Last year we put up a bench and arbor - I posted some comments and the photo above in May of 2008.

Below is the installation as it appears today. Maybe it was worth the effort after all...



The house here is the source of endless conflicted desires for me...it has many pleasant attributes, and offers a sence of serenity and security - BUT - it is high maintenance, and I fear it prevents us from seeking whatever is to come next. It's hard to contemplate just locking it up to escape the long and harsh winter here, and the thought of finding and setting up a roomate or housesitter is unappealing. For now, my objective is just to enjoy it for a month or two, and see what develops as winter bears down on us.


Mdog does not mind being here at all - and she is ready for winter with her cozy heater nearby...

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The entry as it appeared when we bought the house (click for larger).

I have grown to really dislike home-improvement projects, but my deck in front of the entry door has to be one of the more successful, despite a few minor construction issues. I thought the plae really lacked character, and the wonderful shady spot facing West under the trees wasn't usable - I envisioned sitting in rockers reading and greeting neighborhood dog walkers.


A sketch for the design.


Last fall - the finished deck without landscaping (note the rockers!).


A recent photo after the landscape planting has matured for a year.

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Duck-Update (see original post 7/31/09)



Above, you can see a few little heads poking out (click thumbnail for closer view) behind our backyard mallard hen, who sat most of a month on her nine eggs in a down-lined nest in some bark mulch by the back door.



A day or so after they hatched, they parading around the back yard a bit, then they all vanished. We hope the Mduck had a plan to transport her brood safely to a nearby lake...

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A couple of quotes drifted by today that seem timely. First, this morning I found this in my email...

Drop the Past

If a misfortune has already occurred, it is best not to worry about it, so we do not add fuel to the problem. Don’t ally yourself with past events by lingering on them and exaggerating them. Let the past take care of itself, and transport yourself to the present while taking whatever measures are necessary to ensure that such a misfortune never occurs again, now or in the future.

–His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV

Then, another email this afternoon offered the following...

Bound by Posessions

They are happy indeed who own nothing at all; Those with highest knowledge own nothing at all. See how people who own things are afflicted, Bound to others by their obligations.

These are two themes that I struggle with frequently as I try to move things forward, away from life in an increasingly corrupt and unfathomable society here. I tend to reflect much on the mis-steps that have sidetracked our plans, and on how burdened we are by all out 'stuff'.



Part of what I need to acomplish over the coming months is thinning out the 'housefill' (think landfill) to a manageable level. The fear of what do do with this massive accumulation is part of what inhibits us from trying something else that might work better for us.

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San Francisco Chronicle editorial cartoonist takes the subtelty out of the scare tactics being employed to counter health care/insurance reform efforts...
(FYI - This animated editorial cartoon is Flash, and has sound)



More scathing commentary by Mark Fiore here...

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Note the Dolly Madison Donettes and Dunkin' Stix, Pop Tarts, and shelf-stable Rice Krispy Snacks lurking behind the Healthy Snacks pronouncement.

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For the second time this year we have a Mallard hen sitting on eggs around the house. Last time was in the front, by the corner of the garage. One day, she and her eight or so eggs had vanished. We figured racoons or foxes got the better of her.



The one day a few weeks ago I was watering some plants along the foundation near the back kitchen door, when she flew off of a semi-hidden nest, revealing nine more eggs. So far, except a few visits by a curious neighborhood house cat, she has been undisturbed. If these eggs are fertile, I wonder what we will do with a bunch of ducklings running around the back yard?

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