Pat Bean's blog

July 4, 2013 by Pat Bean

America the Beautiful 

Spacious Skies: Whale Rock, Canyonlands National Park. — Photo by Pat Bean

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

— Katharine Lee Bates

Happy Fourth of July

Purple Mountain Majesty: Mount Rainer — Photo by Pat Bean

     There are many things in this country that need to be fixed, starting with term limits for politicians so they won’t waste their time in office concerned about getting re-elected, and elected leader benefits – wages, health insurance, pensions – that are more in line with those of the average American.

From Sea to Shining Sea: Acadia National Park, Maine — Photo by Pat Bean

Hopefully, all of us can work together to fix these items, along with many other things.

But there is no place else I want to call home. What’s right with this country outweighs what’s wrong.

I thought this every day, when I woke up on the road as a lone woman traveler who felt safe. I can still get tears in my eyes when the Star Spangled Banner waves beneath a blue sky.

I am thankful to be an American, but I fully believe what Mark Twain wrote: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The American Soldier http://tinyurl.com/lwna8ms As a grandmother of a Marine, and mother of three who served in the military, thank you Chris Martin.

Posted in Journeys, Nature | Tagged America, July Fourth, pat bean | 3 Comments »

Fate

July 3, 2013 by Pat Bean

            “Fate is not an eagle. It creeps like a rat.” – Elizabeth Bowen

I’m a believer  

We never know what we’re going to encounter on the path of life. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. — Photo by Pat Bean

          “We make our own fortunes then call them fate,” said Benjamin Disraeli. His words were the gist of almost all the quotes I could find on “fate.”

I agree, and yet I also disagree. I’m not a religious person, but there have been many times in my life when it seemed as if fate took a hand.

Most recently, it was after I broke my ankle and met Betty Ann, who was a dog walker, well of sorts. It was something she fell into while searching for a job. She was my next door neighbor, and thus agreed, for a pittance, to walk Maggie until I could take over the task again.

Recently I discovered, she had excellent editing skills. And again, for a pittance, she has agreed to edit and
proofread “Travels with Maggie,” the book which I desperately need to finish and publish so I can move on.

Every writer needs an editor, if for nothing more than to see what the writer really wrote, and not what she thought she wrote. She hadn’t even got past my dedication of the book, which read: This book is dedicated to my canine traveling companion, Maggie, and to John Steinbeck. His book, “Travels with Charley, was one of the inspirations for my vagabond lifestyle and also for this book’s title. I would also like to think the hundreds of other great travel writers who taunted me to discover my own adventures.

Did you catch the mistake? I didn’t. Think should have been thank.

I truly believe it was fate that brought Betty Ann and me together. What do you think? Or is that thank?

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The Mockingbird and the Cat http://tinyurl.com/l4ebgew I’m both an avid bird watcher and a cat lover, so I’m a fence sitter on the issue of cats being allowed outside. I put a bell on my cat to give the birds warning, just fyi. But I sure do love this mockingbird’s attitude.

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Travels With Maggie, Writing | Tagged fate, pat bean | 6 Comments »

Slap to the Mind

June 26, 2013 by Pat Bean

“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

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

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.

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

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature | Tagged pat bean, perfection | 4 Comments »

The Eyes Have It

June 24, 2013 by Pat Bean

Weekly Photo Challenge

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

           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

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

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged black-crowned night heron, bunnies, eyes, pat bean, weekly photo challenge | 3 Comments »

I Dream Writer Dreams

June 20, 2013 by Pat Bean

             “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 — 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

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.

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.

.

Posted in Journeys | Tagged butterflies, dreams, pat bean, sunsets | 16 Comments »

Quote for the Day

June 20, 2013 by Pat Bean

“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

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.

 

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Quote for the Day | Tagged Birds, pat bean, trees | 2 Comments »

June 18, 2013 by Pat Bean

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves

            “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” Aristotle

Barn swallow nests with a curved opening. — Photo by Pat Bean.

They Abound in Nature  

            I’ve flow across America many times, always if possible in a window seat, where I spent much time staring at the earth below. I found that the land was almost always sectioned off into an endless array of squares. We North American humans, it seems, like our boundaries straight and neat.

          I realized just how true that was  hen I flew in a plane over Kenya and Tanzania, where a landscape square was a rare thing.. Here the land retained much of its natural curves.

It was more picturesque, and I liked it better.

            Bean’s Pat: http://tinyurl.com/lez6u6y Follow along as a historic Lonely Planet Journey is recreated. It’s a fantastic armchair travel adventure for those of us who can’t afford to take the trip for real.

Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged barn swallows, curves, pat bean, wood ducks | 3 Comments »

Bookish Friday

June 14, 2013 by Pat Bean

“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

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 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.

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

Posted in Art, Birds, Books, Journeys, Travel | Tagged Alice Walker, danny gregory, illustrated journals, journaling, pat bean | 7 Comments »

Finally, a Princess with Her Head on Straight

June 13, 2013 by Pat Bean

            “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

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 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.

Posted in African Safari, Journeys, Travel | Tagged fashion, Kate Middleton, royalty | 7 Comments »

Zucchini Again? Why Thank You!

June 10, 2013 by Pat Bean

            “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

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

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 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.

 

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Books, Journeys, Nature | Tagged flowers, gardens, pat bean | Leave a Comment »

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  “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters.” — Ursula K. Le Guin

  Pat Bean is a writer, avid birder, hiker and passionate nature observer with wanderlust in her soul. She spent nine years living and traveling in a small RV. She now lives in Tucson with Scamp, a rescue who was supposed to be a Schnauzer mix but turned out to be a Siberian Husky-Shih Tzu mix who is as stubborn as his owner, her granddaughter says. She was also a journalist for 37 years, and can be reached at patbean@msn.com

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