Oh, the longing...

I miss my camera. I miss the push to get my photo done, the push to GO OUT into my world and find something, ANYTHING, that desires to be admired through the eye of the lens, and SNAP it! I miss my sister. I miss knowing that she also was looking through a small portal into her world every day, and eventually sending me an image to put out into the world together.

I have started back to my morning pages. I started back to Artist Dates. I took photos at sunset last week. I took my Canon with me on my bike ride today and when I passed mushrooms as big as my foot -  gleaming with morning dew not yet absorbed by the rays of the sun, I stopped to unpack my Canon. Then I saw birds, begging for a moment of attention, hiding along the edges of the Gulf water.

So I am posting. Bah! I am posting!! Alone, together, either way, I am POSTING! Watch me!

Springing From This Place

Monica: Every time I step outside, I take an inventory of everything I love about this place. It's my way of letting go and saying goodbye. Today I counted among my loves this Amanita mushroom pushing through a carpet of pine needles in the parking area just outside the Grand Fir cabin. I love the musty smell of the forest mixed with the salt air from the sea. So many things of beauty spring from this place. 

Evelyn: I spent a bit of today at Grandpa's house, doing tech-support kinds of things. We hit the Boll Weevil for burgers, then Grandpa & Pito took their siestas as I attempted to make progress with some really old computers. Taking a break from the cat hair, I went into the back yard alone, filled with memories of Grandma's garden filled with exotic flowers or blossoming tendrils and cuttings, pushing themselves into the world from cottage cheese buckets and old jars. The backyard is cleared of anything that needed ongoing attention, however Grandma's Bird-of-Paradise and the tiny rotting picket fence I have always regarded as "my fence" remain. I like how I feel Grandma here, even if most of her garden is gone; she revives it in my memories amidst the artifacts and ruins of what had been and the persistent flowers that thrive despite the neglect.

Bits & Parts

 
Evelyn: Enjoyed the MOSI today, and near the end of my visit I stole off to wander the butterfly garden alone. Tremendous variety among butterflies, and the station was unmanned, so I walked into the viewing room and found a basket full of wings and parts situated under a microscope. I loved the variations in color, texture, decoration. Some of us are a bit more modest in our display than others; it seems that carries over into nature.

Monica: I'm having a hard time transitioning into the shorter days of the season now that we've all had to set our clocks back an hour and it's dark by 6:00 p.m. I've been especially grumpy today, irritated with other people, the weather, anything and everything. Walking down to the beach, I noticed dozens of different mushrooms ripped from the ground and strewn all over the trail in bits and parts. My irritation level skyrocketed, as I realized mushrooming season has begun and numerous mushroom-seekers are tromping through the woods in search of prized edible mushrooms. There's nothing wrong with harvesting mushrooms; I take issue with the mindless ways people are interacting with the forest, tearing out countless mushrooms that they have no intention of eating or keeping for study, then crushing them and dumping them on the trail. They perhaps don't realize that these mushrooms are a big part of the local ecosystem, growing out of decay, helping to nourish the forest floor in which majestic redwoods and other plant life grows. The mushrooms have their own life cycle that needs to be completed in order to grow again the next year. Treating the mushrooms so disrespectfully is akin to vandalism in my mind. GRRRR. Okay, my rant is over!

Warm Socks & Baling Out

Evelyn: During our driving lesson to Orlando (full of grabbing the seat or wishing for a roll bar) we took the country roads to avoid the pressure (fear) of driving I-4. Taking a pause to switch and take pictures, I handed Justin the driver's seat. We were on a small side road, so he could practice a 3-point turn that wasn't in the high school parking lot and hopefully get us back on track. My leisurely observance of bales of hay turned into a 5-minute ordeal, with pleasant farmers waiting for us to get turned around. Justin drove us into the ditch on the side of the road, and stalling out, all with a captive audience. I stepped out of the car, assured other motorists that "we are just fine... student driver!" and with nods, people continued on. One farmer waited, just to make sure we could get out of the ditch, and to prove that was possible, I took over, got us out, and again swapped seats. Not helpful for Justin's confidence, however, sometimes you just have to move on.

Monica: I officially gave in to fall this week when I pulled my boots out of the closet and put on my first pair of socks since last spring. Up until now I've been running around sockless in my summer flats, in complete denial that it's October. I also had to pull out my warm hat and warm coat to walk down to the beach. Another sign that we are well into fall: the mushrooms blooming out of the damp, pine-needle carpeted earth. This fly agaric mushroom was about 5-inches in diameter.

Stems & Straws

Monica: A couple of days ago, a guest handed Michael several wax-paper sacks filled with wild chanterelle mushrooms he had harvested locally. It was a generous gift, considering wild mushrooms sell for anywhere between $20-$100/lb. I got out my cookbooks and fired up Google to pore over recipes. I decided to make a risotto, combining elements of different recipes to come up with my own creation: chanterelle risotto with rosemary & sage. Michael likes the taste but not the texture of mushrooms, so I figured I'd make something that could handle minced mushrooms. The risotto turned out perfectly AND Michael ate a good portion without complaint. (I did fully disclosed the fact that I was serving him mushrooms. I learned early on that deception doesn't work with him.) Today on my walk, I was thrilled to discover several patches of small chanterelles on the property. Now I have to figure out what to make next.

Evelyn: Date night, car adventures, and ice cream. Justin is learning to drive. Getting where we need to go is a blend of luck and an amalgamation of new skills supported by internal yelling and external distress. Regardless, we are usually on "breaks" between each episode, and so eating burritos and laughing seems to ease the process quite a bit.

Moments of Wonder

Monica: This morning Michael brought me my coffee and the news that he had just sighted a new mushroom near the Farmhouse. "It looks like a flower—with petals and a round ball in the center that puffs brown powder when you push on it..." I followed him out with my camera and sure enough, there was a patch of these mushrooms I'd never seen before. It's a rounded earthstar, not edible, but really one of the coolest mushrooms I've encountered. I experienced one of those rare moments of wonder when you see something for the very first time, something you never knew existed and hadn't imagined, but there it is. 

Evelyn: On the way to Ybor City I couldn't help but to almost squeal in the delightful glimmer of the moon over Tampa Bay. The latest body of water I lived near was the size of a grocery store parking lot... and from Orlando, the nearest beach an hour and a half away. I feel like a kid getting glimpses of the water in new ways, and although this image is hardly spectacular, it at least bookmarks my delight on one given evening, in my life, on a ride to Ybor City to dance.

Quiet on Christmas Eve

Clouds & Forests

Spots & Stripes

Reds

Peeking Through

Taking a Breather

Strange Things