Living and Breathing

Coming from decades of very long southwestern summer seasons, it surprises me that in PA summer really did have her last gasp a few days ago. How quickly it is over. Coffee, pets, and e-news on the early morning porch are over for 2014, and I think about the plastic in the attic that holds my winter clothing and footwear.

The last hot afternoon on the porch my furry friends looked like this...

Frezz - Large

Fancy - Medium, and Sebastian - Small

As Carol has said, "Toby, the cat who became a dog".

Inside, Aidan, inspired by YouTube, experimented with food coloring drips in a plate of water and the result when a drip of detergent lands among them.

Alas, I wasn't quick enough for the flowery result. I did get the colors as Aidan poured them into the sink.

Then, there was the plastic water bottle separating the yolk from the egg whites...

Also, there was a crossbow made from his own imagination, numerous pencils, a rubber band and lots of duct tape. The arrow was the innards of a ball-point pen. Inexplicably, it shot backwards during the first trials; later corrected to a 50-foot trajectory forwards.

Keoni's life moves forward with lots of music, practices, friends, SATs, college/conservatory considerations and forms, and an occasional paying gig--one was for a funeral, but mostly fun events. I saw him in a quiet moment and thought to make visual note of it...

This could be the answer to the eggs Keoni gathers being left on the table by the swing.

Aidan's soccer team sometimes has to wait for the referees to get to the site...

Aidan is one of the kids selected to be on the All-Star team. The days grow shorter so they might have to use a glow-in-the-dark ball and clothing to play the game. What I like about his regular Green team is they keep playing with full tilt, all-out energy and so do their opponents.

As I drive along Clump Road, a detour we make for the Ridge Road turnpike overpass reconstruction, I see the bait and wood bundles signs for an "Honest John" roadside stand hidden behind a screen of foliage.

...on one side of the driveway...

...and the opposite side of the driveway...

Self-serve bait is in the fridge.

Gloria and Joseph are having adventures in Italy where they are staying in the region and town where Gloria's father had lived before he went to California. It is so satisfying to have our electronic connections. I'll look forward to hearing more about their stay when we next have a phone chat.

Gloria and Joseph via her email from Italy.

I'm testing out Greyhound travel later in the month. In preparation I went to Center City on the train to get my online purchased tickets printed. Their web site's stated electronic print feature isn't really available. I did get an East Indian on the line, but they, their supervising and technical help made a non-characteristic vague remark that some places there is no print availability. The help at the station in downtown Philadelphia had no explanation either. Hmm.

The good part is, I can easily go on the train from our not-very-distant Lansdale station to the bus depot right in the heart of Philly for one dollar. You know--it's the Senior thing. The Greyhound round trip is $178 plus the $2.50 print charge.

Weekly, Keoni rides to and fro from here for his orchestra practice in Philly and lessons in Ambler.

Tucked into the welter of commerce, entertainment, eateries and governance near the Greyhound and train stations is The Fabric Museum staffed by a collection of young, aspiring artists in training--sort of a school museum. They are doing very beautiful screen-printing and docent work. It was a treat to see their varied exhibitions and visit a bit with them.

Wendy's flower garden by the side door has been surprising us all year. Now the Chrysanthemums are back in full color.  The beautiful sedum has collapsed under heavy growth and recent rain. The hydrangea didn't set any blooms this year since the bloom stock was too severely frozen last winter.

A few petunias are hanging on. Miniature pansies are still happy, too.

Over and over, I am reminded how the growing life-cycles all around me continue their processes. Early this morning seven buzzards circled over the nearby woods and the boys and I wondered what drew them. The yellowing leaves of the Black Walnut trees are now joined by the Sycamores. In the yard, the stump evidence of a tree that once shaded the house is growing some fungi...

A grape vine just began growing there, too.

In the library parking lot a Morning Glory insists on blooming at the curb.

I knew there was something going on beyond dust fuzzies.