A corner may also be a “hidden part of the world” – I think this fits the theme element for this month. Throw in the little curve in the path, and we perhaps have covered two? For me, these little gems of natural beauty are the best. 11 images to make the panorama.
I’ve been rather housebound for the last few days, busy with this and that, and just plain lazy. This morning, though, with the prediction of a whole day of rain, the allure of a walk in the damp was too much. Our rain has dwindled into a slow drizzle, but it is so welcomed here in our parched California landscape. The sky was a blue-grey, hinting at moisture to come, and it did soon after I started out, more like a misty rain than drops, which is fine when you want to go hiking. The trails were all sticky – my boots sucked into the mud and made a rhythmic noise with each step. Areas of the trail had not yet dried, but when they do, the trail will be lumpy and bumpy for a long time.
When I got to the area I wanted to explore – it’s always new, no matter how many times you go! – the parking area was closed for repairs. I skirted around to where the oaks and cacti and stream and sycamore hang out, just in case it did get wetter. It turns out that the recent rains have caused soil slippage, and some trees have toppled a bit. One oak had fallen and split, so the work crew was waiting for the oak tree specialist (the city has one, as oak trees are protected where I live) to determine whether it needed anything or just a bit of a trim.
Here, a little bit of rain goes a long way, and soon enough the grasses begin to sprout for the upcoming spring. Beige and brown give way to the delicate greens. The cold temperatures have pushed the autumn leaves to golds and reds, so suddenly a dull grey-brown landscape pops into life. The smell of the damp earth, the creeks with running water, and the occasional bird song or insect was all that could be heard. A bit of bliss for a couple of hours! Click a picture below to scroll through them.
A gate where I turn into the local park. I can go around (practical), over or under. Today, I just took a picture!
If you have to go to the dentist, it should be a pleasant and peaceful place. My dentist is excellent (I have worked in the dental profession and have seen horrific work) and also has an absolutely lovely office. This is in the waiting room. I used my cell phone for this, so lacks the quality I would like to see.
How many of us really do clean up and clean out after the holiday season? I know I never have because I’m lazy and really do not have the time. To declutter means I have to have the time to do it. When I was a kid, my mother made us clean our rooms by throwing everything into the middle of the floor, dumping drawers out, and so on. It was pretty traumatic and valuable (to me) things would get broken. The sound of a vacuum cleaner forewarned that hell was ready to break loose. So, for me, getting rid of things takes a long, long time because that is what cleaning up meant: throw it all in the middle of the room and spend 20 hours doing the task. I’ve done that for years.
2016 has been different. For a variety of reasons, the DH and I have been cleaning up and cleaning out. In the past two months we have rearranged the garage for better usage, and to consolidate stuff so it can be more easily accessed and sorted out by subject matter (yarn, books, toys, tools, etc.), so that future decluttering tasks are easier to do. We also managed to install new mirrors in the bathroom, clean out the cookbook shelf, empty the bathroom vanity drawers, throw away all the stuff lurking under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. DH has cleaned up his office and I have cleaned up the studio and bedroom closet. The picture above is not what we took to the Goodwill drop-off corner, but yesterday, just from the closet, I brought over bags of purses, shoes, clothes, material, and other goodies. The bags were the 15-gallon trash can variety. Now the closet looks like a closet! I can find my clothes, my shoes, my sewing machine(s). Wow!
I get holding on to things. Some things are too costly to replace, such as paints or spinning wheels or chain saws. Hobby items are tools that can take up space and may not be used all the time, but are necessary when needed. However – HOWEVER! – too much is just too much. Freeing up space means there is actual space – physical, mental, and emotional – for new things (hopefully not physical unless they are the product of one’s productivity). Organizing makes life cleaner and easier. We still have a long, long way to go, though.
So, with that thought in mind, I leave you with a link to a jolly good cartoon: http://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/a20188
Ink, Yarn & Beer 