The Garden, the Beginning and the Middle...

August 4 early evening light...

I pulled the terra cotta planters out the day after we said good-bye to The Girl, which as you can see/read, continues to be a reference point for me. It was the last week of May, which is 'on schedule' for 'planting on or before Memorial Day'. I knew it would be therapeutic and I am not a newbie to planting, so the timing could not have been better. It was a group effort. The Boys, once again did all the heavy lifting with the many cubits of soil we bought, to the large burlap bag full of mulch we picked up at Whole Foods for free, along with  the emptying out of last years soil from the 3 tiered raised garden bed. It was allot of soil! The many many many decisions later of what to plant, which  I found out yet again, carries the high possibility of things changing once everything is in the soil. For example, squirrels eating the strawberry flowers, or moving some plants around before rooting, etc., during those first critical couple of weeks. We have a wonderful garden center near us called Tagawa Gardens. This year, I actually counted, and they had 13 varieties of basil alone!! I bought 5 varieties, all with the goal of filling up the freezer with pesto (last year I had 61 4oz. containers, some of which we are still using!!), while enjoying the fresh plucked herbs, basil well included, with the flat leaf parsley and cilantro for summer salads. I found 3 varieties of thyme as well, thinking ahead to lentil soup for the winter months. I planted 3 or 4 varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, acorn squash, cabbage, curly kale, sweet red, although the one which popped was green, peppers, and strawberries. I am not sure if the strawberries will ever happen because the cabbage leafs/leaves are so ginormous now, they get absolutely no sun. I am watching the tomatoes pop and it is amazing because it has turned into a veritable jungle. The tomatoes are strategically planted in the 3rd tier, where the soil is at its thickest/highest, so the roots can go deep to grow sturdy stems. The bamboo stakes I use are taller than me, and you can barely see them now, as the tomato vines grow taller and taller while I sleep. I am agog!! My concern lies with the eggplants, as they are flowering, but then the flowers are dying and not producing any eggplants. Last year I planted white eggplants and they were clearly eggplants by this time of 'the middle'. This year I planted the 'normal' purple variety, so, hmmmmm, jury is still out on what might happen. I am keeping a close eye on them. Anywho, it is my joy and delight to take care of the garden, pray that everything actually produces vegetables, hopefully have some food at the end, which I am more than happy to share the come harvest time. (Wish some of you lived closer!!!) Each year is different, as it should be, and I remain grateful to get my hands dirty, all the while, sacrificing manicures for the cause...

May 28

June 2

June 24

July 6

July 20

Eggplant flower...having issues, hmmmm..

Cabbage leafs/leaves... 

This first one I spotted, there are many many many popping!!

Early on, cabbage leaf after the rains..

Acorn squash blossom...

July 26

This morning, daisies, monsoon season in Colorado..

'And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.'     Isaiah 58:11

And for a post script, we have made a visit to a really beautiful animal shelter in Castle Rock, which is about 25 minutes south, to sort of kind of start looking for another kitten/cat....sort of kind of ready...

Summer Skies and Stuffs..

May 31

Late Spring. Summer into Autumn are the best times of the year for me. I have planted my garden, which is flourishing, I have built 4 Adirondack chairs, which now sit in the front of the house. I also built a new desk! I bought 4 chairs which had to be built from a kit we found at Home Depot. It took some figuring out with the first one as the instructions were hard to follow, but, I got it, and the next 3 chairs took about 1/3 of the time. Two coats of polyurethane on the natural wood, along with some felt pads on the bottoms of each leg finished them off really well. Thrilled, and, they're comfortable. They are not perfect, but, that works for me. I have been using our old dining room table as a desk since 2005 and I had been searching for a real desk for many months, it seems. We saw this one at The World Market, very utilitarian, I thought, it has drawers and some shelves. That might work. So, finally after much looking around, I decided to buy it, but, it too, had to be built. It weighed a ton and most thankfully, the Boys did the heavy lifting. After making the chairs, the desk was easy. Thrilled with the desk too, and yes, it is totally utilitarian!! The garden was planted the week after we said our goodbye's to The Girl, and it has really been so therapeutic, just to be able to take care of 'something', (still toying with fostering...) along with the great hope of watching it grow and having food with no question from whence it came. It has already exceeded my expectations! Cabbage, strawberries, curly kale, butternut squash, sweet peppers, eggplant and 4 or 5 varieties of tomatoes, along with (not shown) 5 varieties of basil, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, 3 varieties of thyme and lavender are growing beautifully as well! There will be a freezer full of pesto come harvest time, and I will share along the way! Swimming and kayaking are all on the table as well. These are all things I love doing, along with taking pics of the gorgeous Spring/Summer (for now) skies. So, again, for those of you not on social media, here is a snippet of my summer in Colorado, (not chronological...but, close enough!), and it's only July 13th!! The sun sets behind the 2 trees in Cherry Creek State Park, so, they are the subject of many of the summer pics!

June 22

June 26

June 11

The Marina, early evening drive around the lake, June 24

July 1

July 6

2 days ago!!!!!

Lined them up for the pic, 2 on either side...

Happy with the new desk, drawers and shelves..

June 3...to many sunbeams to possibly count..

June 5th... 

'Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high..' Psalm 113:2-5

The Lake

I am very fortunate to be able to go out on the lake during the week, when it is quiet vs. the weekends when most people take out their boats of all shapes and sizes, jet-ski's, inner tubes, etc. I am one of the few humans sharing space with the Pelicans, the Great Blue Herons, the ducks and her 'lings', the geese, with a very rare eagle siting, some giant fish, all of whom I have named 'Walter' (On Golden Pond) jumping out of the water...I would LOVE to capture Walter in a photo!  I have to immediately start paddling which I immediately love and then wonder, what will the day bring. I look over my shoulder and I can see the Rockies, still a wee bit snow capped, I look forward, and on the far side, I see a small line of white, which are the Pelicans. I paddle towards them. It is my goal to get to the far side of the lake each time. It takes me around 50 minutes. Sometimes I stop along the way, now that the Herons have returned, there might be an opportunity to take some pics. The Herons only let me get so close before they pull their long necks way down, and by some miracle take off. They are at least 4 feet tall, and very pre-historic looking, so, seeing them in flight is pretty amazing. This first pic of the Heron was truly a gift, as he, very out of character, gave me some time to not only get closer, but stay, and take this first pic along with about 20 more. I love love love paddling not far from the shore, as that is where most of the wildlife can be seen, except for Walter(s) who are in the deeper waters. The Pelicans let me get closer, (even tho, with both big birds, I am using my zoom), and they are great fun to photograph. On occasion I will meet other kayakers, and wave or stop for a chat in the middle of the lake, but for the most, it's just me. I treasure that time alone, having a purpose or, really, many, and remain ridiculously grateful to be healthy with camera in tow, ready for a new adventure!

Mr. Great Blue Heron!!

Fortunate to catch the flight, with a deer, geese, pelicans in the background..

The shallows...lots of action here!!

The ever photogenic Pelicans.. 

Mr. Pelican, fluffing it up a bit..

The serenity, around 4pm..

'For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has ripened its figs, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance...'

                                                                                                        Song of Solomon 2:11-13

Fare Thee Well: The Girl...

We had to kiss The Girl goodbye yesterday. She never recovered from some extensive oral surgery she had a month ago, as it seems there was a 'cannot be seen by the eye' mass under her tongue which chose to grow rather aggressively after the surgery. I felt relief for her, because she was not herself, sweet, purring kitty, but not herself. This is the first time in almost 2 decades that we have not had a kitty in the house, so, even this morning I had to stop myself from reaching for the cat bowl to make her daily concoction of food

She was my little Muse. The camera loved her, and over the years with the advent of the digital camera, thankfully I have some beautiful shots of that face. When we brought her home she was a little ball of gray fur who immediately threw The Old Man into a deep depression for a good year, thinking he was no longer king of the hill, but he eventually came around and kept his rightful place. She wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, and her synapses didn't quite fire off 'correctly', but, we loved her. She was a jumper. In the Rhode Island house, she would jump from the floor to a piece of furniture we have which is at least 4 feet tall, from there, she would jump to the top of the bathroom cabinets and look down at us. She barely made a sound, never broke anything, she just did it. And then one day, just like that, she stopped jumping. I think she missed her mark maybe once or twice, and knew not to attempt the impossible any more. She had the attitude of a truck driver, yet remained quite regal throughout. She made the transition to Colorado without issue (she did allot better than me!!!) and actually thrived. 

The Girl aka Little Kitty, and The Old Man, aka, Big Kitty, aka Richie Havens, blessed us with their presence over these many years. We talk about Big Kitty often, and now, we will do the same, I am certain, with The Girl. Right now, I feeling a bit lost, like a piece of me is missing. I'll be fine. Most important, she is no longer 'not herself' and can harass The Old Man once again to her hearts delight.

The Techs, the Vets at Aurora Animal Hospital have to be the sweetest, kindest group of people I have ever met, and made yesterday totally okay. I cannot thank them enough for their compassion. On the upside, I have been toying with the idea of fostering. So we'll see...in the meantime, here's to The Girl, our sweet, beautiful precious little Girl cat. 

Last pic taken yesterday morning...

When we said goodbye to The Old Man, my friend Sally sent me the story, in full, of  'The Rainbow Bridge'. It was a great comfort to me then, as it is today. You can read the whole story, here. And, per my previous post, it was no surprise, when my Cousin Rita called this morning...

Today is a Good Day to Exhale...

Written on Saturday, May 20, New York City:

So, trip number 3, back to the east coast since 2015. Each one, a different season, a different reason, but the love remains the same. The love for my Family and my Friends, I have said hello and goodbye to, too many times over at this point to count...and today, my heart spilled over with emotion as I realized that I was beginning to exhale. My Cousins and I are close and I am thankfully, very free with them. My cousin Rita, her dog, Roxie died yesterday, so we spoke this morning. She told me the whole story of Roxie's last day, and most gratefully, Roxie passed away on her own and not in my cousins house. Rita and a friend were able to make it to the Vet pretty much in the nick of time, so that no papers had to be filled out, and the whole guilt of 'putting our pets down' or 'I just murdered my 4 legged family member', was dissolved. Thank you sweet Roxie for sparing Rita that part of her story. Then it was my turn to talk.I did not write about it publicly when my cousin Ellie died suddenly in December, it was a Family decision. Many months before her passing we talked about my clearing out her apartment in Chelsea, so, that was the main reason for the trip. Just this (chilly) morning, in this cozy room in this old brownstone in the West Village, I felt the loss and I grieved for yet another member of Mom's generation. Here is what I have learned about grief over these almost 5 years since Mom passed. Grief will get you. You might think that you are clever enough to tuck it away someplace, or to pretend that you are 'good', since a couple of years have passed and life has marched on. But grief is too powerful. It will rise up and it will come out and show itself when you least expect it. This is what happened to me this morning. I was not here when Ellie died, as much as I received many updates over those 2 days when difficult life and death decisions were being made, yet, it did happen to me too. Watching, partaking, as her apartment was dismantled painting by painting, photo by photo, plant by plant, would have made an eventful time lapse video. With anyone who reaches the impressive age of 88, there were many layers to Ellie. We learned upon her passing that she kept people and possessions very compartmentalized. What a great thing when all those people actually met, and the doors to Ellie's compartments swung wide open. I now have a couple of new friends on Facebook, one important, healed up relationship and some new/old photos to bring back to Colorado. Ellie, I am certain looked down with ridiculous pleasure to see how well the day unfolded. My sweet sweet Ellie. So, Rita got an earful too, but she had to run, conversation over...me still spilling...

Post script: That day, I stayed very nuzzled in, ate potato chips, drank coconut water, watched 6 episodes of General Hospital, the last 3 episodes of Scandal (OMG), napped and slowly prepared myself to leave New York. Today is Wednesday, I feel much more rested and my joy has returned to its fullness...looking back, just these couple of days, I saw bubbles of the grief rising last week but, I was busy running, seeing, doing, yet, I could not hide it...grateful that I have learned to recognize it, let it happen, get it out, and then proceed forward...

Playing Catch-up...

Translucent leaf, so pretty, floating in the shallows of the lake..

Alaskan geese taking a stroll on the frozen lake... 

Chubby, confused prairie dog....

Took the kayak out in the middle of March, twice!!!

On the lake in the kayak, like a mirror, so so so quiet...

Before the much needed rain as EVERYTHING is getting ready to burst with color...

Rains over the Rockies, headed east to us...much needed...

Daylight savings sunset...

After another round of precip...

It occurred to me, after seeing my cutback in blogging, that Instagram (amylikesjack) has become more of a daily log for hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Myself included. It is easy to get exposure globally, and instantly, and as a photographer, this form of social media, has proved/proven to be a worthy tool. It also occurred to me that many of you, who are on my mailing list, have absolutely no social media presence at all, which in this day and age, is almost more impressive. March blew in, we turned around, March blew out and here we are in April. The story here, in Colorado, has been the lack of any sort of moisture in the form of rain or snow, which, as I have stated many a time on my Instagram feed, it is 'scary, bone dry.' Having lived through 2 of Colorado's most destructive wild fires, it was abundantly clear, that the State could simply go up in flames with one careless move. So, we waited and waited and waited. We never really had a winter, and much to my surprise, with very mixed feelings, I was out on the lake (which should have been frozen) in the middle of March, twice. The Blue Herons are still gone, the Great White Pelicans are scant, forget about the Eagles altogether, they have eluded me, it has become personal! And then, finally after crazy warm temps, the rains, the much needed moisture started pouring down upon us. Gentle, sweet smelling rains. In other places around the state, massive amounts of snow, and more on the way, but, we welcome it! So, for those of you who (impressively) are not engaging on social media, this is a 'catch-up' post, so you can see, in part, some of the sites from the month of March!

'Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.' Isaiah 45:8