INTERLUDE

Tired August is winding down like an antique clock, and no key can be found to rewind it.

The changes are very subtle, perhaps unnoticeable to some: shadows are slightly longer, trees look listless, afternoons are lethargic, darkness comes earlier. Summer is waning.

August used to be one of my favorite months - - when I lived in a decent house with central air, within a semblance of civilization.

I didn't have to contend with squirrels in the roof, 'possums under the house, snakes IN the house, acres of 12-foot "weeds", wasps, hornets, beetles, gnats, fruit flies, drain flies, GIANT spiders, endless rain, and a two zillion mile drive to town.

Am I complaining? Naw. When I'm in a bad mood you'll know it.

Late last night I got another horrifying aura migraine. It scared the jeeters out of me and I was forced to go to bed.
Stress.
Stress is my middle name.

Today (or sometime soon) I have to work on my car. It hasn't been starting properly and I was temporarily stranded the last time I went to town (I'll spare you the painful details).

So what else is new?
Fog every morning. Which I love.
Plenty of butterflies and dragonflies.
Which I like immensely.
Rain yesterday with unusually cool temperatures. Which was delightful.

Every once in awhile, I write these crappy, incredibly boring blog posts.....just so that you don't have too much of a good thing.

Photos, anyone?
These were taken a few days ago.

Morning fog in the front "yard"

 Early morning in the back "yard"

SEPTEMBER SONG

I made a piano recording of September Song (long ago). Someday I'll post it, just to be annoying.

Jon, you're annoying even without music.

I made the dreaded trip to town today, but the weather was so glorious that I actually enjoyed the excursion. Sunny and only in the 60's (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in Pakistan).

The scenery along the drive is absolutely spectacular (much better than the crappy woods around my house). I would have loved to take photos....

....but I was too busy grasping the steering wheel, riding the breaks, and praying to the Great Mountain Kahuna that I wouldn't go over a cliff and plunge into the water.

Speaking of water, another hurricane is on the way - headed for Florida. I have some relatives in Florida, including two cousins. They've probably evacuated by now.

I'd never live in Florida. I'm not the "tropical" type.

But, Jon - in Florida you can fish and swim!!

Hey, Kemosahbee - if I wanna get wet I'll take a shower. The closest I've ever come to fishing was getting a Fish Filet sandwich at McDonalds. 

So, when are you gonna open your damn online store, Jon? 

Much like making love or cooking a turkey - good things take their time. I'll have a grand opening this weekend. Maybe I'll even have a Hurricane Sale. 

Until the Grand Opening, boys and girls, I'm going to appease you with a tedious hodgepodge of recent photos.
Nothing spectacular, but - what the hell - it's free. 

 I found this painting in a trunk last night, which I had completely forgotten about. It was packed away for years.

 It's painted on a wooden panel and is from the 1860's. The "boy smoking" theme reminds me of another painting I have:

 This is one of my favorites. It's from Italy and dated 1875.

While I'm at it, here's another extremely old painting of a cat (non-smoking). I wanted to hang this but the backing is coming apart.

The butterflies are still congregating and I snapped a few more pics of them yesterday. This one particular butterfly was easy to photograph. He hardly moved.

And here are two butterflies
(an orange one at the top):

Here are some weeds caught in the first rays of the sun this morning.

...and the sun (above) emerging from the forest in my back yard, just before I left for town (about 10:00 a.m.)

 Here's the front yard this afternoon when I got back. The sun is heading west. My front porch can be vaguely seen on the left.

 

HAWK DESCENDING

Does anyone recall Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughn Williams? 
A few of you raised your hands, and I'm proud of you.

That's nothing compared to a hawk descending.

Let's preface this by saying that my back was destroyed last winter from falling on the ice so many times. Mornings are the worst. When I first get out of bed I can hardly walk from the searing pain. I literally have to force myself to do chores.

Like cleaning the damn litter boxes. For the cats. Not me. I usually empty the boxes outside, far away, near the abandoned realms of the meadow.

And if anybody tells me that this is bad for the environment, I'm gonna slap you with my used pooper scooper.

So, I'm in agonizing pain from my back. I'm carrying a litter box brimming with cat shit, limping like Quasimodo, heading for the meadow.

Suddenly, out of absolutely nowhere, a huge hawk swoops down right at me, nearly grazing my head. I could feel the aerodynamic breeze.

How do you know it was a hawk, Jon?

Because a sparrow doesn't have a five-foot wing span. And I've seen this hawk on previous occasions. He resides in the neighborhood. 

I must have looked like an easy target - - shuffling like Methuselah and toting a box of cat crap.

I think the swoop was merely a friendly warning. If the hawk wanted to, he could have plucked me from the meadow and taken me to his (her?) nest.

When I first moved to the mountains, I innocently thought that I would be living an idyllic existence - like Heidi or the Von Trapps. Instead, I'm riding the Dante Express to Hell.

Yesterday I was attacked by a hoard  HORDE of butterflies. Yes, I said butterflies. When I stepped outside, I was immediately besieged by an aggressive and colorful mob of lepidopterans.They were intent on intimidation.

The hawk was probably laughing.

My back yard - - a haven for hawks and butterflies

So, Jon, what did you do over the long Memorial Day weekend?

Well, I spent some time wondering how I'm going to fit 4,000 square feet of unpacked possessions into a 1,200 sq. ft. house.

I considered getting a helmet to wear outside - - along with a few butterfly nets.

I'm still battling bees and wasps and have eradicated nearly thirty nests.
That's progress. 


 

In the process of painting the swing

I painted my front porch and quickly ran out of paint. The back porch will have to wait.

I went through a pile of my old piano compositions, which I mostly wrote between the ages of 16 and 25. I haven't looked at them for decades and was stunned at how many things there are: 
24 Preludes (in all the major & minor keys), 24 Symphonic Etudes, Sonatas, fugues, valses, variations - -
much more than I ever remembered. 

If I hadn't thrown these manuscripts into the trunk of the car when I was moving to TN, they would have undoubtedly disappeared - - along with all the other stuff that the movers "lost". 

 A small sample of my old compositions

I attempted to play some of them

this afternoon