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Posts Tagged ‘postaday’

Favorite Places – and People

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on July 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

 “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein

Entrance to the Virginia Beach Aquarium. — Photo by Pat Bean

Virginia Beach Aquarium and Albert Einstein

These redheads attracted my attention as I strolled along the boardwalk of the aquarium’s Owls Creek Aviary. — Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve been amazed, in my search to find appropriate quotes to accompany my blog, how many times I’ve come across meaningful ones by Albert Einstein. And we’re not necessarily talking brainy here.

I’ve discovered that when it comes to Mother Nature, and the desire for a better world, he and I are on the same wave length. Never mind that he’s been dead now for 57 years. Or that his geeky-scientist brilliance is mostly beyond my brain.

I found the above quote when I was looking for something to go with my choice of the Virginia Beach Aquarium as one of my favorite places. It’s so much more than an aquarium, just as Einstein was so much more than a scientist.

A family of otters also made their home at the aquarium. — Photo by Pat Bean

So along with sharing a few photos of the aquarium, here are a few more quotes from Einstein:

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”

“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is incomprehensible.” – Albert Einstein

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

“The important thing is to not stop questioning.”

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

Bean’s Pat: A Tribute to Sally Ride http://tinyurl.com/bux5djj I was fortunate that as a journalist I once had the opportunity of interviewing this gracious scientist. It’s sad that the world has lost her.

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An Overcast Morning at Lake Walcott

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Dogs, Favorite Hikes, Lakes, Nature, Travel, Wildflowers, tagged , , , , , , , on July 24, 2012| 10 Comments »

 “The town was glad with morning light; places that had shown ugly and distrustful all night long now wore a smile; and sparkling sunbeams dancing on chamber windows, and twinkling through blind and curtain before sleepers’ eyes, shed light even into dreams, and chased away the shadows of the night.” – Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop

These Canada geese floated away from the shore as Pepper and I approached. — Photo by Pat Bean

It Couldn’t Have Been Any More Perfect

The stone wall is a CCC legacy, and the basalt rocks used to build it a legacy of the area’s volcanic past. In the background is Hole 12 of the park’s disc (Frisbee) golf course, a specialty here at Lake Walcott. — Photo by Pat Bean

I varied my walking route this morning, which usually sees me taking the trail from my RV to the boat dock. I chose instead to visit the fishing decks at the other end of the park, then immediately realized why this was a hike usually saved for the evenings.

Early mornings were when the sprinklers came on in this section of the park.

I managed to dodge all but one big spray, while my canine traveling companion, Pepper, purposely splashed through the raining water and any puddles she came across. Her joy at doing so delighted my heart.

A lone western grebe floats on the lake, whose reflective surface is muted this morning by an overcast sky. — Photo by Pat Bean

The overcast day spread a kind of magic over the landscape and lake, whose watery reflections were muted and quiet.

Running ahead, Pepper startled a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds that took to the sky from several Russian olive trees, their golden heads flashing before their dark bodies like large fireflies lighting their way.

A half-dozen nearby magpies were slower to flight as we approached. With their long tails swishing, these black and white birds didn’t go far, landing out of reach but near enough to keep an eye on us as we passed.

A goose family, also wanting to get out of reach, floated farther out from shore.

Sweet pea blossoms beneath a Russian olive tree added to the morning’s perfection. — Photo by Pat Bean

As they did that, a couple of mallards quacked from behind some bank bushes. I never did see them, but a mallard is one of the few North American ducks whose voice I can recognize. It’s the only one that quacks like Donald Duck.

Pepper and I took the long way back to our RV, taking the route that led past the park’s day-use grounds and visitor center. I noticed that a patch of sweet pea blossoms had sprung up beneath a tree and at the edge of some sagebrush that the sprinklers catch. They fragrant pink flowers hadn’t been there the last time I had walked this way.

I don’t think, even with the sprinkler dousing I took, that my walk with Pepper could have been any more perfect.

Bean’s Pat: Stewards of Earth http://tinyurl.com/cu36rtm Butterfly House. Fantastic photos. Blog pick of the day from the wondering wanderer.

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From Joy to Grief

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Dogs, Nature, Travel, Wildflowers, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2012| 10 Comments »

“It’s so curious: one can resist tears and behave very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed … and everything collapses.” – Collette

Morning sunrise at about 6:40 a.m. here at Lake Walcott State Park. — Photo by Pat Bean

In the Flicker of an Image

I never tire of waking up to a sunrise here at Lake Walcott. Each one is different, but all are usually awesome.

Flags at half-mast in front of the Lake Walcott State Park visitor center. — Photo by Pat Bean

This one, since my canine traveling companion, Pepper, let me sleep in an extra hour, was taken at about 6:40 a.m. The days are slowly getting shorter here now. This would have been too late to catch even a glimmer of sunrise when I first arrived.

And I noticed last night that it was now getting dark before 10 p.m. Lake Walcott is far enough north from southern Texas, where I grew up, that there’s a significant difference in how long summer days can be. That was emphasized when I was on the phone the other evening with my son. He noted that it was dark outside at 8 p.m. while there was still two hours of daylight left here.

It’s also finally gotten hot here at the park, not by Texas standards perhaps, but enough that I take Pepper for long walks only in the early mornings and late evenings. On this morning’s walk, I saw that the flags at the park’s visitor center were at half-mast.

It took me a moment before I realized that this was probably done to honor those whose lives were so senselessly lost in Aurora, Colorado. Because I don’t have a TV, that tragedy is only brought to my attention when I read the news on my computer.

A single sunflower reminded me that life goes on. It’s just that after the Aurora tragedy, it will never be the same again for those who lost loved ones or those who will carry scars of that day. — Photo by Pat Bean

Suddenly all the joy of my morning evaporated.

Like the rest of the caring, honorable, law-abiding people in this world, my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones, and to those whose lives will never be the same again.

I know life will go on, just as the sunflowers I left dying when I left Lake Walcott last fall, are just now beginning to bloom again. My hope, however, is that one day we will live in a kinder, more caring, gentler world where such acts would never even enter anyone’s mind.

History tells me that will never happen, but I, for one will never stop hoping. If Mother Nature can change her face day by day, then so can we.

Bean’s Pat: Goodnight Precious http://tinyurl.com/d6dfkr3 A kinder picture for all of us who grieve Aurora. The wondering wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , , , , on July 21, 2012| 6 Comments »

Roseate spoonbills in the aviary built for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. — Photo by Pat Bean

“If  most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies … it would be a sad situation if they were better than the meat wrapped inside it.” — Albert Einstein

World’s Fair Aviary, St Louis Zoo

The swamp inside the aviary was the real thing — well almost. — Photo by Pat Bean

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” — Norman Cousins

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Life’s Journey

Posted in Journeys, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2012| 15 Comments »

 “Does the road wind uphill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the journey take the whole day?

From morn to night, my friend.” – Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

Discovering the Wondering Wanderer

 

You’re on a journey, whether you travel or not, from sunrise… — Photo by Pat Bean

I was a late bloomer, a wisp of a girl who grew up too fast, going from taking care of three younger brothers to a too-young marriage and taking care of five kids of my own.

It wasn’t until I was nearly 40 that it dawned on me that I had no idea who the woman I had become was. Trying to answer that question began a new, and very surprising, journey for me. It’s one that has been full of both heartache and joy, and one that continues to this day.

The truth is, I’m many persons in one: Writer, mother, grandmother, traveler, birder, friend, adventuress, tree-hugger, nature enthusiast, reader, peace advocate, feminist,, animal lover and currently campground host. I’m sure there’s a few more tags somewhere around that I could add.

… to sunset. Make it a memorable trip. — Photo by Pat Bean

But lately I’ve been calling myself the wondering wanderer. It’s a descriptive phrase that I’ve decided fits me as well as a clingy leotard, not that I would put one of those on my over-ripe body these days.

In my own way, I’ve always been a wondering wanderer. And now I wonder why I didn’t understand it sooner.

So how would you describe yourself? This wondering old broad would love to know.

Bean’s Pat: 20 Minutes a Day http://tinyurl.com/77t2488 The Consequences of Being Nice. This blog certainly gave me something to think about. Blog pick of the day from the wondering wanderer.

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Good News and Bad News

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Lakes, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2012| 18 Comments »

“The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on life … I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.” – Charles R. Swindoll

Pepper after getting into the sprinklers and then the ferns at a friend’s house. Yes, she’s a cutie pie, but … — Photo by Pat Bean

 

Which Do You Want to Hear First?

There seems to be more birds here at Lake Walcott this year than last, an eye-popping treat for this enthusiastic birder. But perhaps that’s because there are more bugs as well.

Thankfully they’re not the stinging kind, just clouds of mayflies thick enough to provide a privacy curtain and little black gnats that like to fly up your nose.

A gaggle of Canada geese making their getaway as Pepper and I near. Too bad they can’t take their poop with them. — Photo by Pat Bean

It was so much fun watching the Canada geese and their goslings when I first arrived here in Southern Idaho mid-May. There was a bumper crop of young’ens. But now I find myself stepping around tons of goose poop – and they poop big – when I walk the bank paths. Yuck!

Pepper, the Scotty mix puppy I rescued after losing my longtime canine traveling companion, Maggie, brings daily adventure and joy to my life. But she wakes me every morning at 5:30 a.m., and makes sure we take long walks no matter how thick the bugs are outside.

And so life goes.

There’s always bad with the good, and good with the bad. Swindoll got it exactly right. Attitude is the key to our days.  I’m grateful I see my own glass as always half full instead of half empty.

What about you?

Bean’s Pat: Green-rumped parrotlets http://tinyurl.com/brwgre2 From egg to adult. Fantastic. Blog pick of the day from the wondering wanderer.

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Lake Walcott: What Happened?

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Lakes, Nature, Travel, Wildflowers, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2012| 8 Comments »

 “The man who never alters his opinion Is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.” William Blake.

These flowers bloomed while I was gone. There were big bunches of them all along a short section of the bank in the upper tent campground. — Photo by Pat Bean.

Life Goes On

And the milkweed plants, which the butterflies love, here at the park went from this … — Photo by Pat Bean

I’m Back now at Lake Walcott, after leaving for four days to fly to Texas for a granddaughter’s wedding. I had a marvelous time. I got to see a new great-grandson, now almost seven months old, for the first time. And I’m still feeling the love from all the family hugs I received.

Homecoming, when it involves loved ones, is always sweet after an absence. It’s a benefit that helps make up for the distance my chosen on-the-road life and the scattered residences – from Texas to Florida, Illinois to Arizona, with Argentina thrown in for good measure – of my children and grandchildren.

But while I was gone, this southern Idaho state park where I’m volunteering for the summer continued its ever-changing life cycle, welcoming me back with new wonders.

My hummingbird feeder was empty and the bird seed feeder, which I had filled to the brim before taking off, had only a few sunflower seeds remaining in it. I had left both full, not wanting to disrupt the continuity of the birds that visit my RV site.

A black-headed grosbeak and an American goldfinch – a study in orange and yellow – were at the feeder when I pulled in. It was the first grosbeak that had visited and I was delighted to see it. I suspected that the Bullock’s orioles had emptied the hummingbird feeder as I’ve only had a few hummers visit this year.

Black-headed grosbeak — Wikipedia photo

My first walk around the park after being back was full of changes too. Along with coming across branches that had blown down from the weekend storm I missed, I noticed that the milkweed had matured, and that some bank plants had come into bloom while I was gone.

It was fun to see the changes, which so often are missed on a day-to-day basis. Life goes on where ever one goes.

Bean’s Pat: Katmai National Park http://tinyurl.com/765d97z Fishing bears. I couldn’t resist sharing this. Blog pick of the day from the wondering wanderer.

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Favorite Places: Jamaica

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

This passing boat looks just like the one I cruised the Black River in. — Photo by Pat Bean

“The Mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.” Chinese Proverb

Typical passing scenery at the start of the river cruise. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Black River

Toward the end of the cruise, it was just one mangrove tree after another. — Photo by Pat Bean

I had one day to spend in Jamaica as part of a Caribbean cruise, and I chose to spend it cruising some more — on the  Black River.

But first there was a ride in a rickety old bus to get to the other side of the island. 

“No problem.” That describes the Jamaican way of life I learned. 

It was a fun bus ride, and a fun boat trip.

George — Photo by Pat Bean

 One in which a crocodile named George came at our boat captain’s call, and one in which all aboard toasted our captain with a Jamaican beer after he called the alligator over to say hi.

Honest!

Bean’s Pat: Retiree Diary http://tinyurl.com/7orn9dq Keep traveling with this blog, which takes you to Croatia. Blog pick of the day from this wondering wanderer.

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Lake Walcott Has Many Moods

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Favorite Places, Lakes, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on July 11, 2012| 11 Comments »

 “It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here.” – Edward Abbey

Always the Same But Always Different

 

I often sit on this bench to watch birds. The area is a favorite hangout of western kingbirds and Bullock’s orioles. — Photo by Pat Bean

Before I became a full-time wondering wanderer, I enjoyed the familiarity of my frequent hikes on the benches of Utah’s Mount Ogden, whose shadow stretched down to touch my pleasant home.

From day-to-day, season-to-season, year-to-year, I got to watch the same landscape in its different moods and growth. It was an awesome experience.

While I truthfully tell everyone the only thing I miss since paring all my belongings down to fit into a 22-foot long RV is my bathtub – showers have just never been my bathing choice – I’m beginning to think I also miss the continuity of watching one particularly landscape change on a daily basis.

My volunteer position as a campground host here at Lake Walcott State Park for the last three summers is what started me thinking about this. I walk all around this park daily, several times in fact since my canine traveling companion, Pepper, needs an outlet for her energy. And I never tire of seeing the same landscape over and over.

Today the lake is mirror smooth, and so provides a canvas for the landscape to paint.

Part of that is because it’s ever-changing. The slant of the sun, the shadow of a cloud, the arrival of the nighthawks, a new flower opening its petals, the mirror smoothness or crashing waves of the lake against the shore, all this and much, much more add variety and delight to my walks.

Edward Abbey got it right. It’s as important to enjoy the land as it is to protect it. The first, I suspect, will make us fight all the harder to accomplish the latter.

Bean’s Pat: Life in the Bogs http://bogsofohio.wordpress.com I chose this blog as my pick of the day because its author/photographer frequently posts pictures of the same pond in its many moods. I never tire of seeing her pond day after day.

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Yes Virginia, There Really are Angels

Posted in Travel, tagged , , , , , , on July 10, 2012| 4 Comments »

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” Seneca

And They Work for Delta Airlines

If I could, I’d give this whole garden of flowers, which I found growing at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens, to my two Delta Airline angels. — Photo by Pat Bean

I have a granddaughter getting married this weekend in Texas.

So about six weeks ago, so as not to leave my campground hosting duties here at Lake Walcott for too long, I made airline reservations that would get me into Texas early Saturday morning for that evening’s wedding. Or so I thought.

The plan was that my son, who lives only a couple of hours away, would pick me up at the airport. But then I got a call from him yesterday asking me to take another look at my flight reservations.

“You’re booked to catch the 8:10 p.m. flight, and not the 8:10 a.m. flight,” he said.

And may their days be full of rainbows, like this one I saw near Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota. — Photo by Pat Bean

He was right – and I was in a panic. My flight wouldn’t arrive in Texas until after all the happenings had ended. And of course I had purchased one of those non-refundable, non-changeable tickets.

Trying very hard to not panic, I called Delta Airlines. After the usual wait for an agent, I was connected to sweet, young, voice, the kind that you just know is not going to be able to help you. Fate, I thought, wasn’t going to be kind to me.

But after I, as calmly as my fast-beating heart would allow, explained my predicament, the honeyed voice asked if I would hold while she talked with a supervisor.

It wasn’t a short hold, but the voice came back several times to let me know she was still working on my problem.

Finally, as if this were a fairy tale where everyone lived happily ever after, she told me that my flight had been changed from an evening one to a morning one, and that there would be no charge.

“Normally it would have cost $350 to change,” she said, “but this was clearly a mistake.”

I wished I could have hugged this delightful young woman, and the supervisor who approved the change, too.

I now believe in Angels.

Bean’s Pat: The Kindness Kronicles http://thekindnesskronicles.wordpress.com I wonder if my angels ever read this bloggers post about daily kindness. Blog pick of the day from this wondering wanderer.

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