shovelers not among us

it got a lot cooler. in the 60's. the wind is chilling my fingers as i type. a welcome change.
with the cooler weather i'm reminded, among other things, of my previous home in the great pacific northwest. how with the changing weather comes the huge migration of birds.
at the ridgefield national wildlife refuge (here's a little picture of it), we used to drive slowly around the loop and watch for the newly arrived birds of the season. mallards, wood ducks, canada geese, red-tail hawks, bald eagles, yellow-headed black birds, soras (which have the coolest call in the world. just click on the little play button to hear it. you won't be disappointed.), snow geese, cinnamon teals, ruddy ducks (with blue bills!) even sandhill cranes once. to name a few.
but my favorite has always been this little guy:

i know. he's adorable. i was thinking the same thing. he's like a mutant mallard. but much prettier. and as long as i've drawn his bill, i think it's actually longer. they swish it around in the water eating plants. like how someone would swing a metal detector.

i think people shoot them and eat them. i'm not going into that.

they're only here in the winter on the way to mexico. and in california, i've only seen one pair at delevan nwr near sacramento. i'm hoping i get to take a trip there and see him this winter. 

thursday september 9, 2010 11:07

see what i mean: 

http://vimeo.com/2095656

of high hot heat and porridge

the view from the jeep this week:

in other news...
i think i'm on the INS watchlist. i'm sure true patriots question my citizenship. my very country of origin. my allegiance is sketchy. the border patrol hover ever so loftily above my abode.
because i hate watermelon.
it's pretty devasting. downright unamerican if you ask me. i can't help it. every year i try. have i had a good one? plenty. i have my father attest to their quality and amazingness. i try again and again. and hate it again and again. i even know if it tastes like it's supposed to. if it's delicious or not. i just can't eat more than a bite. and even then, i'm sorry i did.
determined to not raise a child of such bewildering faults, i got to thinking.
what would go well with that summer day? i know. i thought the same thing. porridge. watermelon porridge. give me that food grinder.
gross, yes? yes. but the small one liked it. maybe not her bowels. did you know watermelon gives you gas? i didn't. like i mentioned. i don't eat it. also, did you konw if you spit it up during your nap and rub your face in it, you are liable to get a sweet rash that itches a bit? me neither.

green things that are not reused, recyclable or reduced

so extremely excited about what i purchased at the farmer's market this morning. the small one (in her owl pouch) and i got there at 8 am. it was cloudy. in the upper 50s. i do not take this for granted. it was a lovely rare morning. the like will be far and few between in the coming months. as in, only when i leave redding proper. 

i've really enjoyed the astonishing number of days that are overcast here. especially after a few days of 90s. it also makes me dread the future. like, when is the summer coming? why won't it come? it's messing with my mind.

from a very kind lady (who helped my rid by bag of a half a dozen very plump and active earwigs) i snatched four of the first apricots i've seen this season. at various other booths i gleaned a couple very squishy and perfect peaches, some free range eggs hatched in some adorable ladies backyard (some are greenish. very cool.), thin leeks with gorgeous blue-green stalks, frizzle-haired drunken lady lettuce (really? yes.) and a silvery something tomato plant that's supposed to be good for the upside-down growing thing i got from a dear friend for my birthday. the tomato plants leaves are delicate and light-colored. i've never seen anything like it. 

eating two of those unconventionally hued eggs microwave soft-boiled with a dash of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, i can taste the appeal. the romance of home grown and local fare. (i should've put some minced leek in this. dangit!)

but then i sensed the fear. without deliberation certain thoughts popped into my head. what did that lady do to the chickens? are these eggs okay? i mean , they came from a stranger at the market.  

heartily i rebuke such thoughts. because there are a bunch of money-grubbing strangers in charge of eggs at the winco. why is it easier to assume sinister motives to the local private farmer than a corporation? what's wrong with me? again. rebuke!

sidenote: they're from an americana hen. i found a cute video about these guys on flickr. they are like all the chickens you've ever seen in those hokey/i mean antique paintings.

in other news today, i've started taking liquid vitamin and other nasties supplements. this furthers my quest towards caffeine independency. fm patients are given the no-no on caffeine yet are some of the most fatigue-stricken folks. so not fair. 

i've tried this stuff before and it seemed to help the energy level. all in my mind? we will see. it tastes like the worst medicine ever, but strangely less gagging then the vanilla flavored powdered form that goes in your juice. it doesn't really dissolve and... i'll spare the details. assume a tragic method of wrecking juice.

free tip: eat protein with fat soluble vitamins or you will be a sad puppy. take it from a vitamin a and b poisoned veteran. blech.

anyway, this round, i'll take a shot of it and wash it down with juice. even if the juice has aloe vera in it. that doesn't have much of a taste anyway, and i'm used to what little it has.

and that donkey is the raddest thing ever. see his little aloe plant pack? he's a hard working little ass.

dye fail and heat

the amaranth family

it wasn't an effort to be green, hippy or resourceful. i just wanted to be creative. that, and the white packages were cheaper.
enter beets and a onesie. 
i'm awful at following directions--by choice, mind you--and this was no exception. though because there were so many steps i skipped, i'm not sure which was the critical impetus to failure. you see a representation of the end product. i had--and this is probably obvious--wanted to turn the thing a pinkish hue. it worked on youtube.
beets are from the amaranth family. incidentally, amaranth flour is a fabulous high-lysine (an essential fatty acid lacking in most grains) grain with zero gluten for my celiac friends. so if the dinosaurs in jurassic park ate it, maybe they could reproduce? (that was for my movie buff friends.) can can boil or roast the tap root and eat it savory or sweet style. if you like a mild flavor of soil in your meal, you will especially appreciate these. the ancient romans thought it was a great laxative (it has three times the fiber as wheat). don't eat too many because its abundant oxalite equals kidney stones.
i did end up being resourceful afterall. i ate the beets with cottage cheese for breakfast, and the greens wilted and paired nicely with the freshly caught bass i fried in a smattering of bacon grease. take that, Fail!

last of the sleeves

it was in the 70s and then 90s this week (currently 97 to be exact). the wind was cool and now it's not ("feels like 92"). i've embraced the beginning of a long summer. questions currently filling my brain are:

1. are those flea bites or heat rash?
2. is an $80 cotton car seat cover (why do they insist on poly-fleece fuzzy lining?) worth it or can i make a linen one for less?
3. could i sell said linen covers?
4. will my heirloom "russian purple" tomato plant die in the heat?
5. can our jeep's a/c last another year? what's that burning smell when it's on?

here, the small one waits for her capuccino during the last day of long-sleeves. she's a customer service nazi, just like her mama.

voice log stardate 01172010

driving the 217 miles to my sisters new condo, i needed to relieve some stress accruing from the horrendous drive. yes. accruing. like debt in the form of an over-priced high interest government loan that they refuse allow consolidation on and thus grows with prime plus who-knows-what while on deferment due to lack of income... but more on that another time.

it was way too dangerous on I-80, so when i got to walnut creek (the home stretch) i hit record on my phone. the following is a transcript of that monologue. among other things, what to learn from this is... i need to pay attention to my tenses, and i use 'really' and 'actually' and 'and' too much in my speech.

unedited:

"alright, this is entitled diamonds are not forever. and it really only applies to the people who drive to the [dirty] bay area.

and i had to practice my bradley birthing method breathing in order to not cry after hydroplaning. and even though the diamond lane is right next to the divider, and i'd rather run into a concrete divider than another car, um... hydroplaning is like one of the most frightening experiences when you're going 70 miles an hour. especially on 680 were people are psychotic anyway and drive like a bunch of idiots.

there's a reason why people, especially on I-80, [the diamond lane is] completely abandoned. i'm like, 'why aren't people driving on this?'

oh and when everyone else is braking in front of you, you should go ahead and brake as well, cause it means there's two inches of standing water in the freeway.

so i'm very thankful for the angels of I-5, 505 and 680.

this is crazy. it's some of the worst stuff i've ever driven through. ever. visibility is so poor i can't even read the street signs. it's a really good thing i know this road and i've driven it hundreds of times.

it's not a good thing that i'm in a toyota corolla. i don't even know how old these tires are. i don't think it matters.

and i will... [unintelligible (even to me and it's my voice and i was there. lol.)]... and there is no way i'm getting back on this freeway. as soon as i recognize a sign taking back roads to san ramon, i'm gonna do it.

plus i have to pee. really bad. but there were a few times on 505 where i really needed that coffee.

granted, people are being really cautious, which is nice. and i followed this honda civic forever on I-80 until they decided to go into the second lane, which i'm just not willing to do.

the wind is so bad--it's not so bad here on 680, which is strange--it's really bad in Maxwell area.

ah, lovorna road, praise the- oh... water... [clunk] oh... ah... i hope i didn't just break a tire. this road sucks man, they really need to pave this. there's like a huge dent in the road just filled with water. the only reason i knew about it was the huge van in front of me actually slowed down. i think he's gonna be my partner for the rest of the time here."

this doesn't even begin to illustrate how nasty it was. and no. i didn't look through the view finder. i could do this stuff blind. and notice there's no one around me. come on. i'm not that stupid.

weather trumps

i think it's so neat that after thousands of years of scientific and technical exploration and advancement that people still freeze to death.
just try and track with me here a minute...
people every year die out there in the cold of the pacific northwest mountains (or even hills) within sight of warm fires and cocoa on a snuggly couch. seems odd that in an age of instant electronic communication and space travel that the primitive and basic threat of weather still holds the best cards. and i'm not talking about the grossly ignorant dudes who embark upon journeys best left to those who properly research, prepare and suit up. i'm talking about cats with mountaineering experience and burly weather know-how.
here, in our 21st century existence of high performing synthetic fibers, very clean fluffy down and superior weaves of woolen fabrics, folks can go out of doors and still be totally unprepared, ill-equipped and, might i say, beckoning for the wiles of exposure.
it's like God saying, sure, you've got your polypropylene base layer and you may even have a sick windstopper fleece with articulated sleeves and pit zips for chance overheating. it may even breathe well before you don your 800 fill down parka with fleece lined pockets, water-resistant zips and micro-chamois lined chin. if you're real ambitious you may have incorporated the superior waterproofing ability of gore-tex. you can even add a merino wool beanie fully lined with polartec in the way of the sherpas. perhaps you're smart enough to bring a negative degree mummy bag for inclement weather at an inconvenient time.
perfect. we could sum up all proceeding goodies as gear.
great plan. gotta have the right gear.
but as to rephrase, God's like, you have your gear. watch this.
i give you... cold.
enter unrelenting bitter winds, maybe wicked gales, pelting rain, maybe even some blizzard-type snows or sleet.
and what do you with your gear do?
pray.

brrr...

a pair of flannel pants, wool socks, hooded sweatshirt and a steaming bowl of oatmeal...
not an evening by a wintry fire. nah. this is me in 72 degree weather after spending 4 days in redding, ca.
strange what a week in arid 100 will do to a body.

a wintry sonnet

Christina Rossetti

A Robin said: The Spring will never come,
And I shall never care to build again.
A Rosebush said: These frosts are wearisome,
My sap will never stir for sun or rain.
The half Moon said: These nights are fogged and slow,
I neither care to wax nor care to wane.
The Ocean said: I thirst from long ago,
Because earth's rivers cannot fill the main.--
When Springtime came, red Robin built a nest,
And trilled a lover's song in sheer delight.
Grey hoarfrost vanished, and the Rose with might
Clothed her in leaves and buds of crimson core.
The dim Moon brightened. Ocean sunned his crest,
Dimpled his blue, yet thirsted evermore.

schauen wir verrückt? ich denke Nr.

what is so brilliant about this is that we are so sun-kissed. a funny thing to see when currently there is snow everywhere and ice to slide in when one drives.

severe weather alert

new england and the pacific northwest have profound discrepancies in their definitions of severe weather.
new england severe: Snow flurries or snow showers. 8 inches accumulated. Very cold. High 16F. Wind gusts from 25-30 mph from NE.
pacific northwest severe: Variable rain showers with a chance of snow showers. Trace accumulation. Cold. High of 36F. Winds variable 5-8 mph.
the warning is wisely issued, however. have you seen these western-types drive in ice or snow? yikes.

Let it snow...

It snowed today and it may snow tomorrow. But the people of the Pacific Northwest are not of the same stuff as New England. A dusting of 2 inches and the schools shut down. Pathetic. But it's for the best. B couldn't even get to school in Portland cause there was 2 accidents on the bridge. People don't know how to drive in this stuff.

forget gore-tex

monday, we went to the Seattle zoo. forget the space needle. this was the best zoo i've ever visited. it was raining and cold. we saw maybe fifty other visitors. it was a perfect day.
the whole place is laid out like a system of trails cutting through the wilderness. each trail head indicates entrance to another area of the world. southeast asian, african sahara...
my favorite was the pacific northwest trail. there was a pair of brown bears sleeping on their sides, their front paws propped against each other like a dreamy dance. streams bubble over rocks and pools of water teeming with salmon. a beautiful herd of elk roamed the expansive enclosure. eery white-grey wolves stood silent following us with their eyes. it was the most pristine and authentic representation of an environment i've seen.
here's perfect weather-proofing: the incessant rain rolling off one of the two bald eagles' feathered backs.

winter (norm) breakage

everything i've ever heard about the pacific nw is that it's terribly dreary and damp raining all the time and cultivating feelings of self-worthlessness and meloncholy rooted solely the inability to metabolize calcium due to vitamin D deficiency. so... i come to sunny cali for xmas. i leave the clear sunny in-the-20s degree diapason then characterizing southern wash. and come here.

redding. "oh it will be in the 60s" is anticipated and i don't doubt this news reflecting back to the sunburn i received for thanksgiving.

we arrived amidst rain and have had but one day of reprieve since. nor cal i scoff you. you who yields 110 degree summers and forest fires attempting rivalry to hell itself. you who mocks the pac nw and then dumps its very surplus on refugees from therein. yv not seen the last of me...