September 17, 2017
I’ve begun to understand that observing the world’s beauty is my most favorite therapy. And if you look for it, you’ll find it most everywhere. From delicate macaron feet peeking out from a soft pastel shell to the browned crisped dough of a pastry that some young lady made lovingly Read more…
August 21, 2017
I spent my day in Gallatin, Tennessee in the line of totality during the Great American Eclipse. Since I traveled far and prepared a lot, I thought it best to get there at 2:45 a.m., joined only by singing crickets and several other eclipse chasers who agreed that the idea Read more…
August 19, 2017
Another day in one of our nation’s national parks, my #21, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. This park, like Shenandoah, feels more like home. Though spectacular they are, the geology of the western parks in their different biomes can be almost otherworldly. There is a slight uneasiness underneath Read more…
A National Park with the opportunity for exploration of long-abandoned dilapidated cabins? That is double the pleasure for me! Daisy Town was a resort enclave established in the early 20th century by pioneer Appalachians. The old cottages are easily accessible in the Elkmont region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Read more…
August 18, 2017
It’s morning in Shenandoah, and the sun overcomes its obstacles. As usual. How perfect is a morning? Fresh and potent with opportunity and intention. Never you mind what becomes of it; that’s the evening’s problem to solve. The clouds veil the light, hiding the blue, so you don’t take it Read more…
August 17, 2017
Spoilet alert: By the end of this blog post, by the end of my day, I end up… in a cabin in the woods in the mountains within rumbling thunder, the lucky pile of wood between two very vocal mocking birds going on and on about something, perhaps the storm Read more…
August 16, 2017
Water/water thermos Mini cooler to keep your water cold Coffee thermos Sunscreen Sunglasses for sit/wait time Brimmed hat Bug spray Blanket Snacks Roll of toilet paper Cell phone & charger, though cell service will likely be jammed up Plastic champagne flute Solar glasses White towels to reflect sun of equipment Read more…
First: you know how you hear stories of people who try frying turkeys during Thanksgiving and cause an explosion? Or Meth producers who blow up their homes? Like that, you risk catastrophic consequences if you go staring at the sun willy-nilly without protection–or looking through a camera without a solar Read more…
August 15, 2017
How gorgeous is this blue Morning Glory? It looks as if stroked by a partially dry paintbrush. This bloom mysteriously disappeared shortly after I took this picture. I wonder if blue plants are sought-after vittles for critters since they are so rare? Hibiscus time. I associate the hibiscus bloom Read more…
August 9, 2017
I made my first reservation related to Great American Eclipse travel in September 2016 …like a big nerd. Now that it is almost here, along with growing media coverage including its own section in the New York Times last Sunday, I have to make sure my preparations are squared away. Like Read more…
July 31, 2017
After several less than active seasons, the butterfly bush has been all a-buzz this summer. So I broke in the new lens for my Nikon and got into the bush to photo-stalk some of the feasting creatures. Like this Monarch butterfly, a big flirt who seemed to content to playfully Read more…
July 16, 2017
Breakfast can often go two ways–vibrant or gluttonous. This morning we headed over to a no-fail vegan breakfast option that I rarely take part in, an acai bowl. I got The Patriot with banana, strawberry, blueberry, coconut, and acai at Brazailian Acai Bowls in Bakersfield. It did the job. A Read more…
July 15, 2017
After a quick breakfast at Cafe Smitten in Bakersfield, California it would be time to see a third/fourth California national park: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. To start, a peanut butter and chocolate bar, real good black coffee, and National Park guidebooks. And a quick bite. The Vegan Burrito Read more…
July 14, 2017
After driving in the desert all day, I’m pretty batty right now. I don’t want to even attempt to wax poetic about just how gorgeous you are, dear America. It is kind of unreal how much unearthly beauty lies within you. I’ll try a little with the few brain cells Read more…
July 13, 2017
Today is day one of a California summer adventure! And day ones are about getting acclimated, adjusting to the road and a totally new lay of the land. This land, our land/your land, is coated in a sun-dried muff; it’s baked, the high and mighty ball of fire sucking out Read more…
July 1, 2017
It is the 4th of July long weekend so it was time for baseball and beer. And veggie dogs. Sometimes I think that I get a Citi Field veggie dog just to have a vehicle for piles of stuff from the fixin’s bar. Lucas Duda’s home run apple. There are Read more…
June 29, 2017
There are things that go very differently in my head. The first day of my Summer break… In my head I rouse from a peaceful slumber as a stray ray of sunlight gently taps my shoulder. Hovering Blue Jays hold up an impractical, sheer house coat as I saunter out Read more…
June 11, 2017
My bag packed for the 5th Grade overnight trip, I had my sweet tooth covered. But that’s about it… It would be our last year at Club Getaway, so we’d have to make it count. This included sneaking off from my group to take scenic pictures. Things to climb. Dandies Read more…
May 30, 2017
Twenty years ago, after our closing shifts at Tower Records in Carle Place, my coworkers and I used to drive to the tip of Long Island, arriving at Montauk Point between 1 or 2 in the morning. We did this repeatedly, ceremoniously, as we inducted new recruits. Together, we’d clutch each other while walking the Read more…
May 14, 2017
I recently had to write the yearbook letter for my graduating 5th grade class. Though I love to write, in general–mostly because I’m not that great at speaking but always have a lot to say–the prospect of translating the internal world… to words… with a deadline is very daunting. I work Read more…
May 3, 2017
Though I don’t like pink on men because I am a confused jumble of progressive principles and old fashioned ideals that leave me mostly mourning the disappearance of real men, Lou Barlow can wear pink if he wants to. He can also describe his feelings vividly in song, sure. If he must… [Sebadoh at the Read more…
April 18, 2017
With spring definitively here, the bulbs I planted last September are starting to poke out their heads in the backyard… like these late daffodils with the complicated faces. Trees are finally blooming. And so I stored my winter coats and sweaters away. I’ve gushed about tulips plenty, but how about the Read more…
April 13, 2017
One thing that Europe does right is their train stations. Besides being within massive and ornate cathedrals, they are always wide open and airy, contain several flapping pigeons for effect, and are very easy to navigate. Like this here Amsterdam Centraal Station. Why are they so beautiful? Perhaps because the rails are so Read more…
March 24, 2017
I am pretty sick of the land being a scratchy shade of dry beige. The animals are marching out of their dens, ready for spring. Myself included. But far more exciting, this fox. Who sees beautiful foxes in their path randomly? Luckily me today. The fox, a Red Fox, was walking about Robert Moses State Park. Near Read more…
March 13, 2017
Beautiful snow striations. Winter’s last word. Dumpling peaks. Blackstrap yolk. Who dun it? M.O.B.‘s California burger in Brooklyn. Carrot poker chips.
February 24, 2017
Typically the weather during my mid-winter school break, the week of Presidents’ day, is poor. The usual snow chances have me avoiding travel and “hunkering down” at home in hibernation mode, perhaps planning Spring and Summer adventures. This year, however, had me stricken with early onset Spring fever. I needed to bust out Read more…