A Tale of Stuff

Hummingbird Nest Eggs

In a Norway Maple tree at my mom's house there is a wee green daub of a hummingbird's nest and in it are two M&M sized eggs. MK and I stopped down on Memorial Day prior to the cookout to see the nest and hopefully see the bird sitting on the eggs. The hummingbird is pretty skittish, so you have to be quiet and not move around much and just hope she'll come in.
Finally, after waiting around the momma bird alit on the nest...Only to have my mother emerge from the house with her new clanging wind chimes. Such an unholy cacophony of clattering tubes! MK and I both shot mom a look of utter shock. Now, really, right this instant you have to bring out the wind chimes?
The bird flew off and didn't return the rest of the time we were there.
At least we got a few shots of the nest and the eggs!

Still Here

Church, 2010

Yes, I've been away. Not away, away, just away from the computer and blogging. Spring brings a lot of work along with the better weather, and after a long harsh winter, it's good to be outside toiling about the yard and garden.
I also saw a down turn in my financial situation, so I've been doing a bunch of different things to earn extra cash, not the least of wish is taking on a part-time job mowing lawns. Or, more precisely, one huge ass lawn. I have mastered the fine art of using a zero-radius riding mower, or as I call it, zero tolerance since the slightest touch on the steering levels veer you wildly off course. But I'm not complaining, it's actually a pretty sweet gig and pays better than what you'd expect.
And, in preparations for my impending move in with MK this summer in our new house, I've been selling stuff I no longer want or need on ebay. I'd been toying with the idea of selling of my Buffy The Vampire Slayer collection of collectibles for quite sometime and finally took the plunge. Turns out the economy is not so bad when it comes to BtVS!
Also, I was part of a poetry reading/art exhibit last weekend and one of my prints sold, so that threw extra cash into the mix as well. Basically I'm saving up for a trip this summer to Texas to see Reichter graduate from his Air Force training, and MK and I want to stay a day or two extra to see the sites around San Antonio. It's not likely that we'll be back to TX anytime soon, so we want to make the most of it while we're there.
There in a nutshell is what I've been up to: Making money and working on prints. I like it best when those two things overlap :)

Marty On His House

Oncoming Storm

It was raining this morning when I got up, which was just as well because I had a lot of indoor work to get done. In the livingroom there's an old cedar chest that I'd put a bunch of photos in back in 2005 and then promptly forgot all about them.
My former-former house sat on a hillside overlooking a hollow and them more hillsides. The thing was, when a storm was rolling in I could see it for miles before it finally hit. The eeriness of it, the stillness in the air before the wind picked up, all so tangible.

Here, Hold This

Here, Hold This

Junior, my sister, learned the other day that her boyfriend of 9 years has been serial cheating on her for quite some time now. Basically with any woman that he can pick up. I never liked him, but I have a very low tolerance for male bullshit, and D-man is a champion bullshitter. I don't mind an unreliable narrator, but I prefer that he not live with my sister.
Still and yet, this might not be the end of their relationship as D-man has suggested that they go to counseling. Yeah, like that's going to work. I know that couples therapy can work, and in theory should be effective most of the time, but the stumbling block that trips up most people in this instance is honesty. Can a bullshit, skank ass liar cheater be honest enough with himself and everyone else to actually get the help they need and mend their relationship with their partner? I have low hopes on this one. Low, low hopes. I don't know. I've never understood why someone stays with a cheater, or indeed why someone cheats. When I was a kid my Dad ran around with cheap barfly floozies, and the suffering this caused at home scarred us all. It's probably why I'm so harsh on cheaters. They just don't take the time to stop and think about how their actions impact all of the other people in their life.
Ah well, as I've said before, always, people are just gonna do what people are gonna do. We're idiots that way.

6 fast Years

Graffiti Scream 2

In my neverending quest to remain irrelevant, if not irreverent, I would like to dedicate today to my #1 Swee-Tea, MK. Six years ago today she took a chance on a rudderless goof who seldom combs her hair and wears her sons' cast off pullovers. Somehow MK believes that she's the winner in this relationship, but I know the truth, and the score. Giving foot rubs can't tilt the scales that much in my favor.
Which reminds me of a funny story. One morning a couple of weeks ago my nephew Adam and I were visiting Dad at the nursing home, mom was there too. Mom was pretty exhausted and had been on her feet waaaay too much, making them swollen and sore. I offered to give her a foot rub and in a flash her feet were in my lap. About halfway through the first foot mom said, 'You know, there are erotic zones on your feet.' These are words no child wants to hear from a parent in this situation, or under any circumstances. I stopped what I was doing and looked at Adam, who stood there gape-mouthed and wide eyed.
Suddenly, as if a guttering candle managed one final bright flame, Mom added, 'But not MY feet, so keep rubbing them, please.' Then Adam and I burst out laughing like crazy people. Mom tried to get me to promise not to tell the story, which was just silly on her part. The evening after Dad passed and the entire family gathered at Mom's for dinner and support, I told the story. I only wish I'd taken the time to craft a diorama to illustrate the shock and horror that Adam and I both experienced. As it was he and I both played it out as best we could without mock ups or pie charts. Then, after everyone stopped laughing and teasing Mom, Mom turned to MK and asked, 'MK, you don't have any erotic zones, do you?' It's really difficult to make MK blush, but blush she did. Furiously.
Oh, Mother, that sweet, clueless woman.
Happy Anniversary, MK! Now, let's find those 'erotic zones' ;)

Full Worm Moon

Full Worm Moon

Such a lovely name, that Full Worm Moon. Glad that I got a peak at it last night! The photo is not mine.

RIP

At 2:45am on Friday (3/26/10) morning my father finally succumbed to the cancer that had been slowly killing him for ten years. Mom called me at 2am from the nursing home and my sister and I got there just as he was being pronounced deceased. Shortly thereafter my brothers and their wives arrived.
Owing that Dad left his body to science, the nurses placed bags of ice around him and opened the window (it was gently snowing outside). A very strange experience while we comforted Mom and each other.
Every one of us had a complicated, if not conflicted, relationship with Dad. He was not an easy man to love or to be around. The biggest mark he left on me is that it is nearly impossible to say something cruel or cutting to me and have me be hurt in the least. That part of me just got toughened up as a child. Kind of like being desensitized after repeated nerve damage. I don't know.
Anyway, he's gone now, in a way. But there's a legacy that remains in each of his children. Especially my brothers, one of whom Dad took a swing at when Dad finally went into the nursing facility. If Mom's smart she won't have any of us give the eulogy at his memorial service and instead tap someone who didn't know him very well or one of his old drinking buddies.