| teddy bear |
[May. 16th, 2012|09:41 pm] |
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Today our dog Ted passed away at age 17 and 1/2. She was in repose on our back patio. She came to live with us at age 18 months. She was a grand dog. She lives now in a Heaven in my heart. Today is my wife's birthday. We ate pizza and remembered our dear friend Ted. |
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| searching for nectar |
[May. 6th, 2012|07:13 pm] |
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A butterfly darts near the hummingbird feeder, finds it enticing but unsatisfying, and flutters away. My wife brings home a brochure for a new taco restaurant called Torchy's. I daydream of cold days with beef stew in a crockpot. Our dog Ted got a new short haircut. She is very old now--every one of her 17 1/2 years. I think of how 4 channels, including PBS, always seemed like lots of choices, and now it often seems like 500 channels and little to watch. A solid day of work, one of many. |
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| posing scissortail |
[May. 5th, 2012|07:02 pm] |
My young friend and I went to Oak Point Park in Plano. A herd of orienteers were competitively orienting in the woodlands. Baby turtles swam in a pond. I saw an eastern kingbird on a branch atop a tree. Near A Real Bookstore in Fairview, I saw a western kingbird. I saw a rabbit by the neighborhood swimming pool, as often happens. A scissortail flycatcher perched on a fence and I took its photograph many times. Mockingbirds asserted their territory.
They opened the community outdoor swimming pool today. I have not used it in years. Dozens of people were swimming in it when I passed it. The photo service flickr now uses an interface called Aviary for photo editing. I tried it out for the first time tonight. I have much to learn, but was able to edit some photos.
The days have turned hot. Last night a passing storm brought 50 mile per hour winds for a few moments. More often than usual, I think about my late mother. Two people sent me notes to compliment my music this week. A public transit company in Australia used one of my songs, but did not give me credit. I wrote them a polite note asking for attribution. I have not made a new song in weeks.
I visited one doctor on Tuesday, and will visit another on Monday.My first camera was a Kodak instamatic.
I still have some of the little square 124 pictures I took using it.The upstairs air conditioning is out.
I am reading a science fiction book on my e-reader. |
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| prothonotary |
[Apr. 22nd, 2012|09:07 pm] |
This has been a Spring of work, weight loss, and weekends absorbed. I made a particular point of mixing a little exercise in among the work this weekend. We went to the Heard Natural Science Center. The wetlands under the Wood Duck Trail boardwalk was filled with water. We saw a prothonotary warbler, an incredible yellow little guy, as well as two watersnakes and several turtles sunning themselves. We saw butterflies of many stripes, and in particular plethoras of red admirals. We admired an eastern bluebird.
Last night we saw the Disney nature film Chimpanzee, which was not that far off the Disney nature films of my childhood, except that it was much more gorgeously filmed. Today I had to go into the office and I had to work at home, but I was glad to see the swallows fly and the rabbits hop.
I will be thankful for quieter times ahead someday. |
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| dark morning |
[Apr. 14th, 2012|10:15 am] |
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8 a.m., Towne Lake Park in Mckinney. Dark clouds hint at afternoon rains. The great blue heron is vividly blue and gray, wading in a creek, then flying away. A cardinal has vivid red plumage like a small lamp. A red admiral butterfly passes beside thick foliage. I think of being twelve or so and seeing an uncommon roseate spoonbill at Lester, Arkansas in a kind of rain-created marsh. Another memory--the way the home behind our Gurdon home had a back yard prone to flood. I look above me at images of stars painted in a coffee shop ceiling. |
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| fields of flowers |
[Apr. 1st, 2012|04:54 pm] |
I've been quite busy lately, between this and that. Yet Spring is bursting out around us. Here is a picture
of a field of bluebonnets planted a few blocks from my office:
Here is a picture of a checkersport butterfly a short drive from my home, on the Highlands Park section of Trinity Trail:
Today at Weight Watchers I learned I had crossed 50 pounds lost, in just over a year. I was pleased to achieve my goal. Age is beginning to tell on our dog Ted, which makes me sad. This morning a mockingbird woke us, singing a merry song. |
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| serpent in paradise |
[Mar. 26th, 2012|10:22 pm] |
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Spring means we must block the dog door, lest Beatrice bark at rabbits in the wee hours. This can mean that I must arise to give a dog a pre-dawn walk. This morning Bea and I went into our back yard. A small, thin snake was on the patio. We stopped to watch. We saw it crawl in slithering s shapes. When it slid out of sight we went indoors. We had had enough serpent sighting for one day. |
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| work and rest |
[Mar. 25th, 2012|09:03 pm] |
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A weekend of work and rest. Saturday night my wife and I took my young friend to the car show in Dallas. This afternoon I took Beatrice for a walk. It was such a warm day that she paused under a shady tree to rest. In my limited spare time I find myself reading self-published sci fi stories. |
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| the lake is full |
[Mar. 21st, 2012|10:39 pm] |
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The weather is pure Spring. The lakes filled up again. Work remains very demanding. A fellow wrote to let me know his short film, in which my music plays a part, will be in the Bootleg Film Festival in Toronto. I'm reading sci-fi novels on my e-reader. The mails have brought nothing of interest. Since my surgery, my appetite has changed. Our dog Teddy had to have some teeth pulled--she is such a trouper, albeit an old trouper whose teeth have never been good. A bit of news this week, to remember rather than to share. Some days I feel old, but never too old for child-like awe. |
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gurdonark's journal