August 2004 Archives

I have been doing a slow-motion cold kick for the last couple of weeks. At the moment I have a headache -- but the rest of me is feeling somewhat better.

So that's cool.

Anyway, it is dreay and rain-soaked, here. And quiet.

I'm pondering lunch -- and the too-swift passing of another Summer.

Time flies.

It is dim here. From the sky comes a sound like huge boulders, covered in velvet, slowly rolling together. The birds are squawking and the electric candle on my window sill is flickering to life. It's twilight-adjusted eye sensing an early dusk. Water will be falling soon, I'm sure.

There is mounting evidence that it may have fallen on Mars at some point, too.

I like the thought of that.

Deep velvety rumblings. Dim skies opening up, releasing cool rainfall over vivid red rock. Rust-colored dust darkening, puddling. Streams and rivers flowing over a crimson landscape.

I imagine that the sound would be the same as it is here, today. But I wonder at the scent...or the taste in the air.

And if there would be anything there to feel the storm come and go.

When I stepped out onto the deck in the chilly early morning, everything was quiet. I'd left the lights off, so that my eyes wouldn't need to adjust -- but things seemed brighter than normal at that hour. The sky was blurred featureless by thick clouds. They reflected an odd greenish glow. No sign of stars or meteor showers. Just pale jade light in the morning stillness. I stood there for a while, then sighed and went back inside.

It has been dreary all day. Cool watery dimness, capped by a pale blank sky.

I'm favoring electric light and coffee -- though the mood is all shadows and depressed drowsiness.

Speaking of Skyward...

The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, starting at about 9 pm (the best viewing should be from around 2 am to dawn, Thursday morning).

One of the most impressive meteor showers that I have seen was during a vaction at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There was an eclispe of the moon that night, and I remember sitting on the deck of the beach house, with my family, and watching the moon slowly vanish (and eventually re-appear, as a dusky red disc).

In the deep blackness, we watched dozens of meteors streak by: thick and thin lines of flickering fire, accenting the lush wash of stars. Watching all that, while the ocean thumped and whispered in the background and a warm breeze drifted over everything, was like a beautiful dream.

If you get the chance, take a look up tonight...

I used to laugh at a commercial that featured an old kite-flying man, musing about sitting outside and just, "looking up at the sky". Recently, however, I have found myself doing that very thing. Often.

I write this now, outside. Pen gliding over paper in the growing dusk. The clouds have lost their peach-colored rouge -- the blue behind them, deepening.

The soundtrack is all crickets and cicadas...and racing motorcycles bratting down the Parkway.

The breeze is cool...and subtle. Whispering down the night.

But, up there, the sky still holds a rich shimmer of light.

And I keep looking at it.

It is an early August Friday, as cool as Spring. The sky has been blue-ing all day, and now things are bright and breezy. It's pretty... But, still: that chill in the air.

Things should have more swelter to them now. More haze.

Going by the feel, you could almost trick yourself into seeing budding tulips and such. But these are supposed to be the dog days...

Ah well. At least it's not snowing.

On other fronts, I got my hair cut. Yay!

The excitement! lol

But, chilly or heated, bright or drizzly, it is Friday. Gotta love that. I'm going to get spiffed up and ready to go out or something.

As you can probably tell by now: I'm a big fan of weekend time.

Here's to a nice one!

I'm fairly muzzy, today.

And it is dim outside; winds gusting.

Eh.

*

When I logon to the internet, my homepage gives me news and such. It also squirts a daily horoscope to me. Part of today's said that "unexpected energies could be thrown into the mix".

Now energy I could use.

Sometimes I wish I believed in astrology.

Here's to sunshine.

I've been thinking about painting again. It's been years.

I feel like trying some things...

Perfect, outdoors -- and pen and paper still work so well. Tall glass of water on the side. As much skin bare to the day as possible.

Watching birds flutter off from the sun-washed woods.

And there is the sound of the Parkway (rush hour). Behind that: the whir of the air-conditioning unit.

The deck is dappled and there are squirrels in the swaying trees.

A sweet breeze.

I'm looking at flowers, mostly marigolds. So pretty in their mix of shapes and colors.

The second day of August already.

Wow.