Farting around

I've had a couple of days of free time, time I've filled with doing odd jobs, going to the coffee shop, reading, or doing whatever occurs to me at the moment. I linger or wander away but for this precious bit of time, I've been living in the moment and relishing it. I'm reminded of Robert Grudin's book "Time and the Art of living," which I come back to again and again. How we treat time shapes who we are and how we see the world, just as the passage of time surely affects us. Grudin's theme, if there is one, is that we are shaped by perceptions of past, present, and future and by our treatment and perception of time's passing. I seem to draw something new from the book every time I open the cover.

Another nice element of these last couple of days has been a retreat from my digital existence. Working in physical media (wiring, carpentry, welding) and talking with people rather than broadcasting to an electronic village has a very different vibe. Kurt Vonnegut's take on a physical existence resonates with me today:

"Electronic communities build nothing. You wind up with nothing. We are dancing animals. How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something. We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different (from A Man Without a Country)."

The irony of my blogging this is not lost on me. I like my electronic village. Still KV reminds me to find time to dance and fart around with real people while I'm on this earth. Hope you do the same.

Bottle Tree

Bottle tree in the back yard. Steel post, rebar, and wire.

on the feeder

Early morning here with my second cup of coffee in hand. It's busy on the feeder outside the family room window. I'm guessing that I'm seeing the intersection of winter residents and late season migrants: red-bellied woodpecker, morning dove, house finch, Carolina chickadees, tufted tit mice, juncos, white breasted nuthatches,cardinals (one pair), yellow-bellied sapsucker, house wren, blue jays, red breasted nuthatch,... wow.

Word Piracy

Ever think about how some words have been hijacked by commercial interests along the information highway? Have wonderful, evocative words like "adobe," "acrobat," and "amazon," lost something as they've been co-opted by corporations? But then some words, like amazon, have multiple meanings--female warriors, river flowing from the Peruvian Andes,...--and have evolved nicely over the years.

I suppose Humpty Dumpty had it right.

Peggy named this guy "Earl." Perfect!

critter

Caterpillar made from a Cat's timing chain.