Today: bliss. No rowdy kids’ camp over the fence, no yard crews, no tree work, road work, or house renovations. Comfortable shade. A trickling water feature. AND BIRDS!
We have: sparrows, grackles, cardinals, blue jays, nut hatches, woodpeckers, finches, and titmice.
There were three grackles on the feeder moments before this photo, looking positively mythic.
The brads which Ken hammered into the fence post have helped deter squirrel launches but don’t appear to be particularly bothersome to the lightweight sparrows.
Such peace is necessary, always, but maybe especially on a day that began with footage of our traitorous, delusional leader meeting with Putin. The red carpet! The changed tactics! The grinning, handshaking, the references to Alaska as Russia (a third gaffe on the jet saying he was ‘going back to the States’?)
Picture this: me propped up with pillows reading my phone. It’s after nine and I’ve just woken. Ken comes in, refreshed after a shower. He’s been up since seven. I say (first words of the day to him), “You gotta read Masha Gessen’s piece in the Times today.”
So yeah, birds. Flapping, swooping, bathing, pecking, bickering, flying, calling, feeding — BIRDS. Doing their thing.
*****
Here’s a gift link to the opinion piece if you’re interested.
It looks like your back yard is a bird paradise; water, food, company….who could ask for more?
What do you think it is going to take to stop the authoritarian freight train? The complicity from Congress, universities, and corporations is so very disheartening.
Works stoppages. More boycotts. Trump continuing to fail. Unrelenting pressure about Epstein. More people in the streets.
Honestly, I don’t know.
Dee~ Oh my goodness…what a beautiful day in your yard! The lil videos really help capture the mood. Amazing space. Last night, there as a teeny bird on our wall – that was so loud! It did not look familiar and I did not bother trying to capture it…but, super cool to see. Again, your garden is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this calm and peace. You are so right, very much needed.
FYI~ Link did not open for me
It is lovely. Rarely quiet like this morning, so especially welcome. I’ll check the link.
I fixed the link.
Dee~ Thanks. But, gee, so depressing. ugh.
What splendid pictures of your birds! I’m beginning to wonder if, in his delusional mind, he actually believes he went to Russia. Or perhaps Alaskans should be worried about a secret deal. I understand that some in Russia still refer to Alaska as their territory.
Well Putin mentioned (pointedly?) that Alaska uses to be part of Russia during their summit.
We cannot let him take away our joy … we cannot give him that kind of power. But God how I wish he would just go away.
The sooner the better.
I have enjoyed “being in” your garden via your videos, bird song, lovely plantings;; all do so much to calm and mellow me out. An oasis to sink into but I can hear you saying,
“humpf! not an oasis when I have to do all of the weeding!”
Practically drove myself hoarse on Friday, yelling at the meeting of the evils, I snarled to my husband and said, “why aren’t you saying something? He pointedly looked at me and said, “well you’ve taken up all of the oxygen in the room! ” Putin’s smirk at the end of the “not” press conference said it all…
Dreading tomorrow when Zelensky is more than likely attacked in the White House. In solidarity, I moved my peace and hope cloth from an obscure corner in our living room to the wall near the hallway so that you have to see it every time you enter the bedrooms or bathroom. The cloth is one of my usual land collages but I have pinned Liz’s Imagine Peace pin and her Ukraine Peace pin to the top border. I have found myself this weekend, touching the Ukraine Peace pin every time I pass it by. Several years ago, in a blog comment, I wrote a few words about hope and to my delightful surprise, Liz embroidered my words on a piece of green cloth and sent them to me. This too is on the cloth. My quote: “Hope is standing up, not standing aside to connect in a way that helps to make us all one.”
On a personal note: I may just cut my hair short; one does that when in a stage of grief and I am deeply grieving the loss of America OR/ I may just give vent to my anger and dye my hair red- quite a feat since it is all grey but then grey suits this dismal state of affairs!
I’m really dreading tomorrow too. The meet itself but also the contrast to the Alaskan “summit.”
What a beautiful gift Liz gave you! I have the bronze peace pin she gave me out. Maybe I’ll put it on the kitchen windowsill where I can see it better.
Thank you Marti xo
Glad to find you (again!) this morning, share in your idyll and our-opposite-of-idyll in your post and the conversations in the comments. It helps more than anything else, to remember all of the kindreds who are also wading through this patchwork of beauty and grief. xo