Rest In Peace, S.I. Newhouse, Jr.
You lent much to our conversation.
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#condenast #architecturaldigest #newyorker #vogue #w #gq #wired #epicurious #condenastetraveler #etc #etc (at At Home in Napa)
Red onion (Allium cepa).
#onion #allium #vegetables (at At Home in Napa)
Yesterday
high as a kite
happy as a clam
trowel in gloved hand,
sunhat shading crow’s feet,
Virgin Airlines black pajamas
my horticulture clothes,
congratulating myself
on the natural aliveness
of the garden:
the hum of bees
the smell of honey come midday heat,
the blooming flowers,
the frantic hummingbirds dive-bombing for food,
the tiny finches’ afternoon visit to the fountain,
the screeching blue jays raiding the feeders,
the baskets of fruit and veggies
resting
in the shade
under the camellia tree.
Today’s inspection
of the hive
revealed the facade;
a trifecta
of pests
invaded the bee box
and my brood
may not survive
the winter.
Small Hive Beetles
tiny helmeted monsters
and
wax moth
dragging a web of pestilence to the comb
and finally
the dreaded Varroa mite
parasitizing the new winter bees
before they even hatch.
What to do?
Not even an aspirin
do I take.
Are the bees treated
once
with an organic insecticide?
Is the queen
replaced
to create a stronger colony?
Or is nature
allowed
to take its course?
Environmental factors
are relegating
today’s
beekeepers
to
pest managers.
Divorcing myself
from the emotional aspects
of animal husbandry
means understanding
chemical manipulations
only lend the illusion
of control and well being
and instead
affect
every
other
thing.
-
#bee #beekeeping #garden #everythingisconnected (at At Home in Napa)
Nature draws together
the wicked, the callous,
the jaded,
hundreds upon hundreds
of souls
and their blameless hounds
line the community beach
in this precious village,
gathering
to behold a sunset,
a moon rise,
and summer’s end
heralded
by autumn’s blaze of color.
-
#california #autumn #sunsetjunkie #protecttheearth #heartenedbyhumanity
#cautiouslyoptimistic (at Carmel by the Sea)
Listen without prejudice.
-
#supportlivemusic #jazz @ghldn @pianobarsoho (at Santa Cruz, California)
A sea nettle jellyfish hunts by trailing those long tentacles, covered with stinging cells. When the tentacles touch tiny plankton, the stinging cells stick tight and paralyze prey. From there, the prey is moved to the frilly mouth-arms and finally to the mouth, where the jelly consumes its meal.
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#aquaticlife #natureisbeautiful #everythingisconnected #nofilter (at Monterey Bay Aquarium)
My soundtrack.
#jazz #supportlivemusic #jazzclub @ghldn (at Santa Cruz, California)
Who lives in a kelp forest?
#california #seaweedwillsavetheplanet
(at Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Black sea nettle jellyfish.
#aquaticlife #natureisbeautiful #nofilter (at Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Celebrating the first day of 🍂autumn.
#california #sunsetjunkie #communitybeach (at Carmel by the Sea)
A few fortunate sea lions escaping their fate as lunch by three hungry orca whales, who need 200,000 calories a day to sustain themselves…
#california #whalewatching #nature (at Monterey, California)
Three orca whales, a father, mother and baby, came to feed on pods of sea lions, while teaching the young calf how to hunt. There are 350 orcas roaming the west coast of North America.
#california #whale #whalewatching #nature (at Monterey, California)
Residual sunset.
#california #carmelbythesea #sunsetjunkie (at Carmel by the Sea)
Dude.
#california #sanctuarystate #jerrybrownstillrockingit (at Santa Cruz, California)
The dusky perfume
of autumn
makes me smile
uncontrollably,
ricocheting between
memory
and anticipation:
school buses and cigarettes,
roasted squash and double-barrel shotguns,
the rustle of leather jackets and the plaid on a pleated skirt,
reddish vineyards and burning leaves,
Indian corn and candy corn, thin cashmere sweaters and thick wool socks,
chanterelles and gingerbread,
notebooks and erasers,
cider and Syrah,
wooden bowls of citrus
and stockpots with game bird
simmering on the stove.
-
#autumn #seasons #liveinthemoment
(at Napa, California)
Fennel pollen.
#california #garden #foodforbees (at At Home in Napa)
#thedefiantones #hbo #donotmiss
Very little more lovely in nature than an allium flower gone to seed.
#garden #onion #winteriscoming (at At Home in Napa)
Gifted milk
from industrious friends
and their herd
of noisy goats
made into wheels
of funky, fragrant
cheese.
Cut into hefty hunks,
buried
in olive oil
for a hit of Italy,
garden 🌿 herbs
for summer brightness,
Sichuan peppercorns
for an unidentifiable,
can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it warmth.
Spread thickly
atop toasted crusty bread
on cold winter nights
with a cellar-plundered
Loire Sauvignon Blanc the color of wet sand.
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#cheese #nutsforwinter #planningthemenu
(at At Home in Napa)
Weeping Nude
1913-1914
Edvard Munch (Norwegian 1863-1944) (at SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)