Too Early For Colored Leaves

I called the city forestry department and talked to an arborist.  He's coming out to look at my maple tree.  It's not looking good.  It hasn't been looking good all year, and now it's turning its leaves yellow orange and flinging them onto the lawn.  This isn't right so I'm having the tree doctor come.  See, in Green Bay the city plants trees in the swale (between the sidewalk [when you have them, we don't] and the street), we have to deal with the leaves and twigs that fall but they take care of the general health of the tree.  I hope he can give it a shot or something so we don't lose it because I love that tree.  It has always been the prettiest in autumn so when I noticed that it leafed out late, had fewer leaves, and started losing its leaves last month already I knew it needed a professional.  Fingers crossed.

Today's Photo-A-Day theme is "how I feel," that was a hard one because I feel kind of gray and blah.  But then I looked out the patio doors and the sky is kind of gray and blah so VOILA! I had my picture.  When the sky is gray I feel gray too, it's a set.  I used to have my sewing machine in the basement (oh wait, I still do) and I could tell when the sun came out even without a window, still can.  It's a gift.  It also makes winter really loooooong.  Good thing we have "full spectrum" lights all over the house, even the OttLight by my sewing area is one.

I'll be thinking about the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 13 years ago today all day.  Do you realize that means that DS came home from the Army about 13 years and 2 weeks ago?  That long ago?  A lot has changed in his life since then--he taught diving and lived on a sailboat in the Bahamas, came home and went to college, met the love of his life, lived in California, got married, lived in Montana, moved back to Wisconsin, made a lot of beer, and had a daughter.  He's been busy, hasn't he?  I think that sort of stuff's what you're supposed to do when you're in your 20s and 30s.  When you're in your 60s, like me, you're supposed to play with your hobbies and dandle your grandchildren on your knee.  Good thing we both know what we're supposed to be doing and do it.

I was miffed when I saw that the art prompt last night was a Gauguin.  I'm not a fan, I think he was being a perv out there painting all those bare-breasted teenaged girls.  Have you ever really looked at their faces?  Those are not happy natives, those girls aren't happy or comfortable around him.  But the people in last night's painting are a couple dressed in European clothes looking like they're on the way to church.  Whew.  And then I wrote about the horse.

September 11--Paul Gauguin, Tahitian Landscape.  The horse looked like it was wearing white socks.  Lila checked to make sure it wasn't wearing sneakers to go with its socks.  Lila was nine years old and she was happiest living in that world between reality and pure fantasy where children live for a time until life's bumps and potholes make them cynical.  She kept a notebook of things, like a red horse wearing socks, so when she was an old woman she would be able to look back and wish her world was an innocent.

Man, that went down a rabbit hole, didn't it?  It's my prejudice against Gauguin, I just know it. I get to work today and then I get to go to the Knitting Guild meeting. Woohoo!  I like Knitting Guild meetings.  Maybe I can find some yogurt and fruit for breakfast.  I think I'll go look.  Hasta la vista, babies.
--Barbara