Liked hearing the touch of supernatural. Some years ago was with a former student @ the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK. 1st, a bright orange fox with a white tipped tail ran by us. Then, she looked into a small arbor to find it surrounded by dancing fireflies. Magic comes when needed.

Take care on the fast and furious! Been in Germany for past 10 days, largely in Bamberg for conference plus a 1 day road trip. Height of fall harvest—apples, pears, grapes, corn, sunflowers. Plus cuddly cats, street art & interesting architecture. Some beer!

Good foraging! I remember hiking in Laponia with librarians attending a Barents Sea conference. Crossing boggy, rocky land with lemmings underground. Sapmi/Maori/American/Russian delegates. Found beaucoup wild mushrooms and the Russians were especially enthralled with nature’s bounty.

In Bamberg Germany for another week. Pizza scooter!

Had to find a definition. (1) Many refs to a song; (2)a dependable person(Wiktionary); (3)an imaginary friend who will save you from yourself(interestinglit); (4)a sturdy place to lean in times of trouble(extrachill); (5)the hope of finding inspiration in a person(neonmusic). Display or wall art?

Today I clipped some purslane to add to soup, also good as a salad or steamed as a side.

I’ve had your rocket! This arugula is powerful/peppery. I eat it in small salads—adding a hard boiled egg, pecans, olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Or I add it to my soup cauldron. Each year’s garden varies, hoping that the radish, bok choi, other lettuces do well. May tide me over til next June!

See the wayward arugula growing in the right corner. I let the plants self propagate and they tend to like the gravel walk ways. I will try to round them up when I prepare the box gardens as they will be stronger.

The secret to the gardens…

Love to see Ozzy and Syd and their smiles! Here, fall is weeks away. Will plant the garden after I return from Germany (giving a talk). Meanwhile, eggplants are handling the heat.

Night, Mr. C!

And coyotes and ghosts.

I think I was! The ranch had wonderful cow dogs. The rancher had tough times. Someone vandalized the bailer. A neighbor stole a calf and went to prison. Someone shot a new Charolais bull. The rancher and his friends rode, looking for that evil person. One day they didn’t ride again. Mystery solved.

Hugging a round hay bale, northern Minnesota, years ago. Wrangling cats near hay bales on a cattle ranch near Klamath Falls, Oregon, years ago.

Somewhere I have b&w photos of me among hay bales, some 45 years ago. Perhaps from northern Minnesota or when I lived on a cattle ranch in south central Oregon. I helped feed the calves, though I did not eat them as I did not eat meat at that time. Will post if they surface!

Rectangular bales?

Thanks! I’ve missed the pooches. Syd may like corn, or just carving out his own rest spot. Ozzy may be the leader of the pack. Here, Rummy the Panda dog has trained me to meet her at the fence. She yips and I arrive with a bisquit. She whimpers and I give her another.

Thin wet rain sounds like what Pueblo communities call female rain—nourishing and soaking.

Rummy, the neighbor dog, from over the fence, 31 July 2025. Sporting her new do from the salon.