Welcome !
Casses Home for the Gracefully Aging Late March 2016
That wacky time change - I decry it every time as a nuisance - you gotta
re-arrange everything slightly - Bah! Humbug! (to get Dickensian about it)
The few weeks before the time change when the morning sun was creeping
lighter after the dark of winter - was precious to me - especially the last
Saturday of the run.
Out on the hiway early that day, there was
brilliant light at 8a. I thought that was very cool - it played with my
hour perception/memories. It felt like I was in a different country but I
was driving familiar roads??
And yes, it really was very cool but boy! was I wrong about the Humbug.
I like the new stuff even better.
Agreed, its pitch dark when I get up now - can't tell it from 3 a.m. But
the first thing I do is pull a jacket over me and put on slippers and go
out on deck to see the early morning stars.
Gorgeous deep purple-blue sky and this time o year the stars are pretty
thinly spaced pre-dawn.
The Milky Way has long set West and it's the spacey airy
Universe that our side of the planet is now facing into.
Of course, the North doesn't change much except for rotation, the majority
of the dipper is way west (left) while it is way east (right) when I retire
evenings.
This pseudo-night only lasts about 20 minutes. By the time I finish a.m.
meditation it's cracking out dawn.
And I do mean cracking - the mornings have been mostly very clear and that
first yellow ray turns white almost immediately. Wakes the critters too.
I've generally already loaded the yardbird platform with seed on my first
visit to the deck.
If I belay that first chore, I soon hear the cardinals & nuthatches landing
on the feeder and yammering for the waiter.
The local gang. Love 'em.
The clear plastic sheeting I use to "bag" my winter windows for insulation
has been optimistically peeled off with the first hint of any enduring
warmth.
So now I can hear the birds cheeping & chirping with much more clarity (the
Titmouse sings "mi seee theee!" - same note 3 times). They always remind me
of a dear friend, Ms. PJ, who sings those notes so beautifully.
With the windows finally open a bit in the a.m., during my breakfast I can
hear the entire neighborhood of yardbirds talking it up big time -
declaring territories, looking for mates & all the other yakkity stuff they
do.
I feed 'em twice a day at least and I have a small heavy ceramic bowl (used
to be for cat food) with bird water planted solidly next to the seed platform.
Often a flapper will land on the bowl edge and dip down for a drink or two
before dining.
There's a common maritime visual phenom - little wiggly equally separated
longways ripples of light will chase up the sides of a moored boat.
You've seen it.
Well, when the yardbird dips for a drink, he/she ripples the surface
exactly like that and I see 4 or 5 tiny waves of light run up their white
chest.
Don't know why - but I like that alot.
March 23 would have been Mom's 89th birthday. I could go on for volumes
about my mom - who couldn't about theirs?
My biggest thanks to her are for my sense of humor (we would occasionally
get the giggles so bad in church we would have to leave - thats a good
thing) and my love of language & learning.
Constance Elsie Klotz was a city girl - NYC, and an only child, and so had access to most of
the wonders of the world and most beloved to her - the movies.
Silent movies advanced to "talkies" which then became grand and fantastic
(and went back to being called "movies" once they all got audio).
This burst of cinemtic art caught mom square in the heart. Her generation
got the full wave of glorious cinematic expression. The art & she came of
age simultaneously.
And being so close to Manhattan, she got to frequent the great marble
palace movie theatres of New York City. (Mom saw the 2nd showing of Gone
With the Wind ever - the first was in Atlanta.)
I love 'em too and consider motion pictures a living art. (IMHO some are great,
expressive, inspiring, beautiful, etc. and some are crap)
Connie (I never called her that) had enormous faith in the goodness of
others and totally exemplified that in her life.
She was in the Obstetrics wing of Indian River Memorial Hospital for her
entire working career in Vero Beach.
Mom loved that baby factory - and said
it was the only place in the hospital where people weren't sick.
She delivered two whole generations plus - often welcoming in babies for
those she welcomed in years ago. It was very satisfying to her.
Thanks Mom. There's lots more.
Spring!! Can't possibly do it descriptive justice. The grand awakening.
A little sunshine, a little heat, smoosh it all up with some wind & rain
and whammo!
When I lived in FL I didn't notice the earth waking up so much because it
was always warm enough for growth. And I wasn't as tuned to the changes as
I am now after 31 years in the mountains.
It is hands down the "Greatest Show on Earth" and we all participate - yeah!
You can't help feeling the power stirring on multiple personal planes.
The internal "Spring cleaning" energy is the same stuff that's going on
outside everywhere. Total connection. ReBirthing.
A few years ago I was standing on my deck facing East, a bit earlier in the
year and I felt the wave come over me.
Like clouds parting and sunlight opening up on you except it was not
sunlight but a "bump" in the chest.
The whole body felt this momentary invisible pressure, perceptively going
east to west. I knew it was Spring.
Haven't felt it since then but once was a cool gift. Guess I was in the
"right place at the right time"
The Bloomers. (not underwear)
The first guys I notice after the Daffodils & Forsythia (you can't stop
bright yellow) are the 2 inch plants. Closest to the Earth I guess.
A ground blush of green turns into little Bluets & Grape Hyacinths, etc. I love
'em.
Then the trees get blooming - nothing like a giant flower to get your
attention.
We have Redbuds so far and Ornamental Plum (looks like a floating explosion
of rose blossoms) and of course, the ubiquitous hiway liner - the grand
white cloud stinky as hell Bradford Pears.
They are admittedly strikingly beautiful but don't get close.
Best I can get to describing the stench is a hot full basket of rotten
shrimp. Proof positive that bees have no sense of smell.
You gotta love Spring - all of it.
My health is good. I'm staying busy with musics - church, Ubuntu & The
Remnants.
The kids report in everything is going well. I'm extremely fortunate &
Grateful.
Time perception continues to accelerate but "The Now" window is staying pretty
calm - seems to be getting better all the time.
Good health usually means not sick & yes, energetic.
I do have those basics but
having been under the influence of gravity and general wear & tear does
eventually have its effect on the vehicle.
New pains include wrists & shoulders, lower back, etc.
Some stay - some go. I've learned it is part of aging.
Recently (a year or so - you know how that goes), I acquired some pretty serious
pain in my left foot. The bone right behind the big toe is swollen with
calcuim deposits & arthritic spurs.
The doc said the X-rays looked like those he'd seen on ballet folk. I
didn't think I abused my foot like that. Best guess - "Surfer knots" - calcium buildup from my teens & 20s
We're trying different stuff on the foot. Not a huge deal. I've kind of
gotten used to the discomfort. It has changed my gait but the bones are
still working and I'm still getting around OK.
Here's a shot of one of the X-Rays. I find it fascinating.
Had a bit of a scary adventure late Sunday last. Relaxing near the end of
the day I thot I smelled smoke. I had just ovened (can I use oven as a verb?) a homebuilt "french bread
pizza" and 1st thought was I had some incinerated drippings.
Then I heard a loud "Crack!" outside and went on deck to investigate. More
cracks and no obvious source. I peeked around the north west corner of my
house and saw 20 foot yellow flames about 80 yards away!! Yarp!!
The wood frame house across the street from my neighbor was going fast. Big
sparks were floating over the trees into my yard and I had a moment's
panic. Do I get in the car & go? If so, which guitars to take? etc.
Those were just momentary thoughts. Then I thought of Roger - the guy who
lived there. His car was in the drive way too close to the conflagration
and I had no small worry for his sake.
I called 911 and found my neighbor, one house closer to Roger, had already called it in.
The fire guys showed and stayed a long time to make sure of no surprises
after the event had burned itself out.
The next day I found out Roger was OK and had been at his mom's
