r.i.p.

paul sanger died this morning, age 79 or so --- he's been a fixture at metropolis for as long as i've lived here --- almost a caricature of the southern gentleman, but he was the real thing ---  a mellifluous voice and a droll sense of humor --- and always "dressed," one way or the other --- i'm not sure that i ever saw him without a jacket, worn with bermuda shorts in the summer (and once with gym shorts) --- he'll be missed

and iris has been gone six years today --- this image was taken at her 90th birthday doo-dah --- her last year wasn't all that, as far as she was concerned, and she died in her bed, presumably in her sleep, which might have been her first and foremost wish in terms of location and timing for her demise

and i can't help but think of john, since tomorrow is his birthday --- i still miss him every day



In the secret space of dreams
Where I dreaming lay amazed
When the secrets all are told
And the petals all unfold
When there was no dream of mine
You dreamed of me

grateful dead

wintre is coming

a fine late fall day, with the sun creeping closer to its southern horizon --- 

the fragrance of chocolate from this unit is purty great right and the dendrobium's first stem is in full flower, with two more coming along, meaning it will blossom into the new year

sliding into winter

spent the morning thinking about and re--arranging midtown ---  i've sorta worked out six of eight chapters i planned, and now wonder if i'm not going about it all wrong ---

finishing that door-stop of a history of ulster was a large and quite informative accomplishment -- i kinda skimmed the last couple of hundred pages out of the 800+ in the book --- 

in the low 40s and nice wind out of the nw this afternnon --- perfect weather to retire to the river --- 

that's a fungus as big as a gallon of milk!

thanksgiving 2018

an excellent thanksgiving week, were it not for the damn eye acting up --- i hope it's gonna settle down so we can put off letting the doctors poke at it a while longer

killing monday

the chocolate orchid is blooming --- dog got a bath --- we got to see a d hill and her crazy dog --- robt gave me a clean house --- and i finished memoirs of hadrian, one of the better books i've ever read ----

back to the pound

i've not been over there as much as i should have, what with mexico and my fkd-up eye and what not --- i gotta change that

a good picture show

i nearly forgot to record my watching of the television for much of a day late last week --- first, murder on the orient express (1974). which was really awful, and then king lear (2018), which was wonderful in every way --- although it was an adaptation, of which i generally do not approve, anthony hopkins was by far the best lear i've ever seen --- the whole thing was really outstanding --- 

high-maintenance body parts

rain, rain, rain --- we've already had a couple of inches, and more on the way over the next couple of days --- the lake will be full up after this

i fetched my umbrella and walked up to colony square to see eye doctor #1 this morning and got soaked, so i ubered back home after that and then to and from eye doctor #2 at emory midtown --- bottom line, the replacement lens in my right eye, installed in december 2000, is beginning to crap out like the left one, installed in january 2001, did in 2015 --- more immediate problem is high pressure in the right eye, but little drops each morning is supposed to fix that --- if not it will give them another excuse to mess around with that eyeball

banging my head in mexico city probably didn't help

gully tour

this is bill witherspoon, PhD, and a total geek for rocks --- he co-authored roadside geology of georgia, which is a book everyone interested in the state's natural features should possess --- he also has severe ADD --- but this is the second of his tours that i've experienced, and i enjoy his perspective a lot

we went down to the floor of providence canyon, which is really nothing more than a series of giant gullies, created by shitty farming practices and erosion over the last 150 or so years --- if you've seen bryce canyon, you won't be impressed

bright spots

it got kinda cold today, but the dendrobium is kicking off the seasonal efflorescence of the orchidaceae on the thirteenth floor

some dogs/people is sweet

museo delores olmedo

an excellent little museum --- wonderfully eccentric in the manner of sir john soane's museum in london and isabel gardner's in boston --- it was wonderful, even if a good chunk of it was either closed or over-run with chillen