Mysterynovelist.com - Weblog Home - 2007 - 09 - 02 - Right outside my door
musings, thoughts, and writings of Barbara W. Klaser


September 2, 2007

Right outside my door

When I stopped commuting to a busy office and switched to staying home most days, I worried a little whether my new life would be too quiet or uneventful to suit me. But I’m never bored, and I’m sometimes amazed how much can happen right outside my door. I’ve been able to slow down, tune into the seasons, and let them slide gently past. I can be a mushroom, staying indoors and focusing on my inner world, as writers do when we’re working, or I can step right outside and find endless variety, especially in the forms nature takes.

I posted earlier this summer about hummingbirds. There have been lots of birds this summer. The mockingbirds twirled in cartwheel displays, showing off the white of their wings, and flew in wild, veering trajectories to catch cabbage white butterflies. They sang for hours on end, and swooped at anyone who ventured within range of their nests. A nearby rooster crows most mornings and sometimes all day. I’ve seen a phainopepla, a few hawks, loads of crows, orioles, black phoebes, brown towhees, and house finches. My husband saw a California thrasher, who sadly chose a rare time when I was at the post office to stop by for a snack of insects. Now and then a flock of common bushtits flies through, chittering in light tones. They never seem to sit still, and I like their tiny, perfect round shapes, so like the birds in picture books that I read as a child.

We’ve seen butterflies of all varieties this year, as well as plenty of bees, lizards, bats, and the tarantula hawk, and the summer has seen a variety of mushrooms sprouting in the yard, which seem to be able to blend in with their surroundings. (Click on images to view full size.)

01081307Mushroom.jpg 02081307Mushroom.jpg

Our daily visitors include the ubiquitous scrub jay.

03082607ScrubJay.jpg

I’ve noticed that a variety of clouds can inhabit different parts of the sky in the same moment.

05082907Cloud.jpg 06082907Cloud.jpg

I even got to thinking about the little fuzzy-edged ones, and wondered if painters who pour watercolor ever pour white gouache to make clouds. That sent me on a lazy search that introduced me to the work of artist Vickie Leigh Krudwig.

We’ve had our hottest weather of the year in the past two days, and today promises to be even hotter. Thirty minutes ago it was 97 degrees Fahrenheit outside. As I write this, it’s 99. Yesterday’s sighting of a swallowtail butterfly almost as big as my hand, and this morning’s sunrise, almost make up for the heat.

07090207Sunrise.jpg 08090207Sunrise.jpg

I’m attempting to ignore the fact that the sunrise was followed a few hours later by a 4.0 earthquake about 40 miles north of us, which jolted us to our feet. As I write this, thunderheads are forming just east, which looked like this an hour ago,

09090207Cloud.jpg

and like this half an hour later.

10090207Cloud.jpg

I don’t expect a triple whammy day of heat, earthquake, and thunderstorms. I’m looking for the next butterfly. But I may close the car windows just in case.

— Barbara @ 1:35 pm PST, 09/02/07

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4 Comments

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  1. 1.

    Nice Discovery Channel reprise. The ubiquitous Scrub Jay enjoys a sky full of various cloud formations.

    Comment by Creechman — September 3, 2007 @ 2:43 am

  2. 2.

    I am a big bird fan, too. I haven’t gone as far as to put up food to lure them, just plant flowers and good things for them in the garden. They love my berries, especially.

    Comment by violetismycolor — September 4, 2007 @ 6:42 pm

  3. 3.

    I love butterflies and hummingbirds, especially…

    Comment by violetismycolor — September 13, 2007 @ 7:45 pm

  4. 4.

    You are so right. I too have noticed that when writing and feel like my mind is blocked, all I have to do is just step outside for a little while. It’s amazing how much creativity I can gain from it, amongst many other tricks I have up my sleeves.

    Comment by melissa — September 14, 2007 @ 6:28 am

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