Sunday, November 15, 2009

November 15 2009




Sitting here on a wet but warm day, with my new foster dog Sadie curled decoratively around her own tail, I am delighted with her company. She came to us about a month ago, very scared and disoriented after her family of eight years first boarded her at her vet's (while someone was hospitalized), then asked the vet to euthanize her because the person couldn't manage to care for her any more.

I am so grateful the caring vet wouldn't do that, and contacted American Brittany Rescue. She's a perfectly healthy, eight year old bundle of love with the BEST tail ever! The first two days were very hard on her, she was pretty much scared of everything and everyone, including us. But soon enough she decided life here is not so bad, and has made it clear that she has picked me as her person. I am honored! She is a very undemanding girl, just a joy to have around. And of course is giving me very good life lessons in living in the here and now, enjoying the moment, and all those great dog dissertations they share with us. She is the complete personification of "bright eyed and bushy tailed".

I am amazed that in just two days my youngest great-nephew Cameron will be a year old. Here he is in his first Halloween costume, an old-time fighter pilot - couldn't be any cuter!
Today is the actual party day, and over forty guests are expected, many, I assume, also just about a year old. I guess I ruminate more on this little one because he was given a Hebrew name to honor my father - and my niece Kim has warmed my heart more than once in lovely emails that make reference to his inheritance, as the following: "As for Cameron, he gets this devilish little grin, like he's up to something and it just reminds me of Grandpa. He also is quite strong-willed which leads me to believe that Grandpa is keeping a watchful eye on him and his spirit is just running through his veins. How lucky Cameron is, for he is named well!" and a week later: "he's really turning into a little jokester (a Grandpa Oscar trait no doubt)!" Last year when I got the birth announcement and photo, I thought I saw something of Dad in that newborn face, but the other family members just thought I was crazy. So nice to finally have some agreement there (and who doesn't love to be right?).


Of course Queen Hyla also trick or treated this year, as the world's cutest monkey - I'm sure you will agree.

As it's actually much warmer now, and lately, than last month, there is virtually no garden to report on. In the aftermath of the mid-October snow (yes, really!), pretty much everything but a few hardy mums just gave up and died back (I well understand the impulse, mine was the same - six months of actual winter is WAY too much). Most of the leaves are down now, and the countryside has that look I've grown used to, waiting for the first serious snowfall to cover everything up and declare the change of seasons. While I still very much miss my dear Santa Barbara friends, and the equally dear oceanside walks, when I'm not completely surrounded by too much cold and snow I find I do enjoy the seasonal changes. The garden, most prominently, but other things as well. There's a different smell to each season, and the first time I catch a whiff, it recalls all kinds of memories from way back to my Chicago childhood. This fall was particularly colorful, if brief, the flares of reds, oranges and yellows were spectacular for a couple of weeks, and then more quietly decorative laying on the ground. Now as we head towards real winter, Brian continues to split the large pile of wood left behind from the two giant trees we had taken down, and our woodpile looks already like we are set for next year (unless of course it is really cold, then it will all go up the chimney pretty quickly).

We were lucky enough to finally find real loggers, a guy in his 70's and his son, French Canadians, who found two oaks on our property big enough to mill, and paid us to take them down and haul off for lumber. They also picked up the two much smaller stems of the paper birch in the middle of our triangle planting. There were two of these when we moved here, that were fairly small ornamental trees six years ago, but especially in this last wet spring got way too big too close to the house. Brian was able to take the one in this shot down pretty easily,(it's the small white stick-looking thing in the front, but this shot was from 2006; by this year it had overgrown the rooftop)
but the triangle one was leaning the wrong way, and overshadowing lots of flowering plants as well. Bri had been strategizing for months about just how to get it down. As it turned out, the Canadians just used the giant claw on top of their truck to grab the top (son was manning this device) while the father did one quick cut on each stem. Then they were dropped over the side in the weeds, much like any of us would toss a toothpick! I haven't been that impressed with tree cutting since the West Virginia days, when a family of six or seven came by (with their own venison sandwiches and moonshine) and spent a day doing what looked like ballet with chain saws.

I hope all of you are well, and that your upcoming Thanksgiving will be full of all good things - with more to come before the year ends.