Signs of life

What's growing around us? 

Here, this week:

May 13, 2020
Never heard of Nigellas
They made my Full Belly Farm bouquet
I buy flowers every other week
Different from Trader Joe's generic lovelies

May 22, 2020
Zing! and I strolled in Oak Park
carrying chocolate croissants from Faria Bakery
You stand on the sidewalk,  say your number
and wait to be served

May 23, 2020
If I draw them will they grow?
Mint is on my north-facing balcony
oregano wants more sun

x 

Mystery of the Capitol Cake

Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday morning Zing! and I were the only ones on Capitol Mall so we decided to walk down the middle, on the lawn, not the sidewalk. After a few steps we came upon a cake sitting silently amid  the dandelions -- double layer, frosted and studded with strawberries. It looked like one slice was missing, although that part had melted into itself. We circled it as if it was a wild thing -- it was real and strange. Zing! didn't try to eat any and neither did I. Maybe it was an offering to the gods. We didn't want to mess with it. This morning there was no trace of cake.

Are you stumbling on such wondrous surprises?
Love,
k

Zing! and the Capitol Cake

Doing great, Right?

People ask me how I'm doing and I say Great, but there's a rumbling underneath that reply, like earth before a quake. I feel the uncertainty. Is it the same for you?

Here are some photos, including more paintings from the watercolor class.  I'm still working on the final project, a simple landscape.

Mixed media
10" x 14"

Watercolor
10" x 14"

The golden poppy is California's state flower
It's blooming now
This is near the American River

Zing! this morning on Capitol Mall

A neighbor left this thyme plant at my door today

A longer break than planned

Dear Friends,
It’s not that nothing has happened, it’s just that I’ve stopped writing about it. I’ve been on a longer break than planned. 
From these 3+ years of sending blogs to you I’ve learned so much:
1. You are with me. 
2. Most days are interesting, in a good way. 
3. Some are not. 


I’m going to continue, though not daily, maybe weekly.  Things are evolving.  There are so many ways to communicate. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Love,
k

Here are some recent pictures:

Flowers at Patrice and Jay's
Patrice loves color and it shows
Key Biscayne
Christmas Eve

Blue vases on a shelf in my bedroom at Key Biscayne

Papyrus by the pool
Key Biscayne

San Diego
I think this view is from near the zoo
I went to San Diego last month with my neighbor Sandy
Our old neighbors Kate and Jack led us on a great tour of the city

Kate painted this watercolor of Zing!

No sad sunflowers, please!

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Today Zing! and I went hunting for sunflowers, and we found them on a quiet road outside Winters, CA. Yes, there is a sunflower field across from Pedrick’s nut store, but those flowers looked sad. You do not celebrate in a field of sad sunflowers. So Zing! and I drove a little farther. We were looking for a field where we felt safe to stop. We found one buzzing with bees.

Love,

k

Those white boxes are full of bees

Zing! prefers poetry in the park

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Zing! loves poetry. He listens when I read to him. But he doesn’t go to poetry events — until this evening. On summer Mondays the Poetry Center has poetry in the park, and that means dogs are welcome. After dinner today Zing! and I walked over to Fremont Park and sat on the grass. We heard spoken word — a loose term that tonight meant words as entertainment, storytelling and a bit of call and response with the audience. The poet was Jenny Lynn, who has a “Dare me to say it again” attitude. She was followed by Jeanette Sem, but Zing! said one poet was enough for tonight.

He did nod that we should go again.

Love,

k

Learning to love a river

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I like to relax on weekends, and today I relaxed by going places. It’s only 7:30 p.m., but I’m tired and Zing! is already in his bed. This morning we went to the Farmers Market and got citrus fruit, grapes and pink tulips. We took some to Patrick and Steph but got held up by road repair and a bicycle race in Land Park. That made me a little late, but not too much, for the book discussion at the Crocker — about a mystery called A Head in Cambodia, by a woman who was once a curator at the Crocker. The book is not my favorite, and I said so. The author will be speaking here Thursday, and our group is going, but they told me I cannot say anything! I said Can I ask her about Ohio? because the book is published by Ohio University Press, and they said, well, OK… 

Later in the afternoon Zing! and I showed Sandy “our" trail along the American River. The water is usually blue, but today it was muddied. We met a fisherman. “Do you catch fish here?” Sandy asked him, and I know what she meant … it seems a peaceful and uneventful spot. He was indeed fishing, but maybe there weren’t any fish. He assured us that he does indeed catch fish. “What kind?” we persisted. He said he’s fishing for striped bass, and the season before that, salmon, and before that steelhead trout and before that shad.  He showed us two gigantic salmon that he caught. I think he said one was 24 pounds. I had no idea the peaceful American River contains these. 

And to make the point that the place is wild,  as we turned back to the car we spotted a coyote. There were several people in the area and none seemed worried, but Zing! was trembling with excitement and low growls. He pulled against his leash. A runner passed by and said, “That coyote would snap him up for a snack.” We held tight to Zing! and noticed that the coyote seemed to edge away — he was far to begin with, but didn’t come any closer. And then he spotted another small dog, and backed away even more. Whew! maybe that’s why Zing! is sound asleep so early.

Love, 

k

Zing!sense

Dear Friends,

In Tallahassee Zing! had his own bed in the hall outside our room, but when we moved here he slept on the bed beside me. It was as if he knew I needed him. After about a year, when things had settled down, he began sleeping under the bed — still close. It seems that now he thinks I’m getting a little calmer. I usually get up at 6 with no alarm, but at 5:55 a.m. yesterday I heard Zing! padding into the bedroom — he must have been sleeping on his favorite living room pillow. He crept quietly into his place under my bed. It was as if he wanted me to think he’d been there all night long. When I got up five minutes later, he peeked out, did his morning stretch, and our day began. Zing! seems to have a sixth sense about when he can ease me into new routines.

Love,

k

I flew above the sidewalk

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Less than an hour ago I was flying low above the night sidewalk, screaming “Oh! Oh! Oh!” and Zing was stretching his leash in the opposite direction, while a man on a bike was entangled on Zing's leash between us. You know how you feel when you’re flying and think to yourself, “I wonder what I’m going to break when I land”? Well, luckily, nothing but a skinned elbow. I checked each of Zing’s legs, and he didn’t squeal in pain. The man on the bike was also fine. He  was going fast, didn’t ring his warning bell (that’s rarely done) when he saw me but not Zing. I think that in Sacramento it's not exactly illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk.

I should walk with Zing close by my ankle but I don’t. I let him on a loose leash so he can wander in the grass. Patrice gave Zing! a blinking night-time leash for Christmas, but I wasn’t using it. After we got home, a little shaken, Zing! made me take him for another walk with the flashing leash. “There,” he said. “That’s better.” (Thanks, Patrice!)

Also today, I had fun drawing this back-to-school owl on a little notebook for Juliana. I love this bird. I actually drew it in Tallahassee, and copied it for her today.

Love,

k

Faithful Companion

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

This past week I’ve been recording Zing! when I leave him alone — not in the nervous way of before, but I’ve been told he barks sometimes, and I want to see just how much so I can tell the vet. Maybe he needs a medicine update. He did bark three times tonight, at about half-hour intervals -- maybe when he hears the elevator. We’re getting this down to a science. I want us to be comfortable when I leave him alone.  The neighbors are more than understanding — they’re solicitous. Everyone loves Zing! But one neighbor is a night nurse and he sleeps all day. So I'm watching you, Zing!

We also drove to the countryside around Winters, CA, today. I’m going to the art-farm event there early tomorrow, and don’t want to get lost. Along the way the sunflowers were dry and drooping, but the corn, strawberries and grapes look good. (What do I know??) On the way home we stopped at UC Davis and strolled in the park near the veterinary school. Here’s a photo of Zing! on the lawn in front of a statue dedicated to Faithful Companion. Zing! thinks every town square should have such a monument.

Love,

k

Zing! can't get past the cover

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I love my Sundays, even if they happen on Monday.

That was today — uneventful, unless you count that I drew an apple and finished a book — The Ten Thousand Things by John Spurling. It’s for the Crocker art book discussion — fiction about a famous Chinese artist drawing all the things in the universe, or at least his universe, and everything else that is happening around him at the start of the Ming Dynasty. Talk about "lost in a book" — I was just lost! I need to read it again, with a map of China and historical timeline. I like the apple, though. I guess I have 9,999 things left to draw.

Love,

k

Honoring scientists

Dear Friends,

This is California State Scientist Jim McCall. Yesterday morning he introduced himself to me and Zing! at a CA State Scientist Day the Capitol. He said his job is to track the source of oil spills. (“What does a business say first when there’s an oil spill?” he asked. “It wasn’t us!”) 

We started talking when I asked Mr. McCall about that creature in the bottom photo. "Is it a bird, or a collection of trash?"

“Trash,” Mr. McCall said.

Scientists like Mr. McCall were swarming around the Capitol; students were getting off buses, lining up to learn about bees and water and what happens to a gold mine when it’s closed. Zing and I are thrilled to be in a state that honors science.

This trash creature puts a "face" on the problem of pollution

Dogs (especially Zing!) rule!

Written last night:

Today Zing! and I and Tony and Darrius (two of his neighbor-fans) went to the Doggie Dash at Land Park, a big green space not far from here — we went not to  participate in the run/walk, but afterward, to stroll the booths.  This  wasn’t celebrating purebreds; it was for dogs like Zing! who were adopted from a pound.  We arrived just in time to see the “I’m so Ugly I’m Cute” competition. Tony thinks Zing! will be a star next year. Zing! and I have been to this park many times, and never have we seen such a crowd. Traffic was a challenge — we had to park on a side street several blocks away. Dogs rule!

Later today I checked my email and got this from my high school friend Susan, who will be visiting us in May. She said:

"I'm looking forward to it.  Cannot wait to meet Zing.  And, oh, it will be nice to see you, too.”

Zing! rules.

Zing is getting a manicure

Abuzz with love

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

It’s been a whirlwind week or two — Last week we said goodbye to Rebecca and Dave, who stayed with us for the wedding, and they felt at home here, I am sure. Zing! and I could feel it. Keith and Judy are off to their honeymoon, and this morning Zing! and I hugged Mary and Gretchen goodbye, after their short visit from Ohio. Zing! warmed up to them immediately, and he even jumped into Mary’s lap instead of mine as soon as they met. (That’s OK, Zing! I love her too!) We spent two days in Napa, following Gretchen’s elegant tour guide. I’ll tell more later, but for now this is it. My head is happily abuzz from all the love we’ve shared. 

Love,

k

Zing! misses everyone

Being lost

Written last night:

This morning Zing! and I took an extra-long walk by the library, which is where a woman about half my size approached us. I think it was Zing! who made her feel comfortable doing it. But she couldn’t speak English. She obviously needed help -- she was pleading with me, using her eyes and gesturing to a bag she carried. Finally I heard the word “Taiwan." I asked, “Mandarin?” and she shook her head NO. The only other word that I understood was “27.” Maybe she wanted to go to 27th Street,  I drew a map. It was a long walk. I pointed to a bus passing by. She looked at me, completely lost. And I have felt that way too. 


So I walked with her down I Street, past the government offices, asking people we met if they knew anyone who could understand my new lost friend.  Finally we got to the front of the California Environmental Protection Agency building, where two men stopped, and they worked on it, using a phone translation ap. “Where are you going?” one man asked, and the phone translated that to Taiwanese, which she listened to, and then answered in Taiwanese, which the phone translated into English. Then the men thought of a co-worker who might speak her language, and they called and asked her to come outside. Quickly she appeared. The two women talked briefly, and in this way we learned the lost woman was looking for Meals on Wheels, and she was heading to a central location on 27th Street — where it’s prepared, I think. But she had no idea how to get there. 


”You should wait at home,” the woman told her. “You don’t have to pick it up. They will deliver it.” 

The woman understood, and turned back toward the street, and I said I’d see that she got home. 

“But wait,” one man said. “Are you hungry now?” 

His co-worker translated and my friend shook her head NO, not hungry. 

We warmly thanked them, and they wished us well, and I walked the woman back to her home, which is an apartment across from the train station on  J Street. As soon as we got within her block she brightened, greeting in her language several people who passed by. She wanted Zing! and me to go inside and wait with her, but we thanked her and left. 

Love,
k

We meet a crowd on our evening walk

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Zing! and I walked by the Arena just now,  joining an orderly, noisy crowd — some in purple Kings shirts -- calling for justice, following the police killing of Stephon Clark here March 18. Barricades kept cars away from the Arena, but people moved freely in the mall outside, and a helicopter circled as the crowd blocked entrance to the Kings game (Kings lost to Dallas, 97-103). Zing! did not care for the noise and all those feet down by him. He told me later he prefers to make a point with reasonable barking.*

Love,

k

* Search Sacramento Bee video for related activity.

Love,

k

Zing! on our balcony after we got home

We take a dry run through Wine Country

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I decided to go to Napa today because tomorrow the streets both here and in Napa might be full of young gun-control demonstrators.(I hope they are!) I went to check out the wine tour that Mary, Gretchen and I will be taking in mid-April. I want to become more familiar with the streets and the hills. Gretchen picked the wineries (with one bubbly suggestion from my local friend Hilary) and made reservations for tastings. She decided on three wineries and a lunch stop. Then she made a little map for herself (which she discarded, or I would reproduce it here), trying to keep the area compact. We did not want to be driving all over Napa-Sonoma-Calistoga. I offered to drive and not drink, but everyone seems to think that’s a terrible idea, so Gretchen is going to book a driver. I didn’t taste any wine today — but these are sure to be good, since Gretchen picked wine she loves. Her wine tour might help you, too, if/when you go to wine country. There are so many choices that it's easy to get confused.

I’m just getting to know wine country. People around here all seem to have a favorite place. Some belong to wine clubs, and get regular mailings and crates of wine delivered. They have weddings and other events at "their" winery. I’ve been to a big winery, where you can just drop in and have a tasting — giant rooms with bars scattered everywhere, each one hosting a small group. You pay a fee and get three to five tastes. They are hoping you will buy a bottle or a case, but you don’t have to. I’ve also been to a small winery, with the same setup on a more intimate scale. Some wineries have delicatessens and beautiful picnic areas. It can get crowded. That’s why Gretchen made reservations.

Today I only made it to Caymus and Oakville Grocery. It took an hour to get from Sacramento to Napa and 2 1/2 hours to get back. Traffic.

Love,

k

Here’s Gretchen’s Napa Wine Tour:

Caymus (— beyond Napa — an hour and a half from downtown Sacramento)

8700 Conn Creek Rd.

Rutherford, CA 94573

707-967-3010

(6-minute drive)

Oakville Grocery (for lunch — a fine deli with minimal eating space outside. Looks like there’s just a little parking, but there’s more in the rear, next to the tiny Oakville Post Office.)

7856 St. Helena Hwy.

Oakville, CA 94562

707-944-8802

(12-minute drive)

Clos Du Val

5330 Silverado Trail

Napa, CA 94558

707-261-5225

(20-minute drive)

Domain Carneros (sparkling wines)

1240 Duhig Rd.

Napa, CA 94559

Above and below, Zing! at Caymus

Lonely guitar

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today at the noon chamber music concert we heard Anderson-Gram, a husband and wife duo who sang and played original folk songs. Before they came onstage there was just a guitar, waiting. Later in the afternoon Zing! and I went for a walk and found ourselves in Macy’s shoe department. Zing! sat patiently while I tried on shoes. 

Love,

k

Zing magic

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Zing has magic. Maybe all dogs do.

Today a friend had an operation — and he’s fine -- but he feared otherwise. And who does he want to see as soon as he gets home? 

Zing!

I told him I’d make him some cookies, and he said Spice would be fine. But first, Let me see Zing!

Love,

k

Stop and smell the (almond) flowers

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I went to an almond orchard just to smell the air. My friend Mary Kaye recommends it; she grew up with almond trees all around, and the smell takes her back. Somewhat skeptical, Zing and I drove to Yolo County, where in the summer the sunflowers grew. Those fields are flat now, but across the narrow road is a line of almond trees in pale pink bloom. Rosa’s windows were down and we smelled it — honey on the air, like a beeswax candle burning. Eventually we found a place to stop, and took a walk at the edge of the orchard, just smelling the flowers. 

Love,

k