Mar 11, 2011 by Naomi.

Birds don’t lie. They don’t come around in the spring because they have nothing else to do, although while they listen for worms or perch on my cedar fence they warily watch the neighbors. They will keep a lookout for the nasty house cats or other dangers while they build nests, lay eggs and raise their young. Therefore, never mind that it is March 11, ten days before the first day of spring, I know the season has arrived. This morning a robin perched on my fence then flitted up into the limbs of my Douglas Fir with a surveyor’s eye. That tree has been a condominium for feathered folk since it reached for the sun beyond the height of my house. The crocuses and daffodils I planted last fall will bloom as colorful signs of spring but a live bird is an exclamation point for which I can’t take credit. Birds migrate and once they decide on a place to nest they do not leave. Never was there such a thing as reversing their trip. Oh they will follow the sun and return south in a few months, meanwhile I have the privilege of watching a pair of birds settle down and raise a family.

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Mar 10, 2011 by Naomi.

The ides of March is an expression I’ve heard and has little meaning. Shakespeare mentions that it signifies “fifteen”. In my family the month of March is a calendar of birthdays. Brother, son, two sisters-in-law, aunt-in-law, niece, three nephews and two dear long-gone friends. The niece is the only one whose birthday actually falls on the fifteenth. My immediate focus of March is on the weather. According to Ben Franklin the month comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. In my neck of the woods hard wind and rain characterized the first week or so. The last half is yet to play out. The days are getting longer and the sun feels warmer. The month holds the first day of spring and the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, both of which hold sweet promises. Fine with me.

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Mar 9, 2011 by Naomi.

At this day’s end I frown trying to remember what really took place. A reporter from KVEW came to do a quick interview for the International Womens Day because Mimi Latta informed her that I had participated in several conferences in other countries. It was to have been on TV but I never saw it. The reporter came into my living room sat me down in my recliner and proceeded to photograph and ask questions about the importance of the conferences and equality of women and other related events. She was too young to have any understanding that once women were not considered for jobs like hers in gathering news. Last night I should have given a talk about McNary but the location was a private residence in an obscure location toward Red Mountain that I couldn’t find in the dark rainy night so I lost that opportunity. Rain was falling at 7 am today when I had to drag my waste bin across the street because I missed the pickup on my side. The ominous feeling that comes over me when I see the dead plants which need removal in my front yard is one that slides away when I come indoors. But one of these sunny days of sixty degree weather I must cut the old stuff away to show spring growth at its prettiest when it finally has the courage to reach for the sun. I bought two flowering plants that now bloom outside my sun room for my eyes only.

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Mar 5, 2011 by Naomi.

Sandworm came to mind when I looked toward the shelter belt at first light where the roof and cab loomed above my cedar fence. Dune, the world created by Frank Herbert, had not been thought of but now it hit me full force in the guise of the top of a tractor and trailer almost in my back yard. Curiosity of a lost fantasy engulfed me and I recalled a series of Dune novels about a fictitious planet and the results on those who ingested the endemic spice which grew there. How odd that thoughts of the sand world came rushing back. Never suspected that seeing the roof of a truck and trailer would transport me back into a wonderful fantasy.

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Mar 4, 2011 by Naomi.

Once again the long silver box trailer pulled by a dusky blue cab is parked right behind my cedar fence. I recall what looked like the same as being there about the second week in January. Is it the same one? Could be. The name on the cab is Juan A Gomez, Kennewick WA, which the Internet identifies as a California trucking company located in Pasco. Interesting that the vehicle finds its way there two months in a row. I did not document its presence before. Be sure I will notice from now on. On Abbot street, the Fox TV truck is back at lunch time and parks there overnight. Other cars are much the same, I think. Dial-a-Ride stops at Kathy’s and on the corner of Abbot and Jadwin where I do see the paraplegic get off and propel himself up on his porch in mid afternoon. The temperature remains in the chilly forties not luring me out for long walks. My tulips and daffodils are anxious to get into spring. Forsythia is budding out chilled or not. Walkers on the street. I wonder if the three wheel biker moved away or is now unable to cycle around and around. Frailty is not limited to the old. But with modern mechanics truck drivers need not be able to swim San Francisco Bay with cement blocks on their shoulders. Although the women I’ve seen driving those sixteen wheelers look as though they could.

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Mar 2, 2011 by Naomi.

Rain early this morning put off my usual backyard walk until nine, but not a cup of coffee. I held off breakfast until I finished with stretches and Jane Fonda aerobics. Easier to walk with an empty stomach. I go off the back steps straight past the shop and the ten foot flower bed south of it, turn left and make brisk steps around ten times in counterclockwise circles. I decided to go again before supper only this time I turned right off the steps and made the circles in a clockwise manner. A flicker flew off on the east side – the first time I saw that bird this spring. They feed on the ground especially on ants and I welcome the competition. I still have ants in the kitchen although I spray insect killer freely around the sink and under the bathtub. I breakfast on cold cereal, oats or spoon size shredded wheat with whole milk. For a big meal single servings of Lean Cuisine are very tasty. Easy to nuke. I eat while looking out the kitchen window to keep track of neighbors coming and going. I do not know what they really do for a living so I just imagine their daily activity. So far that hasn’t added any new twists to the plot of my ongoing November story which is filling up with birds. That about describes the essence of my day and it all feels pretty good. Wooo Hooo!

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Mar 1, 2011 by Naomi.

My computer is my morning newspaper. I log on the Internet to read headlines – to see what is happening around the world. The first cost was a big lump of money to begin with but when measured against the subscription of a newspaper it is quite minimal. True if I actually subscribe on line the cost is high. However, many newspapers run headlines in cyberspace and I can pick up what the BBC and New York Times consider top news. A regular link I have is to the world geological map where all recent earthquakes are shown. Those of the immediate hour are in squares of red, indicating the Richter scale. Those of the day are in blue and beyond that in white. I can click on the square of my choice and a reading of the scale shows then. I know something of geography to tell approximately the country where the action is. There is almost always a tiny red square in California around the San Francisco area. This morning I noticed more large blue squares in the Indonesia area. When I enlarged on an island of Java the city Jakarta stood out. I remembered Jakarta as the location of a major earthquake I studied, Krakatoa, on the island of Java. In 1883 the eruption and the following tsunami killed thousands of people, many on the shores of India during a religious gathering. The force of the explosion pushed water to great heights and fantastic speeds and washed people off the beaches in a powerful undertow. Although people saw the wall of water coming there was no way to escape. But just remember those catastrophes are God’s wrath as written in scripture. Look them up in the old and new testaments in the Christian bible. And not only do they document such disasters in the past but forecast more and worse ones for the future. Beware! Armageddon is upon us!!! The bible says so.

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Mar 1, 2011 by Naomi.

Squinting at the red clock numbers, 6, 3, 5, I thought it was much too early to get out of bed. I decided last night after returning the pelts and skulls from the Science Night the day before that I would do nothing today but cuddle down in comfort. When I finally did put my feet on the floor to look out the window, the outdoors looked gray and dreary. Which it was because rain was dripping regularly. I saw blue recycle bins on my neighbor’s curbs and did I hurry into jeans and jacket, rushing through the rain to wheel my bin, hoping I was ahead of the pickup truck. Barely got indoors when my bin was emptied. Whew! I came close to missing that one. I toweled my hair dry and made cozy with the orange terry cloth I use for an exercise mat where I torture my body with stretches that will keep me young and beautiful – well, healthy at least and energetic at best. I could dream that somewhere someone might consider an 83-year-old if not beautiful, at least shapely. Off to the kitchen to cranberry juice and a close encounter with an old Quaker, smiling like Mona Lisa. I actually devoured oats he insists will keep my body cholesterol free. So far so good. At forty degrees my sun porch was not conducive to loitering with a prolonged breakfast nor did I go out to do ten wet loops around the shop. Lunch was a bowl of leaf lettuce flirting around in Ranch. So far no bread today but my backbone is snuggled against my belly button so I will have to get something in there. Yogurt? OK. Maybe lots of water. Oh, bother!

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