Saturday, August 1, 2026

Time, Space, Crows, And Human Life On Earth


Eventually the crows are going to let me get close enough to take a decent picture. I think this one is the one I call The Scout. He's the largest and always seems to be the one who does the reconnaissance missions. I could be wrong. It's not really that easy to identify crows. Or at least for me. 
They fly about over the tree stumps where I put their mealworms every morning and if that doesn't work, they caw at me, or as I say,  yell at me. They may even land and search around to see if by any chance I have fed them and they've just missed it. 
I go out with my little container of mealworms and whistle the same whistle that I used to use on my cats. Maurice doesn't need that whistle. She's generally either in the house, on the back porch, or right outside, defending her territory from her doppelgänger and the pretty black cat that shows up now and then.
By the time I've put food on all six of the Bradford Pear Tree stump tables, they're on the branches nearest the cafe and urging me to hurry up and get back in the house so they can eat in peace. I still have not received one tiny shiny thing, not so much as a shred of aluminum foil, and I may never get anything at all. 
It's cool. I just like looking at them. They're so interesting. 

It's rained most of the day which has been lovely. It cooled way down and after I got caught in the rain while I was in the garden and stayed there until I'd finished what I was doing, thus getting rather wet, I was actually cold and had to put a sweater on. I've still got it on. But hey! It's 87 degrees on the back porch where I am. 
Brrr...
I love it. 

I've been mostly lazy and yes, giving myself grace about it. I finished up a few French knots on a patch I'd sewn on a linen shirt that I've been patching and doing visible mending on for probably three years. On and off. 
Mostly off. 
And I realized- I was done! 


I got this shirt years and years ago at a Goodwill and it was my faithful companion until the fabric on the yoke became as thin as a spider web. I mostly used it as a bathing suit cover-up or something to put on when the temperatures dip into the high 80's. Like now. 
So it's in the wash and will be ready to go back into service. 
After I finished that, I started back to hemming my cheesecloth rags. I've been ignoring that project for awhile and we are in dire need of more of them. 
DIRE, I tell you! 
While I did these things, I watched more of The Bear, of course. I am falling in love with some of the characters, as one does as they develop. I remember texting Hank once when I was watching Reservation Dogs to tell him that I loved Willie Jack so much it made my heart hurt. 
He understood. 
Actually, all of those characters made my heart hurt with love but Willie Jack the most. 
The main character of The Bear is played by Jeremy Allen White and he has the kind of beauty that can only be seen after awhile. Do you know what I mean? If you just saw the guy buying a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of beer, you'd think, "He's rather odd-looking." He is not what we would call traditionally handsome. He's no Brad Pitt. He's no George Clooney, but he has...something. 
Many woman are like this too. You have to really shed your notions of beauty and see that there is far more to it than what we see on the surface. 
Beauty is NOT skin deep and Brad Pitt will never be as beautiful as Keith Richards is at the age of 82. 

That is not what I planned to write about. As usual. 

Glen spent a lot of the day being annoyed with himself for spending too much time in his chair. "It's killing me!" he says. 
"Hmmmm..." I say. 
I think a day of rest may be a damn good thing for him but I understand. Neither one of us is really made for sitting all day long. 
He got out of his chair though to work on the lamp he brought home the other day. 


Now that is a good-looking man. Beautiful in all the ways. 

We need to get some new glass shades as two of the ones on it were broken. They are easily found although right now we are throwing around the idea of getting green ones or pink ones. 
We shall see.


Here she is, naked and unadorned. 

The Weatherfords are on their way home. They didn't leave North Carolina until around noon so it's going to be a very long day and part of a night. I can't believe they'll be back in Florida. That must be such a difficult transition. The North Carolina mountains to North Florida. From living in a small camper to living in a regular sized house. From having the mountains as your backyard to having a...backyard...as your backyard. From having a mother/grandmother, sister/aunt, brother-in-law/uncle, and cousins as your only neighbors to having people who, although they may be very nice people, are not related to you at all for neighbors. 
Well. In some ways, it's pretty darn cool to be exposed to both worlds, to get to know all the different family members so well. 

And school will soon begin again. August (and Maggie) will be in their last year of elementary school. I cannot believe this and yet, it is true. Levon, the baby of the family (haha!) will be in third grade. Owen is a Junior in high school? I think. And Gibson is a freshman in high school, marching in the band. 
How did all of this happen? 

It's life. Just life. Why we are so amazed at how fast the years fly by is a mystery to me, just as why we are so mystified and shocked when death occurs. Or when we know we're getting near that inevitable portal into such a change of energy. Change or exchange? 
We just don't know, do we? 

It's all pretty much a fancy dance. Just as you learn the steps to one phase of the dance, the music changes and there we are. 
Or here we are. 
As Karen said, we are wisest to just roll with whatever is happening. Kids growing up, us growing older and then old. 
Life. There is no stopping it. Until it stops. 
That's pretty much it, I think, summed up in a few short words. 
Meanwhile, the planet keeps on circling the sun, the galaxies and stars keep on moving and whirling and traveling and dancing their own fancy dances. 
Isn't it amazing? 
I think so.

Love...Ms. Moon 





41 comments:

  1. Get the green ones! Although pink might be more "Mary Style". Bev

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'll just have to see what we find. The plain frosted ones are cheapest.

      Delete
  2. It IS pretty cool to be exposed to both worlds and absorb the different types of knowledge that go with each "world".
    What is that lamp made of? Brass? Bronze? Can it be shined up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For part of the year, the main predator for those boys are alligators, and for the other part, bears. I love it! Snakes in both places.
      The lamp is made of something that's not brass or bronze. It's some sort of mixture I can't remember at the moment and no, it can't be shined up unless you want to do that with wax which neither Glen nor I are very interested in doing.

      Delete
  3. I'm in Camp Green Shade. If you're polling, that is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Billiard room green? I would have no problem with that.

      Delete
  4. You'll be happy to have the Weatherford's back home. That said, living in a family compound in the mountains also seems very appealing.
    Your crows are devoted visitors. They know where the best meal is to be found.
    The lamp is coming along nicely.
    August. Already. I look forward to Autumn and cool air.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will be glad to have the Weatherfords back home. I'll have my pottery buddy again!
      The crows know. It's so funny that the same five come every day. I think they are the same five.
      August. How can this be? The kids' school starts in less than two weeks.

      Delete
  5. I wanted so badly to watch Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, and I tried, just like I tried to watch him in Shameless, but it was too painful. He reminds me SO much of my first love, who absolutely broke my heart. I just couldn't tolerate it. It seems so silly but, my god, how I loved that boy. It was so passionate and intense...even all these years later it's still a physical pain in my heart to be reminded of him. Sadly I don't think I'll be watching Deliver Me From Nowhere either, although I sure did want to. Damn my sensitive soul...
    I think pink or green globes on the lamp will be lovely. I do hope yall can make that happen.
    Angie D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angie, I swear to god, I actually wrote a whole thing about how the Jeremy Allen White character and his newfound love's first romantic/sexual encounter gave me all the feelings of when I was first with my own first love. I am not kidding you. And I went on about how powerful and amazing that love was and how he broke my heart so, so badly and how he ended up being pretty insane and not in a good way so it was a good thing I didn't end up pregnant and married to him although at the time, I don't think I would have minded if that's what had happened. God, it was so painful, though! So yes, isn't it funny that we have both made that connection? I deleted the whole thing I wrote because really, who needed to hear that but it was all true.
      I had no desire to watch Deliver Me From Nowhere until I realized that he is such a good actor but I want to wait until after I've seen The Bear because I don't want the characters getting muddied or muddled in my mind.
      I'm so sorry that happened to you but I guess if we are the sort of people who love deeply, our hearts are just going to get broken badly at least once.

      Delete
    2. Well damn, Mary, I would have loved to have read that. But thank you for sharing the condensed version of your story, "I" needed to hear it. My heart commiserates deeply with yours and even though we'll never forget those first loves, we both know we went on to find the real, true loves of our lives. The last I heard my Glenn, with 2 n's, was on his 4th marriage. So yeah, I think we both dodged a bullet with those two. Paxton and I will be married 50 years next year and he has been my perfect companion to walk through this adventure of life with. Especially the hard, traumatic parts. I would have never made it to where i am today without his unconditional love and support. I know you know what I mean. But truthfully, what is it you say about marriage and the tide being in and out?...yeah, it's kinda out right now. He hurt my feelings at the gym on Friday and I've been pouting for a few days but I know I'll get over it soon and the tide will roll on back in. Just like it always has and hopefully always will.
      love and hugs to you, dear Mary
      Angie D

      Delete
    3. I've heard that my own ex was recently jailed, possibly due to domestic violence. Dodged a bullet there for sure.
      And yes, we are so lucky to have found the men we've found but I'm going to be a little upset with your husband for hurting your feelings. Men can be sort of ridiculously unaware of how the things they say might land.

      Delete
    4. "ridiculously unaware"---A-fucking-men!!
      In my anger I told him he was dumb as dirt...that was mean. I guess I owe him an apology for that one.
      As to your ex...if you don't have the time, don't do the crime. Sounds like he got what he deserved. Shitass.
      Angie











      Delete
  6. My vote is for pink glass...as that's the color your complexion will look whenever you're near them. Lovely as you are, I think you look better in pink rather than a green face!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh-heh. Like how funeral homes use pink lightbulbs in their viewing rooms to make the bodies look more...alive? You're right.

      Delete
  7. If we're voting on the lamp shades, I vote for white:) You're lucky to have a handy guy.
    My husband and I spent the last two days filling a dumpster with stuff wrecked from the flood, and from part of the back deck which was falling apart. Instead of replacing that part of the deck, we're just going to put soil down and grow grass there.
    I didn't realize Levon as only a year ahead of Jack. Our kids don't start back until August 31st. I'm looking forward to it:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They may end up being white. I am lucky to have such a handy guy.
      I think you're going to end up being so glad you had a reason to get rid of all that stuff. I know it's a lot of work and not all done yet but what a relief it will be to have it done! And why not just have a little more grass? How much time do we end up spending on our decks anyway?
      Yeah. Levon's still a young'un but of course, he was born a man so there is that.

      Delete
  8. the darning/mending on your shirt is just beautiful and takes me back in time to my hippie days when I would mend/darn/patch my favorite levis to the point where absolutely nothing could make them wearable any longer. Your needlework is lovely, as is Mr Moon working on that lamp. I didn't care for it at first sight....but with new shades and lots of TLC from that man.....wink........ I think I've changed my mind LOL
    Susan M.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes. The days when we patched our jeans to the point they were ALL patches with just a little denim holding it all together.
      I am not in love with that lamp but it amuses me greatly and that is worth a lot, I think.

      Delete
  9. Crows brought my son & DiL a folded $20 bill, after many years of feeding them. A friend said,
    "Wouldn't it be funny if it was counterfeit and you have to explain that the crows gave it to you."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my god.That would be hysterical. I love that story!

      Delete
  10. You're so right about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. There is an older lady at the old fogies club who has a VERY pronounced hook nose (you know, the kind you could probably open a beer bottle with) and I find her to be very attractive. I guess that nose would be held against her by conventional beauty standards but I think it just adds to her charm. Personally I like voices so any man who has a great voice makes me melt, regardless of physical appearance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! I hate it when famous people get plastic surgery to remove the thing that makes them so special and so beautiful. After Uma Thurman's surgery, she just looked like any normal pretty woman whereas before she was unique and awesome looking. To me. What we might see as perceived flaws can be the most fascination feature a person has.
      Voices are important for sure. I had a friend who was not only as pretty a man as you could want, he had a voice that would melt the heart of a stone cold man-hater. God, he was beautiful.

      Delete
  11. 87˚?!? Be careful you don’t get frostbite! I love that lamp and Mr. Moon. You’re so right about Jeremy Allen White and he’s a great actor to boot. I had a shirt I loved to death. It had been my father’s in the ’40s. I wore it in the ’60s and early ’70s. White cordurouy with a aztec pattern across the chest and yolk. It was wearing through and a friend told me she would patch it for me. I was ecstatic. She took it home for spring break and lost it! I was hearbroken. But I can rest easy now because it was would never fit now. My father was much smaller than I and I was about 40 pounds lighter at the time. And, that is not what I planned to write about either!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, right? People can die in such low temperatures. If they're underwater in a freezing spring for a very long time. I guess.
      I had a corduroy shirt that I loved too. I actually bought it myself so it didn't have that sort of emotional tug for me but I can remember in college, my roommate and I would switch off wearing it depending on who needed to feel beautiful the most. It was so gorgeous.
      And then...no one lost it but I had it hanging on the clothesline in the late 70's and my fucking bulldogs ripped it off the line and tore it into shreds. I still mourn the loss.
      I think the best stories are the unplanned ones.

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. Don't feel bad. I had to google to ask what the upper back part of a shirt was called. I thought it was yoke but wasn't sure.
      I would be so lost without google.

      Delete
  13. Your last paragraph is a good mantra for all of us to live by. Perfectly worded. It's funny how temperature is such a relative thing for people. For people up north, 87 degrees is a furnace!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! And when y'all say something like, "It warmed up into the forties today!" I shudder.

      Delete
  14. Really, is there anything that Mr. Moon cannot fix or repair? He is so clever (and handsome). My grands range from 21 years old to 2-1/2 years old (there are 7 altogether). It does go too fast. I only get to see 2 of them regularly as they live near me. The rest are too far away but I know I have moaned about this to you before. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glen's pretty good at fixing a lot of things. He's a pretty fine guy to have around.
      I would moan too if my grandchildren were so far away. And kids.

      Delete
  15. Your visible mending is wonderful! I've been looking for a nice blue denim blouse for quite awhile. I found one I liked, but the material was so thin and flimsy that it was ridiculous. It was clearly fast-fashion from gawd-knows-where.

    There's an apt descriptive phrase in French for someone who is (to be kind) unconventionally attractive -- "joli-laid" (male) and "jolie-laide" (female). It translates literally as "pretty-ugly.".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you! I have been looking and looking for plain, gauzy type cotton button-up shirts and it's almost impossible. I had one I loved and I left it at a restaurant where Glen and I had breakfast one year on our way up to North Carolina.
      I have heard that French phrase before and I actually thought about it when I was writing that paragraph. It is so perfect, isn't it? I think I'd heard it translated as ugly beautiful. Same/same.

      Delete
  16. Mr Moon is such a treasure. Can fix anything, is kind AND he's swoonworthy!
    You're one lucky girl, Mary. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am indeed a lucky woman. And he's sweet, too.

      Delete
  17. "Life. There is no stopping it. Until it stops." That should be on a t-shirt!

    I know what you mean about Jeremy Allen White. I didn't think him attractive at first but he grows on you. He's got something.

    I'm glad Mr. Moon is making headway with the lamp. It looks more promising now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He does have something. What is it? I think for me, like I said, I sort of just want to grab hold of him and fix him. I have learned, however, that I do not have that magical power.
      Anything that comes out of one of those storage sheds is going to look like hell before some attention is paid to it.

      Delete
  18. I agree with you about Jeremy Allen White. He has a sensualness about him, almost but not quite feminine. I always wondered if they messed up his hair before every filming. And the character he plays is so emotionally broken. Hard to say which character I liked best as they all evolve and you get their backstories, hard to compare, talk about until you've seen all five seasons.

    I understand how Glenn feels. I don't sit easy for long. Half hour? Even when I've decided to just read all day I have to get up and move around, poke at things before going back to my book. I think either similar shades or pink for the lamp.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Not quite feminine at all but he's not a "man" like Richie, say. I wondered the same thing about his hair. Dude! Wash that mess! I guess it was a way to illustrate what a mess he is.
      I'm loving watching all the character developments and so curious to see where they all lead.
      We'll see on the lamp. I wish we could just find some in a thrift store, you know? Possible but not probable.

      Delete
  19. I've just finished reading a book wherein crows are a big part of the story. The book's a bit disheartening (always, for me, anything including war and violence and prejudice and killing and suffering and fear), but the crows in it are fascinating. I had to force myself through the first few chapters, but after that couldn't put it down. Palaces of the Crow, by Ray Nayler. -Kate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I looked that book up and I'd like to give it a try. I need to write down the name and author. Thank you.

      Delete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.