Breathtaking Sky

I was very glad that I had my camera in my pocket when I went out to get the newspaper this morning.  Look at that sky.  I don't believe there was ever an artist able to reproduce those colors.  Many have tried but I think if they do get the hues and values right the painting ends up looking fake.  It's like trying to paint the colors of the ocean, you just can't do it.

Last summer a cornstalk grew in the narrow strip of ground between the fence and the retaining wall below the cob corn squirrel feeders.  It never got very tall but it produced an ear of corn.  I didn't have the heart to pick it but I noticed this morning that the squirrels had no problem eating the corn off that cob.



Tonight was the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild meeting and the subject was charity knitting.  That's why I cast on that little white hat the other day and after supper I cast on another one in bright variegated yarn.  Tonight was also when I delivered my Newsletter Manifesto to the members.  The last few years newsletters got later and later until they arrived only a few days before the meeting, too late to comfortably do any "homework" or prep before the program.  That's the main reason I volunteered--I think.  This afternoon I made a list of things important to me, like a submissions deadline 10 days after the meeting and member profiles so we get to know each other a little better.  Grandiose plans some of which I hope to make come true.

January 18--Mangel Tan, Red Mangrove.  The roots stalk toward the shallows waiting for the saltwater to return.  If the sea doesn't come to it, the mangroves make their way to the sea.  They hold the shore when storms come to steal the sand.  They shelter baby fish, giving them a place to grow up away from the exposure of the open ocean.  From the looks of the litter caught on the land side of the mangroves, they also shelter people partying and couples making love under the stars.  You would think that the man with one shoe would come back for its mate, though.

Man, I'm late with this.  Today got away from me in so many ways.  Every morning I wake up thinking that the hours will stretch out in front of me and I end up scrambling around being surprised at how much time has passed.  Tomorrow promises to be the same.  I need to sleep.  Nighty-night.
--Barbara