed feeder.
I have the good fortune of having a job, with the good news being I'm back down to 3 1/2 days a week and the bad news being I'm back down to 3 1/2 days a week.
Pictured is my latest adventure in kitchen science, fermenting, as in sour pickles. I've been quick pickling via brining and vinegar or citrus a variety of vegies the past couple of years, but have always wanted to try making the "real stuff" and you cannot buy an actual sour pickle up here. Next I think will be kimchee, which only needs three days versus the three to four weeks to sour up these cukes.
I'm also giving "social media" a second shot, over on Google+, which has a nice interface and MUCH better, easy to manage privacy settings than those other guys.

YOU WANT ME TO EAT WHAT?????

2011-06-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

I was drawn to, then out, the back door late yesterday afternoon by an incessant bleating up the hill behind us, as if some woolly little lamb had been abandoned. It was so...sad...lonely...
Then our out back neighbor came home and told us the story and we saw this little cutie, a dwarf Nubian goat (Nubians happen to be my very favorite goats in the world; dwarfs have the advantage or disadvantage, depending on your perspective, that they are too short to stand on their hind legs and drape their front legs over your shoulders to say hello). She borrowed him from friends in order to get her too-tall grasses eaten back.
A nice plan; however, this apparently is not a weed-eating goat. It is a spoiled pet goat that got carried over in its owners arms, complete with its doggie bed so it wouldn't have to lie in the grass or dirt. While our neighbor was at work all day, rather than eat weeds, it lounged around on her deck and ate her violets. And then decided to voice its extreme disgruntlement over its working conditions.
Which it also did, quite loudly, this morning as I was getting ready for work. Most entertaining but not exactly birdsong...so we were just as happy that this precious pampered pet was returned to its owners today.

THINGS WE TALK ABOUT

2011-06-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

We are not going to talk about the past month, no we are not. Suffice it to say there was sniffling, there was fever, there were aches and pains, and then...well, the objective information from the National Weather Service is that the first six days of June were both the coldest and the rainiest in Ukiah since records were kept sometime in the 19th C. No we are going to talk about how good it feels to have a breeze on bare arms as one tricycles home from work, about how good it is to create beds from straw and fresh soil and place small flowering plants in them while the sun pours down and your ears are full of the happy sound of honeybees and bumblebees, and about fledgling black phoebes sending their parents into fits of hawking insects from the yard. We are going to talk about the scrub jay bringing its two fledglings over to meet the grocer, with all of them hollering at each other and how they are such gawky kids one of the young'uns almost fell off a limb above my head. There are photos of many things at http://www.flickr.com/photos/zanshinart/

ON THE MEND

2011-05-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

The worst phase of the illness is over, leaving a residual sinus infection - can't really taste or smell very much, so this might be a weight loss strategy; unfortunately I can't really exercise either because of shortness of breath with exertion. So small household or garden chores get done, slowly, and larger projects (of which, there are, thankfully few right now) just have to wait. Tomorrow, back to work (though not yet back to seeing clients). The main good thing (besides having Stu and the kitties to tend to me) has been how very beautiful the growing and blooming things are, and how the scrub jay slowly gets used to coming closer for peanuts.

THINGS TO NOTICE

2011-05-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Being home sick for days I realize Lily is spending large parts if her precious cat-sleep time standing and staring out the sitting room window. Turns out mockingbirds have nested in the slender but dense network of star jasmine climbing a trellis there. Now the two of us are transfixed watching the parents come and go. Remarkably the nest is fully hidden though the jasmine cannot be more than six inches deep. It's a perfect site, really, under the eaves, almost at the outer corner line of the house but about eighteen inches to two feet from the house so there is room to dart in and out in all directions.

The rain has made the flax, penstemon and ceanothus terribly bedraggled, and the roses are a tad worse for wear. But the mullein, snowball bush and peonies - at least as viewed from indoors - are thriving. The veggies presumably are getting the water they need; I've not chanced going out. The scrub jay comes down to perch on the chair by the back door, wondering why She Who Provides Peanuts has gone MIA. Oh well - those who study such things say intermittent reward systems are stronger than continuous ones.

MAY SHOWERS

2011-05-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is either a blooming mullein or we have a Body Snatcher in our yard

The only good thing about having a bad cold/light flu is that at least it was a chilly and rainy weekend so I didn't feel like I missed too much outdoor doings - would have liked to get some sewing done but had The Stupids and The Clumsies that go with upper resp infections.

So caught up on watching some George Ledyard aikido DVDs and reading Adam Gopnick's latest book (on Lincoln and Darwin). Leo the boy cat is of course delighted to have me to snuggle up with, Lily is miffed I won't take the cat toys out for them, and Stu is tending to me. Meanwhile it is amazing out in the yard, so many perennials and roses in full bloom.
Tomorrow, more chilliness and rain; if I don't wake up significantly better shall have to call in sick to spare my clients my messy germiness.

One of our side yard roses

STARTS

2011-04-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

The new ceanothus

Today the sky is a pale bright cloudless blue and despite some gusts that send the last of the apple blossoms flying it is basking-warm in the sun. A good day to put in the tomato and pepper starts so kindly tended for us in a friend's greenhouse.

But a start of a different type awaits. We cannot remember the name of a wonderful low shrub in the backyard perennial bed that has tripled in size over the year and is now covered with purple flowers. I locate the little upright bamboo divider in between two of the shrubs and gently pull back the plant, seeking the plastic name tag I'd stuck in the ground. Startled, I note a small lump, unmoving, green brown with stripes on the bamboo! A frog! I let the leaves go, call Stu over, we admire it in all its moist colorful stillness, and I release the plants a last time. My camera or my camera skills would never do it justice without disrupting it. I'm happier to know it is there, living its froggie life in the habitat we created.

The plant, by the way, is a Parry Penstemon...it is blooming along with flax, ceanothus, the mystery volunteers, roses, snowball bush, rockrose, daisies and the sages are getting ready...

The starts: tomatoes, well, once again of course Garden Peach and Cherokee Purple, plus a Green Zebra. I wonder if any of the Garden Egg seeds took? ... peppers, which I've had rotten luck with except for some very hot ones I just can't enjoy eating anymore...we are trying this year Paprika, a mildly hot Black Hungarian, Orange Bells and something called Quadratto d'Somethingorother...

While I plant, Stu digs up, removing the invasives that have grown around the perennials in the front and back yards, and probably preventing any of our annual native wildflowers from coming up this year. Sadly, when it is cold and raining in the winter when they all start growing, we didn't take the time to differentiate the "good" weedy annuals from the "bad"... but after several consecutive days of labor, Stu has the perennial beds looking good. We think rather than going back to try and recreate optimal conditions for the wildflowers, we'll go the bulb-and-annual route.

Weirdest Houseguest Ever

2011-04-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

What would prompt a mature accipter to fly up our driveway, under the covered carport, to perch atop the cinderblock wall that separates the carport from the couryard? Perhaps a towhee had come hopping, bopping and chirping into the courtyard, as they are wont to do. We will never know; just glad we were here to see it!

RAIN

2011-03-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

Usually a trickle of a creek feeding the Eel River

The sound of rain - hitting the ground, beating the roof, pinging the gutters or swooshing through the downspouts - has become so pervasive that the moment it ceases one becomes aware of a change and, distracted from whatever one was doing or saying, looks up, questioning.

There is a yard out there, with some things growing in barrels, but like the sparrows and finches, I wait for the sound to stop and rush out - to replenish their feeders, add scraps to the compost, check the slowly growing snap peas and the rampant blueberry blossoms - then dash in to warm up and watch the birds come to feed: sparrows forage in the compost, goldfinches and house finches at the feeder, the scrub jays grabbing the peanuts I leave atop the fence. Yesterday a pair of black phoebes showed up for a while, and the Anna's hummingbird was squeaking from its perch on the snowball bush.

The Eel River roars over the Van Arsdale Dam

BUSY!

2011-03-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

My life has finally overwhelmed my ability/desire to sit and reflect and write, at least the ability to do all three things within the same block of time.
I am not complaining. I have meaningful work, community, food, shelter, love. And if it weren't for that pesky aikido training, I would even have leisure time! But for those of you wondering where I've been while not posting...
My dayjob, which increased from 24 to 28 hours/week last fall (a good thing as I'm the primary breadwinner), is somewhat endangered as most of our financing comes from the state of California (half comes from the Feds, but only to the extent the state provides bucks). We have scraped through the budget process with what will likely be a 12% cut, which means we will survive but with cutbacks (and isn't it nice that if my hours are cut it will be based on the higher 28 hours?). However, if the Governor doesn't get to put tax extensions on the ballot for June, and if the voters don't vote for the tax extensions, we might end up out of the budget as of the end of the fiscal year June 30...but I can't worry about that except to urge all California voters reading this to vote for the tax extensions....Anyhow, due to the fall and back injury of another nurse in our agency, I'm now working the agency maximum 32 hours/week covering her HIV/AIDS caseload (quick! update self on all the new meds and protocols!). So all of a sudden, Monday through Thursday are full workdays.
My aikido sewing business is slow and steady - better then two - three years ago when everything tanked. It will never be enough for me to rely on to earn a living, but as I'm able to charge a reasonable rate for my labor, it provides a nice little secondary income stream while feeding my creative/artisan side. I really need that now that I'm nursing again so many hours - with so much time "other directed" I need those hours alone in the studio, focusing on the details of cutting, pressing, sewing beautiful things. With no real advertising, just the now and then mention on-line plus what google searches, the orders seem to come in at a rate that lets me get into the studio during my "days off" without developing a long waiting list that would make me nervous.
Having mom here is keeping me busy too. There is the normal expectation of getting together socially - grabbing lunch during a workday, going for a drive or to the ballet or a concert and then dinner on a weekend - but then there is always the unexpected, like "I don't feel very well" or "I think I want to move" and then...watch out, time management....
I'm working hard on making it to the dojo three nights per week and mostly succeeding. You may notice that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for Stu and the cats and watching movies and reading, much less friends from in and out of town. You're right.

SNOW!

2011-02-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

The strangest thing was stepping out in the early morning and hearing all these birds...the resident plus winter flocks of robins, blackbirds, doves, etc. were all up in the trees - every tree had its quorum - all calling in the still air. Chains required on the Willits grade.So much for our false spring...bring on the real spring, please!

THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING

2011-02-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Gotcha! No, I have not attained enlightenment, there are neither metaphysical pronouncements nor a unified field theory expounded in this post. Rather it is a recommendation for a book Stu took out from the library and has passed along to me; I'm in the midst of it and enjoying it greatly.
"The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary" by Simon Winchester could easily have been dry as dust. Instead it tells a fascinating history and the coherent narrative is filled with enough "really?!" factoids, funny anecdotes and odd footnotes to make an engrossing and quick read.
Check it out!

ADVANCING WOMENS' HEALTH CARE?

2011-02-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

Apparently by making them look like they have died from an overdose.
Print ad in today's New York Times, p. A-11. Yes, I have also sent an email to the hospital's vice president for marketing.

MSSP

2011-02-13T12:11:00.001-08:00

The program for which I work is on the chopping block. This article discusses very clearly the impact it will have on the lives of low income frail seniors all across California.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

2011-02-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Before the sun has fully risen over the eastern hills, with frost still blanketing the yard and stars slowly winking out, the crowing rooster around the corner is drowned out by the screams of our local red-shouldered hawks.

Each day somewhere in town another tree bursts out in white or pink blossoms, another stand of daffodils erupts in yellow splendor matched by the exuberance of the acacias.

The swelling buds of our new daphne slowly unfurl clusters of small flowers, a fragrant bouquet as we come and go.

ON JANUARY 29...

2011-02-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Our daffodils are breaking out of the soil and this is blooming down the street.

LA LENGUA DE LAS MARIPOSAS

2011-01-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

The ninth movie I have watched his year is a wonderful Spanish movie that I strongly recommended. Netflix calls it "Butterfly" but the New York Times review and IMDB more correctly call it "Butterfly Tongues" - "La lengua de las mariposas." It is set in rural Spain during a year in which the fascist war against the Republic starts, and its main character through whose eyes the story is told, is a child starting school and beginning to learn the ways of the world - a complex, grown up world that is about to change. But this is not another "Pan's Labyrinth." To quote A.O. Scott's review:

""Butterfly,'' Jose Luis Cuerda's delicate, quietly devastating new film, is doubly nostalgic since it filters its tale of ideological cataclysm through the eyes of a child. But Mr. Cuerda, who fashioned ''Butterfly'' out of several linked short stories by Manuel Rivas, views childhood realistically, as a state of curiosity and confusion, rather than of preternatural wisdom or angelic innocence, and so ''Butterfly,'' though it has the look of a picture postcard from the olden days, arrives with the urgency of a telegram."

Slowly developing, beautifully acted and edited, this small treasure of a movie is engrossing and engaging.

FUCK 'EM, THEY'RE GONNA DIE ANYHOW....

2011-01-28T22:16:00.000-08:00

North Carolina proposes cutting hospice care from its Medicaid program....Here in California, besides cutting out the program I work for (that for very little money keeps frail low income seniors out of very pricey nursing homes) and the other programs my patients rely on, like in-home help and adult day health, Gov. Brown proposes limited Medicaid recipients to ten doctor visits/year + 6 prescriptions/month. My diabetic patients w/ heart disease, between primary care and specialist care, often need four doctor visits/month in order to avoid ER visits, and may take 2 -3 diabetes related meds, 3 -6 heart related meds, plus something for asthma, a couple of things for neuropathic pain, and maybe an arthritis med..... Oh yeah, guess they should just give up and opt for hospice....or not....

MID WINTER WITH HINTS OF SPRING

2011-01-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

The wintering flocks of robins finally moved into our neighborhood. People who know them only as breeding birds are shocked to come to places like Florida or California where the year-round resident robins are joined by so many winter birds that the flocks are as thick as those of blackbirds (and just as attractive to peregrine falcons).

Since we had our upper yard mown back, a couple of dozen robins have been stopping by every afternoon to hunt for grubs. But this morning was different ... I stepped out the back door about 10:30 or so to replenish the niger and sunflower seed feeders, and was immediately overwhelmed by the din of birds calling and singing from all the shrubs and trees going up the hill west and north of our yard. I grabbed the binoculars but never saw more than a few robins flitting about - the foliage is just too dense going up the hills - but the amount of bird calling, not just the volume but the immense DENSITY of the sound, like a Phil Spector wall of sound, was just astounding. There must have been a few thousand of those suckers up there.

Our apple tree and roses have been pruned hard, thanks to Mike from Robinson Creek Flower Farm, and I've started tackling dead wood and spent flower stalks of the perennials out front. I know my friends back east are just dreaming over their seed catalogues, but I've already given the tomato and pepper packets to a friend to start in her greenhouse, and tonight I've checked the best February dates for planting radishes and snap peas. Yep, winter is still here, but our growing season is coming, just a few weeks away.

A NEW YEAR IN THE ARTS FOR ME

2011-01-06T22:52:00.000-08:00

The first movie and first book of the new year are each highly recommended.

The movie is the 2007 documentary "The Cool School" about the early L.A. art scene centered on the Ferus Gallery. It's an engrossing story, very well told. Standard PBS documentaries drive me nuts - they are so lacking in narrative structure as to be totally incoherent AND the music always sucks and is so loud it's really distracting. This film is a breath of fresh air. It tells the story from start to finish, it skillfully cross cuts between vintage footage/photos and more recent interviews, and the soundtrack is always supportive and appropriate. The biggest laugh was footage of a 1966 viewer of an Ed Kienholz show saying the same thing Stu and I overheard a disgruntled museum-goer say at his retrospective just a few years ago!

I'm most of the way through a late 90s short story collection by Steven Millhauser, "The Knife Thrower." So far each story has been a gem. Some posit odd slightly futuristic worlds, others skewed pasts, still others a current reality just half a degree "off." His command of language and ability to set a mood with it is just wonderful. I'd read one of his novels some years ago and shall be looking for more.

MOVIES

2011-01-02T01:42:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the coming week I'll blog on the movies we enjoyed in 2010 and also those we just couldn't watch.
Interestingly enough, New Year's Eve proved to be one of those problematic nights for movie viewing: three duds before we finally watched one!
We started with Netflix DVD: an Indian gangster movie, Pokiri,that in the first three minutes had characters introducing each other by talking while the visuals were quick-cut murders and kidnappings with cheesy visual effects. Being boring AND overstimulating at the same time takes a particular talent but, um, NEXT!
So over to things on our Q we can stream... "Dutchess of Langeais" - French costume drama, good director. It was so slowly paced it was like "Solaris" set in a 19th C village; just deadly. NEXT.
Years ago I'd read in Spanish and really enjoyed "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" (the book is wholeheartedly recommended) and I like Armand Assante, so figured we'd check out the movie. What WERE they thinking? They coughed up the bucks to have Tito Puente and Celia Cruz perform but they could't afford a frigging Dialogue Coach? Armand plays a FOB Cuban in NY talking in an absolutely pure Brooklyn Italian accent! NEXT...
Stu gave up on the Q and decided on Bresson's classic "The Pickpocket."...not going to be on my top ten, but pure art after the others. WHEW!

THE EVE OF A NEW YEAR

2010-12-31T18:52:00.000-08:00

It was a dry but gray, raw day. Stu and I did the shopping for tomorrow's open house, then I took the truck and picked up mom to get her out for a couple of hours.
We headed out to Lake Mendocino and took the smaller roads back to town. Not a lot of waterfowl but mom was delighted by two very good opportunities to watch bluebirds, which she had forgotten are year-round residents here.
We stopped for refreshment at the Coffee Critic and I dropped her off at home.
New Year's Eve was always a quiet night in for me and Stu. Now that my tummy won't let me enjoy alcohol or concentrated chocolate, we can't even share a bottle of champagne and some good truffles! But we are snug in our home, getting ready to share a modest dinner then watch a movie, so there is much to be quietly grateful for as another year comes to a close.
I'm thinking of friends who lost work or homes, friends who have come through terrible diseases doing ok, and friends who are fading or gone...and wishing all who read this a happy and healthy 2011.

Rainy Day

2010-12-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

Jo arrived before noon, safe and snug inside before the real deluge hit here.
A couple of hours of relaxed noshing (Jo made dates stuffed w/ fig and olive paste and brought a John Cipollina documentary we watched)and conversation, then I went and fetched mom over to join us. More chitchat; Stu kept the music playing and I put up dinner: edamame, romanescu brocolli and string bean satay with mushroom ginger fried brown rice. Hard cider and sparkling pear cider to drink, rum balls and chocolate sorbet for dessert. Took a smiling mom home then we three settled in to watch the first Lone Wolf and Cub movie and listen to early acoustic Hot Tuna.
A real Day Off!

On Old River Road

2010-12-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

Thousands of blackbirds take to the air, filling the sky across the entire valley, four or five separate groups swirling in shape-shifting formations. The noise is amazing. I scan the sky and in a moment spot the peregrine winging swiftly in the middle if one swirl. I lose it in the glare of winter sunlight and have to assume a successful hunt as within a minute the flocks are resettling in the oaks.

GOODNIGHT, SENSEI

2010-12-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I helped dress Sensei in her keikogi and hakama, the one I've repaired so many times. This time the keikogi, in accordance with Japanese custom, was closed right over left. Later we added various talismans and the table on which she lay was surrounded by floral arrangements. This evening we bade her farewell in a room that over the hours contained reverent quiet, lamentation, laughter, quiet conversation, babies and children playing, and Pomo songs.
Some people have mentioned they are having trouble emailing me. You can email me at mendojanet@yahoo.com

GAYLE FILLMAN SENSEI PASSES ON

2010-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

The aikido community of Ukiah and Willits, California is in mourning over the unexpected death of Gayle Fillman Sensei on December 14, 2010 at the age of 63.
Fillman Sensei began her aikido training in August, 1966, with Richard Kahoalli, Sr. When Koichi Tohei started visiting California a couple of years later she trained with him and also traveled to seminars with him in Hawaii. She opened Ukiah Aikido in 1976 and has been the chief instructor and dojocho since then. In the early 1980s, she met and began to train with Judo Master Keiko Fukuda, who has been her mentor and close friend since then, visiting Ukiah regularly (last in May, 2009).
Fillman Sensei has woven herself into the life of this rural community, teaching aikido, self-defense and conflict resolution to everyone from law enforcement professionals to kids in foster care, plus teaching gymnastics, doing choreography, and mentoring countless young people. Under her leadership, Ukiah Aikido has become a community institution, providing martial arts training to up to three generations of some families.
She is survived by her life partner of 23 years, Carol Marrington, several siblings, and many nieces, nephews, and godchildren. There will be a viewing at Eversole Mortuary, Ukiah, Friday December 17, from 4 to 8 p.m. with a public memorial to be organized shortly after the New Year. Donations may be made to Redwood Children’s Services or the Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah.

BACK TO COLUSA

2010-11-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

Stu and I took advantage of dry, cloudy weather Friday to drive over the hills to Colusa NWR, where my mom and I had a wonderful time a few weeks ago.

Another stellar day of birding!!!! The overall numbers of snow geese were quite reduced, but there were still a lot of them, and during the time we were watching them there was a major upset (looked for a peregrine but didn't see one) that sent masses of them swirling around the sky before settling down in a new area.

Highlights included many more ibis than the last visit, very actively feeding, and to the large numbers of pintails, mallards, wigeons, and shovelers we noted many ring-necked ducks and cinnamon teal - after not seeing the latter for a year, their color is startling! I had my first California sighting of a loggerhead shrike (the only one on my list was outside Austin, also at a managed wetland) and we watched a lot of red-tails - including one getting chased by a red-shouldered hawk; we then were able to find each bird settled in its own tree. But the two most interesting finds were by ear only.

Stu and I refer to doves as "day owls" because so many people over the years have eagerly told us about the owls they hear all day in their backyards. Well, we found a real hooter! Never was able to spot it, and the sound was different from a great horned owl, so when we got home I went to the Cornell Lab site and checked the likely possibilities and it was a long eared owl (which I have seen before, but never heard).

We were walking along the one mile trail in the refuge and through the brush, down by the edge of a stream, I heard a totally unfamiliar call. There was no way to get access to the area. A fellow came up looking like an experienced birder and he said he also was unfamiliar with the call. It was a repetitive one note metallic sound and something clicked (from years of reading field guides) and I commented that I thought it was a rail. When we got home I listened to all the rail calls and both Stu and I immediately pegged it as a clapper rail.

Today it rained all day, so our timing was right....

THANKSGIVING

2010-11-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

It is not Thanksgiving without Jon Carroll's annual "A Song of Thanks" column.

It starts "Gratitude is the antidote. It is a specific against a variety of diseases, from something as vague as the discontents of civilization to something as specific as personal grief - but gratitude is the antidote. Thanksgiving is the holiday of gratitude, and I am always willing to celebrate it."

THANKSGIVING APPROACHES

2010-11-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

Autumn colors are at their peak here, the trees and vinyards ablaze in a full range of yellows, oranges and reds. While I'm finishing off the last hour of the work week and wondering if anybody will show up for my class at the dojo tonight, Stu is at home draining and coiling the hoses in anticipation of it hitting 24 tonight. The grocery shopping for our quiet (vegan, gluten-free) Thanksgiving dinner is done: garbanzos with star anise garam masala and dates, cornmeal pecan apple pan dressing, roasted root vegetables (perhaps pureed into soup, perhaps not), and a small salad based on the last of our homegrown red Romaine lettuce. Wishing the very best to all.

COLUSA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

2010-11-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Colusa is the easiest of the Sacramento Valley refuges to get to from Mendo - straight shot on highway 20, period. So I packed mom into the pickup truck this morning - wetlands birding with a vehicle blind is the easiest thing for an octagenarian birdwatcher - and off we went. Complete bird list at bottom of post. Highlights were moorhens and a white faced ibis, both first time sightings for mom. Early on we mostly saw ducks - the largest quantities were pintails and shovelers by far - and greater white-fronted geese. I was beginning to wonder, then suddenly the road turned and there were acres upon acres of snow geese in the water and on the islands, and the sky was filled with skeins of them continually flying in. Other highlights: from the tall grasses along the side of the road, a pair of male ring-necked pheasant erupted beak to beak, collided in mid air, and disappeared back down into the grass. An extremely irate and absolutely enormous red-tailed hawk (possibly the largest one I've ever seen, and definitely a red tail) telling off a group of ravens in no uncertain terms. On the way home, a herd of 18 elk in the distance, too far to try to get a photo of. The birds of the day:
Greater white fronted goose
Snow goose
Ross' goose
Tundra swan
Mallard
Gadwall
American wigeon
Northern pintail
Northern shoveler
Cinnamon teal
Ring-necked pheasant
Pied-billed grebe
Possible eared grebe (I was driving on 20 along Clear Lake....)
Western grebe
Gull sp.
Double crested cormorant
Great egret
Snowy egret
Great blue heron
White faced ibis
Turkey vulture
Marsh hawk
Red tailed hawk
Common moorhen
American coot
Kildeer
Black necked stilt
Nuttall's woodpecker
Ivory billed....JUST KIDDING!
Black phoebe
Marsh wren (by voice)
Common yellowthroat (by voice)
Sparrow sp.
Western meadowlark
Red winged, bicolor, tricolor blackbirds
Raven
Crow

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

2010-11-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize until framing the shot in the viewfinder how the surrounding trees seem to be sentinels around the fallen manzanita I was focused on.

Sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular here this week, with scattered high clouds collecting and bouncing all the colors of the rainbow over the hills.

Today it was too nice to sit indoors at lunchtime, and my body needed more exercise than just waiting for the evening aikido training (I cannot effectively use the stationery bike when getting up for work before sunrise; my body literally will not or can not push itself to where my heart rate will increase). So I drove out to Low Gap Regional Park and, using surrounding visual landmarks as a cue (because I'm not that familiar with the trails yet) took a very brisk twenty minute walk in the oak woodlands above town. It was just lovely. As long as the rain stays away, I'll try to walk every day.

MI TAREA

2010-10-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

Whew! This afternoon Stu and I ripped out all the tomatoes, tomatillos, cukes and melons. We left one pepper, the Peruvian purple, because the plant just seems so happy. Then I settled in to do my Spanish homework. The question posed, based on the upcoming Day of the Dead, was: if you believed in such things, who would you invite back from the other side and what would you prepare for them? An exercise in the use of the conditional and subjunctive. Well, just to prove I actually do this every week on top of everything else....

¿Si fueras creyente a quién invitarías del otro lado y qué le preparías para que viniera?

Al principio, pensaba en invitar al cualquier persona famosa, como a Mario Benedetti o tal vez a Victor Jara. Pero después de servirles una copa y de decirles “gracias por su obra tan bonita, por su lucha contra las fuerzas de represión,” ¿qué mas tendría yo a decirles?

Por eso, si fuera creyente, invitaría del más allá mi antiguo amigo y socio, Michael Berry, y para que viniera, le preparía un pizza.

Eramos compañeros de trabajo en los hospitales de San Francisco. Cuando el era pasajero en un carro involucrado en un accidente grave, lo ayudaba mucho. Cuando mi esposo sufrió un golpe en la cabeza, Michael nos ayudaba muchísimo. Estudíamos juntos el masaje y eran socios hasta que el SIDA le robó su capacidad para trabajar. Murió en 1995, unos meses antés de lograr 50 años de edad, y un año antés de la introducción de las medicinas mejores.

Y ¿Porqué le preparía pizza? Socialista ardiente y homosexual militante, Michael siempre me decía “Ojalá que el que llevo a mi casa tenga la bondad de convertirse en pizza a las dos de la madrugada.”

PIX

2010-10-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

I was so pissed at myself for not having the camera the day of the rainbow/moon alignment that I've decided to start a new set over at flickr, ""Today, one day at a time." It means I have to post a photo every day, which means that I don't leave the house without a camera.

Of course there is no guarantee of a GOOD picture. I have a basic point and shoot digital; my only strength as a photographer comes from being a painter: given a moment, I can frame a good composition. But I have to leave the good nature shots to others.

Today there was a flock of cedar waxwings at Tierra, having at the aging grapes hanging from the eaves over the door and window. No way to capture an image. Instead, a shot of fall foliage and the Fairall Farms stall at the Farmer's Market (we get wonderful jams and jellies from Amanda Fairall, a true kitchen wizard.

WORTH BEING AWAKE FOR...

2010-10-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Generally, when we get a rainbow it's over the eastern hills.

This morning as I pulled out of the driveway and started heading north to work, it seemed sunny but a few large raindrops hit the windshield, then more - sun showers! I glanced eastward: just blue skies and a few puffy clouds. I looked west, to see if the waning moon was visible. It was a near-circle of bright white in a large field of pale, flat grey-white cloud cover...and directly to the south, a rainbow appeared and arced across the hills, over the sky and directly through the moon before turning downward and disappearing!

Less then a minute later the rain had stopped, the moon was fully obscured by the cloud layer, and the rainbow was fading into the gray.

SEARS PRESENTS FITNESS FOR ZOMBIES

2010-10-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

I've never just presented a video in lieu of posting but this is just too good not to share...

MORNING, DRIVE TO WORK

2010-10-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

High in the western sky above fog-swathed hills the waning moon watches a small town begin its day begin on rain-slicked streets.

VERY COOL FIELD BIOLOGY BLOG

2010-10-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

I found a blog today that is just fascinating. It is by a field biologist studying mongooses in South Africa. I'm linking specifically to today's blog post - warning: it is about snakes, so do NOT follow the link if snakes upset you.

If, like me, you are fascinated by snakes, the two stories and the accompanying photos, are amazing. LINK HERE.

NOTHING MINIATURE ABOUT THIS...

2010-10-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

My email to the folks at the seed company:

"Hi folks - I hate to sound churlish about beautiful plants, but.... I purposely ordered the miniature orange Chinese cabbage for me and my husband's fall garden because we can never finish full size cabbages between the 2 of us.
Well, they went into my half wine barrels, and as they sprouted, I began to cull, based on the idea they were miniatures. Wrong.
When they hit 8 inches across I culled more. Yummy! but still....
Now they are up to 10 inches and instead of a having a lot of small cabbages I've got three humongous ones developing.
They are healthy. They are delicious. They are not what I ordered!
If you would like to see a photo, let me know as I'm planning on taking pix for my flickr page tomorrow anyhow."

Meanwhile, the rainy season has started in earnest, bringing towhees and golden crowns to forage in the straw mulch and compost, and sending us into a frenzy of picking anything far enough along to ripen indoors. Suspect next weekend's story, amongst various Halloween events, will be "tore out the tomatoes....".

AUTUMN UPDATES

2010-10-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

You know you are in Mendopia when a client's daughter/caregiver didn't get back to you because "things are crazy here, it's harvest time" and no further explanation is needed.

The photo is the large "native fuschia" - really it is Zauschneria californica mexicana! - in our front yard. It's one of the things that keeps our resident Anna's hummingbirds thriving this time of year. Stu tells me that when he stepped out yesterday morning, there was a huge aerial dogfight going on between two hummers. They were so furious, and so close to him, that not only did he hear their wings buzzing and their calls, but when they body-slammed each other in mid-air he heard the collisions! It went on a good five minutes - long enough for him to go into the house, call me at work, get put through to my voice mail to tell me about it, then go back out, relock the door, and step back into the driveway to find them still at it. Mind you the shrub is plenty big to feed a half dozen at once with plenty of "arm space"!

Out back, there have already been four snap peas to eat and culled lettuce and cabbage for dinner. The cabbage is supposed to be miniature Chinese cabbage because we are small eaters. Territorial Seed messed up; I'm culling because they are growing into each other as they turn into beautiful but quite full-size specimens lickety-split. More photos at my flickr page today.

UNEXPECTED COMPANY

2010-10-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm used to unexpected backyard visitors as the seasons change, but was taken aback this afternoon to see something black, white and fluffy duck and run under the bushes along the north side of the house when I stepped out to do some weapons practice.

Later, taking a break from sewing to call my sister, I looked out the back and it was back, foraging in the mass of sunflower seeds under the feeder. A stout bird with fluffy black and white plumage, a black head, no tail to speak of, and yellow bill, legs and feet. What the heck is a runaway half-grown chicken doing in my yard? I wasn't sure it would get enough to eat, so grabbed some puffed whole corn and tossed it out. It's been hiding out in the bushes, coming out to forage more freely at times in the compost pile - a great place for pillbugs!

There is only one cloud on young fowl's horizon: our neighbor to the north told me last week that every night he hears a raccoon jump the gate and make his nightly rounds through the yard at the fenceline, then back an hour later.There's not much I can do - this bird is too shy to be caught or cajoled to ... where? It shall make it or not.

If there is no mound of feathers when I get up to go to work in the morning, I'll gather up some shelled nuts and some greens for our guest.

At the City of 10,000 Buddhas

2010-10-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

I have to remember to always always always bring my camera when I make my quarterly visit to see the couple of elderly nuns on my caseload. Today while parked under the trees, enjoying a baked sweet potato I'd brought along from home for lunch, I watched a pair of ground squirrels frolic, a peacock take a dust bath, plus acorn woodpeckers and flickers doing their things.

This morning as I stepped out the front door the first thing I heard was the familiar three note call of a golden-crowned sparrow. Soon they will be foraging in our compost and I'll sigh and say, "winter's coming."

LIFE AND DEATH

2010-10-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of turkey vultures circle lazily, a few cirrus clouds stipple the sky as I work quickly, squatting, laying out straw then creating a hole, dumping in soil, and transplanting a young xeric perennial. Tamp, mulch with wood chip, water, retamp, scoot over 18 inches and repeat. A scrub jay takes offense and hollers at me.

This morning from the back deck I see they are all standing tall and green reaching for the sun. An artemesia and a mullein still wait in their pots to get put into the ground out front - another day. Out front, the massive coyote bush - one of the first things I planted here, nine years ago as a 5 gallon youngster - is in full bloom. Thousands of bees large and small create a loud collective HUMMM and several types of butterflies try to crowd in among them to drink - buckeyes are the largest, and the only ones I know by name; the others are small orange, black and yellow bits of stained glass or those small moth-shaped ones.

The native "fuschia" is also blooming in the front yard, just for the Anna's hummingbirds who have been singing like mad for weeks now. We found one, dead, on the driveway, a glittering emerald already aswarm with ants. I moved it to the side, by the coyote bush, and will wait until everybody eats their fill and we will take the little skeleton.

EARLY AUTUMN

2010-10-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

When I stepped outdoors to pick up the newspaper this morning, the sky was mostly dark, just a sliver of daylight shining above the hills, under the cloud cover, and several raindrops fell on my bare forehead. I quickly nixed the cotton skirt in favor of corduroy jeans for going to work.

There was more fox scat out back when I watered the greens, and a lone male quail foraged in the upper yard.

The day turned out gloriously balmy and sunny until late afternoon, when clouds moved in. Stu and I had just gotten home with a couple of truckloads of soil and mulch for this weekend's perennial planting, gotten everything in the backyard and come in and washed up, when the sky opened up and it rained hard for five or ten minutes.

As I write this, we are under the clouds but the sky just to our west, over the hills, is again a magnificent pale blue, and the few clouds there are backlit and glowing. Welcome to the unsettled season.

HEAT, HOWLS AND A PRINCESS

2010-09-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of hundred degree days - finally the peppers are turning from green to yellow and orange, and the cukes are having an amazing growth spurt; everything is else gasps "huh?" as I don hat and sunglasses rush out to turn the hose on....

There is an excellent article on NY Times website on coyotes, pulling together the disparate research including their collaborative hunting with badgers and the coyote-wolf hybrids spreading across the northeastern states.


Lily, the Princess

MOVIE MADNESS

2010-09-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've loved movies since I was a kid watching everything from Marx Brothers to John Ford westerns on our black and white tv, then as a teenager going to the movies at least twice a week. Fortunately, Stu not only loves movies as much as I do, our tastes are pretty similar AND neither of us has any hesitation about turning off a video - we are pretty ruthless; at least twice we have nixed a movie based on the opening title sequence!

For many years we would argue about whether we had seen something "recently" so in 2002 we started a wordperfect document listing every movie we watched (or tried to watch - in which case we note how many minutes we managed) and where we saw it (name of theater or if it was public tv or a video or, now, netflix). Most years in San Francisco we watched between 50 and 70 movies - there was competition with live music. Our lowest year was 2007, the year we were busy preparing to move up north, with only 33 movies. But now watching movies is our primary form of entertainment; we watched all or part of 174 movies in 2008, 168 in 2009, and so far this year 107.

They are pretty well balanced between revisiting movies we'd seen years ago, catching up with old movies we'd missed, and finding new (usually indie or foreign) movies. Since getting netflix earlier this year we have been making a concerted effort to see Japanese movies we'd never had a chance to see in rep houses in San Francisco and French noir/crime movies (a genre we both deeply enjoy and recommend).

Movies new to me this year that I've particularly enjoyed are Crazy Heart, Amélie, Le Douxieme Souffle, Flushed Away, Le Doulos, Moon, Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring, Julia and Julie, Seduced and Abandoned, Helvetica, I Served the King of England.

Movies we'd seen before and thoroughly enjoyed anew are Hobson's Choice, The Great Escape, Twilight Samurai, State and Main, Brazil, Prizzi's Honor,.

Among the movies we could not watch....HurlyBurly 15 minutes, Science of Sleep 15 minutes, Shadow of the Vampire 3 minutes, Bernard and Doris 15 minutes, The Beat That My Heart Skipped 20 minutes, The Bandwagon 15 minutes, Little Children 7 minutes. Don't ask......

FOX MOON

2010-09-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Woke up to fox scat in the backyard today. Something clicked in my mind about the timing and I went back to review some notes. Yep, the last time was just at the full moon also. Which gives me this amazing moving picture of a fox playing in my backyard under the light of an enormous white moon. Maybe next month I need to sit up all night and wait....

EQUINOX

2010-09-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Crepe myrtles flaunt their blossoms while Chinese pistache are turning, half green, half bright red-orange.

Dark shivery cold mornings give way to sun-baked afternoons.

Life on the cusp.

BABY LIZARDS!

2010-09-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

It's still exciting to discover a fresh batch of newly hatched "bluebellies" (California fence lizards) in the backyard. You never know where they'll turn up - on the back deck, on a straw bale, in a flower bed - the retaining wall and ramp is a favored spot, and the fleabane growing alongside it is a favored hideaway when they feel threatened. How do we know they are babies? Purely on the size. They can be as small as 1.75 - 2" nose to tip of tail! We get bugs bigger than that here...

But today was a first. I walked into the courtyard carrying some shopping, and an odd shape on the concrete caught my eye. It was nearly flat to the ground, like a pancake, and not moving, but the shape read "animal." Four limbs and a tail all splayed out. It couldn't have been more than 2.75 - 3" long, including a tail that comprised nearly 2/3 the total length. And it was whip-thin, not at all like the sturdy little bluebellies. I dropped my stuff and after a small scuffle stood up holding....a baby alligator lizard! So cute! I turned my hand this way and that examining it and had Stu come take a look as I walked out to the front yard and released it under the native fuchsia.

We've had alligator lizards before - notably a foot long one IN the house about 9 years ago that I had to catch and release outdoors before our roommate's cat found it - but we don't see them nearly as often as the bluebellies and {sniff...proud mom here} this is our first baby.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT COMPUTERS?

2010-09-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Our desktop and our laptop are supposed to be the same. But on any given day, something that I've done successfully on the desktop will suddenly stop working. The laptop will continue to do it just fine. Three days later the desktop will regain the ability. A week later the laptop will decide to keep doing something but will arbitrarily change it's interface for doing it. The desktop will happily do it as it always did.

When it comes to posting comments on friends' blogs, it has become an amusing game to try and guess what the interface will look like on any given day. Will it be a pop-up box for comments or will I need to right click to get another window? Will it remember who I am from last time?

Currently, I cannot ftp to my website's server from the desktop - something that worked just fine four days ago stopped working yesterday. So the updated weapons page I wanted to upload is in limbo, and currently there is NO weapons page (can't I just ftp from the laptop? Well, there seems to be a small, different hitch in that for now...). So, while waiting to figure out how to fix the ftp, I decided to post my weapons bag information to the Zanshin Art blog, then post a permanent link to that posting on the blog; the latter means slightly editing the blog design. Guess what? Over on the laptop, I can no longer edit the design of my blog, although that's working fine on the desktop. Sighing, I adopt the workaround of moving from one computer to the other.

Stu has similar issues with a variety of applications. It strikes me that in no other technology would we accept this state as normal.

VAUX'S SWIFTS IN HEALDSBURG

2010-09-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

Great article in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat about the annual roosting of about 6000 swifts in a school chimney as they eat and rest on their migration south for the winter.

FLOATING ROW COVERS

2010-09-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

I really didn't want to use them. I like to see my plants growing.

This morning I plucked three pretty and pretty hungry caterpillars from my baby cabbage plants when I was watering before going to work. This afternoon I watched a cabbage butterfly slowly circumnavigate the yard a couple of times, hovering right over the romanesco broccoli starts while I was deep watering the tomatoes.

I sighed and pulled out the covers and pegged them into the barrels. Of course I still need to pick them up every day to make sure more of the little green buggers aren't hatching under there.... (sigh).

TODAY

2010-09-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Waxing crescent moon sails the afternoon sky.

I have tomatoes the color of peaches and peppers the color of eggplant that grow straight up to the sky.

AUTUMN COMING

2010-09-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's that September transition, summer's bounty still ripening while the fall vegies begin to poke up from the soil, morning starting later and cooler, and the seasonal restlessness - most striking in the migrating birds - beginning to affect all of us who pay attention.

A good day, according to the moon, to plant, so we've put in some mustard greens seeds and starts for romanesco broccoli.
A good day to review the upcoming fall perennial plantings.
A good day to head out for a drive and see if any heirloom apples are for sale in Philo.

Labor Day Musing

2010-09-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

The labors are concluded, floors are clean and a hemp keikogi sits on a hanger awaiting its final pressing, a stir-fry simmers on the stove with the scent of garlic, soy sauce and ginger in the air.

I've never much cared for Labor Day per se, being an old-school leftie who'd rather celebrate International Workers' Day on Mayday, but still it is nice to have an extra paid day off - even better to have a job I like to return to tomorrow.

RANT OVER, HAVE SOME MELONS

2010-09-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

How many can you spot?

Well, not yet ready for eating.... but man are they cool-looking things! We also have a lot of hot peppers - Peruvian purple and Bulgarian carrot varieties - getting big. The Peruvians are born from dark eggplant purple blossoms and are the same wonderful color to start with. The Bulgarians start green and ripen to a bright cadmium orange. The fall planting of snap peas, mini-Romaine lettuce and mini-Chinese cabbage have started sprouting nicely - in fact, sometime in the next couple of days I'll have to cover the cabbages to keep the darned cabbage whites off them.

DEFINE "FAILED STATE"

2010-08-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

Somalia? Congo? How about California?

In 1978, when Prop. 13 passed, most attention was given to how it would affect property owners and property taxes. Less attention was paid at the time to the provisions that it take a 2/3 majority electoral vote to increase taxes and a 2/3 majority legislative vote to pass the state budget. The latter has resulted in absolute gridlock, and the past two years have been about the worst.

The way the legislative process functions is through negotiation. You can call it quid pro quo, you can refer to influence peddling or old boy networks, you can point out that one can't please everybody all the time....still, the bottom line is that at any level (local, state, national) the legislators have to sit down and argue and negotiate and hammer out a proposal. Except that when the minority party knows they control 1/3 of the votes, there is no longer any incentive to negotiate (other than common sense and common decency).

Currently in California we have a lame duck Governator who has no incentive to give a damn - not that he has paid attention to making anybody happy throughout his tenure, other than his rich Republican cronies - and a reactionary legislative minority bloc largely comprising folks who have signed pledges not to raise taxes, licences, or user fees and have no interest in actually passing a budget. The current budget expired June 30 and the legislature cannot even be bothered to schedule a session until after the November elections.

What does this mean on a practical level? It means that local governments that collect money and channel it to the state are not getting any of the money flowing back to them. It means that all of the for-profit businesses and non-profit agencies that receive state funds are simply going without that funding. In my field, health care, that means doctors, hospitals, senior centers, and care providers.

It also means the program for which I work is not getting any money. So far, overhead and payroll are covered, but we also normally purchase goods and services for our clients that are not otherwise paid for by Medicare or MediCal. How long can we keep the lights on? Hard to say. We are trying to get the funding intermediary to at least pass through the portion of our funding that comes via the Federal government. Barring that, maybe we can get a line of credit from our bank. Barring all that, even though eventually the state will get around to passing a budget that will probably include our program, we may not be around to see it.

Multiply this by scores of businesses and agencies in every county of the state and you understand why I call California a failed state.

SCAT!

2010-08-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

A neighbor behind us lets her cat wander freely. As protectors of the birds and lizards, we dramatically chase the cat out of the yard each time we spot it. Even so, three or four times we have found it lurking under or near the bird feeder (and, boy, do we go all out, bursting from the back door, arms waving, making weird noises....).

So when I found some scat on the corner of the back deck a few days ago, I muttered under my breath about the damn cat as I kicked the small pile out into the yard. The next morning I went to get into the car, and there, right in the carport, next to the car, was more scat. What kind of weird cat doesn't poop where it can be neatly buried? I started grumbling again, but then I noticed..... blackberries. Poop full of blackberries. There's only one mammal I know of that eats and poops berries.

It's a fox.

So I'm keeping my eyes open, especially around the place where a female denned with some kits a year ago spring, and hoping to catch a glimpse. Maybe it's her, maybe it's a kit grown up and wandering back. Anyhow, I'm not grumbling about the scat.

A FINE DAY AND A TOMATO REVIEW

2010-08-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

The plan for the day was pleasant enough: me and mom, in the pickup truck, driving 175 east Hopland to Clear Lake (one of my favorite stretches of road, either as a driver or as a passenger), thence north up the lake to find Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake for brunch and birdwatching at Rodman Slough.

Yes, it's a lot easier and faster to get to Upper Lake via 101/20, but that's how I planned to get home, and what the heck's the point of a scenic drive that's not a loop when a loop is possible?

Blue Wing had been recommended by my friend, Kathy; she's the Sr. Information and Referral Specialist for Mendocino and Lake counties, and I've learned to pay attention to anything that issues from her mental database. As mom and I approached we heard live music and noted that there was outdoor dining in a courtyard under the dappled shade of trees. We walked into the building and were told there was only indoor seating....but then a waitress came in and said, no I have one table for two open. Smiling at our good fortune, we followed her out to the courtyard and to a table....directly next to a table occupied by friends. After we chatted a bit, we settled in at our own table, looked at the musicians....and realized the band was Will Siegel and friends, including our favorite Mendo pianist, the incomparable Elena Casanova. It turned out we knew a fair number of folks in the audience, as they were aware the band was slated to play.

Mom and I ended up spending a good couple of hours totally relaxing, enjoying the food and music, before we headed off to Rodman Slough. I was hoping there'd be a few good places where mom could see stuff without much walking. There really wasn't. However right across the road from where we parked there was a short walk to the water. We watched large numbers of Clark's and Western grebes and finally saw in real life something we'd only ever seen in photos: baby grebes being carried on mom's back. Just after we spotted them, she suddenly stood up in the water and flapped her wings, like a duck bathing, and the babes dropped to the water and started swimming about. After several minutes she finally let them climb aboard again.

Back at home, we toured the vegies and mom was delighted to see the Tigger melons turning color (photos soon). During dinner we did tastings of two more tomato varieties that finally ripened: the Japanese hybrid Momotaro and the heirloom Old German. Old German is probably the sweetest tomato I've ever eaten - too sweet, says Stu, and I tend to agree with him. Mom loved it, which may reflect the taste bud changes associated with aging, which often bring a diminishing of the smell-related aspects and a preference for the sweet on the tongue. It had a lovely pink/orange color, a fine texture, and it was simply sweet, not cloyingly, but with no subtlety. The Momotaro is said to be the most popular tomato in Japan, and I see why. We all enjoyed it for both a very balanced sweet/tart flavor and a nice meaty texture - this is an eating tomato that would no doubt be a great sauce as well.

LITTLE BITS OF SUNSHINE

2010-08-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

One day's harvest

That's how I think of the Garden Peach tomatoes. Apparently the New York Times agrees, highlighting them in the Dining section today, and noting they are going for $2.95/pound at the Union Square Farmer's Market.

Once you figure in the soil, amendments, etc. I have no idea how much our's will end up costing per pound. For a taste of sunshine, who's to quibble?

Stu and I are hard pressed to say which taste "better" between the Garden Peach and the Purple Cherokee. The latter, which turns a magnificent blend of green, orange and purple when ripe, is also remarkably complex in flavors - perhaps a more sophisticated tomato?

RAMPANT CORPORATE GREED

2010-08-18T14:15:00.001-07:00

“Companies have asked for concessions throughout the history of the labor movement because they’ve faced hard times and needed help to survive. Dr Pepper Snapple is different. They don’t even show the respect to lie to us. They just came in and said, ‘We have no financial need for this, but we just want it anyway because we figure we can get away with it.’”

—

Quoted in NY Times - Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, on strike against Mott’s Apple Juice who want to slash wages and benefits because … um… er….. well, they’re greedy. Is this how you develop a productive workforce? Is a boycott of Mott, Dr. Pepper and Snapple in order?

PLANTING BY THE MOON

2010-08-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Early evening, dinner waiting on the stove.

Savoring an appetizer of sun-sweetened, sun-warmed feral blackberries, I watch the waxing moon come over the hills, shining white in a pale blue sky over our yard. Planting by the moon: yesterday and today ideal for crops that will grow up above the ground.

Trying for an early fall crop of snap peas, spinach, miniature Chinese cabbage, Little Gem miniature romaine and a red version of Little Gem. Wondering if I should wait for the September moon instead? Thinking I'll have barrels ready for then, too.

A BRIEF PLAYFUL PENGUIN INTERLUDE

2010-08-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you not following me on tumblr.... this is too good not to show here. Who knew penguins have an inner cat????

YES WE HAVE TOMATOES!

2010-08-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I like the Garden Peach, softly-colored globes sized in between a "cherry" and a standard tomato, a lovely snack-sized treat.
But I'm loving the ugly ducklings of the tomato world, the Cherokee Purple. A huge meaty fruit perfect for cutting into wedges and sprinkling with salt. Yeah, you could chomp down on one in the garden....but what a mess!

Fraser's Gem, Cherokee Purple, Garden Peach tomatoes w/ assorted hot peppers and sage.

WELL HELLO

2010-08-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

In 36 years of living in California, I've gone through countless earthquakes, mostly small; a couple pretty big (including Loma Prieta) but I have to say that today's little 2.9 is the one in which I was closest to the epicenter.
View Larger Map Now it was really small. I was at work, and both felt and saw my computer give a little jump and the wand on the miniblinds give a little sway, under 3 seconds and that was it. So as well-trained as I am, I googled USGS and within a minute had filled in the reporting form. I wasn't surprised that it was only 2.9 but rather taken aback at its proximity: a mile east of Talmage, going up Cow Mountain, which means probably where I was driving along Mill Creek with mom just yesterday. Four and a half miles from home. HELLO UNIVERSE.

AND GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO!

2010-08-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Deadheading perennials, I'm stopped short by a rousing cacaphonous duet.

The local rooster greets the morning and a raven seems to take it as a personal affront.

"Cock a doodle doo" - "CAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAW"
over and over.

A scrub jay tries to make it a trio but is clearly out of his league. I go indoors.

The lone raven becomes a massed choir of the deranged when his companions join in and they take to the air. The rooster, abashed, falls silent, presumably looking for tasty bugs instead. Point ravens.

THE GARDEN REPORT

2010-08-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

Melon Patch

At last we are eating our own tomatoes, although so far just a half dozen of the lovely little Garden Peach plus there is one big red Fraser's Gem on the kitchen counter waiting for us to slice it up and enjoy with a sprinkle of salt. There are enormous quantities of Garden Peach and Cherokee Purple slowly contemplating maybe sorta kinda turning color.

Tomatillo

The beans are pretty much ready for the compost heap (one of tomorrow's tasks). The lemon cukes I planted late are healthy plants, standing tall. The tomatillos are their usual cheerful, no-care selves - I think even if I lost my taste for green sauce I might plant them just because they are easy and make me smile.

Way out back, our invasive Himalayan blackberry patch is having its most productive year. I'm guessing that in years past I over-hacked it and that maybe it only produces berries on second year growth? At any rate, there are blackberries all over that back section, and ripening at different times so that pretty much every evening I can stroll out after dinner for a pick-and-eat dessert buffet.

But the star of the edible garden, by far, is our melon patch. I created it by setting down a bed of newspaper, hardware cloth to keep the gophers out, and straw. The walls were made from bales of rice straw, forming a rectangle one width by one length, and two bales high. Filled it with straw, then potting soil and compost, creating a hillock in the middle and putting seeds on either side of the hillock. Once there were good strong baby plants, I culled to 2 on each side.

Tigger melon, just formed

The plants are now threatening to eat Ukiah. They put the tomatillos to shame in their exuberant let's find the sun and photosynthesize like mad! daily work ethic. Like them, they make cheerful yellow flowers. And now they are making tiny adorable melons, striped thingies that eventually are supposed to turn yellow with orange and red striping and be very sweet. For now we are just enjoying the process.

CATS OF SUMMER...

2010-08-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

...being a twisted tale of rural sprawl

TUMBLING....

2010-08-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

When I started blogging on Zanshin Art it was to have a place for training notes plus observations on visual/martial arts. This blog came later, when we moved north, as an outlet for more domestic musings. My intent was not to provide twitter-type updates, nor the unedited and mostly boring and poorly written spewings that so many people offer as blogs, but a place for reflective and edited observations.

When I was on Facebook I got used to doing quick, frequent posts about articles, current events and the like. It was nice to offer that and I've sort of missed it, but I still didn't want to corrupt how my blogs here are crafted.

My friend Katherine is on tumblr and after also reading a NY Times article about tumblr I decided to give it a try. So now I have a third blog, over there, on which I'm posting interesting links and similar stuff. If it's something that merits any real commentary, or really fits with the general themes of my blogs, the link will also show up as a longer blog post here or on Zanshin Art, depending on the topic.

DOG DAYS

2010-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Like the dog he believes himself to be, Leo has been following me all day as I move around the house, chair to table, room to room, activity to activity.

He's curled under the chair, dozing at my feet as I write this.

I hate to disappoint him but it's time to get up and sweep the courtyard.

GARDENS, HIGH AND LOW

2010-07-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

First, today's link of the day is from the wonderful Forgotten New York website. It is about a tiny section of the High Line that will never be part of the park/garden. The story touches on historic Bell Labs + the original Westbeth artist housing. Don't miss the video....

My new work schedule starts next week. I still have a three day weekend, but instead of working three full days/week, I'll be working 2 full days + 2 half days. This will let me continue taking advanced Spanish conversation classes at the college when the semester starts in a few weeks. It may make it a tad harder to carve out concentrated studio time for sewing, but I'll manage.

Fortunately, Stu enjoys working in the garden, which means we can share more of the outdoor chores (it takes a very long time to deep water the vegies, and there are a lot of perennials needing attention, and don't ask about the blackberry patch or the weeds...). When we first moved north, he jumped into the pure muscle role, hacking out nasty plants, pulling weeds, etc. He's learned to differentiate the good, bad and ugly. This spring and summer he's been getting the hang of deep watering the vegies and inspecting the tomatoes and tying them up as the fruit gets heavier. It makes him very nervous when I start hard pruning plants or pulling out spent annuals, so I try to keep him occupied in another section when it's time for surgery.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

2010-07-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

"When I am dead let this be said of me: "He belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any régime except the régime of liberty." - Gustave Courbet (painter & Communard)

The convoluted path to the quote: the other night we watched Jacques Becker's wonderful film, - no really, it is a gem of a picture on so many levels - Casque d'Or, brilliantly starring a young and radiant Simone SIgnoret and the underrated Serge Reggiani. It is a classic postwar French noir - except that it is set in the previous century and opens with a boating party and riverside dance hall straight out of a Renoir painting! Anyhow, it is noted in an essay that it is set in the Belle Epoch, so I went to the wikipedia entry... which mentioned the pre-Raphaelites. Now even though I'm an artist, I have to admit I know only one thing about them: what a classic pre-Raphaelite beauty looks like. So I decided to look it up. Turns out they were in reaction to guys like Courbet. Now I LIKE Courbet for the same reason Manet and some of my other favorites did: he was an unsentimental realist who painted like a demon and paved the way for the Impressionists and post-Impressionists. Plus I've always had a soft spot for the mid-19th C. French artists and writers who played an active role in the Commune of 1870. But I hadn't read the quote until today.

Netflix has Casque d'Or. It has nothing to do with Courbet, the Commune, or the pre-Raphaelites. It's up there with Becker's classic gangster film, "Touchez-pas au Grisbi," in which Jean Gabin basically gives a master's class in acting.

PLEASURES OF MID SUMMER WEEKENDS

2010-07-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Cool mornings for smelling the air, watering the plants, and watching the birds.

Long sunny afternoons for indoor chores and pleasures.

Sultry evenings for watching it darken from the back deck.

Long nights for watching movies.

I'D RATHER NOT LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES, THANK YOU.

2010-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

A trying couple of days, between working late to accomodate clients, a family medical procedure to deal with, and massive computer and email problems resulting from changing website servers. Burnt out, eating & sleeping poorly.

On the bright side, Wed. night class at the dojo was very good training, the tomatoes are slowly ripening, & on this warm evening after making sure family is ok, I pick a small basket of blackberries from our feral canes at the back of the yard to savor on the back deck.

Tomorrow is another day.

MENDOCINO COAST BOTANICAL GARDEN

2010-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

Above a meadow just over the fence, a young osprey spent the afternoon working on his flight skills. The waxing just-over-half moon rose over the western hills, ghostly white in a pale blue sky. We came for the dahlias (well, and to beat the inland heat) but ended up totally Wow!'d instead by the tuberous begonias and the heath/heather garden.

More photos at flickr.

TO MIKE BERRY, WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN 65 JULY 15, 2010

2010-07-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

I met Michael Berry in the fall of 1980. I had passed my nursing boards to be an RN but still had a year to go to graduate with my BSN. After spending the summer working full time at San Francisco General Hospital, I was one of several still-in-school nurses hired in the fall by Pacfic Presbyterian Hospital (precursor of California Pacific Medical Center) to work part time around our college schedules. I was assigned to 6 North, evening shift, where Michael had been working for some time as an LVN.

He was exactly 9 1/2 years older than me, a red diaper baby from southern California who had done organizing in East Harlem for the CPUSA, but gone thrown out for being militantly gay. We hit it off immediately, swapping leftist community organizing stories and Jewish mother jokes as we took cigarette breaks in the utility room (yes, children, there was a time that even in hospitals and doctors' offices people were free to light up). We also shared a commitment to good patient care, and from Michael I learned the worth of a seasoned nurse's intuition about patient condition (and that a good LVN was worth more than a mediocre nursing supervisor).

Our friendship beyond work was forged in health crises, Stu's head injury and Michael's car accident; we were crucial supports to each other and remained close companions and confidantes after that. In the mid-1980s we went to massage school together in order to start a business, Health Professionals Massage, getting referrals from the doctors we knew. Unfortunately, around the same time his AIDS was diagnosed. Michael moved back down to southern California to be with his family. We visited back and forth, and were on the phone a lot.

In January of 1995, Stuart and I were in Paris for my 40th birthday. Two months later I was in southern California, holding Mike in my arms as we shared our last conversations. He died pretty much right in between my 40th and his 50th, and only a terribly short time before the "AIDS cocktails" were available that might have saved him.

A toast to Mike Berry, who would have turned 65 and retired and gone on Medicare today; remember him with his preferred meal: a slice of pizza and a bottle of beer.

Top photo: Mike posing with the portrait I painted of/for him (gouache & pencil). Left photo: Memorial piece "For a friend". Copyright Janet Rosen 1996.

TULI YOURS

2010-07-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was planning a blog post to commemorate the upcoming what-would-have-been 65th birthday of a good friend, gone now 15 years, when I read the news of Tuli Kupferberg's passing at the age of 86.

Back when I was barely a teenager, it was hard to believe he was older than my mom & dad when he wrote & recorded "Kill For Peace", "CIA Man," & "Coca Cola Douche." To a smart-ass, leftie, streetwise New York kid, the Fugs were irresistably in-your-face, taboo-breaking & funny as hell.

But Tuli was a poet first & forever. The song I'm listening to now is his most beautiful, tenderly sung by another early 60s member of the NY folk scene, Richie Havens.

DRIVING 101 IN JULY

2010-07-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sere hills curve down to the Russian River like a lion crouching to drink.

A long walk through Petaluma with Jo, enjoying the 20 degree drop in temperature, chatting away, admiring homes & gardens.

A long walk through SOMA with Katherine, now bundled up for yet another 20 degree drop, but at the end a wonderful dinner at Thirsty Bear.

The road home, through fog halfway, windshield actually wet in southern Sonoma, then the familiar tawny flanks bring me home.

NO COMPLAINTS

2010-07-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

A photo that has absolutely nothing to do with this blog post.

A lovely summer evening with friends at the dinner table, catching up on recent life and swapping tales of the past.

The salad is so extravagant I feel compelled to serve the hot dish on small salad plates, so folks can heap the various fresh veg on their dinner plates: a basic salad of our garden lettuces with grated carrot & diced apple, then an array of additions: a chopped cuke salad (with chile flakes, lime juice, & sea salt), a bean salad (our own bush beans + garbanzos & red onion, in a dressing of lemon zest, mustard, & garden herbs in oil & vinegar), a variety of olives, some avocado, some sauerkraut. The hot dish is polenta slices baked in the oven in a homemade mushroom marinara sauce.

We move to the back deck for conversation until the sky turns dark and the birds suddenly fall silent, then come indoors for chocolate sorbet topped with fresh loganberries - a perfect blending of sweet and tart.

Tomorrow, more friends to see...Jo, then Katherine...then a couple of days to bury myself in the studio working on baby gi commissions and an idea for a shoulder bag.

LINK OF THE DAY is The Teletubbies: See Emily Play.

AND THE LINK FOR THE DAY IS...

2010-07-09T22:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Ms. Derbyshire for posting this link to an article in Discover that provides details of how birds, at least the European robin, actually navigates via Earth's magnetic field, using L side of the brain and special cells in its R eye.
Too cool. Why we love science.

RANDOM SUMMER OBSERVATIONS

2010-07-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

A manic mockingbird screams mindless obscenities at a moonless sky.

The more-celery-than-celery smell of tomato leaves on my hands after I water the plants.

The stillness of the cool morning air.
The shock of emerging two hours later into intense heat.
The stiff afternoon breezes that make cross-ventilation possible but also make me stare at the browning hills a bit nervously.

A SECOND POST IN ONE DAY....

2010-07-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

...just to make sure you don't miss this WONDERFUL NY Times article on squirrels.

EARLY JULY MUSINGS

2010-07-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

July 1 also marks exactly 2 1/2 years of our official full time residence in Ukiah. It feels longer because, just as when I left Brooklyn for San Francisco, it was a complete emotional disengagement from a prior life. On this long weekend honoring the American Revolution, I wonder, is this what it means to be American?

Sometimes my mom will lament that my generation isn't close to our cousins, or my mother-in-law will say it's a shame kids move so far from home.

I reply to my mom: you were close to your cousins only because you all grew up within a couple of blocks of each other. As adults, most of your generation chose to move away to outlying suburbs (my own parents were the exception to this rule), which meant cousins were strange kids we encountered maybe three or four times a year.

As for moving far from home....if the kids of our antecedents hadn't moved far from home, we'd have died out in Hitler's camps. This is a country founded by people who, regardless of country of origin, had the gumption to get up and go, whether for economic, political or religious reasons (the sole exception, as far as I can tell, is most African-Americans, who had no choice in their coming here). So Americans pretty much represent the gene pool of those willing to move on. And so we do.

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE ABSURD, IT'S ALL GOOD

2010-07-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

A small birdhouse gently sways from a patio roof beam near a creek. A male bluebird, brilliant dark blue back shining in the sun, a fat grub in his beak, alights and thrusts his head into the birdhouse. From where we sit, a chorus of baby bird cries momentarily drowns out the song sparrow a few shrubs down.

There's a sudden "pik pik" call, and a pair of downy woodpeckers start working their way up a nearby tree. Within a minute there is a drumming duet, then another voice solos on top of it: a Nuttal's woodpecker comes to check out the under-the-bark buffet.

One can't spend all day and night outside. And a non-dojo family night is perfect for a movie. Last night's was a real winner: "Flushed Away," from the Wallace and Grommit folks + Dreamworks. It's hero is a pet mouse, most of the characters are sewer rats, the villain is a toad (voiced by Ian McKellen), but the main thing is.... this movie is a smart-ass, fast-paced and utterly surrealistic romp that had three jaded, ready to be snarky, critical adults roaring their heads off. I mean, how can you not love a movie with a Greek chorus of SLUGS?!

COMING AND GOING IN THE GARDEN

2010-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

The thermometer on the back deck registers 85. It has hit over 95 the past two days and is heading near there now.

Sun-hatted but letting the vitamin D soak into my browning arms, I make the rounds (five hours later than usual due to an irresistible fit of morning sloth), saving the thirsty lettuce heads and reassuring everybody else, one gallon jug of water at a time.

Melon plants, no longer seedlings but still small, stand tall. Tomatillo seedlings are beginning to push through the soil, but no sign of the cukes. There are more small tomatoes and peppers forming every time we look, and one casualty: the pimiento plant simply wilted and died even though the tomato and marigold it shares a barrel with are thriving.

The snap peas are about done but the first planting of bush beans is ready to take their place at the table: long, slender curling pods of deep royal purple. The second planting is also close to harvest-ready. The leaves have odd mottling and a small cloud of whitefly scatters when I shake them, but there are also a half dozen ladybugs who have shown up to patrol the leaves, doing a better job than the sticky traps.

A couple of large, sun-warmed strawberries provide a half-time snack. There are scallions ready to be plucked to add to the evening salad bowl. The house summons, a cool semi-dark retreat, no air conditioning needed. Mad dogs, Englishmen, but not me....

Meanwhile in a valley in the Coast Ranges....

EN ROUTE

GENTLE RAINS

ON THE ROAD

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS

RAIN

MOVIN' ON

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN NO-SUGAR CORNBREAD

THE OVER USE OF, AND LIMITS OF, MRI

CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, PROTEIN AND BONE LOSS

RECOMMENDED READING

THOUGHTS ON NATURAL SELECTION WHILE DRIVING THE BOONVILLE ROAD

VEGAN ME

Vibram Five Fingers ROCK

One a.m., outside Seattle

YOU KNOW YOU ARE COUNTRY WHEN....

HALF SOUR DELIGHT

THIS AND THAT

YOU WANT ME TO EAT WHAT?????

THINGS WE TALK ABOUT

ON THE MEND

THINGS TO NOTICE

MAY SHOWERS

STARTS

Weirdest Houseguest Ever

RAIN

BUSY!

SNOW!

THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING

ADVANCING WOMENS' HEALTH CARE?

MSSP

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

ON JANUARY 29...

LA LENGUA DE LAS MARIPOSAS

FUCK 'EM, THEY'RE GONNA DIE ANYHOW....

MID WINTER WITH HINTS OF SPRING

A NEW YEAR IN THE ARTS FOR ME

MOVIES

THE EVE OF A NEW YEAR

Rainy Day

On Old River Road

GOODNIGHT, SENSEI

GAYLE FILLMAN SENSEI PASSES ON

BACK TO COLUSA

THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING APPROACHES

COLUSA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MI TAREA

PIX

WORTH BEING AWAKE FOR...

SEARS PRESENTS FITNESS FOR ZOMBIES

MORNING, DRIVE TO WORK

VERY COOL FIELD BIOLOGY BLOG

NOTHING MINIATURE ABOUT THIS...

AUTUMN UPDATES

UNEXPECTED COMPANY

At the City of 10,000 Buddhas

LIFE AND DEATH

EARLY AUTUMN

HEAT, HOWLS AND A PRINCESS

MOVIE MADNESS

FOX MOON

EQUINOX

BABY LIZARDS!

WHAT IS IT ABOUT COMPUTERS?

VAUX'S SWIFTS IN HEALDSBURG

FLOATING ROW COVERS

TODAY

AUTUMN COMING

Labor Day Musing

RANT OVER, HAVE SOME MELONS

DEFINE "FAILED STATE"

SCAT!

A FINE DAY AND A TOMATO REVIEW

LITTLE BITS OF SUNSHINE

RAMPANT CORPORATE GREED

PLANTING BY THE MOON

A BRIEF PLAYFUL PENGUIN INTERLUDE

YES WE HAVE TOMATOES!