Life Full Screen

 

...Life Full Screen...

filled with passion and hope and dreams

Not a war zone, my commute route.

Today we drive past, stopping in a turnout on the opposite side of the road.

I jump out for a photo, so I can consider. Remember. Pay homage.

I've called it a shipping container, J. says no, it is a trailer for a semi-truck.

Upon looking in the daylight, I agree. If it were a metal shipping container, it's end would not be ripped open and showing wood.

This canyon road used to be the serene part of my drive.

Dark ~ Quiet ~ Empty

Now, so much debris is strewn everywhere, from building trash to furniture, to who knows what.

It has become an eerie road, especially at night.

I believe it was these type of block letters "YNOT" painted on the overpass pillars (far right of photos further above & below) - one letter to each pillar...there Friday night, painted over today.

There was someone in that little bulldozer, scraping the dirt clean, flat. Why? is my question.

I've mentioned the young person who lives here. I see her/him crossing the road at night or walking the patch of earth on the opposite side of the road, wearing a headlamp. I see flickers of light in the home as I drive by. Today I noticed the small cross tucked at the base of the hillside, across the road from the trailer. Has it always been there? I'm not sure. Does it have something to do with this resident? Again, I have no way of knowing. But, I wonder.

As we drive away, I notice the resident coming slowly out of the trailer, through the ripped open end.

HOME

May we feel safe where we are

May we hold compassion for others

May we continue as best we can

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

An Altered Life

🏚

Considering HOME has become commonplace for me.

My commute inspires that.

Demands that really.

There are so many unhoused and differently housed along the route.

I've been sharing that for a while now.

The motor homes, the heap of blankets home, the shopping cart with no home at all home.

I've shared this place too. I've shared how I thought I saw the CREATOR of this space, only to discover that it was instead a "mannequin of some sort." 😀

This place continues to grow and evolve, 

becoming almost shrine like and reminding me of SALVATION MOUNTAIN.

So then I wonder, is this one person's salvation?

It has me wondering, especially in regards to a recent post by GLENNIS.

🏡

So, home?

Having a home?

Making a home?

Making period?

*ALL PHOTOS BELOW ARE THE SAME PHOTO, JUST ALTERED. MY OWN 'MAKING' FOR TODAY, ALONG WITH CREATING A POST HERE.

 🏠

I wrote down some thoughts on 'home' on my lunch break last week.

They were thoughts of home in relation to one's heart.

In light of the recent war in Ukraine, those thoughts hardly matter now in the 1st world way I was thinking that day...but they also matter immensely, for when considering "home"~

what does one consider not only worth making, but worth fighting for?

What does 'home' mean to you? 

How has that changed over time?

🌳🏚🌳🏡🌳🏠🌳

May you be at ease with what you need

May you feel comfort there

May you share your excess

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

The Gift

 

Reading over at SHARING TRICKSTER'S HOARD...

Traveled from Grace's to Marjory's and read about 'gifts'. (among other things).

Her fantastic masks led me to recall this LINK from my own blog POST...

And all of it was a good swift kick in the backside for inspiration.

I finally completed the CMB weaving, on the loom since December 2021.

Man, did that feel good!

I've been rather (read that completely) uncreative recently.

I hope I'm over the hump of Not Making.

🧶

Anyway, my plan is still to make the holiday colored bags I started last year, and put them aside to be planted during the holiday season in 2022. My plan is still to use up that green yarn for warping, even if I don't think it works great for a warp yarn. 

I hope to make and plant more, not holiday colors, during the year.

Because the giving is important to me.

🧶

The count as of today is:

TOTAL CMB: 57

PLANTED CMB: 56

TOTAL GREEN CMB: 25

🧶

Today the gift isn't my weaving. It isn't my planting of CMB in the neighborhood.

Today the gift is the words and work of others, which inspired me.

May you find many ways to be the gift

May you find many ways to give the gift

May you appreciate it all

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

Feel Good Stories

 

🌎

My sister sent me this article, as it is the school our mama taught at for many, many years.

We think she'd like this change!

That led to me reading the included link ~

a story I heard a bit of in the past, but still found so interesting.

LINK

It was nice to see a positive news story and a lovely story from days gone by.

This had me singing What a Wonderful World.

May you find something wonderful to carry you through.

xo

Just This Day

 

🌳

Just this day

I found solace in a tree

Who's white puffs hung precariously 

Green pods with threads to the sky

 

One fine seed

speaking to me

Many others scattered on the earth below

Crows announce

Squirrels chatter

Telling me I am not alone

A tree blooms pink, but mostly at the top alone

Like a flat-top haircut

Last night's moon

hanging within a ribbon of clouds

calling me home

I won a game of solitaire today. This is beyond rare, may 2-4 times in my life.

I cheered and called J.

I don't believe the man on the hill in THIS POST is real, but a mannequin of some sort.

This made me chuckle at the absurdity of that.

I saw a crow chase off a squirrel up a tree and recover the bit of food for itself.

May you define or redefine your own windfalls, so you may get all you wish for.

~~~~~~

I redefined mine to be clouds that fall to the earth and allow you to hold them, ever so gently in your hand.

I redefined mine to mean being a participant in the conversations of crows, before they fly off.

I redefined mine to be winning against self at a silly card game, hearing of an upcoming concert that would be so cool (Bonnie Raitt & Mavis Staples at the Greek!) and reciting lines from Seinfeld with someone who hair like Elaine.

I redefined my windfall to represent home and a good man at day's end.

May your windfalls be just as wonderful

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

A Day of Hearts

 

❤️ ❤️

The boys, who make everyday Valentine's Day!

❤️.  🧡.  💛

A pile of hearts sent in the mail

to a friend, so dear who I know 

so well

💚.  💙.  💜

I read this book on my lunch breaks, one or two, maybe three poems

here and there, most days

This one really spoke to me, especially ~ 

scars of laughter (not just pain) ~ what a great thought

And the comparison of an aged face as beautiful as Sedona

2009 we traveled to Sedona, indeed a magical place 

with colors so striking one never forgets them

Beauty in aging and laughter with a dear friend remembered

💗.    🤎.  🤍.  🖤.  💗. 

I wrote this beautiful poem on an old watercolored paper

A piece that I've had since I worked with school-age children in the late 1990's!

It began as an 12X18 sheet and has slowly, very slowly been used for various projects all of these years. The last one was a 6-7 inch heart held for a photo in the first Spring of the pandemic.

I started to write out the poem on that heart, but judged the size of print for the space incorrectly.

Now, what to do?

          None of this part of the post is all that important. I just really like the solution brainstorming,                    so thought I'd record it.  Anyway, it then occurred to me to try again on half a heart.

          So, with a little trimming and a lot of focus, I ended up with the beautiful poem on half a heart,                 to share with my friend, who always holds my whole heart!

❤️

 I wish I could send each of you this beautiful book, each packaged filled with a sprinkling of confetti hearts like I made here.

Note to self: Watercolor another piece of paper, you got your money's worth out of this one!

❤️

Lastly, someone questioned me the other day, about those X's and O's that mean Kiss & Hug.

I use them freely and frequently, but I never thought too much about the origin and deeper meaning...

and I never quite remember which is the kiss and which is the hug, but I use them together, so that has never really mattered. Ha.

Anyway, I found this interesting read.

LINK

Today my shirt has hearts and states "Love is the answer"

❤️

If it is hard to read my writing for the poem, you can read it more clearly HERE

May your everydays be filled with heart, with love, with lines of laughter

xo

Photographs by NAE ©2022

Like Holding a Cloud

 

Silk Floss Tree

You first met this tree back at this post

I was sitting in my car, eating lunch, when I noticed a white fluff floating by on the breeze.

I first thought in the singular, one, a dandelion perhaps?

But, then there were more and more, scattering on the wind.

Is there a cottonwood tree nearby? I wondered (knowing there isn't)

I twisted my head this way and that to catch glimpses.

Suddenly, like a heal of the hand to the forehead, 

I remembered the hanging pods on the parking lot trees.

Sure enough, at least one pod had fallen and cracked open, releasing the silk fluff, 

which holds a small brown seed.

Holding this in my hand was like holding air, like holding a cloud...

an ultra soft, silky feeling dream in your hand

I thought how it would be to spin & then weave some

or introduce it into some paper, like Velma makes.

I thought how I'd like to mail each of you a piece of this dream.

May you hold your own dreams in your hand, close to your heart.

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

NEW

Plans are in the works. We were notified which entrances would be closed and whatnot.

This is the newest in a string of 'projects' around here.

Certain areas have been painted and all of the doors are now a 

lovely shade of Medical Building Blue (our opinion).

The pool has been re-plastered, pool area freshened up.

2022 must be the year for all of this.

I just hope they don't think they need more rent money each month!

I'd have stuck with the old.

Anyway, these are the plans thus far.

It looks like we'll be getting an environmentally friendly garden.

I have to say I love these kind of drawings...the precision of them, the way shapes represent things...the way they hold such promise.

My mind blanked on the correct term for these drawings and found a whole list of related terms HERE

Isn't that fun?!

🌿   🌳   🌿

I'll be interested to see the end result.

I don't know some of these plants, but one of the ones I do know...I am not fond of the scent.

Society Garlic puts off a very strong odor that I don't care for much. Blech. It's planted a lot around here.

They've also put in a new front entrance door that is mostly glass. Renters have been put on notice to not scratch it up with the grocery cart stored in the mail room, to help unload ones groceries. Phooey. They could have put in a more functional door...wheelchair accessible I might add. But, I've not been asked for my input. So, not my circus, not my monkeys. We'll see how long it lasts.

I'm also wondering about the pavers, especially after hearing my dear friend telling me how she'd tripped while out for her daily walk/run. It seems like they could be a tripping hazard.

This is a "55 and Above" building after all. Many are well above 55!

I was happy to see that there will be a fountain, which will replace the current birdbath. There are a couple of Crows around here that like to wash their food before eating it! I hope it works for them.

These plant photos had me thinking of Mo & Rod and the many gardens they cared for and loved.

Hello Mo!

Hi Rod!

This is the 'before' photo. I'll post and 'after' photo when it is all done.

Okay, ooops! I never got out front in the daylight to take a photo, before everything was gone!

So, there had been two tall trees (up to the bottom of the third story) - one on each side of the walkway.

A strip of grass and many rose bushes on each side too.

And a birdbath.

🌳 🌳

🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

May you embrace the new, even if it's not your plan and you may incur some costs.

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022

Drive Away In the Big Wind

We took a drive out to the desert. 

Part of the drive was along Sierra Highway This is a section to the North of my daily commute. Every day I drive the section from the beginning of Sierra Highway. We considered where the road went, heading further North. The link here sure taught me a lot about roads I've driven much of my life! 

We did lots of Noticing and Pondering.

*ASIDE: I think Winnie-the-Pooh is the first time I noticed the capitalization of particular words, to add meaning to the story.

Two of the first things we noticed was the snow on the mountains and the dryness of...well, of Everything.

Can you see the snow below?

It looks quite different than Snow in Jude or Dee Land!

I altered the photo that follows to make it show up more.

Can you see it now?

Can you see the Dry (at 60 MPH, haha)

The destination was El Mirage Dry Lake

We hadn't been there together in 20 years and remember it with fondness. In that time span, they built fences and began charging to get onto the lake bed. $15, was a bit steep for driving my street car on the lake. There were lots of folks there with their off-road toys.

There's all of the dust from folks out there having their kind of fun.

To be honest, it's not my kind of fun or landscape. But, many others sure enjoy this. There are racing events and folks who camp there with their 'toys' and so on.

Heading out to this landscape on a super windy day was maybe a silly choice, but oh well.

If you looked at the video in the link above, you can get a better sense of the land than my photos from a moving car! But, what we saw was not a promotional video, it was dry and trash littered the drive. We both noticed how unhealthy the Joshua Trees looked this time around. I guess even Joshua Trees need some water! We also noticed how much more degraded the environment was generally. This area is Big, FLAT, and Dusty Dry...and you have to drive through some pretty grungy areas to get to it! Right.

 It may have been hard to find the beauty, but easy to be silly together 🤪

Along the road, a house of whirly-gigs, birdhouses & platforms, antiques and thingamajigs. 

Note the 'air mail' box. Haha  Love the crows (of course).

About 130 miles today and we saw Dozens & Dozens & Dozens of crows, playing on the wind.

While we saw all of the crows playing in the wind, not one Hawk was spied.

After I took a bunch of photos, a "No photos -No videos" sign was noticed by J.

Ooops.

In my defense, really?! You have decked out your house, right on the one main road...the only thing to look at for miles and miles...and no photos in 2022, when everyone has a camera/phone?

Anyway, my apologies.

There really was not much to see. I watched the sky, the crows a lot. I discovered they like it better where there is some civilization. There were not as many out in the middle of nothing.

I looked at the plant life, sparse and dry and of little variety as it was. 

I noticed.

Many, many, many roadside crosses where an accident had claimed a life or lives.

Many varieties of trash left roadside or blown out into the desert.

Old buildings, decaying.

A cinderblock wall, enclosing a large area of...nothing.

A front cabin area to an airplane, painted...more artwork than graffiti. 

Multitudes of tires dumped, used to mark driveway entrances, in piles far out into the desert, one single tire on a roof - to keep the roof there in the ever-present wind of the basin.

The road was long and straight. Redundant. Period.

We wondered a lot about the people of this desert.

I'm much more fond of a high desert, like those in Northern Nevada.

I love the sage brush, the pinyon pines...the scents of those!

Anyway, this drive was one that had many questions that will never have an answer, much of them based on the human interaction with this particular environment. Questions such as: Who would choose out here in a trailer? Do you know how HOT it gets out here? I thought a lot about Grace in her 'tin home'...on a hill in the green and trees. What a difference, eh?

In the end, we concurred that it was good just to get Out. It was good to be silly, looking off in the distance. It was good to see how, where others live. It was good.

Also good was this amazingly beautiful gift in the mail. 

The work of Tina's hands show what a great craftsperson she is. Truly a maker with heart.

Lucky to be a part of this circle.

May you find something worthy in your days

May you embrace what is good in your life

May you treasure your circle

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2022