Full Peveto Woods Moon

The Full Peveto Woods Full Moon rises splendedly Sunday, November 29 and  Monday, November 30 just after sunset. Our prospect for clear skies and cool temperatures are fair Sunday and great Monday. Mimi and I will be out and will raise a glass of tart red to you our friends. Don't forget to bring the old people out with you and drag you unplugged teens along as well. 

And awe suddenly

passing beyond itself. Becomes

a form of comfort.

          a quote from Denise Levertov

IN AWE

I hear the jackhammer in the distance.

Someone is making something with skill and strength!

I see a single palm tree, leaning in thirst. How has it lasted?

It seems to have the face of an old woman in its bark.

The breeze carries the scent of saltwater

and I tune into four different bird calls at once.

One is a hummingbird. I can hear it!

The crows wake me up. It's spring and all

new growth can't help but point towards the light.

          Jacquelin Suskin, from her book Every Day is a Poem, she spent the last 11 years operating the              Poem Store which carried her around the world exchanging an improvisational poem for patrons            who picked the topic and paid what they wished. She wrote over 40,000 poems in this endeavor              on an old manual typewriter. Pretty amazing y'al, a Street Poet she is.

10-29-20 Hurricane Zeta packing 100 mph winds, ducked under us, whizzed on past and over Cocodrie  headed for Chesapeake Bay followed closely the next morning by near frost conditions, oh my!

Egret Blues

It’s a tryin’ time to be a symbol of peace.
Tryin’ during this time to be peace,
full of a sad song in the air.
There’s a sad song swirling in the air.
Tropical winds just don’t care.

That hurricane down south in the gulf,
A storm makes peaceful turn to rough.
I’m walkin’ this line waitin’ for a sign,
a sign of weather’s high-pitched whine
I can’t keep from cryin'.

Egret blues echo in my Lord’s sunrise
Lord’s sunrise blurs my sideways eyes
I’m catchin’ the tailwind, ready to fly
Ready to fly through the bright new sky
A horizon of Peace by and by.

Margaret Simon, draft 2020

Ahhh Margaret, sweet, that was nice.

11-3-20 Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.

-Susan B. Anthony

Whew! Time for this to be over y'all.

11-4-20 I've been doing this men's self improvement class in the early hours on Tuesday mornings for a few weeks now. Topic today was "A Band of Brothers". Guy next to me told us how he and his brothers get together for breakfast once a week. I said "Self, you can do that!" so I texted them two fine brothers of mine and we agreed to meet at Edie's for breakfast, 6 am Wednesday, 11-4-20, the first of The Brothers First-Wednesday Edie's Breakfast. It was great, I hope we can continues this.

11-5-20 Got a call from an old friend Dave Patton today. I probably know Dave from the mid eighties, my early LNPS work or Audubon Society membership. I first knew him as a hummingbird expert and HB bander in the Lafayette area. Dave once came to our house in the winter 7am chill y'all and banded a Broadtailed Hummingbird, a winter migrant to the northern gulf rim from the western mountains. 

My pal Prairiedog sent a photo of one (looked like that first one's twin or a cousin at least) on his purple salvia in his yard in Grand Junction this summer. 

P and I both remember the thrill of Dave allowing Paula to release the bird and how it just lay there, she could feel its little heart racing, then all of a sudden it exploded out of her hand, gone in a human heartbeat.

Dave has moved on to insects now and still working some with birds. He called perplexed about the storm damage to Peveto Woods Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary just east of Johnson Bayou and south of the Gulf Beach Hwy, La 82. He and I promised to get together there soon on site to talk trees, my fav thing to do. I'm so pleased he thought to ask me.

Ahhh Dave, perhaps this could be a side trip on my Black Friday Protest Celebration to Rutherford Beach, hmmmmm.

Peveto Woods is located on a minimal Chenier just paces from the Gulf of Mexico and is literally the first landfall in a cross-gulf migration or last launching pad for the non-stop part of a migration south. That makes it a happening place!

11-6-20 Got another call, this time from a bud, Mac, our NIRD Yoga teacher E's man, who all alone got up early, went to the camp at Cypremort Point, launched his boat, crossed Vermilion Bay, passed out South West Pass, swung east along the reefs, found some Specs biting, landed a cool dozen, came back, cleaned them, bagged them and brought them to me (what a man you got you there E!). 

Oh, what a fine gift that was, never frozen, fresh-fresh Speckled Trout. P cooked some up that very night as her world famous Trout Meuneire, ahhhhh, so good! I bagged some for the freezer, the rest I saved for frying on Sunday, fresh-fresh, never frozen y'all, the finest eating fried too.

DRINKING WATER

I stand in the kitchen at night and revere the water.

I know it's a continuous traveler--down the drain

into the creek, rising into ether, moving toward the river, the coastline, into the enormous ocean and 

back again.

I consider it's archaic loop

as moonlight abruptly floods the room

I worship the moon, marvel at illumination

so devoted to a cycle, so steadfast

it decides which way the swells should form

and guides the tides like a mother ushers

her childs legs into a garment.

Now I feel Earth's orbit and sense

the magnitude of the universe,

only to turn off the tap and sip

from an unadorned clay cup.

          Jacqueline Suskin

11-7-20 Today we journied to the big city of "Lafey" to a memorial service for clients of the Hospice and those who helped care for Ollie in his last days. These folks were angels y'all and Ollie really appreciated the fine care too. I was working down the line thanking employees for all they did or him and this young lady says "Mr. Jim it's me Madeline!" Madeline had the prescirbed face covering on so I didn't recognize her at first. She is a student of mine and she and her boyfriend volunteer with hospice, what fine people my students are y'all!

11-8-20 This has been the best of days. After a shower last night before dark, it drizzled all day with the exception of a hard rain in early afternoon. P and I did school work all the Sunday except during nap time. then we fried those trout I told you about Friday. The best of days y'all, of course I'm a rainy day kind of dude.

11-11-20 The eleventh hour of the eleventh day... Thank you Veterans, all of you. We even called Jake to thank him for seving because he is considered a veteran as a submariner because of the kind duty they are charged with

11-17-20 I stopped in at the Urban Natralists place for a 4" Parsely plant and one of Buttercrunch Lettuce. Shoots why not three of each! As I walked them to my truck this banker guy is talking to Marcus saying "I'm not really an environmentalist" so I stopped, interupted them and said that I was an Environmental Wacco and a Tree Hugger! Now y'all, what do you think got into me? Then he wants to shake my hand. It turns out he is someone I need to go see about a historic tree that is in his care at Iberia Bank. Kinda scary y'all.

11-18-20 Nice visit today with the Dog, Prairiedog that is, headed to his new digs in Grand Junction he is. It ain't the same with him over there, thank God for cell phones and email. 

11-20-20 Lunch at Taco Sisters with grandson Ben, South Johnston St. location, not the same as the old on near the tracks but food is close. Ben is my amazing eldest grandson, begining his senior year as a mechanical engineer and we are so proud of him. Oh, did I say he is a great human beings as well.

Before lunch I wandered over to campus for a tree lesson from my bud Frank T, campus arborist. I like to feel we both learned from our combined knowledge and shared experiences. The Library Oak has been declining for a few years and we have been speaking about remediation but have been overwhelmed by other work. There is obvious an disruption of the root flares where the roots leave the trunk and enter the soil. Probably a relic of the planting process or the way trees were grown back in the day, nothing to be done here, it is too late. The lightning suppression system is breaking down and a strike is possible but no signs are evident. This system is designed to attract lightning and lead it safely to ground, this one cannot and should be repaired and inspected annually, will do. Our main suspect is poor drainage and water leaks in nearby drainage systems adding to water loading of soil and anaerobic conditions during wet seasons. We will do a survey of site elevations and potental drainage options and investigate for broken or cracked pipes, soon y'all, YAY!

11-23-20 Finals Week, it is almost over! YAY!

11-24-20 Cateract surgery in Lafayette, 7am arrival, back at 1030, amazing y'all.

11-25-20 End of finals. Big rain, gulp, ahhhhhh, we were so dry.

11-26-20 Fine minimalist thanksgiving day

11-27-20 Black Friday Protest activity at Rutherford Beach postponed until P's eye is healed, I'm the driver y'all.

11-28-20 Our "Baby" is 44 today, WooooHoooo!

11-29-20 This finals time has delayed me getting this rag out in time, so sorry.

Naw it is just ol Possum gitting along slower and slower

sorry, enjoy that moon, tonight will be a good one too.

peace love possumhugs