Guided by a Half Moon

Driving into a beautiful sunset last night made the struggle and turmoil of the day, the past few days.. fall neatly into perspective. By the time I had been on the road for 30 minutes, the sun had set and there was glorious hour of twilight with a the comforting shadow of a half moon.

I stopped at a few places and took some pictures, its a road so well travelled and yet each time I do this drive I find something worth pausing for.

Let me back up a bit.

The interview went well, after the first or second telephonic interview I knew it really was about me making the final choice, it was about me seeing the unit and the meeting the people who worked there and then deciding whether or not it was something I could do. it was fine and I have accepted the job.

My sister has had her house on the market for a number of months now and has been unable to sell it, and as their trip becomes imminent we have all had to make some decisions about the future. I have decided to move over to Bakersfield and stay in her house, be with my mother for the time they are away, however I am going to keep the one I have down in Santa Barbara too. I have secured a little studio apartment on the beach close to the hospital and will work my nights grouped together so that I make the trip over to BKF once a week and vice versa.

Its been a tough decision all round, I have loved living here, I have loved the walks on the beach and the joy of the sunsets in the mountains. I love my little condo, now though it holds too many poignant memories and I think its time to let it go.

I have Senga here with me for one last week and then she will stay in BKF permanently while I make the move over there in stages. I start the new job mid Oct, before then though I have a wonderful trip to Yellowstone planned for a week in August....one of my very favourite places on this earth, and in the meantime Senga and I will be walking old paths and smelling familiar scents one last time. Together.

Manhattanhenge 2009

picture credit to MM

Manhattanhenge (sometimes referred to as Manhattan Solstice) is a biannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. This year one occured on July 12th...

The term is derived from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. It applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which laid out a grid offset 28.9 degrees from true east-west.

Isn't this picture stunning!?

Picture of The Week

a posse of pelicans

Ten Puppy Pile-up

I was asked by a friend to take some pics of these new arrivals..all ten of them!!

it was feeding time when I arrived and all one could hear was the sound of snuffling and snorting as they fought for a spot

eventually they fell asleep, all in a heap

Until the next round....

My mother and me...

We've walked many beaches my mother and me,

From Durban and Mozambique to Abu Dhabi

On Cape Town's bleached beaches and foggy Pismo,

enjoyed white sails and ice-cream and shelled escargot

We've plundered huge rock pools of fine cowrie shells,

jumped squealing in freezing cold wild ocean swells

Arm-fulls of driftwood once randomly blown,

now carefully collected and so proudly shown

My mother would nod wisely and fill up her skirt

which she casually held in her hand by the hem

we would pose and we'd smile my mother and me

with sardines once running now trapped in my shirt

Today as we walk we talk, just a bit,

her voice is so soft it gets lost in the breeze

frail feet next to brown her stride matches mine

our arms touch momentarily and she begs me to sit

She grips my hand tighter, afraid she may stumble,

we sit and watch lightning in twilight, hear thunder afar

she watches my face, hangs on each word I utter,

as I try not mumble or even to mutter

We find some stones and worn shards of sea glass

of various hues, some with patterns of lace

she bends to retrieve them, and holds them to my face

then she pops them in my skirt which I hold at the hem

Eventually we stop, both facing the sea

she worries her wedding band too big for her finger

her blue eyes seek out some far off horizon

and I savour this time as together we linger

We've walked many beaches my mother and me...

Picture Perfect ~ Nursery Rhymes

Picture Perfect

Nursery Rhymes

One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bite?

This little on my right

Lucky Fish

My sister and her beloved are setting sail in November for a year long trip around the world.

They have just started a blog on 'sailblogs' a journal as they begin their adventure. This is the link if any of you are interested in following them from port to port!

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/luckyfish/

We had a fun day today as family gathered around to help them strip and clean 'Blue' in the dry dock...and then tired and sunburnt we had a wonderful fish barbeque next to the water just as the sun set...

Picture Perfect ~ Week # 1 Competition ~ Seasons Colour

We are in Competiton mode on Picture Perfect

here is the LINK for all the inside info

oOo

The theme this week is

SEASONS COLOUR

I kept the float for months

after you had gone

knowing your breath

was still inside

Hughey and Senga

the neighbourhood watch

undercover dog

you called, madam?

Swimming with Dragonflies

They buzzed around the pool skimming the water and occasionally taking a dip, the dragonflies settled on nearby flowers in between flights. They seemed to alternately dodge and attack each other in midair and then swoop down and hit the water with lightning speed.

As I settled on my bright orange lilo they became more and more interested in me, circling lower and lower and eventually settling on my big toe, or a knee...once they had made that their mark they came back to it time and time again, landing with feather-like softness just barely felt. They buzzed around my hair and I could hear their gossamer wings click and crackle in my ear before they zoomed off.

I managed to steady the lilo and took a chance with the camera (you know..on water!), and then wondered if they would sit on my hand. I held my fingers aloft and sure enough, within a few minutes I had become a refuge for dragonflies!

They posed and I clicked...

Happy Birthday Nic

4th July 2009

Dearest Nic,

The day you were born has all the clarity of some recent event and not one which occurred early one winters morning 25yrs ago.

Memories of bringing you home and Jonathan asking if you spoke Afrikaans or English? Of your hair which stood straight up as though you had been born with your finger in an electrical socket with the widest smile on any kid. Jess and Jono carrying you on their backs around the garden when you cried (or made the slightest sound), sometimes for hours.
You started kicking a soccer ball as soon as you could stand and as I write this all the memories of you on some sports-field or swimming pool somewhere, making me proud... all come rushing back.

Do you remember playing in the Lourens River when we lived in Somerset West? Riding your bike into the garage door and putting your bottom teeth through your lip? Playing cricket on the back lawn and all the windows which were broken in the process? Your nursery school years..your high school graduation...and all the sad and happy times in-between?

Perhaps now, I do have to stand on tippy toes to put my arms around your neck, and feel your cheek now roughened with stubble. The little boy I fed in a high chair or the baby whose nose I wiped may no longer be visible to others, as you stand tall and proud with a host of accomplishments at your back. However the vulnerable tender hearted child within will always remain glaringly evident to me, as the wide open road and endless horizons beckon and lead you forward.

I love you so much my boy and Im beyond proud of you..have a wonderful, wonderful day!

Mom x

Simon and Sebastian

My grand-children's cats, two brothers from the same litter sharing the same playful spirit and loving hearts, who loved nothing more than a cuddle and a warm place to be..both died this week within a few days of each other, both of kidney disease. They were 12yrs old.

Bella and Simon..watching tv

Sebastian seeking warmth

Simon with his favourite person..Bella

Someone to lean on

Sebastian snuggling with Polly

We will miss you so much sweet kitties, miss your playful frolics, rough and tumbles, miss the prey dragged in at night with proud growls, miss your warm bodies cuddling us on a cold night or brushing past our bare legs.

Now you lie in a warm spot within comforting African soil the memory of your loving souls forever in our hearts.