As a brown eyed person who rarely gets mosquito bites, I think you're onto something. My brown-eyed wife, who always gets mosquito bites, would disagree. More research is needed! Me? I unwind by standing in line to get Trader Joe's tote bags. My life won't be complete until I get a bag from all 50 states. I get it - Not everyone can be as aspirational as I, but to each their own! Thanks for a great column!
Never saw a mosquito back in the day. Life was all butterflies and mockingbirds. The youth of Southern California, sharing their assets, has a long and lusty history. Like the ban on thongs in HB that caused the migration to the desert. Soon tube tops will be racing up the San Berdu mountains instead of Long Beach.
Wasn't there an old song entitled "Melancholy Baby"? I love today's column, and so many topics it touches on resonate with me this week: TJs mini tote bags, blown out knees ... I will leave the tree trimming to men like you and my brother!
Trees are one of our everyday miracles, but even miracles can often invite a little right-sizing I note, along with the ego, which it seems can always stand a bit of trimming.
Speaking of that, have you ever noticed how some aspect of beauty--especially that of a woman, can suddenly and momentarily floor you? Leave you with that slowly-widening-smile kind of awe? Realization how far below her station you are? Now that's "right-sizing", and can leave you feeling faintly melancholy, which is nature's way of scaling things, putting them in appreciative proportion to one another. Otherwise, how would we begin to really know grey from white, the green of her eyes from Spring incarnate?
Thank you Chris for bringing up melancholy and suggesting that it’s a normal feeling we get
at a “certain age”. I mourn for all my old haunts that are gone, for carefree beach days and old friends. My childhood home in Santa Monica was recently demolished and replaced with a big ugly box. The old neighborhood has changed, but memories of those evenings of playing kick the can on our street, T Ping the cute boys houses and the fake scavenger hunts we went on to collect toilet paper for just that reason will live for ever in my heart. As for now I put on my running shoes (or nowadays probably more aptly called slow jog shoes) and put one foot in front of the other, thankful that I’m still able to do that and although much has changed I can still get the hint of euphoria fueled by a few endorphins, which alleviate some of the sadness of the loss of youth and cherish the days gone by.
Dawn, LA sure does love ugly boxes. I’ve never seen anything like it. But glad you have those memories. And a cure for the occasional blues, which are a fact of life.
My husband is a tax accountant so he’s been working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week since late January. You know what he did on April 16th, his first day at home in 10 weeks? He trimmed bushes in our yard. Last year actually did it the afternoon of April 15th! I’ll take your word and his that it’s a great way to unwind!
Well, this topic was completely unexpected! You are indeed a man of many mystical talents. I never would have pegged you for a tree trimmer. Maybe you can explain to us just how they determine the right time of year to trim? Those scraggly, leafless branches just sit there through January or February. Then, as soon as the green leaves appear and the birds start to nest, they come with their chain saws. Poor birdies. Well, you did it carefully and no fowl were harmed. Thanks for more smiles and yes, I sometimes experience melancholic nostalgia. Thank you for acknowledging it's a normal part of this silver stage of life. Love these pics today, too!
Thanks Caroll. Yes, I steer clear of nests. I’m no arborist, but I think it’s late to be trimming trees. Maybe someone with more gardening knowledge can clear this up. I love trees and usually trim pretty judiciously. To me, worst sound in the world: a chain saw.
I hate my iPhone. I like to think I’m in charge of my day to day life unless God has other plans. But I have to admit I cannot live without the damn device. It controls my life. It’s my only phone. The landline is history. I have a laptop & a tablet (my kids). I use only my iPhone 99.9% of the time.
Recently it would NOT
charge and I panicked. Battery dead forever? Time to buy a new one? Is the Apple Store open? Can I park?
(I’m 88 and my mobility is challenged).
I rechecked my charger connection; it had become slightly loose from the plug. I pushed it in. The phone charged!
Hallelujah! I loved my iPhone!
But I really hate it!
Lastly mosquitoes don’t bite me. I have no idea why?
mosquitos ? what mosquitos ? yes ~ hazel brown eyed gal here ~ but I just figured mosquitos weren't allowed in california after having spent a mosquito-bite-filled life in upstate new york ~ ~ who knew ~ ~
Thanks, Chris, for feeding our souls on Saturday! Brown-eyed girl here and rarely a sketter bite. I agree with your thoughts about work in the garden. A hour or 2 in the yard, trimming, pulling weeds, planting, is all the therapy I need (though family might disagree). Have a great weekend, and rest up for the next yardwork task!
Years ago after I was mugged at gunpoint, I just wanted to take up gardening, which I was able to do. Turning over the soil again and again was very healing for me. I had never gardened beforehand, and have never gardened since. At the time, it was a Godsend, though.
Chris, at the time I just instinctively knew that I needed to take up gardening for a while. My hands were practically clawing at the earth. And the gardening helped heal me, and my husband and I got to enjoy eating fresh veggies. Yes, it was oddly satisfying.
And, by the way, mosquitoes are not always kind to brown-eyed folks. I get saucer sized welts like Suzanne that nearly drive me crazy. The ones in Pasadena were always the worst of all. Glad I now live in the PNW where they are not as prevalent.
As a brown eyed person who rarely gets mosquito bites, I think you're onto something. My brown-eyed wife, who always gets mosquito bites, would disagree. More research is needed! Me? I unwind by standing in line to get Trader Joe's tote bags. My life won't be complete until I get a bag from all 50 states. I get it - Not everyone can be as aspirational as I, but to each their own! Thanks for a great column!
Maybe your wife likes better wine?
DOLOR IN SPRING
Spring is an ache, vacuum redolent
With yearning for light's lush exposure--
Silence longing for the liquid splash
Of juicy outpourings of color
To flood cold dust in a waiting eye;
Snow is now but a dry memory
In the bins of the ears and its fall
Is like stardust, cosmos adrift in
Imagination, water that dried
Without notice, wanting so much more
Than Winter's ghostly dissolve could give;
Background chaos this year incident
To the pain of all change--just one more
Shock on love's horizon--twirling lash
Of matter in the face of dolor--
Expressing anguish that love must die
Sometime, the hurt of eternity
Embedded in its rhyme--fearless call
For what's next, and the quixotic din
Of Spring overwhelms sameness that died
When moonlight burned and flooded the floor
Of the bedroom with something alive--
Radiation's creamy uniform
Suddenly scintillating with heat--
Like an abstract thought that cooly swarms
With distant ecstasy and the sweet
Agony always there, so it seems
When Spring awakens it, in your dreams...
I have a couple of trees that need trimming. Please let me know when your shoulder is ok and we can schedule a time for you to come over.
(The best l can do is to trim the rose bushes.)
Never saw a mosquito back in the day. Life was all butterflies and mockingbirds. The youth of Southern California, sharing their assets, has a long and lusty history. Like the ban on thongs in HB that caused the migration to the desert. Soon tube tops will be racing up the San Berdu mountains instead of Long Beach.
Love it!
Wasn't there an old song entitled "Melancholy Baby"? I love today's column, and so many topics it touches on resonate with me this week: TJs mini tote bags, blown out knees ... I will leave the tree trimming to men like you and my brother!
Trees are one of our everyday miracles, but even miracles can often invite a little right-sizing I note, along with the ego, which it seems can always stand a bit of trimming.
Speaking of that, have you ever noticed how some aspect of beauty--especially that of a woman, can suddenly and momentarily floor you? Leave you with that slowly-widening-smile kind of awe? Realization how far below her station you are? Now that's "right-sizing", and can leave you feeling faintly melancholy, which is nature's way of scaling things, putting them in appreciative proportion to one another. Otherwise, how would we begin to really know grey from white, the green of her eyes from Spring incarnate?
Thank you Chris for bringing up melancholy and suggesting that it’s a normal feeling we get
at a “certain age”. I mourn for all my old haunts that are gone, for carefree beach days and old friends. My childhood home in Santa Monica was recently demolished and replaced with a big ugly box. The old neighborhood has changed, but memories of those evenings of playing kick the can on our street, T Ping the cute boys houses and the fake scavenger hunts we went on to collect toilet paper for just that reason will live for ever in my heart. As for now I put on my running shoes (or nowadays probably more aptly called slow jog shoes) and put one foot in front of the other, thankful that I’m still able to do that and although much has changed I can still get the hint of euphoria fueled by a few endorphins, which alleviate some of the sadness of the loss of youth and cherish the days gone by.
Dawn, LA sure does love ugly boxes. I’ve never seen anything like it. But glad you have those memories. And a cure for the occasional blues, which are a fact of life.
I'm excited to hear! Another grandchild!?
Hi Julie. Can’t spill any secrets. But you’ll know Wednesday.
My husband is a tax accountant so he’s been working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week since late January. You know what he did on April 16th, his first day at home in 10 weeks? He trimmed bushes in our yard. Last year actually did it the afternoon of April 15th! I’ll take your word and his that it’s a great way to unwind!
I so get that. Your husband was desperate to touch something besides a computer keyboard, something real. Glad he’s back!
Well, this topic was completely unexpected! You are indeed a man of many mystical talents. I never would have pegged you for a tree trimmer. Maybe you can explain to us just how they determine the right time of year to trim? Those scraggly, leafless branches just sit there through January or February. Then, as soon as the green leaves appear and the birds start to nest, they come with their chain saws. Poor birdies. Well, you did it carefully and no fowl were harmed. Thanks for more smiles and yes, I sometimes experience melancholic nostalgia. Thank you for acknowledging it's a normal part of this silver stage of life. Love these pics today, too!
Thanks Caroll. Yes, I steer clear of nests. I’m no arborist, but I think it’s late to be trimming trees. Maybe someone with more gardening knowledge can clear this up. I love trees and usually trim pretty judiciously. To me, worst sound in the world: a chain saw.
I hate my iPhone. I like to think I’m in charge of my day to day life unless God has other plans. But I have to admit I cannot live without the damn device. It controls my life. It’s my only phone. The landline is history. I have a laptop & a tablet (my kids). I use only my iPhone 99.9% of the time.
Recently it would NOT
charge and I panicked. Battery dead forever? Time to buy a new one? Is the Apple Store open? Can I park?
(I’m 88 and my mobility is challenged).
I rechecked my charger connection; it had become slightly loose from the plug. I pushed it in. The phone charged!
Hallelujah! I loved my iPhone!
But I really hate it!
Lastly mosquitoes don’t bite me. I have no idea why?
Joe, I agree with your every thought!
mosquitos ? what mosquitos ? yes ~ hazel brown eyed gal here ~ but I just figured mosquitos weren't allowed in california after having spent a mosquito-bite-filled life in upstate new york ~ ~ who knew ~ ~
party on chris ~ ~
In the old days (20 years ago), mosquitos seemed rather rare in California. But they seem to have made a surge.
Thanks, Chris, for feeding our souls on Saturday! Brown-eyed girl here and rarely a sketter bite. I agree with your thoughts about work in the garden. A hour or 2 in the yard, trimming, pulling weeds, planting, is all the therapy I need (though family might disagree). Have a great weekend, and rest up for the next yardwork task!
Thanks Leah!
Years ago after I was mugged at gunpoint, I just wanted to take up gardening, which I was able to do. Turning over the soil again and again was very healing for me. I had never gardened beforehand, and have never gardened since. At the time, it was a Godsend, though.
Hi Kay. It’s oddly satisfying, isn’t it? Don’t quite undertsand why but I get that same feeling too.
Chris, at the time I just instinctively knew that I needed to take up gardening for a while. My hands were practically clawing at the earth. And the gardening helped heal me, and my husband and I got to enjoy eating fresh veggies. Yes, it was oddly satisfying.
My favorite Mark Strand line: "why do I love things that fade?"
Hi Bill, similar to my thought: “All the things I love are going away.”
Another grandchild!?! I can't wait to hear more.
And, by the way, mosquitoes are not always kind to brown-eyed folks. I get saucer sized welts like Suzanne that nearly drive me crazy. The ones in Pasadena were always the worst of all. Glad I now live in the PNW where they are not as prevalent.
Lisa, I thought the PNW would be full of skeeters!
Hazel green eyes here and if there are mosquitos they’ll find me. I also get the big welts, which last weeks. Ugh!