Now it's rain, rain, rain here in Kentucky

post #528 

        Very wet Sunday greetings to all, from under leaky grey clouds and over the swollen creeks. The electricity around here returned yesterday and the day before, and so I'm now able to be at home after 7 nights moved in with friends a half hour from here!!  I learned how to play Rummy 500 there. (Here's thanks for my beginner's luck!). I also could use my iPhone and have some internet, etc. And how wonderful to break bread together. I'm grateful to have already had my vaccine shots.

        My main political comment for today is that all politicians who can't proclaim that President Biden won the very fair and square 2020 election are in fact treasonous and willing to promote violence within our prized democracy. Most of them know that the voting fraud part is a lie, especially those as politically skilled as my two Kentucky Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. I call it rampant cynicism on their part. Simple as that.

        But we now need some "moving on to spring" photos. I grew up in Connecticut, thinking  winter was the best season.  But here spring reigns supreme. It's beautiful and wondrous, especially in the woods. I love, love, love it. 

meadowlark after a shower

tiny frog on the milkweed pod

apple orchard, near Elliottville, which is no longer there

on a bank, bluets (or Quaker Ladies)

along the creek, a favorite perch

dogwood blossoms, near my mailbox

redbuds, thicker than usual

a spring beauty

that special green covering spring brings

redbuds

dwarf iris, nearly the last one in this wooded spot

reliable announcers of spring, day after day

roadside

 

 

            There's so much to see under a spring sky. I wonder what we'll notice this coming spring after the winter we've had. I sure love the natural beauty found in these Appalachian mountains.          May we find solace in how nature rebounds every year even if it's not always everything the same as the year before or after. I hope we can better team up with nature and not just use it up.

        

         

very icy times

     YES, there has been a lengthy and damaging ice storm in Kentucky.! I still don't have electricity at home, so this blog is being put together at the home of friends in Morehead -- night three.  I don't mind the cold or the isolation at home, but it's a worry not to be able to have a working phone or keep food frozen in the freezer.  On the other hand, I'm fortunate to have water there, and great neighbors.

    I love some of the photos I have made during this time. I wish everyone could have a warm and dry place to be, with food and water.  We all sure have to do a better job managing our resources, and preparing for the on-going changes in weather patterns!!

ENJOY --

The thrill of actually seeing the sun, even if only briefly!

Then there's the time honored delight of imagining the sun...

early days of the storm

 

Thank you dear neighbors, out checking on neighbors.  I loved our snowy visit!!

Spending time in the car, under the carport, to charge up the iPhone,

and the view from the driver's seat during the charging, seeing some of the pond past the snow, and the tire tracks from the Rhino....

 

from inside

another time sitting in the car

that same ex-Christmas tree, now a tree for the birds, from inside the house

riding the ridge to go to town for a warmer night and internet time

The next day, on the ridge again, after going to the house to check the pipes and get some clean clothes. 

    So many thanks, Tom and Molly, for taking me in from the cold, despite how very well I thought I was managing. It's indeed much better, however, to have access to your working telephone and wi-fi, if needed, and then there are the feasts that keep appearing!! Tonight was, for me, a very thanks-giving dinner.  

    Now the hour is late, so more next week.  I am so conscious of all the many people who are not equipped to be in a good situation during this cold winter time. Please be safe while we all wait for spring.

ice storm issues

A quick note: It is Saturday, 2/13, and we are in an ice storm situation. I am fine but don't have electricity for now.  It could be this way for awhile, so I am not planning to do a post this week. I am writing this from my daughter's home nearby, since they still have electricity for now. I hope everyone is warm and dry, but it's sad/tragic to see on the news that both of our Kentucky Senators, and others, are so entirely on the wrong side of history. What could it take???!!!!

the case for cold

post #527

First, more snow, more fun, more tracks, more vaccines (but still not enough), and more self-examination about what does it all mean!

Well, I can't tell you that, but I can start with some current photos, some by me and some by R and J.

familiar view, with the most recent similar snowfall, Kentucky style

same pond as before, but with the new snow and I'm closer to it

Meanwhile, home schooling: teacher, with virtual students, and student, with virtual teacher... photo by JW (thanks for the good laugh)

 

 

 

recent morning walk  --  celebrating the sun

me and ?

This is my version of a mmail box flag. I've shown it before. The mail carrier told me that if red were showing, she'd know I was mailing something.

tracks

Today, I heard the family -- and even the cats -- couldn't resist the least bit of snow:

closer-up photo of the adventurous cat companions (photos by RW)

    I will try to insert a video, soon, right here, but I'm over-thinking it at the moment, so I'll wait awhile..  If I didn't do a post almost every week, I might forget how even simpler things are done.  

    I won't forget my second vaccine on Friday!  Am thrilled! I am grateful Kentucky has been giving K-12 teachers the vaccine. 

    We need to support those folks not yet able to get a shot by continuing to wear a mask until science says we no longer need to.  How would we know at this stage if other people are not wearing one because they refuse to do so or because they are being a good citizen and taking one for the team. Pandemics are serious stuff. I remember the extreme fear of polio before there was a vaccine for it.  Be safe, keep distancing, and please be hilarious whenever truly possible.

there's always work to do to learn what's true..

post #526                                      The Hurtle Ahead of Us

 Everyone needs to acknowledge that Joe Biden clearly won the 2020 election,                             especially the people who work in government, who are supposed to work for all persons in our nation.

  

The time has come for all of us to face the consequences of how much Donald Trump relies on lies. 

  He lies everyday.  Often.  Regularly.  He must be desperate for attention.  It's sad seeing someone so damaged.

   

There's that video footage of Trump telling the crowd to be strong, and to fight.  It's plain to see that he's using the worked up crowd to cover his inability to accept that       he could have lost a "race" even though the other guy got millions more votes.                                                          

 Yet now so many choose to ignore the implications and the power of his lies.  People were killed. Denying it happened damages the soul. All people are wounded when so many of us choose not to value the facts.

                As I have said often on this blog, truth has ever been a guiding lantern in my life.  SO  I say all this simply because truth is important to me.  We don't have to agree about everything with each other, but we can value truth enough to seek it out. Honor it. Check it out. Use the brain and the heart together. It is not necessarily convenient, but it can be an anchor.   

            I realize that even my photography reflects my focus on the truth. Of course there's art involved, but I prefer seeing what I actually saw and sharing what reflects the reality before me.  Here are several photos from different years that reflect that inclination of mine to go for unexpected real happenings in front of me:

with Pat on Martha's Vineyard's Lucy Vincent Beach

ice from above and below

Sandy's, every Christmas

a good night's work in the shed

You are my SON shine....

beautiful in boots

Forrest and Allen

SF Art Museum wall, with Liz

It will be spring again. Only ten weeks until the Redbud Show.

I was fascinated by how the Golden Gate Bridge looked while in progress.

Violet Joy

Grayson Lake: our one world held together

Thanks for looking at these photos. There's beauty in the truth.

Let's be brave.  Much more brings us together than keeps us apart.