Memorial Days

Memorial Day weekend has been absolutely gorgeous here. The skies have been clear blue and temperatures have been in the high 70s to low 80s. We have barbecued Friday and Saturday evenings -- enjoying eating out on the deck -- and we took a picnic to Umstead Park on Sunday. Umstead is a state park comprised of a lovely piece of wilderness less than 30 minutes from home. We walked a couple of miles of trails, and we enjoyed the unspoiled beauty of the place.

When we got to the river, we picked a shady spot by the ruins of the old mill dam, pulled out our books, and lounged around until early evening, stopping to dip our feet in the cool water before we undertook the walk back. I found myself distracted from my book by a spider who was prowling nearby, and the walk back to the car was graced by one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a very long time -- a majestic blue heron flew the length of the river, soaring rapidly overhead as its wings glowed in the evening sun. It was a moment I couldn't have captured on film if I had been ready to do so. Daniel was standing next to me and missed it. There was such strength and precision in its movements that I felt it embodied the perfection of creation and the definition of freedom. It was such an intensely peaceful feeling, that I wished I could somehow transported everyone I love to be there for the moment.You may visit a more complete photo album here. It features some of the wildlife we encountered along the way (including a snake and a fascinating beetle, Dad).

We walked to the war memorial in town this evening to stand quietly by as the sun descended for the evening. It was quiet tonight. Just a single confederate soldier standing watch over a deserted square.

Sometimes you can find children climbing on the monument and playing in its shadow. Daniel remarked that he thought somehow that play and laughter of children is a fitting tribute to the fallen. He's certain they would love to know that life goes on and that the fighting they did for the sake of peace and freedom has brought just that feeling to the town that remembers them still. I would have to agree.

Holy Hail

Just a quick little post sharing more of the wonders of the world outside--this time, during a full-fledged tornado warning that encompassed our area. A tornado was actually spotted in the town where our aunt and uncle live, which is not far from here at all. I don't think it touched down.While these were falling, Dan remarked that "It sounds like we're inside a popcorn popper." It did a bit... perhaps it sounded even more like the push-toy I played with as a kid that made popping noises when I ran it over the carpet.
Monte hid, MooMoo napped, and Dan and I watched the weather coverage on the news and debated whether or not we should adjourn together to the bathroom (the only "interior" room available to us here). Keep in mind that I have rather large hands, and I had to wait until the storm had passed and the hail had melted a bit, so these were pretty impressive. I think all of our plants survived the onslaught. The people and animals in our house sure did. Honestly, it is a bit harrowing when it is happening, but I find the power of nature entrancing, too. I'm not quite cut out of storm chaser stock, and I hope to never experience a touched-down tornado, but some part of me loves living in a place that gets somewhat exciting. :)

Out and About

I got my very first sunburn of the season yesterday. Mainly it was because I didn't realize we would be outside. It was supposed to rain at 2 pm, but instead it was gloriously sunny until it was nearly 6 pm and we were on our way home after a bit of shopping.We had spent the day at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham with friends. It is a sort of cross between a museum and a zoo and an amusement park, as they have live bears and lemurs and other creatures of all descriptions, a train and a few other rather scientific "attractions". They also have lots and lots and lots of bugs and other marvelously creepy things, like brilliantly colored and highly toxic frogs.My favorite part was probably our visit to the butterfly room (as you can tell from the photos). Dan also loved it because the plants in the room reminded him of the foliage he saw growing up in Guatemala. Other things reminded him of Guatemala, too... like the enormous live rhinoceros beetle in one of the terrariums and the enormous moth pinned primly in a glass case. "We used to see those on the walls of my school occasionally," he said with a mixture of nostalgia and indifference that I find a bit off-putting in the case of a moth the size of a mardi gras mask.
Since so much of what there was to see was outdoors, we did quite a bit of wandering. At one point, I even ran a little ways (kind of racing with a 12-year-old girl, which is folly at my age and shape), to catch up to the others. I don't run as a rule, and while I was winded when I stopped, I was also a bit exhilarated to find that I could still do it.
So, this evening when I had finished dinner and wanted to get out and enjoy the 70-something beautiful weather and waning sunlight, I invited Dan to walk with me. We started out at about 6:45 and got home again about 7:45. We got a little daring, though... we jogged uphill to the end of the street. That was maybe 1/10 of a mile, which is as far as I dare run right about now. We walked the nature trail near our house, then turned and walked back past our neighborhood to the grocery store, where we splurged on a cold drink before walking back home. When we got to our street, we jogged the last 1/10 of a mile again. Dan, former cross-country runner that he was, remembered what it used to feel like to run... and it didn't feel like that in his knees! I'm guessing we walked a couple of miles, all told.
It's fun to just get up and go, to explore bits of creation that are not everyday for us (at least not here and now), and to discover that while our joints are creaky and our hair is decidedly graying, we still have plenty of childish exuberance left.

Down but not Out

We've been rather busy lately. I have been a different sort of busy than Dan has, of course. I have been working a lot of hours, and I have been helping Daniel with his newest project. We'll call it, for the sake of drama, "Project Something to Eat in a Couple of Weeks"... really, all it amounts to is a bit (okay, a lot) of gardening.

As an aside, we've discovered that weather is a decidedly more interesting topic here than it ever was in California, in part because we get things like hail and tornado watches. We now understand the logic, (thanks, Dad, for pointing it out) behind talking about the weather. There wasn't much when the conversation was "clear and in the 80s again today." Ho hum. I like a little excitement.

Thankfully the weather and the garden are playing nicely together for now, so we hope our plants will grow nicely into fruit-and-veggie-bearing sources of fresh, lovely sustenance. Among other things, we have planted tomatoes, okra, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, crook-neck yellow squash, a plethora of sweet and hot peppers, arugula, about a dozen herbs and (my favorite, perhaps) blackberries. We have also discovered that one of the trees on our property has started putting out apples. We hope that we get to sample them before the birds have their fill.

As there was only one well-defined planting area in the yard, we have spent quite a lot of time choosing spots that will be least disruptive to the yard as it is now, digging up clay, putting in soil that plants can live with and lugging (okay, Dan does this part) the clay out across the bridge to the back 40 of our little corner of the planet. We both find that gardening soothes frayed nerves, which is a great thing, under present circumstances. We're each a bit more sore, and possibly a bit more content, than we had been before.

Dan still has no solid job leads or interviews, but he has 3 headhunters looking out for him, so if there is a job in the area to be had for him, they ought to be able to find it. In the meantime, when not gardening, Dan has been cleaning house, cooking, running errands and filling out paperwork -- lots of paperwork. Honestly, if we could live on my salary, I could get very used to having a househusband. For his part, Dan's the happiest I have seen him in a while, which is great. Unfortunately, our bills outstrip my earning capacity, so I will be happy to have a different sort of working husband when the time comes. Continued prayers on the job front would be much appreciated.

In other news, Dan and his band from college, Writ on Water, have put out some new material, and re-released some old material. Not only did Dan do some songwriting and play a variety of instruments on the recordings, but he also did quite a lot of the album art design. The things I learn about him almost six years in...! Where, exactly, was he hiding that particular talent? He didn't say anything about it... I just walked in to find him designing away. I'm not proud or anything... but please feel free to visit their website and store and buy plenty of Writ on Water swag. I'm sure the royalties will eventually buy us a soda at America's Drive-in Sonic, which we will try to thoroughly enjoy in spite of the fact that it is from Sonic because it was the only thing open late on a summer night, and for which we will thank you profusely. :D

For my part, I now, as the result of a rather funny but way-too-long-for-me-to-relate-here-and-now story, am one of the official anthem singers for the Carolina Railhawks professional soccer club. My debut is Friday night at the Women's team season opener. After that, I'll be on the regular rotation. What that means about performance frequency, I don't yet know. I auditioned this afternoon and got the "job" on the spot. My compensation for this, as with soooo many artistic endeavors, will not contribute to the bills-needing-paying cause. *sigh* It will, however, ensure that we get out some as long as there is a car to put gas in and gas in said car. I'll be able to bring Dan along to the games at which I sing to watch the game from "the box" and we are told we will find various things to eat and drink there. If the box is air conditioned, that will be worth way more than it seems at first glance come summer, believe me! It also gives me an opportunity to perform musically, which I confess I have missed. The Railhawks games are streamed on this website for a price, if you wish to hazard a watch. I am not sure, to be honest, whether or not the anthem is included in the broadcast, but you may see me there from time to time if you choose to shell out for the game package.

In short, we're not quite sure what the future holds. I understand that it's not really our job to know. I suppose the best we can do is hope, pray and wait... and sing and grow veggies. Life is good, even if there are things we could dare to hope for.