The Burrow

It's been a marvelous monsoon this year.  Days of rain, nights of lightning and thunder and more rain, drizzles on the occasional afternoon - it's a monsoon to revel in. It also makes taking photos from the car somewhat challenging.  But, stopped at a long traffic light at a busy intersection, I found something worth memorializing.   I have been wondering how to counter the giant Ciscomani signs polluting our streets. Someone had a great idea.  These are now appearing all over town.  Subtle.  Snarky.  Eye catching.  It makes me very happy.    

The mistletoe was killing the trees.  Pooped out by birds as they nest or roost on limbs and twigs, the hemi-parasite (kinda sorta a parasite, sucking nutrients from the host, living on top instead of setting its own roots in the ground) infested much of the canopy of most of my trees. It's too high up for me.  I don't go up on ladders any more, nor do I climb up into the tree itself. It's too sticky and difficult to remove for me.  There's white goo oozing from every cut.  Tools must be cleaned between excisions to prevent the parasite from traveling.  It causes a rash when your fingers brush up against it. It's been triple digits outside for weeks.  The mistletoe has flourished while I wilted and raced indoors. So, I began the search for reputable tree trimmers.  Yelp, friends, Google... they were all recruited in my search.  No human I knew could recommend anyone;  They showed up on time  was the highest compliment I heard.  Seve...

We laughed and ate and swam and had a wonderful time during Big Cuter's Family Adventure in Tucson.  Everything was perfect, except for one thing.  We failed, miserably, when we tried to find something to put on the television. It was August, so there were no real sports to be watched or rewatched or dissected ad nauseum.  West Wing doesn't speak to Queen T the way it does to the rest of us.  Big Cuter is not a fan of rom coms.  The classic movies were either boring or ones we could recite by heart.  I wanted something with more action than plot.  Big Cuter suggested Deadpool and Wolverine , and since I'll never give up a chance to look at Hugh Jackman, I was all for it.  If you haven't seen it (and why would you, unless you're totally enmeshed with the Marvel Universe), think self-parodying, brightly colored, cartoon villains who cannot die.   Heads are sliced off, guts are punctured by all manner of sharp objects, arms and legs go flyi...

Miles Taylor was on the inside of the first FFOTUS administration.  Now, as director of Defiance.org, he decidedly on the outside.   Last week he posted on Substack that the Democrats should nominate Pete Buttigieg.  The boldface intro says it all Nothing in the Constitution requires the Speaker of the House to be an elected member of Congress. If Democrats take back control, they should bring a bulldog into the job He goes on to list all the ways that Mayor Pete (I think he'll always be Mayor Pete to me) is perfect for the job.  He speaks to Republicans and Democrats and Independents and those who are somewhere else on the spectrum.  He's been doing it for years, and he doing it in complete sentences. He could delegate most of the day to day running of the job to the Minority Whip, spending his energies on overseeing the many prosecutions and hearings and investigations that are certain to come if the Democrats win the House. They  say that last we...

There were so many faces in my house yesterday.  This morning, there are only two.   We're delighted that the grandbabies motivated TBG to get up and get moving.  We are planning many trips.   Life is too short to spend it far from those we love. The distance seems greater just after they leave.  I find myself sighing a lot.  The hugs, the hide and seek, the outstretched and seeing comfort from Grandma.... I miss them terribly.  HoneyBunny's plaintive "I want you to come to my home home." Fig bars coexisting with the Persian rugs. Peaches and apples on cutting boards. Princesses on the television. Wipes on every surface and more in a box in the garage.   And their faces.  Smeared with oatmeal or licking the frosting off the beaters; pivoting around a straw or Chew; laughing or telling serious stories but always with those eyes and those cheeks and that hair. I miss those faces.  Here are some to brighten your day. ...

G'ma used to say that the only way to grow zinnias without them getting moldy was not to plant zinnias at all.  They must be watered from the bottom, keeping the leaves dry. Even then, it's touch and go whether they survive. It's another story here in Tucson.  Our dry heat and the winds stirring up the monsoon seem to have made mine impervious to rot. Just take a look:                                                        The blooms are prolific.   They also change color as they age.  See for yourself:                                                                     The deeper color fades as the blos...