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Archive for the ‘Journeys’ Category

Slap to the Mind

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, tagged , on June 26, 2013| 4 Comments »

“When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” — Buddha

I'm not sure I agree that every day is perfect just the way it happens, but I do know this is a "perfect" view of Colorado mountains. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I’m not sure I agree that every day is perfect just the way it happens, but I do know this is a “perfect” view of Colorado mountains. — Photo by Pat Bean

Goofing Off

One of my favorite TV programs is NCIS, which  I watch it on my computer as I have no TV. In the show, Gibbs, the boss, is always slapping Tony, the smart goof-off, on the back of the head.

And it would b impossible to say that this reflective view of an Alabama lake doesn't earn a "perfect" 10. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And it would b impossible to say that this reflective view of an Alabama lake doesn’t earn a “perfect” 10. — Photo by Pat Bean

Well, I felt I got a slap on the mind the other day, one in which I was beating myself  up for goofing off the day before.

It was one of those occasional (I’d like to say rare, but occasional is more accurate) days when I didn’t write, I didn’t sketch, and I certainly didn’t learn something new while playing my time-wasting computer games. Even Pepper was short-changed by getting only very short walks.  .          I was mentally beating myself up for my slothfulness when I read my first blog of the day. It consisted of only a simple quote:  “Stop   keeping track of the mistakes you made – It’s time to forgive yourself”

OK, I thought. Maybe I should take this message to heart.

A little while later, when I was studying my T’ai Chi manual, a new activity on my daily to-do list, I read that life is perfect even if it helps us learn there are better ways to do things, and that we should drop the self-judgment. It also said the only wrong thing you can do in learning T’ai Chi is tell yourself you were wrong.

That certainly took a load off my mind. At my age, learning new ways to exercise isn’t going to be easy.

But then if that wasn’t enough to keep me from beating up on myself, I read another blogger whose No. 1 goal had become “getting off his own back.”

You would think the world was trying to tell me something.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Eye Beauty  http://tinyurl.com/p6sn68g I couldn’t resist this newly hatched egret.

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The Eyes Have It

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on June 24, 2013| 3 Comments »

Weekly Photo Challenge

Free roaming bunny -- Photo by Pat Bean

Free roaming bunny — Photo by Pat Bean

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” T.E. Lawrence 

Black-crowned night heron -- Photo by Pat Bean

Black-crowned night heron — Photo by Pat Bean

           If you look at the world through my eyes, you’re going to see bunnies frolicking at campgrounds, like the one above near Mount Rushmore.

You’re going to see lots of birds, like this black-crowned night heron, which I snapped eating a bug in a Texas pond.

And you’re going to take time to visit art galleries and museums, and notice architectural details, like these fish handles on an aquarium, whose class walls reflect the trees near its Albuquerque, New Mexico location.

Fishy handles. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Fishy handles. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Two for today.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow http://tinyurl.com/l6ducht Music to calm the mind; and When the Ants Attack http://tinyurl.com/n8kkdrh The kind of blog that lets you into the crazy world of thought – so that you know you’re in good company

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I Dream Writer Dreams

Posted in Journeys, tagged , , , on June 20, 2013| 16 Comments »

             “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” —  Oprah Winfrey

"You are never too old to set a new goal, or dream a new dream. C.S. Lewis

“You are never too old to set a new goal, or dream a new dream. C.S. Lewis — Photo by Pat Bean

They Feel So Real

Gone are the days when falling in love, or lust, with my latest hero, Roy Rogers, Stewart Granger, Sean Connery, were the theme of many of my dreams.

Do cloud sulphur butterflies dream? -- Photo by Pat Bean

Do cloud sulphur butterflies dream? — Photo by Pat Bean

Thankfully, also gone are the recurring nightmares of a dark figure standing over me that lasted into my 30s.  It was always worse when I slept in a strange place. I once woke a whole household with a reactive scream when I awoke from the dream.

I banished that nightmare myself, the instant that I envisioned that dark figure as someone who was guarding me from harm. It’s amazing what the mind can accomplish.

These days I dream writer dreams, complete with well-thought-out plots and intriguing characters. When I awake from these dreams I want to go back to sleep and dream them some more, especially if I don’t know the ending of the story.

Then there’s my current nightmare, which almost involves me as a reporter involved in covering an important story. These dreams have to be a hangover from my 37 years as a journalist — and they almost always end with me missing a deadline and suffering the consequences. On awaking from these dreams, which seem so very real, I try to remember to tell myself it’s only a dream.

I haven’t yet thought of a way to end this nightmare. Perhaps I should just tell myself it’s OK to miss a deadline, but then I’m not sure I can even speak that sentence.

So what do you dream about?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: dogdaz  http://tinyurl.com/mvjmut7 If this blogger can find something to be thankful for, than I’m sure the rest of us can. I do so believe it’s a zillion times better to have a half-full glass than a half-empty one. And evidently so does this person.

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Quote for the Day

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Quote for the Day, tagged , , on June 20, 2013| 2 Comments »

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” — Alice Walker

Only a Tree

Shaped by wind coming off the Gulf of Mexico. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Shaped by wind coming off the Gulf of Mexico. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The Daily Echo http://tinyurl.com/myb66tl Only a bird … and only a great blog.

 

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Bookish Friday

Posted in Art, Birds, Books, Journeys, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

“I can imagine in years to come that my papers and memorabilia, my journals and letters, will find themselves always in the company of people who care about many of the things I do.”  — Alice Walker

A recent page from one of my art journals. As I sketched the osprey, I thought about all the times I had seen one, and good memories flooded my little gray cells. Illustration by Pat Bean

A recent page from one of my art journals. As I sketched the osprey, I thought about all the times I had seen one, and good memories flooded my little gray cells. Illustration by Pat Bean

What I’m Reading

            Ditto to what Alice Walker said. I can’t help but wonder where all my bins of journals will end up after I’m gone. Hopefully not in the trash, but that’s always a possibility.

An Illustrated Journal, the book I'm currently reading.

An Illustrated Journey, the book I’m currently reading.

It would be nice if some of what I’ve lived through as a woman fighting for equal rights and equal pay found their way into a women’s center at some university. And it would be nice to think that some of my progeny, the greats, might want to know who know who I was.

Regardless, keeping my journals is simply something I have to do. It’s part of me and for me.  It’s as if I must write it down for things to become real.

Meanwhile, I love reading other people’s journals. And since I’m beginning to add drawings to my own journals, I’m particularly enjoying “An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration from the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers,” put together by Danny Gregory.

It’s a delightful book, with lots of tips on keeping an illustrated journal. And since each artist does it his or her way, I have lots of choices.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: About Elephants http://tinyurl.com/m2l2r4z  Our Journeys are all the Same.

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Finally, a Princess with Her Head on Straight

Posted in African Safari, Journeys, Travel, tagged , , on June 13, 2013| 7 Comments »

            “Behaving like a princess is hard work. It’s not just about looking beautiful or wearing a crown. It’s more about how you are inside.” – Julie Andrews

I hope the hat wasn't expensive. It looks ridiculous. Of course that's just my opinion. -- Wikipedia photo

I hope the hat wasn’t expensive. It looks ridiculous. Of course that’s just my opinion. — Wikipedia photo

Forget Diana, I’m in Love with Kate

The media was all aghast the other day, and for the first time in my life I had real respect for royalty.

Kate, or to be more respectful, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who is married to the Duke of Cambridge and second-in-line to England’s throne, was caught wearing a $29 dress.

And she’s even been caught wearing a dress more than once in public.

Heaven forbid, or so the media paparazzi, implied. I thought how refreshing.

But then of course I’m a person whose entire wardrobe could be easily squeezed into one large suitcase. Clothes are not, and have never been, important to me. Expensive jewelry even less.

Of curse there are people who would say that I spend way too much money on travel and books. Above is a photo of a Masaai school in Tanzania. I spent a good bit of money to visit Africa, and these school children reminded me of how little some people have. The world is just not fair. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Of course there are people who would say that I spend way too much money on travel and books. Above is a photo of a Masaai school in Tanzania. I spent a good bit of money to visit Africa, and these school children reminded me of how little some people have. The world is just not fair. — Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve never understood why someone would spend thousands of dollars on one dress, even if it’s a wedding dress, or even thousands more for one ring to go on one finger.

I’ve always thought there were so many better ways to spend money, even if you don’t give some of it to the poor and hungry.

What do you think?

            Bean’s Pat: 20 Lines a Day http://tinyurl.com/mn4pg42 A simple Haiku, but original and it made me smile.

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Zucchini Again? Why Thank You!

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Books, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , on June 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

            “The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.” – Albert Einstein

Blooming this morning. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Blooming this morning. — Photo by Pat Bean

Morning Walk with Pepper

            I have many friends who find joy and relaxation digging in the dirt and making something grow. I appreciate them greatly, probably more so because I’m not one of them.

Simple and elegant -- Photo by Pat Bean

Simple and elegant — Photo by Pat Bean

The only thing outside of a potted plant that I’ve ever successfully grown was a patch of strawberries, once.  The robins, who knew the exact second they would be ripe, enjoyed them.

For most of my life I faked an appreciation of gardening, perhaps trying to convince myself I enjoyed getting hot and dirty and pained from stooping over.  It simply seemed unwomanly to admit that I didn’t like digging in the dirt.

Finally I accepted my true self as a non-dirt-pottering kind of woman. It felt good.

I love gardens, and gladly eat the delicious tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas and all the other home-grown vegetables that find their way into my kitchen. I even eat the zucchini that is a never-ending gift from my gardening friends.

And no morning would be complete without a view of Mother Nature's handiwork, the Catalina mountains. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And no morning would be complete without a view of Mother Nature’s handiwork, the Catalina mountains. — Photo by Pat Bean

And I dare say no one could appreciate their flower gardens more than me. Such live, growing beauty seeps deep into my heart.

So today, I just want to send out a big thanks to those responsible for my apartment’s flower gardens, and all the other hard work of keeping the grounds  trimmed and edged and growing. I find some new growing miracle on almost every walk.

And thanks to Mother Nature, too.  Mountains and wildflowers seep deep into my heart, too.

 

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Junior

Posted in Journeys, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , on June 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Even at a young age, it's easy to see how eager Junior is to accomplish all those firsts.

Even at a young age, it’s easy to see how eager Junior is to accomplish all those firsts.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting

First attempt to feed himself, which I was there to see and capture in this photo. -- Photo by Pat Bean

First attempt to feed himself, which I was there to see and capture in this photo. — Photo by Pat Bean

I missed his first birthday, but isn't he cute.

I missed his first birthday, but isn’t he cute.

While I rejoiced at seeing my children grow up, taking their first step, getting out of diapers, speaking their first understandable word, feeding themselves without more food ending on the floor than in them, attending their first day of school and endless other firsts until they walked out the door to start their own independent lives, I find the way my grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, advance in life way too fleeting.

Perhaps it’s because I don’t get to see them often.

I wish they would grow more slowly.  But I’m so glad for the digital world of pictures so I can see the progress of Junior’s fleeting moments, even if I wasn’t there to take them.

Did you ever see a cuter kid dressed up for Halloween? Junior will be four next month.

Did you ever see a cuter kid dressed up for Halloween? Junior will be four next month.

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Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Writing, tagged , , , on June 7, 2013| 4 Comments »

Time Changes your Life

“Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.”– Khalil Gibran

And your Journals

I write these days more about nature than I do about the daily chaos of living. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I write these days more about nature than I do about the daily chaos of living. This is  a photo of Taggart Lake in Wyoming.   — Photo by Pat Bean

Henry David Thoreau once said that his journals became less personal as the years went by and he found less drama and entanglements in his life.

Reading those words gave me pause to contemplate the changes in my own journal writing. This blog actually makes up about 90 percent of my journaling these days.

In it, I talk much more about birds, nature, magical landscapes, my dog Pepper, writing and the books I’m reading – and my reactions to these topics — than I do about the personal business of living.

That’s quite the opposite of my early journal writing, when I was bogged down in raising children, trying to find love after it failed me again and again, worrying how to survive until the next paycheck, feeling that I wasn’t good enough, and worrying about children who were nowhere to be found at curfew. I probably had enough chaos in the first 50 years of my life to keep a soap opera going daily for 20 years.

And I could journal forever about the birds I see every day, like this northern cardinal. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And I could journal forever about the birds I see every day, like this northern cardinal. — Photo by Pat Bean

Some of that inner anguish, when I could face it, was written down in my journals in the expectation that no one would ever read what I was writing but me.

In total contrast, here I am today keeping a very public journal, and loving it. I won’t say that my life doesn’t still go through an occasional soap-opera installment, but time has given me plenty of experience to know life will continue on even without the drama.

            Bean’s Pat: Memory Lane at the Museum http://tinyurl.com/ljrr9eb I love the comparison of scenes. A Thomas Moran print of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River hung in my home for many years. The artist also painted  Devil’s Slide in Weber Canyon, which was located  not to far from my former Utah home.  FYI: The reason  the color of  Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone has changed is because of human pollution especially coins thrown into the hole. The first time I saw the pool, many years ago, it was still emerald green,

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Bird of the Day: Costa Hummingbird

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Journeys, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 6, 2013| 9 Comments »

            “A flash of harmless lighting, a mist of rainbow dyes, the burnished sunbeams brightening, from flower to flower he flies.” John Banister Tabb

Bringing Joy to the Trees

A male costa hummingbird. The female lacks the bright colors, being mostly green and white. -- Pat Bean illustration.

A male costa hummingbird. The female lacks the bright colors, being mostly green and white. — Pat Bean illustration.

Since it’s warmed up here in Tucson, I’ve begun sitting at a picnic bench beneath some trees for Pepper’s afternoon outing.

Although it’s not the best time of day for birding, there are usually birds flitting in the trees surrounding me, so I bring my binoculars.

Yesterday, there was a pair of hummingbirds keeping me company while Pepper frolicked in the grass. From their general demeanor, I assumed the hummers were black-chinned, the species I’ve seen more often than any other.

Then something didn’t look quite right, and I realized I was now living in an area where more than black-chins or broadtails (Utah) or black-chins or ruby-throated (Texas except for the Rio Grande Valley) were common.

Hummingbirds, which seldom stay still, aren’t easy for me to identify. But after about 10 minutes of study,  and when one finally settled on a nearby branch facing me, I realized it was a costa hummingbird.

This was a life species for me, meaning the first time I had seen and identified this bird. I couldn’t wait to get back to my apartment and bring my list up to date. The costa hummingbird made No. 701 on the list of bird species I’ve seen.

I did a quick sketch so you can see it too. No way am I a good enough photographer to have captured this tiny bundle of energy on wings with my camera.

  Bean’s Pat: Readful Things http://tinyurl.com/lmcgc76 A review of “White Fang,” my second favorite Jack London book, which I read many, many years ago. Maybe it’s time for a reread. My favorite London Book, you ask? “Call of the Wild,” of course. A few years back I visited London’s cabin in the Yukon. The cabin is located in Dawson, where I spent the night before crossing the Yukon River on a ferry and driving the Top of the World Highway on my way to Fairbanks, Alaska. Ahhhhh! What good memories I have from that trip.

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