Silhouettes Against the Morning Sky

For several days in January and December the morning sky has been dramatic and turbulent. Dark silhouettes, the trees stand as sentinels while the dawn creates a pattern of pink streaks across the horizon. Not the soft pink of little girls' dresses, but the violent pink of a world startled, abruptly awakened by its hot master. For one moment, the world is drawn in perfect sharp lines. Then gradually the turbulent sky melts into a pastel ice cream dream. Ambiguity, fluidity, compromise; and the day begins.

The Pocket Archaeologist cooks super simple spaghetti

I wish I had a picture of this spaghetti but just think of every dish of spaghetti you have ever had and that is how it looks. It has three ingredients, not including the pasta of your choice. You determine the portions; about 1 lb of sausage, maybe an extra can of tomatoes if the sauce seems too thick, more or no mushrooms at all. You get the idea. Here you go.....

1. hunt's cheap-o traditional spaghetti sauce (BOGO at the grocery store like every other week) or some other more expensive brand if you prefer
2. italian sausage removed from the casing and browned
3. large can of mushrooms (not the baby can)

Put in a crockpot on LOW for a couple of hours or simmer slowly on the stove. Serve over your favorite noodle. Ta-da! You are the awesome mom/cook and everyone loves you!

The Pocket Archaeologist takes on Thanksgiving

It's a new day for the pocket archaeologist! We are venturing into the realm of decorating with all the good vintage-ness that is everywhere this holiday season! And on Etsy! And in my shop on Etsy (grandpaspocket.etsy.com)!

These are two pictures snapped before dinner was served at our house on Thanksgiving. Down the middle of the table are leaves I picked up in North Carolina in October and fall corn from last year. Vintage gold-trimmed plates and silver and glass candlesticks, Anthropologie napkins (from when I worked there and got an awesome discount) and Ritz-Carlton blue and green goblets (so inexpensive you wouldn't believe it) completed the blue and brown theme. The faux mercury glass votives are from Target (or TargetBarn, as my husband calls it) a couple of years ago. Pie was served with vintage silverplate forks....oh, how I love those!

Trees in a far off horizon

Driving out into the Glades a few weeks ago, I almost came to a stop in the middle of the road. Off in the horizon were lone stands of trees stark against a background of low lying clouds and fog. The dreamy gray beauty reminded me that I was alone, but not alone. In the seeming emptiness, for a moment, past and present intersected and I was reminded of something I had learned before. Everything we do affects the Earth and each other. Driving, breathing, walking, playing. No matter how small the action, it matters.

Driving through a postcard

Have you always heard that Wyoming is "big sky country?" Today I drove through the southern version as I traveled west and south into the Everglades. The cane fields provide us with big big skies down here in Florida. Ocean breezes, sandy beaches, Mickey and Minny might top the list for vacationers but for me, it's a visit to the peaceful farmland we call the Glades. Giant birds swoop from field to field making their slow rounds, tractors far in the distance create a slow moving still life, and the sugarcane sways in the wind or stands straight in the hot Florida sun. It is like driving through a postcard.

Today's storm

There is something about trees, birds, crickets, nests, eggs, ponds, lakes, oceans, shells, pinecones and turtles that is irresistible. Foggy days, sunny days, rainy days.....outside the window is my own personal movie theatre.

Today we are experiencing the effects of Hurricane Irene but the park was serene. Not many people were there because of threatening storms so I had the park mostly to myself. My favorite! At one point the wind was blowing so hard and the skies overhead were so gray and ominous it felt like being alone on a desert island....dangerous yet enchanting.

Yesterday at the park

Yesterday, at the park where I ride my bike everyday, I found a blown down nest in a pretty grove of tall pine trees. It had been run over and smashed flat but I molded it back into shape and voila! a nest again, even with one crack all the way through it. Not perfect, but perfectly beautiful. The dedication of one little bird flying back and forth, back and forth, to bring grass and twigs to that tree...it is astonishing.

I also found three tiny pinecones on a deserted, secluded part of the bike path. It is harder to find these tiny ones than to find the big cones. There were two squirrels in a chase. One, with a pinecone, was being chased at top squirrel speed by his squirrel friend....until the friend got distracted and ran up a tree. Detour!

Four sandhill cranes were out having a nice stroll. Each time we spot them, they are traveling as a group. It is quite a sight! Sandhills are tall and majestic and only a little afraid of humans. Once, last season, when there were still five, I walked right up to where they were posing. Three of them immediately moved away but two others walked up to me and seemed to be indicating that it was time for me to leave! I imagined they were the males. They never seem too worried about anything...they just stroll across the street when people get too close. Never in a hurry and never flustered, they are regal. Like the queen.