Enjoy already

In Northern California where I live we are having the most incredible weather.  Sunny and springlike days, no wind, no fog, no smog so why am I so glum?  Because it’s supposed to be raining!  Plants are dying.  The whole bloody month of February has been bone dry and in the 70s.  If it stays this way, by summer we’ll all be dead.

Well, probably not but we won’t have enough water to shower daily or wash the car.  These grassy hills will turn brown. Trees, wither and droop sadly to the ground.

However, that could all change.  The high pressure driving storms north of us could weaken and then we would be back to misery of endless rain.   So why not just enjoy the good weather like this family?

Because in the United States we have the stupidest president imaginable. Any person with a head still on should be able to defeat him in the next election.  And yet, like the lack of rain in California, there seems to be a lack of common sense amongst the people running against him. They’re all infinitely smarter than him.  They’re all infinitely more trustworthy than him.  They’re all at least … human.

Okay, Grandpa Bernie has been claiming for decades that America could be just like Canada or Denmark or Sweden!  Or even Germany.  All we have to do is tax the insanely rich.  It’s not that far left.  He’s not Fidel Castro. He’s said how he’ll pay for Medicare for All but he can’t provide exact numbers because it’s never been attempted.  Just like the frigging rain in California.  It might return, it generally does but what if it doesn’t?  It has been done successfully in other countries.  I’ve been to those countries.  They are not like Cuba or even Russia.

Next, Boss Bloomberg’s big mouth. People make remarks in the workplace every day that someone finds offensive. I had a boss who could not construct a sentence without using some form of the word “fuck.”  He used it as a noun, adjective, adverb, in prayers to God, meetings with important clients, and even when blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.  But he was an uber generous man who believed everyone – janitor, secretary, CEO – deserved an equal voice and respect and so complaints to Human Resources about his “inappropriate” language generally got filed in the trash can. Do we really care if Richie Rich makes an inappropriate joke every now and then?  Compared to what we got now, no.

So my ballot’s been sitting on the counter untouched, like the electric bill for a freezing month that you just don’t want to open.  Spoiler alert. I’m leaning toward Uncle Joe.

 

Lazy Blogger’s Day: The Face of Hope

 

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The last few days I’ve been watching this flower grow out of a pile of decaying leaves in an empty flower pot.  Because my husband insists of feeding the birds, we find flowers struggling to survive in the oddest places, their existence a testimony to hope. This little one – a long-legged teen – peers out at the rest of the yard perhaps dreaming of having her feet planted in real dirt.  Maybe she hopes for a friend, a partner, or a drop of rain on her face.

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We did get a few drops of rain this afternoon, enough to clear the air of the dust and smoke.  Not enough to wash the grime from the cars, not enough to make a dent in the drought.  Not enough, but like a pile of decaying leaves, giving hope.

(this post is supposed to be for #WordlessWednesday but alas a few words trickled onto to the page and I didn’t have the heart to deny them!)

I Grok the Rain!

If you haven't read this sci-fi classic, the main character was raised on Mars where there is no water.

This morning I awoke to the soft patter of rain. At first I listened in disbelief. The weathermen had been waffling for days about even the scantiest possibility, leaving us with visions of catastrophic water wars and Stranger in a Strange Land scenarios. If you’ve never read this sci-fi classic, the main character was raised on Mars where there is little water and thus, water is sacred and the wasting of water unthinkable.

But it was rain and, as the sky lightened, the joyous ruckus from the jays, chickadees, and spotted towhees as they gave thanks was a sound unlike I’d ever heard before.  There would be no fighting over the birdbath on this day!

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Kitty grooving on the heavenly aromas brought in by the wind!

 

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Water pools on grateful leaves.

Photo by

It’s hard to imagine feeling happier! Photo by the amazing Christy A. Gudel

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Rose reaching to kiss the sky.

Note to readers:  I will be up in Reno Nevada with limited access to the internet for who knows how long.  So apologies for not keeping up with your blog postings, etc. When I return, I’d get to know you a little bit better.  Let me know if you’d like to guest post!  Thanks, Jan