Friday, February 28, 2025

sunset


the sky has been beautiful lately . . 

and the days have been warm and springlike this week (mid to upper 50's).

the cats have been mesmerized with the continuing work on the facade. it's picked up again now that the weather is warmer and it's not raining. i think they may still have to do the window to the left of this one, but the one you see here is finally completely finished. they relaid the outside sill today, after several days waiting for the waterproofing to dry (which smelled terrible and caused us to sleep in a different room).

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

an unusual day

chanda and i jumped out of bed at 7 this morning to the sounds of pounding feet in the apartment above us, a loud pop from outside that sounded like a gun shot, the wailing of sirens and the smell of smoke. we scooped the cats up, put them in their carriers, threw our coats on and ran outside (stopping first to pound on our neighbor's door and make sure she was awake). the fire was at the second building west of us, and it looked intense, covering the rooftop and singeing the building east of it due to a strong easterly wind. i later read that it was a two alarm fire and supposedly one hundred fire fighters were on hand. i still haven't heard how it started.



waiting in the school across the street . . 



after talking with our neighbors and seeing that everyone was alright and that the fire was under control, we all returned to our apartments . . and tried to go about our day. the last of the fire trucks left around 3 pm, and a clean up truck worked until late at night. there was a lot of glass from windows that had blown out (we could hear it falling when heading back inside).

(videos by chanda)

sitting with the cats after all the excitement (they were so good, and didn't even meow while in their carriers).

cricket and i watched the fire hose being rolled up . . (i never knew they lined up to do this).


----

tea with my neighbor sarah later that afternoon . . the beautiful looking coffee is their honey whipped latte.

and we each had their avocado toast as neither of us had eaten anything as yet. 

Friday, February 21, 2025

friday lunchtime

 
we had leftovers from greg's birthday dinner at sevilla for lunch today.

the aroma of the paella and mariscada with green sauce taunted cricket . . 


and he was a bit peeved about our refusal to let him partake of our mollusks.

friday morning update

listening to brian lehrer talk with elie mystal on wnyc . . 

i didn't post for a long time as i was enjoying all the fun holiday family time. then i didn't post as i was missing all the fun holiday family time. and then i was unhappy with government stuff (which hasn't changed and has only grown worse) . . and then i was out of the habit of posting . . and now i just miss posting, so here i am. 

(january 8th and 9th have also gone up) 

pluto squinting in the sunlight . . 

pluto is ready for lunch and is letting me know.

brian lehrer is now speaking with katherine wu (a journalist for the atlantic magazine) who is outlining how the administration's cuts to research grants will affect scientific progress and important medicines needed for patients. a person who called in just said, "as a people, do we believe in public knowledge or not?" another person called in to share that she and her coworkers experienced a hostile takeover of their department and all were fired under false pretenses (using bad work reports as an excuse when their work reports were all positive - many are preparing to contest this in the courts). all episodes can be accessed on spotify (wnyc/the brian lehrer show under podcasts and shows).

Friday, February 14, 2025

another chocolate day


happy valentine's day . . 

zuzu's eyes are like two very bright car headlights. they're so green and bright and they often make her look a little crazed!

here's sweet little figaro from february 2022. chanda is holding him while i take the photo. i miss his furry little self.

Saturday, February 8, 2025

snowy night





----

tacos for dinner.

swooping

 

Sunday, February 2, 2025

sunday poem



ecology

when i came back after a few days away/
my return terrified a huge
marsh hawk
his new nest next to my front door/
twice that happened:
he explodes with a powerful shuffling of feathers
aimed in a 45-degree angle that leads/
to the sky above the sea
if i go away again
(big as he is)
i wonder which one of us will
be/ the more surprised?

by june jordan (1936-2002)

placed in everglades national park january 31st, 2025

poetry society of america, you are here, poetry in parks - site specific poems