shoes

I've been wearing New Balance walking shoes exclusively for a decade or so. In Illinois I put as much as 300 miles on a pair, never had to "break in" the new ones, and have stayed loyal to one particular model line as it changed. I get emails from New Balance Direct letting me know when the shoes are on sale (read: about to be discontinued) and when I see that, I'll buy a couple-three pairs at a steep discount. I'm just finishing up on my fourth pair of WW843WBs.

They have some life left in the, but barely. I usually leave them in the garage, and yesterday, I pulled them on when heading out the door to walk the dogs at the beach. For the entire walk it felt like I had a little wad of cotton at the front of the toes of my left foot. When I finished the walk, I took off the shoe and emptied the crushed remains of a rather large spider out of the shoe.

Yeah. Gak.

I did put them on again, but only after stabbing into the toe of the right show with the weed fork, as if the spider guts had reanimated and were out for revenge.

Anyway it's time for new shoes. I searched the web for any internet store that had the 843, and found one. Good price! And they had my size. This morning, however, I got an email that said they were sold out and would not be charging me, as well as offering me a 5% discount on any other product. Well, cool! They have the newer model, the 844, slightly cheaper than New Balance Direct, and with the discount, it is indeed a decent price for fairly expensive shoes.

As soon as I placed the order for the 844s, I got an email from the company telling me that oops! there was indeed another pair of 843s in my size, which would be shipped on Monday.

Whatever. I'd love to buy locally, but the general store in town doesn't stock the higher-end shoes, which is totally understandable. I've never found another style to be nearly as comfortable, though.

I guess I'll have two new pairs soon enough.

Edit: I received several emails and a phone call from this company confirming that I did indeed want both pairs of shoes. I will be doing business with them again. Holy hells bells! Customer service! Shoe-Store.net.

nothing much to say

The wildflowers down at the beach are simply amazing right now. There's no way to capture the subtle yet riotous colors that are everywhere. Last night we found chocolate lilies in places we've never seen them before, and in great numbers. We wondered how we could have missed these. I think it's because on that part of the trail, I really have to watch where I'm walking. Our dawdling last night allowed us a chance to look around.

May is warming up, but we catch only brief glimpses of the sun now and again. Next month will be more of the same. I'm almost feeling ready for summer.

a moment of my day

I got back not long ago from our mid-day walk. It's overcast and breezy here today: brisk. The beach was mostly deserted as it often is this time of day. No eagles. I didn't hear the goldfinches calling out in the sea of wild roses. The aroma of the Oregon grape flowers was lost in the wind.

Yet it was a mostly pleasant walk until we met up with another dog and her person, at a narrow point on the trail. Zach is always on lead these days. Inti is only leashed up when I'm unsure about another dog we're about to encounter. The bottom line is that they're both jackasses while on leash. Today was no exception.

I hooked up Inti and we stepped aside to let the other walker pass. Both my dogs went postal, enough that I was yanked off balance and ended up on my keister - soft landing.

For the next two or three minutes I sat there, trying to decide if I should laugh or cry or beat the dogs. Zach lay down in the grass beside me. Inti looked nervous. But I was out of the wind and it wasn't entirely unpleasant to be sitting there, looking out over the lagoon. I could smell the grape blossoms, and see the Indian paintbrush up-close. The blue-eyed Marys and armeria make a lovely haze of blue and pink. Mosses right now are golden or bronze. When I looked closely I could see the nodding buds of the chocolate lilies, and the beach-carrots are about to flower. One of the false Solomon's seals at the edge of the copse is already more than 20" tall, with the tiny beginning of its plume flower.

All of this is much easier to see now, after the past few days of frequent hail storms, which flattened last year's sedges and grasses. At first glance, it might even look a little barren until the subtle colors come into focus.

Earlier today I read in the paper that local farm fields and orchards are about 5 weeks behind due to the unseasonable weather. There is concern about what might be available when the farmers market opens in 10 days.

Maybe it's because the scene I found myself sitting in is at sea level, where the micro climate is more temperate still, or maybe it's an older intelligence in these plants, but there's nothing late or behind schedule about the flora there. Fat bees are buzzing the many tiny blossoms. In a few short weeks we'll have a riot of blues and pinks giving way to purples and yellows and then, almost as quickly as it began, it will be over. The rains will stop for the summer. Seeds have to be set by mid-June and these plants know it.

No point in getting riled about the dogs' behavior. Leashes accentuate the prey drive and boy have I learned that lesson time and again! I guess I'm glad they dumped my impatient and stressed-out butt into that sandy spot. There's little else that can say get busy living as well as the beach wildflowers in spring.

redirection

This past weekend brought sleet, hail and snow to our part of the world. The biggest inconvenience for us was not being able to walk the dogs on Saturday evening. Not a major deal. The lawn is about 10" high in places, and the yard is still soaked, so it'll be a while before we can mow, and that's if the beautiful, crisp, sunny weather holds.

Out front there are probably a few thousand alder seedlings that I need to pull.

The groundcovers I planted last week weathered the icy precipitation without skipping a beat.

I feel like going on a little binge at the new nursery around the corner.

Time to fill my world with the abundance of spring!

security is a superstition

My favorite nephew wants to join the Marines as soon as he finishes high school. My nephew who rescued frogs from our driveway and kissed them before gently placing them on the lawn. Who held my hand as we hiked Hurricane Ridge, because I was afraid of heights. Who is still a beautiful boy in my heart, and in my mind's eye.

I'm heartsick. Not because I think a military career is a bad idea, but because I think losing his life in the shit-hole called the Iraq "war" is a bad idea. Or worse, losing everything but his life (thanks to great body armor). His mother and I briefly talked about breaking his legs after graduation, but instead I wrote him a heartfelt letter telling him about my hopes and fears.

This is what he wrote back:

I completely understand where you are coming from, and I'm glad people care about the decisions I make in life, but in the end, as bad and selfish as it may sound, its my life. The marines has more to offer then most people think. To start off you can receive a college degree for free while enlisted. The main reason I am not going to college before I enter the marines is because I don't have the mind set to put school first, and have my priorities in order. I figure I go through boot camp, become more disciplined, get my act together, and then put the time and effort that is needed into my school work. Not only will the marines provide me with the skills and academics I need to succeed in life, but it will give me the chance to go around the world and see things that many will never get the chance to. Yes every marine is a riflemen, but not all marines are "killers", I would like to enter the field of diesel mechanics. When my time is finished I can take what I have learned in the service and apply to my life and start a career of my own. And just think, when I am filling out an application and write U.S. marine corps as a reference or for experience, that will set me above everyone else. I want to serve my country and if that means going to Iraq then so be it.

Of course, after reading that, I wept. He's far more thoughtful and mature than I can even imagine. It's been a while since I last saw him. For myself I'm okay with growing older but I want this special child to remain forever my little Owen. What I feel is genuine mourning, and it's quite a surprise to feel this way.

But I cannot bear the thought of losing him. I'm hoping he'll get another bug up his patoot before he graduates from high school. Girls, maybe.

school

So Zach is still a pisser. Freaked out by people at times, slow to calm down when we have a guest, etc. But in his training class? He's a prince. It's amazing to watch Trainer Tim work with him. Zach is focused, happy, and eager.

We've worked on recall, sit, down, stay (I can actually leave the room), and the heel position in weeks past. Today we learned walking on heel, front, and phooey (a form of "leave it"). He was pretty much perfect when handled by the instructor, on the first attempts.

Tim looked at me and said, "What do you want to do with this dog?" I could see the excitement in his eyes. He sees Zach's exuberance at working and believes, knows, that Zach could go far in obedience and Begleithund. No, I can't pronounce that. But I think it would do us both a world of good.

juncos

Juncos have built a nest in our whiskey barrel planter, under the New Zealand flax, two years in a row. Sunday there was a single egg. Yesterday, 2 eggs. I haven't checked yet today.

They won't begin to brood until all the eggs have been laid. I think there were five or six last year.

I'll ask hobbitt to get some pictures.

Edit: Three eggs today.

small accomplishments

Today I finished and delivered a press release for a master gardeners free educational event. To be honest, it was finished more than a week ago, but I had to figure out how to add a kind of dopey bit of information.

Friends asked if we happened to have a Washington state quarter for their daughter's collection. Why yes, we do! Wrote the child a short letter, wrapped up the coins and went to the post office.

On the way back I did the week's grocery shopping.

When I got home, I took Zach out back for some training work. So far our assignments are recall (come!), heel, sit/stay and down/stay (both to a 30 foot distance). He's amazing. He'll do anything for some beef franks.

After I prepared our lunch, I finished our federal taxes and filed them electronically. We owe a little, so I'll mail out the payment voucher with our check on the 11th. Maybe I'll even wait until the 14th.

If anyone has a clue how to make Turbo Tax work with a state K-1, I'm all ears. Hells bells, trying to figure out how to get the Georgia state tax screens to work with the federal is driving me bonkers. I think I have to override forms, but I'm not sure and Googling for help isn't getting me anywhere. But no worries. When I did it the first time (and I think it was correct) we'd owe about $180 to GA, and that includes an $8 penalty for underpayment. Bastiges.

Not too bad for a day's work.

nothing special

I spent the entire day on the other side of the Sound.

Time was running out for the free 7500 mile service on my car. And I had planned to thank Mrs. P for all her tender loving sick kitty care (done while we were on vacation) with a spending spree at the nursery of her choice. She likes Sky Nursery (as do I) which is a few miles from the Volvo dealer.

So. I got up at 7. No! I did! Seriously! First thing I did after dressing was go into the garage with a bottle of glass cleaner and a wad of paper towels and clean all the dog snot (read: Zach snot) off the cargo area windows of the newer wagon. Then I picked up Mrs. P and we took Zach to day-care. We made the 9:25 ferry, and were at the nursery by 11. We left the nursery at 2 p.m.

Yah. That's right. Three hours of plant shopping.

Mrs. P scored big time with some half-price trees and I was more modest with some spurges and ground covers. I'm even less enthusiastic about gardening this season than I was last. I'm going to request that my Jefferson County Master Gardener badge read "master curmudgeon" any day now. We put our plants on hold, since we were driving a nifty 2008 Volvo XC70 loaner (ick) and went for lunch at a Vietnamese place. Then we schlepped over to Trader Joe's, since we were in the area. It was sweet to see the Assorted Jellies and Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels that we used to enjoy so much, and no, I didn't buy any.

Then back to the dealer to pick up the car, then back to the nursery to pick up the plants and load them in the car, then back to the ferry....and there in a flash is eleven hours of my day.

Yes. I'm tired. And for frack's sake I'm glad I'm back in the land of sparse population because that traffic on 99 was starting to make me insane.

addiction

Mine is Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles. Not that it's a secret.

I finish at least two a day, and sometimes four. When hobbitt's away (as he is now) that number can grow quite a bit.

Right now there's a 500-puzzle book in the living room, and a 200-puzzle book in the bedroom. There are at least three more waiting in the wings. Can't have too many. Definitely cannot run out. That would be bad.

Exercising my brain is important, though for a while now I've been thinking that I need something a bit more challenging. This is not to say that the NY Times Sunday puzzles aren't challenging...but since I've been tearing through them for the past several years, I have come to understand the cadence and the editing and the nuances, and that gives me an advantage over someone doing them just one day a week.

There's a tactile pleasure, too. The pencil must be deadly sharp. To that end the electric sharpener on my desk gets a workout just about every day. Number 2 pencils are deliciously soft, and make a nice mark, but they're not so good at staying sharp. And the pencil must be sharp.

Is this what it means to develop eccentricities?