IMPERFECTIONS -- SUNDAY SIMPLICITIES

For me there is a certain beautiful quality that erupts from objects that are aged, textured, and show some signs of deterioration. All my senses get involved with the object. There is a certain imperfection that comes about over time -- cracks, chips, scratches, and overall blemishes. Even with these flaws they remain vibrant and timely.

I use them everyday. This old chipped plate edged in roses is just perfect for slices of apples or chunks of oranges. I linger and smile over the plate's ability to still survive the many years it has been around. Providing intangible feelings.


This old pottery pitcher is only used for displaying long stemmed flowers from my garden such as sunflowers and cosmos. Spotted from age, it resembles sun spots on aged hands. When I glance at it filled with flowers, I begin to daydream. Who made this handmade pitcher over a hundred years ago? How did it get that big chip on its lip? All manner of thought drifts through my mind. Made when time moved slower.

A handmade chair with a hickory splint bottom will last forever, even when the splints have broken away from the weave toward the front. Its a work horse. Even with its deterioration.


An old empty gilded frame hangs on my wall. Its gilded paint is cracked and chipped in many places. Its emptiness reflects time to me.

Imperfections can be beautiful if we open our minds to them.

PILEATED WOODPECKER -- TEARING IT UP!

PILEATED WOODPECKER ON ONE OF MY THREE STUMPS NEAR MY HOUSE

For the past three years I have had a resident pair of Pileated Woodpeckers residing around my house. I am not sure how large their territory is -- but I do know that they love the three silver maple stumps near my home. Slowly over these three years they have been working on tearing the stumps apart. This activity appears mostly in the spring of the year.

They are large and magnificent birds -- the largest woodpecker species in North America. Their size can range from about 16 inches to 19 inches long.

They are not being mischievous by slowly demolishing the stumps -- they are after the insects that reside in them. Their favorite insects are long horned beetles and carpenter ants. With their marvelous strong beaks they can rip off slivers of wood allowing them to extend their beaks deep into the stump's dead wood to eat insects.

MALE PILEATED WOODPECKER ON ONE OF MY DEAD STUMPS
Dryocopus pileatus

Their beak is also used to excavate a new nesting hollow in a large mature tree and they excavate a different nesting site each year. Each new hollow has several entrances. Other wildlife species take up residency in the old vacated nesting sites.

One can identify the male from the female -- the male has a red mustache strip and the female's mustache is black.

I hear the Pileated Woodpecker's calling and drumming all year long as they are year round residents here. The male does most of the drumming and is most vocal in the winter and spring. At that time I hear the escalation of drumming sounds and calls -- loudly and clearly -- it resonates throughout the woods that surround my home. The drumming serves to establish territory rights and to attract a mate. Also a high pitched call is used for the same purposes. Pairs of Pileated appear to reside in the same territory year after year.

DEAD TORN UP STUMP

I have lots of poison ivy on my homestead. Apparently Pileated woodpeckers like the white berry fruit that it produces. They have been seen by some, hanging upside down from a branch reaching the poison ivy fruit they are after. They also like nuts of which the oaks, beech and hickory provide plenty.

PART OF THE STUMP WITH BEAK MARKINGS AND WOOD SLIVERS EXCAVATED BY THE WOODPECKER

Their habitat is large areas of coniferous or deciduous trees. Mostly they prefer dead trees for their nesting sites -- they excavate rectangular entrances and line the interior with wood chips. They usually have 3 to 5 eggs and fledge 24 to 28 days after hatching. They usually stay with the parents for a few months learning the techniques of foraging. I have yet to see any young birds with the pair.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STUMP -- UNDISTURBED AS OF YET

At one time populations declined greatly in the early 1900s. The species has rebounded since the mid 1900s. In Arkansas and Washington their numbers appear to be diminishing.

Following are some good sites to learn more about Pileated Woodpeckers.

All About Birds

Bird Web

OIL SPILL METER

COURTESY OF PBS NEWS HOUR

AMERICAN IN PARIS

Annette, a friend from my high school days, has lived in Paris, France for more than thirty years. She recently sent me this photo she caught on her I-Phone. It is a street scene in Paris of three older woman sitting on a bench wearing coats of red, white and blue. Symbolically -- American in Paris.

I thought it a lovely photo not only for the symbolism for both Annette and I, but that the women were also of the age we both now have entered. And if I were to read a bit of fantasy thoughts into the photo, I would hopefully want these three women to be long-time friends with each other.

For good health one needs to eat right and exercise so the media and medical world tells us. Right food and exercise are fine but for over all well being -- friendship wins hands down.

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold. -- Girl Scout song.

The better part of life consists of friendships -- Abraham Lincoln

DEEPWATER HORIZON -- MAP OF THE DAY BY DAY MOVEMENT OF THE OIL SPILL

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR -- AT RISK FROM THE DEEPWATER OIL SPILL
source: Wikipedia

As you probably already know thousands upon thousands of wildlife are at risk due to the recent oil spill. It does not look good at this point.

The New York Times has an interactive map site for you to view the onslaught of oil headed into natural refuge areas. It's sad to view but one needs to realize the damage that oil can and will do to our valued wildlife. Given that the oil flow will continue for however long, can we be looking at a future wasteland in this coastal area? Thousands of wildlife species and habitat areas perhaps being lost.

Click here to view the interactive map and hit play to view the evolution of the growing oil spill

An additional MSNBC map of species location along the coast is available for viewing here. This is an exceptional map for realizing the wildlife involved. Just hover over the red dots on the map and it will bring up the information.

OIL, WETLANDS, OCEAN, BP -- SUNDAY SIMPLICITIES

DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL PLATFORM -- A TRAGEDY FOR LIFE
source: Wikipedia

This event is not a simple one but a very complex one.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, below, I have several online photos of species that inhibit the coastal waters and wetlands of the Deepwater area. They are species photos, pre-Deepwater explosion. Now the area is filling fast with oil slick. We are beginning to see the oil slicked bodies of these species. I am personally sick over the whole event. I will say one thing; we need to go on an oil diet and put the pinch on the oil companies. I could say a lot more but I will let the species, through their photos, talk to you and maybe you all can figure out how to resolve this oil madness.

BROWN PELICAN RECENTLY TAKEN OFF THE ENDANGERED LIST
source: Wikipedia -- Alan D. Wilson

GREAT EGRETS WADING
source: Wikipedia

GREAT EGRET WITH CHICKS IN NEST
source: Wikipedia

RACOON WITH A DESTINATION
source: Rebecka Jackson

ROSEATE SPOONBILL IN FLIGHT
source: wikipedia

ROSEATE SPOONBILL WITH CHICKS IN NEST
source wikipedia

OSPREY WITH CATCH
source: wikipedia

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE -- ENDANGERED
source: wiki

BALD EAGLE IN FLIGHT

source: Anne D. Wilson

BALD EAGLE WITH CHICKS IN NEST
source: wiki

A DISAPPEARING ARTIFACT -- THE FARM SILO

Silos that stand alone upon a piece of old agricultural land announce to folks traveling by that a farm once stood on this ground. They are flagships of a missing farmstead. The silo above stands by itself on the old Coy farm near Kirksville in Madison County, Kentucky.

This was once the place of several outbuildings and a farm house -- now gone.

I talked to a local man named Cud about the above silo. He told me that the land owner had considered knocking it down but it was too messy of a job. Therefore, it was allowed to become one of the silos in the region that are now the only clues that an active farmstead once occupied a particular piece of land.

The oldest silos that I remember from living in the Midwest were shaped in a cylindrical form, the exterior were square pieces of beautiful brown shiny tiles about two feet by two feet -- all placed from top to bottom around the silo. Each of the produced tiles usually had an impressed company name. I also remember metal types and cement silos. All were markers for folks trying to navigate their way through the countryside.

For those not familiar with silos, they are used to store forage for animals on the farm and usually were essential in cold regions. It allowed them to provide feed when there was none to graze due to snow cover. Dairy cows are dependent on forage to keep their milk flowing.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of silos that have been knocked down by their land owners and especially developers -- in the Midwest, Upland South, and beyond. But to give some developers credit, a few have saved their beauty by incorporating them into their developments. I even know one woman that built an antique shop on a piece of land and left the silo standing as a logo marker for her shop.

But in reality, the stand alone silo portrays a broken connection to a once thriving farm culture.

SUNDAY SIMPLICITIES -- CONTAINERS, DOGS, STORMS, BIRDBATH

Retirement brings a new horizon to my life. Where once I was outward facing I am now inward facing. Realizing a life that I always desired, I feel fortunate. Economies have changed as well as my perspective on what is truly important in life. I would say I always desired a simple life and now as I age I can follow that path. That is what Sunday Simplicities are about -- my easy outlook toward life. Stay tuned to more Sunday Simplicities on most Sundays.
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Sunday mornings are usually very peaceful here on Bear Mountain. My one lane dirt road is sleepy today without cars to arouse it and nature weaves its way through the morning quiet. This morning I am joined by bird calls and songs as well as a few insects slowly inspecting the environment. The morning is cool as a strong windy storm moved through during the night bringing a cold front. Not that cold -- just right for my plans this morning.
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As I have little flat land that is sunny I thought a container garden with herbs and some bright flowers would work in my semi-sun driveway -- up against the house.. Sound strange? No it will be easy to care for plus will be a nice welcome home for me every time I pull in the drive.
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Everything I do is on a budget now that I am retired. I collected canisters over the past few weeks at garage sales. Also, went to plant sales and visited a farmers market to pick up plants. I found stands for the plants at some used furniture stores.

As I fear, cheap potting soil might have sludge in it, I went all out and shot my wad on two special blend bags of potting soil. This morning I started putting everything together. I know I will not finish it today but I will have a head start on getting it completed.

My homestead came with most of the land fenced when I moved here in 2007. I was delighted about that as I had Lil, a black lab that likes to take off for yonder woods. Then I became the owner of Sal who is a huge male Golden Retriever that loves lots of exercise. Inside the fence they are safe. And I don't have to chase over hill and dale if they decide to investigate the countryside. Fencing makes it easy.

Sal is appealing to me to let him out of the gate so he can be by me while I work on the new container garden. He has tons of room to roam inside the fence but always likes to be where I am. I can't take chances as he will roam up the lane to visit other dogs. Oh, how do I resist such a plea? Easy. I cannot run as fast as my dogs, so its better to know that they are OK in the big yard.

I inherited this little section of garden that is also out by the drive. It has horrible soil and I have rather ignored it over the time I have been here. I did put in the bird bath that someone had placed in their trash pick-up. I am not above picking up such things. Someday I will do something about this little patch.

Another storm was brewing on the horizon and I had accomplished most of what I had planned for the morning. I've learned to be easy on oneself -- no need to rush through life. Not only did I accomplish some of my project but I noticed the locust blooms, the titmouse eating a tent caterpillar, a small green worm crawling over the wire fence where the dogs were watching me, some white daisy like wildflowers, heard woodpeckers drumming off in the woods, and saw the lovely cumulus clouds becoming heavy with rain.

Locust blooms by my drive. It has been a good morning.

For ideas on gardening anywhere check out my post about the book, Gardening Anywhere.