A Friday Farrago

On the pavement on the Walnut Street Bridge. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Let’s dare to be ourselves, for we do that better than anyone else can.

~ Shirley Briggs

Light bounces

I woke up early this morning, filled with a restless kind of energy.  It could be from the change in weather that is approaching.  Storms came through during the night, but the actual front with the cooler air is, as of this morning writing, still making its way to the Eastern Shore and the Wabi-Sabi Ranch.

A sculpture in Harrisburg.

Hurricane Humberto and Tropical Storm Gabrielle are sitting out in the Atlantic Ocean, apparently no threat to us here.  According to the computer models, they will be turning away from the U.S.  Tropical Depression Ten is going to make its way to Mexico.  I feel lucky that Mother Nature has given us a break so far during the 2013 hurricane season.  Between the house and the property, we have enough chaos.  Work on the house and property got put on hold due to travel.  I think we’re settled in for a while, and with the turn in the weather, will be working hard over the next few weeks, increasing the look of chaos around here, but at least it will be working and organized chaos.

The Market Street Bridge. (Harrisburg, PA)

I spent some time visiting blogs this morning, sometimes commenting, but mostly reading.  There are so many beautiful blogs out there covering such a wide range of subjects.  The blogging world, like the rest of life, goes through seasons and changes, and I find that to be as beautiful as the blogs themselves.

A piece of the Harrisburg skyline from City Island.

However, the blogosphere is not all beauty and sunshine and happiness.  There is sadness out there, too, just as there is in life.  The saddest blogging news I learned recently was about the death of Anita Mac.  Shortly after writing her last blog post, What do you do with a broken heart?, Anita committed suicide.  I was shocked, and then shocked again by my reaction.

Assateague Island sunset.

I never met Anita or exchanged emails with her.  We were blogmates, commenting on each other’s blogs.  Yet I reacted to the news of Anita’s death as if a friend or a neighbor that I visited with every day had died.  I’ve been processing the news for a couple of weeks, and it saddens me that those of us who have followed Anita around the world didn’t get the chance to help her or say goodbye.  So, I guess this it, my goodbye to Anita.  There must have been a lot of inner pain for her to make the decision to kill herself, but if you read her blog, Anita packed a lot into life.  That’s what I’ll remember about her.

Another day almost over.

I’m not going to die,
I’m going home
Like a shooting star.

~ Sojourner Truth

Saying goodbye

Let’s switch gears a bit, shall we?  It’s Friday and I don’t want to end on a sad note.  While I’ve been writing up this blog post in my usual piecemeal fashion (a little here, a little there, and hoping it all ties together eventually although I’m not sure it ever does), the cooler, drier air arrived and it smells like autumn.  The wind is dancing around in the goldenrod and asters before finding its way into the house through the open windows.  The cicadas continue to dominate the chorus of outdoor sounds.

Looking at the goldenrod through the window of the pine trees and grasses.

I went out for a walk around the property about mid-way through this blog post.  I sat on the dock for a little while.  There were not many birds out and about.  The Red-Winged Blackbirds disappeared in August.  Usually I see a few gulls, but they must be having a beach day as there was no sign of them today.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen an egret, too.  There were three Turkey Vultures circling around over the marsh, but even their population seems to be down.

Today’s morning glory

M and I are going to visit Crisfield this evening.  Crisfield is the southernmost town in the state of Maryland.  It’s located on the Chesapeake Bay off of Tangier Sound near the mouth of the Annemessex River.  They are famous for their seafood, especially blue crab and oysters.

There are still a few Black-Eyed Susans blooming in the meadow.

You might think we’d be going to sample some of this famous seafood, but we’re not.  We’re going for pizza.  There is a coupon involved.  We’ll give the seafood a try some other time.

If you go out to the woods today, you will encounter a lot of Red Spotted Purples flitting around in the trees and shrubs.

That’s about it from the Wabi-Sabi Ranch for today.  Thank you for stopping by.  Do you have any plans for the weekend?  I’m going to be sanding and painting furniture for the Beach Bedroom.  I’m kind of excited about it because once the furniture is painted and placed in the room, we will have one room of the house finished.  M and I might also go to the Two Chicks Barn Sale just for fun.  We’re in need of one piece of furniture (a dresser for the master bedroom that will fit under a window).  If we can find something that will suit our needs, we’ll be ready to start work on the master bedroom (removing a wallpaper border and then painting).

One more look at an Assateague Island sunset.

Have a delightful weekend!  Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Well, okay. One more. But this really is the last for now. 🙂