Month: September 2021

A Bit of Yesteryear

/ inkspeare

From time to time, my husband will make a wooden piece reminiscent of old days gone, when things seemed simpler, and things were handmade. It ends up on our shop – The Owl, Book & Candle. He loves working with wood; I think it is his call, although he loves everything about cars as well. His pieces are truly handmade. Over the weekend, he made this adorable pull toy, a kitty cat that he painted like one of our cats. All materials for this piece are recycled, the one thing that we try to do with most of our pieces. I am liking this one very much. When he retires, I can visualize him tinkering with pieces of wood and creating an array of lovely pieces reminiscent of yesteryear.

Cat pull toy.

Above his desk, he has this picture and another one of the love of his life, not me, but a 1987 Fiero GT.

Vintage wooden picture of a young carpenter, Jesus.

Fulfillment comes in many ways, and different for many people. Sometimes, we listen to the voices of the world telling us do this or do that, pursue this not that, and so much more. Sometimes, we become confused and feel purposeless because of this (I have been there at one point). To God, everyone of His children is important. Every person has something to give. The more we learn by living and by faith also, the more we are able to give and bless others, no matter the size of the contribution. In God’s eyes it is all valuable when it is given out with love and care.

October Fright

/ inkspeare

October is almost here, and with it, the Halloween decorations start appearing in stores and homes. When I was a child I loved Halloween, and as an adult, I enjoyed making elaborated candy bags for the neighborhood kids, as many as a hundred bags, and many times, all of them went before 8 PM that day. I enjoyed seeing the little kid’s costumes, and in the back of my mind I always picked a favorite – the winner for the day. I dressed up for work on a few occasions – alien, ninja, enchantress … Although I don’t celebrate Halloween anymore, (my views of the celebration have changed considerably), I think most people enjoy dressing up for it, and enjoy the day with their kids. In lieu of it, I have decided to post a few four-line poems, quartets.

White Lies

Coward surrounded by white

Eagles left behind.

Rotten soul hiding behind the mask,

slowly decaying, festering in lies.

***

A Broken Touch

Not Midas, nor gold

Broken is the old man’s touch.

Chaos, disarray, disdain …

IT brings forward a broken world.

***

The Boogie Man

Everything he touches crumbles,

taste of decay and desolation.

Lonely soul awaiting fate

Days run short, darkness engulfs him.

Photo by M.A.D.

A Few Culprits

/ inkspeare

There have been a few rainy days, two good soakers, and cool weather seems to be settling down. It seems that the veggie garden is done, not a good year; most plants died or did not produce. While collecting the last of the veggies, I spotted a few caterpillars that have made the garden their home. We cut the stems and relocated them to another part of the property, not wanting to harm them.

The end of the tomato plants. The caterpillars had a good breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
We counted four large ones. I have no idea what the white egg-like things in their backs are.
A closer look at one almost cute caterpillar.
The last of the cucumbers and carrots.
Believe it or not, some of these are supposed to be full size tomatoes that did not grow to their full potential, and a few grape ones.
And turning the page, I move on to welcoming Autumn, in its dance of light and shade, one of my favorite things.

And as one season ends another starts, and for me, the end of a dry spell. The other day, while sitting, I had an urge to write, almost as an urgent call, so I grabbed pen and paper and was able to write an entire chapter; it has been quite a long time, but the dry spell is broken.

Autumn Ready

/ inkspeare

A few weeks left of summer … welcome Autumn! I am ready, and over the past few days, I have enjoyed a few cool days and nights around here. It has motivated me to do a few things around the porch, transitioning seasons, as well as a delicious meal using what we have collected from the veggie garden, although it hasn’t been much this year due to the hot and dry weather.

My husband made this sign for me from recycled wood. It is what we named the place. Plenty of crows around here year round.
Even during this downpour they are enjoying themselves. No other birds around playing in the rain.
Across the road, what looks like a portal to another world/dimension.

Gardening was challenging and not bountiful this year, and many plants are done by now, hence why transitioning to autumn is a natural next step for me, as there seem to be less chores around here for some reason. There were fewer cuts of grass; it just wasn’t growing fast, but my husband was happy about that I guess. In the meantime, there are a few projects that are up in the air, waiting to be done as time and money allows. I will share a few here. Hope you enjoyed this post.

Of Words – A Society’s Decline

/ inkspeare

If you live in the USA, by now you might have heard of the new Texas law on the abortion issue. Let me disclose for the purpose of this blog post, that I am pro-life; however, there was a time when I was much younger, in my twenties, that I considered myself pro-choice. Maturity, and understanding life from another perspective, which I will not discuss here because it would be a lengthy philosophical discussion, led me to what I believe and support now – the right of every human being to live, a shot to be on this planet and become whatever he/she wants to be with God’s blessing. Who am I to prevent that?

I was watching the news on this issue, and two interviews caught my attention. In one, a physician who worked at an abortion clinic in Texas said something about the situation and the Texas law – “It is inhumane, and we are tired …” I am not here to judge anyone, that is God’s job, not mine, but it is interesting to me the choice of words this doctor used. While it is inhumane that he cannot perform abortions on his clinic, apparently, killing babies is not. Uh? Denying a chance for living to a baby is not inhumane? Last time I checked, that fetus belonged to the human species.

On another interview, a nurse at another abortion clinic in Texas said, “..for a woman to have to drive x amount of miles to another state that allows abortions, for a procedure that would take 10-15 minutes is cruel.” Here is another word – cruel – so, it is cruel for someone to have to drive so far, an inconvenience for sure, but it is not cruel to kill a baby. I guess we will have to redefine the entire dictionary eventually.

Pay attention to the words people use around you, and you will see where society is headed. The words that we use today are the reality of tomorrow. Of its words a society becomes.