life in the old lane

Now that I am well into my 2nd year in the Old Bat Cave – and since it was a lovely jeans and flannel shirt morning – I headed out on a walk in the woods – or what passes for woods in my current location,with my old Leica lens.

And, I worked on my landscape photography – not my thing. And, my wildlife photography – which I am famously bad at.

I saw a stick in the water… though it might just be a snake – and when I got home and looked at the pictures – indeed it was a snake.

And, I got this way too cute chipmunk.

Yes, I am embarrassed to live in a country where Donald Trump could be a serious candidate for president. I haven’t a clue how that happened. I apologize to people of goodwill every where.

No matter who wins – I am terrified for the Republic. And, I am not a fearful person. I feel no need for firearms, I go wherever I please at all hours, I don’t take good care of myself. And, the fear I feel is not for myself – it is for the country. For civilization itself.

And then I remember that I belong to a society that is dedicated to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawaiʻi and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language. We try to do this by wearing stupid white dresses, doing hula, having bake sales and talk story about old Hawai’i.

And, I feel like maybe I have lived too long.

But, just for today – it was a good day.

Yes, I made it through one whole entire year at the Goodwin House Asylum for the Elderly. On good days, I like rather like it here. On bad days, I can tolerate it. It is a good place, filled with lots of good people and a few that one just avoids.

And the Old Bat Cave has been just great. It is everything I need and most of the things that I want.

Not that much has changed. The little sofa that was on order when I moved in, arrived. And I traded my old chair in on the big leather lounger.

I am still thinking about lighting and window treatments.

OK – It’s Done – September 25, 2015.

I celebrated my graduation from my first year by breaking out the last bag of 100% Kona Coffee.

How did it get to be Friday already? The week just zipped on by. My only plan for the weekend is to labor in the Asylum cutting garden tomorrow. And, that is all the plans that I need to have.

It was lovely when I headed out to work this morning – an hour late. Thank you Apple. I installed iOS 10 on my iPad last night. My iPad is also my alarm clock. Well, I discovered a new “feature” – BEDTIME. I turned the alarm business over to BEDTIME. Well, BEDTIME didn’t wake me up. Fortunately, I didn’t really have to be at work on time. But, if I had been catching a plane – I would have missed it.

I returned the alarm clock function to the ALARM function. And I will just ignore the BEDTIME feature.

I also checked out the “improved” Apple Maps. Well, for me – a walker/public transit person – Google Maps still wins hands down.

I did like the “new improved” notifications. Most of the improvements don’t really apply to the iPad. But, my take is – it is a fine stable but unspectacular upgrade.

 

I think this is a rather fine bee. It looks like something out of a cheap 1950’s sci-fi film. But wait – all 50’s sci-fi films were cheap.

Speaking of films – I am thinking about what to watch on the train across country. 3 nights. Need 3 films. Thinking about: Strangers on a Train, North By Northwest, and Night Train to Munich. Plus The Princess Bride and The Day the Earth Stood Still in case of a total meltdown. In the 21st Century one’s digital packing is as important as suitcase packing!

I am a little jealous of Carlton. Seems to me that he got out of town just in time. Two years ago – there were signs on the wall that civilization was unraveling. Today, the signs are being chiseled on the walls.

I am on the edge of going over the edge…

Not real sure why I don’t sell all my other lenses (except the plastic fish eye lens) and just use that killer lens.

Well: It is relatively heavy. And: Photographers buy gear.

Even an afternoon of “nothing” to photograph is good with my favorite glass.

Healthwise – I seem to be almost over what ever it was that was troubling me Saturday through Monday. I did start taking Claritin on Monday night – and by Tuesday AM, I was feeling better. Allergy?

When I say I need a vacation – I am reminded of President Lincoln’s famous quote about General McClellan’s horses.

I have just read your dispatch about sore-tongued and fatigued horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues anything?

During this evil election season – I wonder what it was like during the election of 1860. I should know what the election of 1860 was like – Carlton and I worked at Harpers Ferry Park for 3 or 4 summers/falls and one of the things that we talked about was the election of 1860. The election didn’t solve anything. That much I remember.

I figure it doesn’t matter what little skipper this critter is. As long as it knows what genus it is – that is all that matters.

It was rainy all day – so – today’s picture is one of yesterday’s leftovers.

Speaking of yesterday’s leftovers – I still feel cruddy. I think it is that sinus issue that has troubled me for decades. I am just glad that it stayed mostly away all the time that Carlton was sick – and last year when I was so overwhelmed by moving. All I did today was go to work. I gave myself the rest of the day off.

 

Is it a Carpenter Bee or a big ass Bumble Bee? Easy – if you can see your reflection – then it is a Carpenter Bee. BTW – Male Carpenter Bees cannot sting and they are the ones you usually see. (Bumble Bees can sting – repeatedly without injuring itself. But, they aren’t naturally aggressive.)

Still feeling a little subpar. I need a vacation. Saturday and Sunday isn’t hacking it!

Do you ever wonder what it is like to be dead? I sure hope that it is like dead. Like nothing at all. Like a really good really long nap. If existence really is a huge computer simulation – I hope I don’t have to start over at Level One, until I get it right. Which is sort of like Buddhist Wheel of Life. I was always cool with Buddhism, until I got down to the reincarnation part. Which is kind of like being cool with Catholicism until the transubstantiation part. Which, seems creepily like vampirism to me.

Damn where did that paragraph come from? My mind is a dangerous place. Don’t go there.

On a cheerier note, I found this lovely little rose in a neighboring garden box this afternoon.

 

Feeling a little sub-par today. Just old age, I suppose. Missing old Carlton a little bit too. So, I fired up some football broadcast or the other. Now it sounds like he is still in the building.

I looked back at Sept 17, 2014 – September 2014 was a good month. I am really glad that our last month was a good month. Carlton was feeling good and by Sept 17, I had finished filling out our application to Goodwin House. Realistically, I sort of fast tracked myself into the Asylum. It hasn’t been 2 years since we signed up. And, I moved in a year ago. Most people are on the waitlist for 4 or 5 years. As much as I wonder WTF am I doing here from time to time, I am glad that I got it done when I did.

Also, getting a queasy feeling about the outcome of the upcoming presidential election.

Maybe I need a drink?

Addendum: Forgot to mention.  I actually cooked today. From real ingredients. A pot (very small pot) of veggie stew. Made from a butternut squash and some stuff that had been hanging out in my freezer since who knows when. It tasted pretty fine. Put 3 containers in the freezer for “later” and will have a bowl tomorrow or Monday after the flavors mingle. My small (and only pot) makes 4 modest bowls of soup, stew or oatmeal. Works for me. Do not miss all of my other pots and pans. I also have two cute red skillets – one small and one tiny for eggs and stirfries for one.

And, I had a nice cold Longboard. Did I mention that I ran up a $36 bill at the bar last month? This beer was from the Old Bat Cave private stock.

Everyone knows that I love taking pictures of insects. However, not so much when the insect is in my salad.

Last night I picked up a little salad from the asylum’s salad bar and took it back to the Old Bat Cave. I settled down in my chair and started happily munching away… when what did I find? A dead fly!

What to do? Should I indignantly take my salad with fly down to the bistro? And demand what? Another salad? Just make a scene? What would that prove? Maybe get me a new salad. Maybe get a refund. And besides – the salad was almost all gone. Just how many flies had I eaten?

Well, I decided to just pitch the fly and the associated lettuce leaf. And finish my dinner. Including the rest of the salad. What good would complaining about the fly do? It wasn’t intentional. Flies happen.

But, it was an opportunity to research that great old “Waiter! There’s a fly in my soup!” line. Apparently that joke goes back to the 1870’s in the US. Check it out->

 

“The best camera is the camera you have with you.” I was strolling home from work this afternoon and happened upon this marvelous butterfly. Shamu the Phone was the camera I had with me. And, I think Shamu did a fine job.

My GMAIL account is 10 years old and has some 10 year old emails. I am wondering, maybe I should just delete some of them? Or not? When was the last time someone asked “Remember that email I sent you in 2008?”

 

This is just wrong and maybe even illegal – herbal tea in a Harley Davidson mug.

At work, I am on this crazy quest to scan 5 stuffed file cabinets of data into the computer before I go to Hawai’i. I am a little over 3/5 of the way done. I seem to enjoy setting these impossible tasks for myself. And no amount of skill, dexterity, or cleverness will make the job go any faster. The limiting factor is the speed of the upload to our “cloud”. Wonder if it would be faster on the weekend? Wonder if I want to go to work on the weekend?

My favorite bus driver – who is my age – says he is going to turn in his notice on Friday and retire. He told me I should retire too. And then he started telling me about all the people who are younger than we are who have died. Yes, I know. On the other hand, if we make it through tomorrow – no one will have died here in two months. When you consider we are 500 old people – 2 months without a celestial change of address is remarkable.

I am still clinging desperately to my “pre-asylum” life. And having a reason to get up, get dressed, and get out of the asylum every morning is an important part of clinging to the before Goodwin House mentality.