Our bedroom window looks out over the garden. Yep, it’s HUGE, a lot of work with neverending projects, but I love my sanctuary.
This is where I see bunnies and roadrunners and all sorts of wildlife.
One day last week, early in the morning, I was getting dressed to go to the gym and spied a hawk perched on a low branch in the eucalyptus tree. I think it’s the same hawk that’s been hanging around for years.
He was facing the pond, quietly and patiently waiting for breakfast to appear.
Therein lies the dilemma. What’s a girl to do?
If I finish getting dressed, I’ll miss this amazing shot; but if I run outside half naked, will anyone see me?
Because we have six-foot fences all the way around our property, I felt pretty certain that no one would catch a glimpse of the real me in my bra and bikini bottoms, so I grabbed my camera and ran outside.
I felt so NAUGHTY hee hee.
This is what I was rewarded with — and do you see how he gave me a shady side eye — so much human flesh this early in the morning clearly offended his sensibilities.
Isn’t he gorgeous? The hooked beak and talons are MAJESTIC.
My presence was distracting (he was looking right AT me) so I went back in the house to allow him to catch his breakfast without further interference.
Don’t worry, I didn’t snap a selfie in my state of undress; you didn’t actually THINK I WOULD, did you?
So much is upsetting at WordPress…the change in the Reader and the format of the write/edit/publish page–whoever thought one could HATE to see “beepbeepboop” as much as I do — so in order to recapture my ZEN, here’s one of my favorite pictures of nasturtiums from the garden.
I needed a few things at the crafts shop; glue sticks, jute, ModPodge, stuff like that.
Let’s clarify right from the beginning — I live in what could be described as a sorta snooty beach town — home prices in the $700,000 to million dollar plus — a fair amount of discretionary spending — lots of ladies who go to the gym, spa, lunch, shop.
The crafts store I went to is in a smaller strip mall. I parked my car between a Lexus and a Mercedes (see?), grabbed a reusable bag from the trunk, and headed into the store.
It was a busy Sunday; by the way a lot of the (mostly) ladies were attired, it’s obvious they had come directly from church — this is SoCal so nobody doesn’t wear flipflops unless they have to, and there were more flowery frocks than Lululemons.
As I’m walking toward the store, DIRECTLY to the left of the automatic double glass doors — in plain sight — was a man sprawled out on the sidewalk. You couldn’t tell if he was sleeping. Or if he was dead. He had no blanket, no pillow, nothing except a well-worn paper bag near his feet.
JUST LYING ON THE SIDEWALK.
I looked around and there were no less than three other women walking toward the crafts mecca along with me.
NO ONE even glanced in his direction, but it’s not like you could avoid seeing him.
He was RIGHT there.
They had to make a CONSCIOUS decision to ignore him.
I made eye contact with one woman who looked away, uncomfortably.
It was obvious that she did NOT want to engage in a conversation.
I went in the store, walked over the first employee I saw, and asked if he knew anything about the man that was either dead or alive outside his store.
He said, “Oh yeah, someone mentioned him.”
I said, “Well, has anyone checked to see if he’s OK, if he needs help, IF HE HAS A PULSE??”
He said, “Would you like me to call the manager”?
I said, “Yes, you do that.”
As I’m tapping my foot impatiently, waiting for the manager to appear and deal with ME, it was hard NOT to feel all the other women awkwardly look away from the SITUATION.
When the manager arrived, she said, “Are you the one who wants to know about that man?”
I said, “Yes, I’m the one. If you knew there was a human lying on the ground – he could be sick, he could be dead, he could be homeless — why did you not call someone to help him?”
(Watching out of the corner of my eye as other women avoided the aisle where we were standing.)
“Well, do you want me to call someone?”
I don’t f***ing believe this.
My blood pressure was rising — as was my voice.
“YES, PLEASE CALL SOMEONE TO SEE IF HE NEEDS HELP — OR I WILL, DO WE NOT LIVE IN A SUPPOSEDLY CIVILIZED COUNTRY? HOW CAN YOU ALL (as I point to the group of women who are listening) SIMPLY WALK BY AND NOT CARE?”
“YOU ARE ALL DISGUSTING.”
“He’s someone’s son or brother or father. What if he were YOUR son or brother or father?”
Yes, I said that.
If you want to know why I didn’t go up to him myself, its because I actually thought he was dead, and didn’t want to disturb a potential crime scene, and if he was sick, well, it’s not my job to offer medical assistance.
The manager called the police who arrived immediately, and it appeared that the man was indeed homeless, but was having some sort of medical condition and needed to be transported to a hospital — not life threatening, but he definitely didn’t need to suffer on the sidewalk.
As I stood in line waiting to purchase my glue sticks and other non-essentials, a woman thanked me for “doing something” and said she was planning to say something if I had not.
Well, people, I can’t be everywhere, so don’t wait for me.
SPEAK UP.
Whether it’s a sick and dirty homeless man or a mistreated animal or an abused child.
I don’t spend ALL of my time shopping. Seriously, is that what you thought?
It’s true that I devote a great deal of my waking hours in a search for treasures old and new, but once in a while, I aspire to a higher calling.
On Sunday and Monday, I hung out with an amazing and dedicated group who were protesting Ramos Brothers Circus in San Marcos, California.
Shame on San Marcos for supporting the mistreatment of animals.
What’s my story? I’ve never been to a circus because my mom felt strongly that animals should not do tricks and that there is something so very wrong in forcing animals to become entertainment for human profit.
If you were wondering where all my animal activist genes came from, I’d have to thank my mom. (Also thanks to her for the fashionista gene.)
I stopped eating meat in 1970 when I was a senior in high school. My boyfriend at the time wanted to try to eat healthier so I went along with his experiment. We eventually broke up but I never did eat meat again.
Thank you to everyone who drove by, honked, and gave a thumbs up in support of our efforts.
I have a request to make of you…the next time you see a group of people protesting animal abuse, STOP. Get out of your car. JOIN US. Take an hour out of your busy day just like we did to MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Bring your children. Show them that you don’t just talk about caring for animals…you are agents of change.
Then, hopefully, we CAN make the world a better place.
No matter what you think about PETA, they’re right about this:
“Animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns. Yet thousands of these animals are forced to perform silly, confusing tricks under the threat of physical punishment; are carted across the country in cramped and stuffy boxcars or semi-truck trailers; are kept chained or caged in barren, boring, and filthy enclosures; and are separated from their families and friends—all for the sake of human “entertainment.” Many of these animals even pay with their lives.”
Animals have RIGHTS.
Did you grow up eating meat, wearing leather, going to circuses, zoos, and the bathtub that is SeaWorld?
Do you wear wool and silk?
Are you now considering the impact of your actions on the animals?
If you haven’t, maybe you SHOULD.
Animals are NOT a requirement for a circus-type entertainment to be prosperous.
The overwhelming success of Cirque du Soleil is proof that you don’t need to have animals of any kind to have a circus.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, said people have turned against animal acts as they learn more about the animals and how they are treated. “These are complex, intelligent animals, and this is a lousy, lousy, dirty, cruel business, and people see that,” she said. “This was purely a business decision.”
Isn’t it wrong that these animals don’t get to see this glorious sky, bask in the breeze, and feel rain on their fur? Their lives are dismal, traveling from one city to another in dark, smelly, cramped trailers.
I’m not going to share the sad, tragic, horrific, heartbreaking pictures and videos of abused animals. If you need proof, you are more than welcome to Google and compile your own documentation.
I KNOW all I need to know.
A couple years ago, I spoke (along with PETA) against elephant rides at the San Diego County Fair and almost got into an altercation with one of the few supporters of this barbaric form of entertainment. I don’t understand how seemingly intelligent and civilized humans could allow this kind of abuse in 2015 when we’ve seen the videos, when we know what hell an animal endures to become “entertainment”.
Aren’t we better than this?
Haven’t we evolved at all in the last one hundred years?
Do you really need all that bacon-wrapped crap when you know what hellish existence pigs endure in factory farms?
Really?
Compassion
Let’s teach our children, the next generation, that not only do animals have feelings, animals have the right not to be exploited, mistreated, abused, and enslaved.
For more information, visit circusprotest.com
I hope to see you in San Diego at the next protest!
As we walked our way over to the sidewalk with our signs, look what we had to step over.
Gross, huh?
However, in some way, it’s a perfect albeit disgusting metaphor for the way too many people think about animals; that their lives have as much value as a discarded condom. Or something like that.
How about a little inspiration from Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young?
Pretty clouds but no rain. I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere,
I’ve looked at clouds that way. Subtropical moisture in the air. Maybe…
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life
I really don’t know life at allJust an illusion…Thanks to Joni Mitchell, lyrics from Both Sides, Now
The motherly milkweed provides sustenance to the Monarch butterfly and is crucial to sustain the species.
Everyone who loves butterflies should plant milkweed and since NObody doesn’t love butterflies, there should be enough milkweed planted to sustain the entire cosmos.To clarify, I’m not referring to the plural of one my fave cocktails, but the cosmos of our universe.
According to Monarch Joint Venture…
Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape.
Please plant milkweed to support monarch populations, and their incredible migration!
Planting milkweed is a great way to help other pollinators too, as they provide valuable nectar resources to a diverse suite of bees and butterflies.
We have a bounty of zucchini here at the Casa de Enchanted Seashell garden, and the dilemma becomes what the heck does one do with all of this summer squash?
I made a few loaves of zucchini bread because they freeze well.
I’ll pickle a few jars like I’ve done with cucumbers and then I got the brilliant idea to add shredded zucchini to my favorite chocolate cake to boost the nutritional value and keep it super moist, not that it lasts more than a day or two, ‘cos it’s the best chocolate cake EVER, vegan or not.
Best of all, the zucchini magically disappears during baking, so if you have children who are recalcitrant and don’t like veggies (how is that even possible?) this is a great way to TRICK them, although I don’t really approve of deceit as a parenting technique.
Son and DIL are coming down for a brief visit so that’s the perfect excuse reason to experiment PLUS they’re bringing a friend that Angel Boy was in graduate school with at Yale (bad sentence structure, I know), so it’s just like the “old days” when the house was filled with kids for me to stuff with food.
I old-school shredded the zucchini…
All dry ingredients go into the mixing bowl.
Add the liquids…
And the zucchini. So simple, now beat for a couple of minutes to incorporate all the goodness.
When it’s out of the oven and still hot, place about 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips on top. When they melt… Take an offset spatula and spread to make a delicious and easy topping.
See how shiny?
It’s always nice to garnish with garden blooms. I plucked a nasturtium, mint, and lemon verbena.
It’s as yummy as it is GORGEOUS!
Dark Chocolate and Zucchini Vegan Cake
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 cup shredded zucchini (squeeze out any excess liquid)
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose, I use King Arthur, not because they pay me, but because it’s U.S. grown and an employee-owned company)
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (or Amaretto or Grand Marnier)
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup cold coffee or water (coffee is better with chocolate) or you could always use soy/almond/cashew/coconut milk.
Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 1. Mix the first five dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Make three shallow depressions in the dry ingredients.
3. Pour vinegar in one, vanilla in the other, vegetable oil and zucchini in the third.
4. Pour coffee/water over all.
5. Mix well until smooth.
Grease a nine-inch pan. Bake on middle rack of oven for approximately twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Don’t over bake or it’ll dry out. Cool and frost.
The Laguna Mountains are only about an hour away east from the ocean in San Diego.
Most people go there when we have snow — at 6000 feet, it’s the highest point in the county.
It’s possible to surf in the morning, cross-country ski (or hike) in the afternoon, and drop down into the shimmering desert to experience the best of everything SoCal has to offer.
Late May to mid-June is the time of year when color explodes in the mountains and it’s not too hot to enjoy a strenuous hike while the air cools down comfortably at night.
It’s easy to get here: east on Highway 8 to Sunrise Highway.
We went mid-week before schools were out for summer vacation and we had the mountain pretty much entirely to ourselves.
Fragrant pines, Engelmenn oaks, wildflowers; deep blue sky with a few white puffy clouds.
Amazing…gorgeous…magnificent…breathtaking…
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the spectacular views.
We hiked Desert View Trail and Big Laguna Trail, about ten miles or so.
It was truly heaven on earth, one of those experiences where whispering was the only way to communicate-we didn’t want to mar the ultimate reverence for nature.
These are only a sampling of the hundred-plus pics I snapped and none of them do justice to this paradise.
…floating effortlessly on the soft breezes, possibly to lift our spirits lowered by the demise of the baby hummingbirds, is a butterfly sprite of cerulean polka dots and bands of gold called Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa).
With a nod to Lizzi @ Considerings who asked the question on her Facebook page and got me thinking about one of my favorite books, Betty Smith’s 1943 novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; here in my garden, although water use is now restricted because of the drought and we can no longer grow brightly colored but thirsty blossoms, there’s still beauty if you look for it.
Mother Nature is amazing.
Catching some rays on the rock garden. So pretty… Can I come a little closer?What grows in YOUR garden?
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 