Posted tagged ‘Mother Nature’
October 1, 2012
I apologize for the lateness of the hour, but I upgraded my OS today and started to write Coffee on my iPad as the Mac was doing it thing. I wrote the blog but it disappeared. Come to find out I hadn’t put it on the dashboard but in some unknown place which ate the entry. I started again and got most of it written then, glory be to God, my Mac finished so here I am.
This morning I woke up at 8:30 which is the latest I’ve slept since I got home. It felt like the middle of the afternoon.
After I get up, the first thing I usually do is check out my window to see what sort of day Mother Nature has sent us. I was thrilled to see the sun and feel the warm air when I went to get the papers. I came inside and opened both doors. Fern ran to the sun streaming through the front door, and I wanted to join her. Lolling in the sun is a fine way to spend the day.
I keep track of the number of miles I travel each week. When I worked, I generally traveled over 100 miles a week with the comings and goings, the off-cape meetings and the occasional trips to Boston. Last week I managed 48 miles. Some weeks, my sloth or hibernation weeks, I do around 24 miles. At that rate my car will last forever.
I find it a bit intriguing that I am more than willing to travel around the world, but I carp and complain about a trip to Hyannis. It isn’t as if I have to travel far, but that doesn’t matter, I still have to steel myself for the trip. To that end, I always promise myself a treat for having made the trek. Usually it’s a stop at Barnes and Noble or lunch out, sometimes at the Indian restaurant or the Thai place on the way home. I chuckle at the absurdity of it all, but that doesn’t change my reluctance to get on the highway and head to the big city, big at least for these parts. Never could I have visualized that Hyannis would seem the ends of the earth to me.
Categories: Musings
Tags: hibernation, home, Hyannis Massachusetts, Mother Nature, travel, treks
Comments: 17 Comments
August 7, 2012
Mother Nature turned off the humidity switch early last evening and cool, dry air blew through the opened windows and doors. The evening felt glorious. This morning is the same, simply beautiful. The sunlight is sharp and a breeze is blowing. It’s a day to be outside.
My car got dinged in a parking lot a few weeks ago. The car before this one I had for ten years, and it got dinged only once. This car I haven’t had but a few months, and it already needs cosmetic surgery. It went into the shop yesterday to get pretty again so I’m without a car until some time tomorrow. On Sunday I filled the larder and bought bird and pet food so I’m set to be house-bound. Mind you, I’m not complaining. I’m happy to be stuck here. You know how much I love not getting dressed and sitting around in my cozy clothes. I’ll do the usual wash up and tooth brushing and maybe I’ll even comb my hair.
My trip is less than three weeks away. I have my visas, the luggage I bought last year, mosquito wipes, anti-malarial pills and a full iPad of books. The only thing left is new underwear. My mother would be pleased.
I bought pencils, sharpeners and crayons to take with me as gifts for the local primary school in the village where I’ll be staying. Guests should never come empty-handed. Franciska, with whom I’m staying, has yet to leave the US for Ghana. She wants to be there ahead of me so she can tidy up her house and clear the yard of grass and weeds. It’s been two years since she was last home.
It still amazes me that I am back in contact with all these former students of mine, and that over the years they never forgot me just as I had never forgotten them. My memories of those days in Bolga are bright and vivid, and they have always brought me joy.
Soon enough I’ll be making more memories. I feel ever so lucky though Franciska would say I am blessed.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Bolga, dents, Ghana, joy, memories, Mother Nature
Comments: 6 Comments
July 17, 2012
Mother Nature is running amok. It is far too hot for July. The Cape will reach 88˚ while Boston may break the record and reach 100˚. It’s a bit like winter, not from the temperature but from the amount of time I spend inside the house. I am so comfortable here that I dread going out into the heat. Tomorrow, happily, should be the last of this weather, and cooler days will follow and maybe even some rain: thunder showers would be nice.
I don’t remember when heat became an issue for me. When I was a kid, every day seemed the same, a day for playing outside regardless of the temperature though I could definitely tell which days were hotter because I got grubbier: the dirt and the sweat tended to mingle. When I was a teenager, I never went out much during the day. That was when the nights were more appealing. That was when my friends got their licenses, and that was when we’d drive around at night with no destinations in mind. We’d chip in our quarters to get a buck’s worth of gas to get us through the evening. Sometimes we’d stop at Carroll’s Hamburgers where all the parking spots were filled, and teenagers milled around or sat on the hoods of their cars. Other times we just slowly drove through the lot to check out the action. Some nights, after we’d had drill team practice, we’d stop at the diner to have desserts. We’d usually walk from the field uptown to O’Grady’s then we’d walk home, leaving in all different directions. I don’t remember those nights being hot either.
At some time, I don’t know exactly when, an intolerance for extremes sneaked in and became part of me. I don’t like the really cold days of winter, and I hate feeling hot and sweaty and strangled by the humidity in summer. The thermostat has been getting higher and higher on winter days, and the central air has been blowing more and more each summer. I remember seeing old ladies wearing sweaters on a balmy summer night, and I was mystified. My mother used to keep her house so hot in winter we’d wear t-shirts and complain. My neighbors find 78˚a comfortable AC temperature and I snorted quietly when they told me, but I can see it coming. The older I get the less I seem to adjust. I’ll have to keep the afghan close for winter and put on socks in the summer when the AC is blasting. My feet get really cold.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: driving around, Ghana, heat, intolerance for weather, Mother Nature, summer, teenagers, weather, winter
Comments: 19 Comments
June 20, 2012
Hello Summer!
Those words seem almost magical. It wasn’t that long ago we were longing for the summer and trying to stay warm during the dark nights of winter. Our feet froze in the snow. We cursed the shoveling. We huddled on the couch under afghans. Sure, the snow was lovely falling down but then we had to contend with it for days. Would summer never come? Well, here it is in all its glory, and today we’ll usher in the new season with the hottest day so far. Boston will be at least 95°, and here we’ll reach the low 80’s. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter, but I don’t care! Finally it’s summertime, deck time, movies outside on a Saturday night, barbecues and outside showers.
I was on the deck earlier with my coffee and papers. It got hot. Gracie was in the shade and panting so we both came inside and the house felt wonderfully cool. This room gets the afternoon sun so it’s lovely in the mornings. From my perch here, I can see out my window. The leaves on the trees by the deck are barely moving. The sunlight is dappled. The sky is azure. Mother Nature did herself proud.
The beginning of summer always reminds of all those last days of school when we were finally free. The day felt like a holiday, not as good as Christmas but still high on the list of kids’ favorite days. No more getting up in the mornings and being grumpy at having to walk to school despite the weather. No more coats or hats or mittens or even spring jackets. The bike could stay out of the cellar until it started to get too cold again. Every day for the next couple of months was ours: unplanned and waiting to be filled with all the fun of summer. The street lights didn’t come on until really late so back out we’d go after dinner. I still remember the sounds of those summer evenings: the shouts and laughter of all the kids in my neighborhood, including me, as the day disappeared and the summer night was upon us. It was time to watch for the fireflies.
Categories: Musings
Tags: firefly, heat, hot days, last day of school, Mother Nature, summer, the deck
Comments: 11 Comments
June 19, 2012
The weather is the same as it’s been. The paper calls today partly cloudy. I always think of that forecast as a half-full or half-empty sort of weather observation. Why can’t it be partly sunny? For tomorrow, the first day of summer, Mother Nature is doing herself proud. She’s bringing on the sun and the heat, maybe even into the 80’s. Finally I get to shed this sweatshirt!
I have the Weather Channel app on this computer. It is set to give me the weather in South Dennis and in Accra. If I were in Accra, I’d be writing about the weather being the same every day: highs in the low-80’s, lows in the mid-70’s and the possibility (60%) of thunder showers every day. It is, after all, the rainy season. I loved the rainy season and the fierce thunder storms which came after winds strong enough to blow furniture over and whip trees. Where I lived was savannah grassland. Most of the year it is brown and dead, but when the rains come, the grass is green and tall. Millet grows in all the fields, and the market stalls are filled with fresh produce. That is why I have chosen to go back to Ghana and Bolgatanga in August again this year. The rains will still come every day. Some will be drenching while others will be misty and cooling. We always went about our business in the rain. We never had umbrellas. I don’t even remember seeing any. We knew when the rain stopped the sun would return and dry us, but I remember well the feeling of being wet and cool while walking in the rain.
When I was a kid, nothing was better than a summer rain. We’d run and play and get soaked doing it. We’d kick water at each other from the rivers roaring through the gutters on the street. I remember my hair soaken wet and plastered to my head. I remember my arms stretched out to the sides as I stood in the rain, and I remember laughing from sheer joy.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Accra, Bolgatanga, Mother Nature, rain, rainy season, soaken wet, summer rains, weather, Weather Channel, Wind
Comments: 25 Comments
March 11, 2012
The sky is a deep blue with only a few small clouds to give the blue a bit of contrast. Cars had frost on their windshields when I left for breakfast this morning. It was darn cold last night. The animals huddled beside me in bed keeping themselves and me warm. Now is their morning nap time, and the house is warm and cozy.
Gracie and I will go to the dump later. I haven’t told her yet. It’ll be a surprise. After that I need to buy dog food at Agway. It used to be that on weekends I’d shop at all these neat little stores and buy clothes or linens or stuff I really didn’t need but liked and knew I’d find the perfect place for somewhere in the house. My friend and I would go to the antique stores and never leave empty-handed. I can’t remember the last time I shopped without pushing a grocery cart of some sort. I think I’m becoming boring.
Last week I barely left the house. I did go grocery shopping, but that doesn’t count. Inside the house I did only menial tasks: I changed the bed and the cat litter and did a wash or two. I’m thinking I was doing a great imitation of a shut-in. This week I vow to get out more often. I had good intentions last week, but I was lazy and enjoyed doing nothing. Mind you, I’m not feeling guilty, but I do think some air and sun are probably good ideas.
It is with longing that I look out my window at the deck. The chairs and tables are still covered. I want to be out there enjoying the warmth of the morning sun with my coffee and papers. Now, only Gracie runs across it from the yard, and the birds drop by to eat. This morning I saw the red spawn of Satan running along the rail. The beast hasn’t been around a while, and I thought it had moved. It didn’t stay long, but its very presence is more than an annoyance. I want a rock.
This is the time of year when Mother Nature plays her tricks on us. Some days will be close your eyes and let the sun warm you days while other are scrape the car window days. I can barely wait until every day is warm in the sun. I’ve enough of winter even as warm as it was.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bored, cold, deck, dump, lazy, Mother Nature, Shopping, spawn of satan, sun
Comments: 14 Comments
November 26, 2011
I’m not going to be the one to tell her. Why have her notice is my thought. If Mother Nature wants to keep sending us days in the 60’s this time of year, I’ll not break the spell. People are wearing short sleeve shirts or light jackets at the most. I even had my bedroom window open all night so I could smell the fresh air. Today is beautiful with a sunny blue sky and not even a tiny breeze. The leaves still hanging for dear life on the ends of branches aren’t moving. Today is a reprieve. Gracie has been out almost the entire morning. I’ll join her after this as the feeders need filling.
When I went to get the papers from the driveway, it was one of those stand a while and take in the day sort of mornings. I haven’t had one of those since early fall. I did miss the front flowers I used to love looking at every day, but the air was clear and bright, and that’s more than enough for late November.
Buckle shoes were never my favorite when I was a kid. Unlike sneakers, you couldn’t just slide your foot out. You had to unbuckle the shoes first. Also, they were only for church or school so they were tainted by their use. Every Easter my mother bought us girls new shoes with buckles because they were fancy shoes. Buckle shoes, though, had design drawbacks. If a lace on my sneaker broke, I’d tie a knot and use the lace anyway or my mother would buy new laces when the knots got too many. Buckle straps broke, and there was just nothing you could do. I always knew when the strap was getting close as there was process before the break. First, the hole in the strap would get bigger because the shoe fit only one way so I always used the same hole. Pretty soon the area around the hole would start to lose color, then it would bend and finally the hole would give way, and the strap became two pieces, one shorter than the other, and the shoe was useless without the strap. My dad would try to fix it, but nothing ever held. My mother was stuck buying me a new pair. I think she was thrilled when saddle shoes became popular because they lasted the whole school year, and the strap shoes were relegated to Sundays so they lasted much longer. We all now had two good pairs of shoes and a pair of sneakers. We felt rich.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Buckle, Footwear, Mother Nature, Shoe, sneakers
Comments: 10 Comments
October 17, 2011
It’s raining slightly, but still it’s raining. The paper got it wrong. The prediction is for rain tomorrow so I don’t know if that means two more days of rain despite all the rain we had last week. I swear this is Mother Nature’s way of erasing all the memories of summer. She gives us nothing but dreary days, and we start to expect them. Fall becomes winter far too quickly.
Today I have to go to Boston where I haven’t been in a while, other than the airport. I used to go all the time, but I’ve become a country bumpkin. Now I gripe and complain when I have to drive to Hyannis, a trip taking about 15 minutes. I don’t know if it’s age, retirement or just being comfortable here at home and on the Cape. Once I get on the road, I’m okay with the travel, but it’s getting the incentive to move that takes time. Today I have a doctor’s appointment, just a regular one so I have no choice.
When I was a kid, any car trip of great length was pure agony. Three of us were crammed in the backseat of a car which had that big hump in the middle of the floor. The windows never let in enough air, and I was prone to car sickness. We elbowed each other and whined about space and who was violating our space. I couldn’t read in the car and we had nothing but looking at the scenery to keep our attention. We’d play state license bingo, twenty questions, and I spy with my little eye but interest was difficult to maintain. How much can you spy in the same car for hours? We seldom stopped. My dad believed that any trip anywhere could be made in a single day. He groaned about bathroom stops and lunch never took much time, always at a picnic bench with the lunch my mother had made.
The only trip I remember with sightseeing was the one to the White Mountains. We saw the Old Man of the Mountain, now a memory since his collapse, went up Mount Washington and toward the end of the day stopped to the Flume. It was late in the afternoon and we got the last bus of the day to the Flume which meant we had to walk back to the car. I remember how cold it felt on the top of Mount Washington and how the road seemed far too close to the edge. The old man did look like a face, but he didn’t impress us all that much. We were kids, and he was a rock. All I remember about the flume is a bunch of walkways and some waterfalls. I can still see the tarred road we dragged ourselves on to get back to the car. And, yup, we did all of that in one day.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Boston, Cape, car sick, car trips, family rides, Hyannis, Mother Nature, rain
Comments: 10 Comments
October 10, 2011
This has been the most leisurely of all mornings. I woke up late, read every bit of both papers, had three cups of coffee perfectly brewed to my taste (I’m a does the amount look right coffee grounds sort when loading) and spent some time outside in the sun. When I came back inside so did Gracie, and right now all the animals are napping in here as I write. The dog gets the couch; Fern is on the new chair while Maddie has the cushion at the back of the couch near the window. It is a remarkable day, a beautiful day, a bit of magic pulled out of her hat by Mother Nature.
My sister in Colorado had her first snow of the season last week. She had to clear off her car before she could go to work. I tried but couldn’t conjure an image of the snow and her car. My mind is still filled with sun and flowers. My garden now has its fall bloomers adding color and beauty to my little world. I love to stand there and look and marvel.
The wedding was wonderful. I knew there would be some quirky surprises because Bethany and Brian love fun and laughter. It started with the place card settings which were odd as they were oblong plastic frames, but there was an explanation. The frames were to hold a picture. Bethany and Brian had a photo booth placed in the hall next to where we had dinner. It was similar to the kind you used to find at bus or train stations where you put in a quarter and got a strip of black and white pictures. My friends and I always crammed ourselves into a booth and made funny faces at the camera. Outside this booth were boxes holding props like sombreros and clown hats. I chose a plastic fireman’s hat and the sombrero. When I went inside the booth, I wore hat after hat until all the shots were taken. When I got outside the booth, I was handed a strip of four color shots of me which fit perfectly in the place card frame. The last shot was me making a funny face, sort of a homage to the old days. The booth man explained that Bethany and Brian would get a copy of every strip as momentos of their wedding and the strangeness of their guests. When the reception was over and the couple was leaving, we all stood outside with sparklers lighting the night giving Bethany and Brian a bit of magic to take with them. It was a wonderful evening filled with fun, laughter and good friends.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Colorado, Mother Nature, Photo booth, Snow, sparklers, sun, wedding
Comments: 17 Comments
February 18, 2011
It’s another spring-like day. The temperature will reach 50° or even higher. Having two days in a row of such warm weather almost makes me giddy, but I know it’s still winter and it could snow next week. I’m guessing these last two days were just Mother Nature’s way of saying hang in a little longer spring is on its way.
I’m stuck in my house for a bit. The front steps are being made higher and the concrete has just been laid. I’m having the work done because the top step is nearly a foot lower than the front doorstep, and that’s a long way for older knees to span. Watching the work is a bit of an attraction so Gracie and I wander to the front door periodically to see how much progress is being made. It’s not exactly an exciting day.
I have lived in small towns in Massachusetts my whole life. No one exciting ever came to my town when I was little, but I did meet one of my TV heroes. It was on July 4th when I met Big Brother Bob Emery. We, what seemed like a million kids and I, were in a bandstand crowded around him. I was right behind him at first, and I remember a bug was on his neck. The bug was green. Bob Emery was the host of The Big Brother show on one of our local channels. Kids were small fry to him. His opening song was The Grass is Always Greener in the Other Fellow’s Yard and he accompanied himself on a ukulele. I never understood that song when I was little. He lost me around the line, “Little rows we have to hoe.” My strongest memory is running to the kitchen every day to get my glass of milk because in the middle of the show we raised our milk glasses and toasted President Eisenhower while Hail to the Chief played. The President’s picture was on Big Brother’s wall. I don’t remember the end song and I don’t remember anything about the program itself but I can still sing The Grass Is Always Greener in the Other Fellow’s Yard, and now I understand.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Bob Emery, concrete, Mother Nature
Comments: 17 Comments
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