When in Roam

Downtown LA California Dreaming --just been to LaLa Land...lots of beauty, in every which way😁 Beautiful people, dogs,  beautiful cars, beautiful scenery ...My interest lies in the flower area, though, Tesla's make me yawn. Roses full bloom in April-so many colors and variations no matter where you look👀 in all flora. Art is gorgeous & plentiful also- visited the Broad Museum, super contemporary art....Jasper Johns exhibit (below) Beautiful colors, you see? Ok, stay with me here.....beauty in the City of Angels, 2nd biggest city in USA so why call it La La Land? Continual state of joy, happiness...? Too much beauty? too little pain? out of reality? Who knows, but when walking in Santa Monica on my last day there, a woman asked me to move to the other side of the sidewalk because her dog preferred the opposite side, my then side-normal walking side (yes, really) I did so because the beautiful little doggie was so gosh darn, well beautiful. And I was feeling a little

Floating flowers-probably a hardy type, as this was taken in Massachusetts earlier in the year while wandering...Love how they pop up! Also fond of them because the flowers , although they last just a couple of days, keep coming🌼 Functional too-nice little hiding spot for fish & a rest stop for froggies🐸 Monet, as we know did over 200 water lily paintings in France. Monet, leader of French Impressionism lived a long life and is buried in Giverny, France. He obsessed over flowers-which makes me adore him😍-and had his own pond in France...he used silver, white, cobalt violet, emerald green, ultramarine, cadmium yellow,  vermillion & lemon yellow to paint, & actually planted his own water lilies on his property. There was no love lost, though, in the early 1900's toward Monet's series of water lilies. Critics disliked his colors , choice of WATER LILIES. Say what?? Hey, what did they know??? Right?? Some of the 200 some water lily paintings were lost in a fir

It's winter in new England, and that's that. Gotta love the great bird visibility, though. You named it -a Cooper's Hawk, for sure. Immature one, they tell me. Am not so good @ my identification, but I keep plugging away. Check out this video below of a Cooper's Hawk during Hurricane Harvey in the states earlier this year. Amazing😆 What caption would you give this video? Not a bad place to hang out-right? Found my hawk hanging out near the beach in southern Connecticut.It's all about the blue & white. 

The original poem, "Over the River and Through the Wood" by a New England writer named Lydia Child, wrote it to recall childhood memories about going to her Grandfather's house for Thanksgiving. A lot has changed. When sung, Grandmother has replaced Grandpa and many of us fly everywhere. Recently for Turkey Day I flew across country not to see G'ma or G'pa, but my children. Landing in California, a state with many people 👩👨👧👪👳👫👭👬( I believe the most in my country) was a far cry from the nostalgic, snowy ride through the forest to grandparents, back in the day. Oranges, flowers & sun greeted me....as did traffic and more traffic. Additionally, the lure in Cali was vino. Yes, I will admit that🍷A visit to Napa valley Wine region ensued. While I didn't see much fire damage in that particular area, natives reported homes were ruined up in the hills; their eagerness for customers was apparent, and no doubt understandable. So there I was. Rip

We stay busy, we find meaning-but getting older, as much as it is a gift,  is a challenge. As a friend just said, I am working with the gaps. I know what he means. Am thankful for time-yes, but there is no great prep for dealing with identity & generativity  . So, I wander & jump into things with a yes. I hunt humanity. i don't ask- Do i need it-does it spark joy.... it's a gut feeling, no questions asked. I use my time to enter reality and everyday it's different. Nature, of course is such a draw. I actually think I like bike riding because it allows me to see a lot in a prescribed amount of time! Here I was riding along the Farmington River in Connecticut.  T. S. Eliot said "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go..." or a visit to Edith Wharton's (the writer) house in Lenox, Massachusetts. The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, etc... I learned she wrote her first novel at 11 years old and lo

Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (founded in 1870) recently, to see Auguste Rodin --the French sculptor-Exhibit The backside of the The Thinker Rodin worked with clay, marble, bronze & plasters- he was rather controversial while alive, he pushed realism with the body form. He died in 1917.😢 But there is more to the story..... there is a book out, called Rodin's Lover, about Camille Claudel ( Rodin's lover) , a sculptor who was committed to an insane asylum. Unfortunately, she remained there  for 30 years- her mother would not take her back. Here is the upside, though, earlier this year,  a museum in her name opened in France!! On display are her sculptures. In response to the interest in Claudel-the Rodin Museum ( opened in 1919) in Paris-ADDED a Camille Claudel wing🙏 About time, don't ya think... xo **** Rodin's Lover , by Heather Webb**** 2015

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍁🍁🍁🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍁🍁🍁🍁🍂🍁🍂🍂🍂🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 On Wednesday,  I p opped down to Hammonasset Beach on the Long Island Sound, which is truly lovely off-season...herons & egrets are easily found. Hammonasset means holes dug in the ground..A history of Indians & glaciers. My interest is more around enjoying the beach as a background to my hiking or biking the natural areas🚲🚲The state park opened in 1920--check out  this old photo below: Onto Watch Hill, Rhode Island-where Taylor Swift owns a home. Yes really!! Napa tree Point Beach, now a a wildlife preserve and a public beach so beautiful, I do park my bike and beach it...Nice waves the other day, not that I went in but... Lunch  was @ the Olympia Tea Room- unbelievable, but this  eatery has been around since 1939 (way before Taylor Swift-right?)) awesome fries, by the way...🍟 And then an extra treat on the way home- what a great sky Something about ice crystals, on &am