Morning Mind Ramble: why do birds sing?

July 2, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

“All there is to thinking is [hearing] something noticeable which makes you [hear] something you weren’t noticing which makes you [hear] something that isn’t even [audible].” Norman Maclean I follow my mind around like a little animal. This morning was no exception. The Professor and I wake up early – too early – around 4 […]

Almost There, Home

July 1, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

This morning I almost touched it. The past. Home. I closed my eyes and I was almost There. There, where I’m nobody’s distant relative, or forgotten or estranged friend. There, where people don’t wield murderous thoughts, words, or actions like bloody bayonets. There, where cities don’t burn and life in the country is full of […]

Nature in a Box: photos are grand, the real thing, grander

June 30, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Gorgeous photographic images entertain and inspire us: some to see, others to go. Ansel Adams’ photos stir memories, excite the senses, and provoke curiosity. Or should. While photography is oftentimes a beautiful and faithful representation of a place, it should be a gateway drug to the real thing. There are glorious places, actually existing landscapes […]

Sonny, is the Red Lion Inn in Winnemucca still a nice place?

June 29, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Three times Sonny Bono sidled over to me at an inter-govermental relationship-building city/county dinner I was at in Los Banos. He leaned in and whispered, “The Red Lion Inn in Winnemuca is a very nice place to stay.” Three times. That was odd. So odd, I wonder. It was, obviously, a dream, but I’ve remembered […]

Turning Grit into Pearls

June 21, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

The Professor and I have a friend, he shall remain nameless. He grumbles so much that we go out of our way to avoid him. His complaints have a bitter edge that grates on our last nerve. That guy’s got a bunch of grit in his oyster. No pearls yet. I never saw myself as […]

Norman, my Tie that Binds

June 18, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Mother used to say I cared more for my animals – over the course of my lifetime a parade of dogs, cats, and horses – than people. That was (and likely still is) true, but the why of it isn’t the point. They connect me to important times and places. Places that matter. Places that […]

Samuel became King, we learned about trust

May 26, 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

I drove to South Dakota several years ago to say goodbye to King before he passed and to meet my dear friend Dusty. That’s another story. – Teri The movie Black Beauty opens with the old horse content, lying in a green field and telling a classic tale of loss, sorrow, and redemption. “I remember […]