In Spite of the Heat

The morning heat had already soaked through the walls, 

rising up from the floor like a ghost of summers past."

―Erik Tomblin, Riverside Blues

Oh, heavens! The temperatures are already ridiculous - high 90s.

Walks must be taken early and quickly.

The park was busy with walkers and runners, birds and squirrels.

It was lovely.

Thursday morning observations:

A Red-shouldered hawk. Because of the size of his eye in relation to his body, I wonder if he isn't a juvenile. He also let us get much closer than most adult hawks would.

This little green heron was the only heron stalking the creek today.

A big patch of water-willow in the creek

Sweet evening primroses were still blooming - Pink Lady.

A giant cottonwood tree - the devil.

Cottonwood seeds pile up like snow along the creek-side path. This time of year is hard for many of us allergic to the cottonwood.

A group of crows were goofing off - preening and what looked like feeding each other. Maybe they were fighting for food.

Artists in the Park

Music, 

once admitted to the soul, 

becomes a sort of spirit, 

and never dies.

~ Edward Bulwer-Lytto

We heard the music just as we turned the corner on our walk towards the neighborhood park - it was a saxophone. No, it was two saxophones.

Golden rays of sunlight reflected off of the instruments as two young men practiced their music in the park. Golden notes rose to our ears.

What a surprise! What a gift!

Yes, there was spirit in the park today...

The artists, practicing for a performance

NOTES:

I am so impressed that the day after school was out these two young men (newly minted high school freshmen) were so dedicated to their music that they were working hard on it. And they are good. I know the saxophone is not an easy instrument. These guys know how to work and how to play.

7 Books...no, wait...8!

Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”

~ Lemony Snicket  

I cannot stand it. Some rules cannot be followed.

I was challenged to share the covers of 7 books - one per day. Each day I would challenge someone to do the same thing. All of that I could do, although I posted 2 some days and eventually posted a total of 8 because I couldn't decide on the final selection. 

We were not allowed to post any explanation or review of the books. So I didn't then. I am now.

The Stand is Stephen King's best book ever. I read it straight through. I did not sleep (this was BC - before children). I probably need to read it again, but I know its power and have declined, so far. I didn't see the movie. There is no way it could touch the book.

[One should know I once read all of King's books before It. I stopped reading King at that point. I did not see the movie from this book or from It. I do not see his movies (except for a few). Yes, he gives me nightmares. Yes, it is worth it. King is a genius. He is writing somewhat more gently these days.]

This is John Grisham's best book. I read the first chapter and had to put the book down for a day or so. The movie is good, but not as good as the book - usually the case. I have ready most of Grisham's early books and I have recommended The Pelican Brief to my constitutional law students (it explains the importance of the "Supremes" (the people sitting on the Supreme Court of the U.S) beautifully.

I love Jane Austen. I have read this book more times than I can count. It is a fairy tale - with some important lessons. I probably own 2 or 3 copies of Pride and Prejudice. When I find one on this table or that bookcase, I stop and read a chapter or two. I have seen the series and most, if not all, of the movies made from this book. Watch the BBC series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. The others are crap.

I have only read this Barker book. I have read it twice. The first time was the best. I purchased a number of woven carpets after. If you have read it, you get it. It's a great battle between good and evil story. Good wins. We all need to believe that.

I love frogs - always have. I met one of the authors, Travis Laduc while training for Texas Master Naturalist membership. He's a marvelous lecturer and aided my future teaching of the subject as well as assisted me in planning hikes/field trips involving frogs. The book is a great resource.

Okay. The kids always give me a hard time for purchasing music and books from the sale bin. This book was on the sale TABLE at BookPeople in Austin a number of years ago. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It captures what it means to be a kid using a baseball story. From that summary, I would expect me to hate the book, but I don't. I really love this book. I wrote to Oprah about it. I think I may have sent her a copy...that's how much I love this book. I still have a copy and will be reading it again this summer.

My sister had a friend who was not my favorite of her friends. She introduced me to Harlan Ellison's writing. I ended up reading a great number of his short stories. While still not a fan of the friend, I'm a huge fan of Harlan Ellison. I love this title - I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream. What kind of mind could create that sentence (and that mental picture)? There was another story titled "I see a man sitting on a chair and the chair is biting his leg." At least he had help with that one as it is attributed to Ellison and Robert Sheckley.

I was at dinner once with Ronnie Cox (I don't generally "name drop" because I don't know many people who have names I might want to drop, but I was on a music tour with Cox and got to eat dinner with him and his granddaughter every now and then) and Harlan Ellison came up in conversation. I think I was recommending short stories to someone, maybe Cox's granddaughter. Anyway, Cox said, "Harlan Ellison? Oh, I know Harlan. He's a friend of mine." "Wow," I thought. "What must that be like - to be a friend of Harlan Ellison." [Maybe you had to be there.]

This is the sequel to The Shining. No, I didn't read The Shining. I don't think I have watched the entire movie either, but I have seen bits and pieces of it. Anyway, I believe Doctor Sleep is the first book I read after graduation, um er, retirement. I think I read it straight-through. I loved it.

It seems to me it was written by a kinder/gentler Stephen King. Don't worry if you didn't read The Shining, but you need to know the basics of the story before moving into Doctor Sleep.


These are probably not my favorite books, just books I enjoyed that I am willing to recommend to people. There are others, but these came to mind first or came to mind for some other reason. Read them if you want. We can talk about them later, if you want.

In the end there is more darkness here than light, but most of the dark books have elements of light to them. I think Ellison is the only author where good doesn't always win...at least a little.


BIG UNNECESSARY FOOTNOTE or BONUS BOOKS (it depends on how you look at it):

I always wonder about who makes up those exercises - 7 books in 7 days and such. So I thought, "What if I was asked to list the 7 books within an arm's length from my regular seat (you would have to know what a lousy housekeeper I am)..."

So I had to see what the answer would be. It's a kooky group of books. Sources differ. Here you go:

Anything Can Happen by George and Helen Waite Papashvily (1945) - I think I purchased this tiny volume in a junk store because it is a small book (I love small books) and because of the title.

Walking Ireland for the Craic by Jennifer M. Rooks (2017) - I met Jennifer in Ireland and wanted to see her hiking notes. I cannot imagine a 400 mile journey, even now that I have read her notes, I cannot imagine this trek. [FYI "Craic" means "fun."]

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (2010) - This is likely another sale table book or someone suggested it and handed it to me.

Flowering Judas And Other Stories by Katherine Anne Porter (1935) - Great used bookstore in Houston had this and the next one. The youngest has read and written about Porter so I got these, just because.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter (1939)

The Leavers by Lisa Ko (2017) - DH belongs to some kind of "club" with BookPeople and is sent a package of stuff once a quarter of so. This was one selection. I have no intention of reading it.

The Collected Poems of William Alexander Percy (1950) - I believe this came from the Georgetown Public Library used bookstore. I always go to the poetry section and see if anything looks interesting. This did. The book jacket blurb describes Percy as a "lawyer, soldier, cosmopolitan, plantation-owner, and patriot." But I haven't found much of interest within, so far.

FINAL NOTE:
Hopefully no one gets upset that I have shared the covers here. I got them from their Amazon listing and folks should appreciate the recommendations here. It's educational, no? [And I earn nothing from this blog, people.]

No...this is the FINAL, FINAL NOTE: I loved that Lemony Snicket quote above, but I haven't read Lemony Snicket. I can say that DH and I used to bring magazines or books along on our dates - we would hold hands as we read. Later - after we had a family - when we took the kids out to eat everyone in the family would take along something to read (coworkers would see us and talk about it) in case one finished eating and had nothing to do before everyone else was ready to go home. We had conversation, but we also encouraged reading.

My dad didn't allow "reading at the table." We did, do, and will continue to allow reading at the table in our house.

88 Steps

And he dreamed, 

and behold a ladder set up on the earth, 

and the top of it reached to heaven; 

and behold the angels of God 

ascending and descending on it.

~ Genesis 28:12

My friends VM and AH invited me to Cameron Park - to climb Jacob's Ladder,* see Lovers' Leap,** and hike. Because the weather threatened to heat up fairly quickly we started early. 

I didn't count the steps going up as concentration was required. They are varied - some much higher than a standard step and other with a short rise. Two "stopping places" allow a rest between "flights."

After looking around we headed back down the steps. I counted this time - 88 steps.

There are so many hiking/biking/running trails here. Folks were out walking their dogs, jogging, and "spinning" the wheels on their bikes. I loved the older fellow who rang the bike bell to let us know he was heading our way. Each trail is rated for difficulty. We weren't all the easy trails long.

We took a short stroll - mostly along the river - and a trip to Lovers' Leap before heading to George's for a great diner lunch (I had the chicken-fried steak).

The first flight of stairs. They may not look it, but are pretty steep.

The hand-rail was sturdy except at the very top.

Looking down.

Watch your step!

Part of the path.

An old marker on a giant tree.

Does one really run up the tree?

It was a gorgeous day!

Canoes on the river!

I was ridiculously happy to see this passionflower! I had been hoping to see one in the wild someday. Today was the day!

See the squirrel? He's right there in the middle.

We did not take our horses down the trail.

Some crazy bracket fungus.

Looking off Lovers' Leap.

Gorgeous view.

We were warm and tired, but glad to have made the trip!

I love Mockingbirds

Yum! You know, I was supposed to have steamed broccoli, but they forgot it. The rest of it was so good I forgot it until just now!

As we finished our hike we saw a woman at the pavilion setting up a feast. She said she liked to arrive early. We talked about the family (they are coming from all over!) and her siblings (her mother had 15 children including 3 sets of twins. Wow! We weren't invited for lunch so we headed off to George's Restaurant - a Waco tradition - and then home for a nap!

NOTES:

*It is not really a ladder, if you cannot tell from the photos. But it IS supposed to be haunted. https://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/cameron-park-jacobs-ladder/

**Lovers' Leap now has a railing that blocks access to the edge of the ledge. It's just as well. It too is supposed to be haunted. https://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/cameron-park-lovers-leap/

Dogs Loose All Over - Small Town Wednesday Morning

Discipline isn't about showing a dog who's boss; 

it's about taking responsibility 

for a living creature 

you have brought into your world.

~Cesar Millan

Zelda shook with excitement as we turned towards the park. Exiting the car she watched for her friends. The silver truck was parked just where it should be. One friend got out of the driver's seat, but Keelynn wasn't in the truck. Z greeted VM and promptly forgot her "running buddy" was absent.

Swarms of insects surrounded us as we walked along the sidewalk. There were runners in neon vests moving back and forth. [It was a PE class from the college taking their final - a 5 mile run.] The footbridge moved under the pounding feet. It was such a weird sensation to feel that concrete and steel structure give and sway with each step. It's supposed to do that I suppose, but still...

Prickly Poppy and beetle

We were already a little off-balance. Police and sheriff's deputies had been stopping traffic a few blocks from the park. It looked like they were checking vehicles and I had wondered if there was a jail escape, but it turned out they were attempting to retrieve two small terrier/chihuahua mix pups who were taking a stroll down the center line on Main Street.

The bird lady has been here. I guess we could call her the cat lady too. She feeds both EARLY - earlier than I was up today anyway.

Maybe my favorite feral cat. I've taken his photo before.

As we turned to walk beyond the bridge that runs over the park paths we heard and then saw a "gang" of black Scotties/terriers  as they came running into the park. Good grief! Where are the dog owners today?

The Great Blue Heron spread its wings and flew up the creek - stopping at a new fishing spot. It waded and may or may not have caught a few things as we watched (if it caught something, the catch was small and quickly swallowed). It is such a lovely bird and seems to ignore all the chaos of ducks, geese, feral cats, loose dogs, and miscellaneous people populating the park.

I love this bird.

The day heated up and wise people headed for air conditioning, coffee, and breakfast. And some of us drove past yet another couple of dogs - loose on the world. I worry about these wanderers...but at least they had company. They were not wandering alone.

Down the Ladder - Into the Darkness

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

~Joseph Campbell

Looking up from the floor of the cave.

 It was an unusual invitation to an unusual place. The Friesenhahn Cave,* known for some time has been protected by difficult access on private land. It is second only to the La Brea Tar Pits as a source for Pleistocene fossils (most reside at the Texas Memorial Museum at the University of Texas). Our first attempt at exploration had been halted by rain. It's not safe to climb down a slippery ladder. And, I suspect too much rain would make crawling around underground unsafe as well.

The pre-entry briefing.

I fretted the 30 foot ladder. I have always hated heights. My siblings climbed atop things while I watched. There was only one tall tree I climbed in my childhood  - and only because it was a safe climb with lots of hand/foot holds.**

So, I invited my sister and brother to the adventure (surely their presence would encourage/challenge me to accomplish the climb). After receiving instructions and watching a couple of folks start down (you don't see them finish as they disappear after about 4 feet) I crawled in the top of the shaft, swung myself over to the ladder, gripped the rungs, and slowly made my way down into the cave.

My brother climbs down the ladder.

You feel the change in temperature almost immediately as you watch the Daddy longlegs do their "spider boogie" on the wall mere inches from your face.***  

Take another step.  You hear voices from below getting louder.  

Take another step. The ladder moves just a little mid-way.  

Take another step. No one rushes you.  

Take another step. The wall falls away and you are in the cave.   

Take another step. And suddenly you are on the last rung and down.

It took some time for everyone (13 from the Master Naturalists and Dr. Larry Meissner) to enter. Then we heard of the earlier exploration and digs. We saw a few cave features you might expect (a couple of LARGE stalagmites.  We observed a couple of salamanders - but we tried not to disturb the wildlife.

Dr. Meissner shared the history of the cave.

A rapt audience.

HY taking photos

Explaining the grid for digging through old materials.

A salamander - Plethodon glutinosus - Northern Slimy Salamander

There were fossils visible in the walls. There are discoveries waiting to be made around the edges of the cave and below our feet. But those would have to wait for another day and someone with a plan.

A portion of mammoth tusk

One at a time the adventurers climbed back out of the cave. Then we were treated to examples of fossils that had been found on digs over the years. 

Dr. Meissner explained about mammoth teeth

Looking at fossils

The tip of the tooth of a scimitar-toothed cat - Homotherium serum

All too soon it was time to thank Dr. Meissner, turn in our hard hats, pack up the fossils, shake hands with our fellow explorers, and head home.

Would I go back? Absolutely.

A pearl milkweed grew at the edge of the cave area.

"How quiet it is," Danny said, digging in his knapsack for the canteen full of water he had brought. "You don’t realize how scary it is, having a whole mountain on top of you, until you’re in the dark as I was in that tunnel, or when you begin hearing the silence."
 

"I didn’t know you could hear silence," said Irene.
 

"Then just listen."

~Jay Williams, Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave

Waiting calmly for my sister to arrive before the adventure. I probably did not need that coffee.

NOTES:

*https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rqf01
https://www.concordia.edu/academics/school-of-natural-and-applied-sciences/friesenhahn-cave/
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/npl/outreach/glen-evans-the-compleat-naturalist/paleontology/friesenhahn-cave/

** [This is a personal and unnecessary footnote, but it is my blog.] I barely made it through motherhood - raising three devil-dare children (they got it from their father), watching as they not only climbed trees, but designed/used a zip-line, swung from playground equipment and, later, jumped out of airplanes. One kid climbed 30+ feet up the Afgan pine - "Mom, you can see Scott & White from here!" he said as the tippy-top of the tree swayed under the weight of the 10-year old. [But that's another story.]

On vacations they would climb mountains and would walk out on bridges and balconies as I took photos and prayed. They looked over the railing at the Capitol while I exercised the "mother's death grip" on the waist of their pants. Only years later did I learn they climbed from second story windows onto the rotten front porch roof and "walked around."

Yup. Somehow we all survived it.

***They are arachnids, but NOT spiders. Still, they were close and their movement was just a little distracting. Maybe I should have closed my eyes.. http://mentalfloss.com/article/59455/15-fascinating-facts-about-daddy-longlegs