freethoughtandmetaphor

September Revisited I

November 24, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized hike, native plants, Organ Mountains, photos, wild flowers 1 Comment

At the first cool spell in September I went out on a hike to see what the rains had done in the hills. Yes, there was green. And some wild flowers. Then I got involved in my book readings. It was over a month before I got the pictures transferred to the computer. Then I forgot that I had done that. Another month has gone by. Here, at last are some views I found to share from that September hike.Yes, there was grass along the trail.And thick growth as I climbed into the canyon. There were lots of sotols. These were not affected by the rains, they had bloomed in the spring and long since gone to seed, but I found one worthy of a close-up.I was not up to a long hike, but it was pleasant to get closer to one of the Organ Mountain peaks.There were flowers blooming, thought none were very showy. If I went back this week, the grass would all be yellow and the flowers gone.

Sunrises

November 17, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized art, nature, photos, sunrise 2 Comments

What is it that makes a sunrise so attractive? The ephemeral nature of it is no doubt part of it. The clouds don’t stop moving so that their effect can be admired.

The difficulty of capturing a sunrise is surely part of the attraction. Painters are naturally interested in sunrise and sunset because the colors are so varied and hard to reproduce. I can’t do a sunrise justice in a poem, because there aren’t enough names for all the variations in the color, and people don’t agree on the names there are. Photography has its own complications of capturing the shifting light against darkness elsewhere.

In our household we are such creatures of the clock that we only notice the sunrise at a few brief periods of the year. The rest of the time we are up too early or too late. The problem of being too late is obvious. The problem of being too early is caused by my inability to put off getting to work – near a window through which the sunrise does not appear.

These photos were taken on two consecutive mornings―this past weekend. Two very different beginnings of two different days. This morning there were no clouds at all to create any colors.

The Bad Guys

November 12, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized garden, grass, invasive plants, native plants 5 Comments

In case anyone imagines that I like everything and anything that will grow in my garden, I decided to devote a post to the nasty weeds I’d like to get rid of. There are three.

Nutgrass is a very attractive grass. The deep green leaves are a contrast to most of the paler greens of the desert. But it is terribly invasive, sending its roots deep and out in all directions.

Bermuda grass is known in many places, but wasn’t a problem where I lived in the east. It too is attractive when it is young, and it can – almost – be kept under control as a lawn. When it matures, however, it sends runners out, long and strong. they appear spreading out over sidewalks looking for places to root.

Goathead, as the name may suggest, is the worst of all. It is also the prettiest, with delicate leaves and a pretty little yellow flower. Its seeds stick to everything, are a danger to bare feet, and can pierce through gardening gloves. I may get lazy with nutgrass and Bermuda grass, but this plant I pull on sight.

I’ve recently realized that I’ve been taking more pictures than I’ve had time to post this fall. This is a first step in correcting that oversight.

Who Eats What?

November 7, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized crops, hunger, justice 3 Comments

I have been working this week on hunger conditions around the world to use for publicity for a Hunger Sunday at church. There are huge quantities of data out there, but somehow they rarely answer the questions I ask.

Along the way I found some interesting facts about food crops. Do you know what the fourth largest – and number one non-grain product – is? Potatoes. Do you know which country is the largest potato producer in the world? China.

I was interested in the basic grains, because I was trying to figure out who, where, eats how much of what. The top three crops are 3. rice, 2. wheat, 1. corn.

One can grow more rice than wheat per acre, but it takes a lot of water. Rice is the source of 20% (1/5^th) of all calories consumed by humans. We can guess that a lot of this is in Asia, but don’t forget the popularity of rice and beans in Latin America!

Another stray fact from another source: Cambodians eat a lot of wheat bread along with their rice. It’s the influence of the French who once controlled the country.

Wheat in the Field

Wheat is the leading source of vegetable protein for humans worldwide. It also takes up a lot of space – more than corn – partly because it can be grown in colder, drier places.

Corn is a staple food for the majority of sub-Saharan Africa. It is also, as we know, feeding cars as well as humans. My source, being about the business side of crops, not the hunger issues, did not consider this a problem.

Even with the cars taking a share of the corn, there is enough food in the world to feed everyone; the problem is distribution. Finding out the end result – who gets how much of what to eat – has proven difficult.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-crops-that-feed-the-world-2011-9?op=1#ixzz3G5Lbl1wx

The Wheel of the Year Keeps Turning

October 31, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized cross quarter day, dark, Halloween, NaNoWriMo 2 Comments

Halloween. Why does this holiday get so much attention? Are so many adults unable to give up the childhood game of dressing up? Are we all afraid of the dark?

I understand the Day of the Dead, honoring ancestors, and sensing a closeness to the “other world” a little better. But zombies, big parties, and extensive ugly decorations? It’s not where I want to spend my money. Some extra candy for children is enough.

Night Scene from Last Winter

There is a lot of dark out there, particularly Ebola and ISIS. The demand to close our borders on both these counts is a case of fear taking over sense, because neither illness nor terrorists can be kept out by limiting flights. If we knew where and when the enemy would enter, there might be some sense to it. (“If the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, , ,he would not have let his house be broken into,” Matthew writes. Now, as then, there is a limit to what defenses and walls can do.)

In a personal context, going into the dark at this time of year makes sense to me. I suspect that part of the success of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is that this moment in the year is a great time to find an excuse to stay indoors, and even to spend time in an imaginary world. Holiday festivities and then lengthening days will draw us out again.

November is a time for burrowing. I hope to spend some extra time at my desk this month.

Update and Reminder

October 23, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized Amazon.com, Made and Remade Leave a comment

Not many people order my books through this site. Today I’m reminding you of another option. I’ve just added Made and Remade to my listings on Amazon.com. Yes, you can buy it from the publisher, and from various other sources on Amazon, but if you buy it from my seller listing, ERYbooks, you can get a signed copy, at a competitive price.

Both Map of Longing and John Emerson Roberts: Kansas City’s “Up-to-date” Freethought Preacher are also available through my ERYbooks channel.

Place your order just like anything else you get on Amazon, and all the connecting happens for you. It’s like a bridge built over a river.

Fall Color

October 20, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized chamisa, gardening, native plants, New Mexico 1 Comment

Some days I miss the many fall colors of the east. There’s no question that the dominant fall color where I live now is yellow. I chose the chamisa for my garden because it does have great fall color. The photo above is carefully framed. Here’s the general view:I think the plant got too much water from the new watering system I put in last year. It’s a problem I saw coming, but I didn’t crawl into the plant to adjust the emitter near its base, knowing it would be easier to reach when I cut it back At least the clothesline holding parts of it from falling further doesn’t show up too much in the photo!

Gardening is ever an experiment.

He’s Back

October 4, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized Las Cruces, New Mexico, roadrunner 1 Comment

When we first arrived in Las Cruces, the huge Roadrunner at the rest area looking over the city from the west seemed like a major symbol for the city. After a few years he had to be taken away for maintenance. He is made entirely of old “stuff” and pieces were coming loose.

While he was under repair there was a great deal of discussion about where he should be re-installed.

We were pleased to see, on our first trip west in some time last week, that the original site won out. He looks very grand there, and very perky.The giant roadrunner has his eye on the city once again.

Photos courtesy of Paul Young.

We Had a Party

September 28, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized book launch, Made and Remade, poetry reading 1 Comment

Good friends came to my book launch last week, and we had a good time together. Thanks to Susan Gomez for taking photos with my camera for me, but as you see she was not the only one.

Made and Remade is off to an auspicious start.

From one of the poems, “Time Past, Time Present”:

What’s the time on Paley’s watch?
Without hands it would still be
a watch. It’s mechanism matters
to him, springs and metal, not hours . . .

We had a lovely hour together.

Burbank Canyon

September 18, 2014

ellenrobertsyoung Uncategorized Leave a comment

Between preparing for my book readings and editing Sin Fronteras Journal, I’m behind on blogging so here’s a view of New Mexico from a photo blog I’m following. Go there for lots more fascinating photos.

Always Backroads

Burbank Canyon, Caballo Mountains, New Mexico, USA.

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