a trip to the center of the americas

does not feel real now.

the penetrating gaze of a squid at 15 meters is hard to believe real when i'm barricaded in by snow and wearing 4 layers.

trois, douze, merde!

Reading through old blog posts can make one . . . nostalgic.

I am considering taking the time to return to this blog.

In the mean time, let's talk about a movie. Jord, Garett and I saw a clementine of a film last week.

Holy Motors.

I only recommend it if you think life's a little profane, a little absurd, a little heart-wrenching, a little cheesy, a bit queer.

The Tower cat sat on my lap for the first half-hour, then jumped off, then wandered up the aisle meowing loudly.

It fits.

the new natural history museum of utah

you will learn. you will have fun. you will find something new to love about utah.

i am thrilled to be involved in the opening phase of nhmu. we're creating some kick-butt programs for y'all.

dust bunnies and pollen pee-wees

allergies are killing me.

fortunately i can go to intermountain allergy to see what is driving my histamines crazy.

unfortunately i can't do anything about it, except surrender more of my sense of smell to 6-hour (24-hour? yeah right?) allergy relief medication.

all is full of.

one thing i love about salt lake is that there is a sort of urgency that comes at the end of summer.



after yoga, jord and I headed to the avenues street fair. so many friends at the fair! alex p. was there with healutah, andrea s. was selling handmade rugs, nhmu people were spreading the news about the new museum, meaghan was manning the utah clean energy booth, and brittany and marcus, gavin, aaron and whitney were selling terrariums (the purple thumb), collages, papercrafts, buttons, magnets and cassette tapes (with walkmens). i bought black rose post earrings and a dinosaur bib from vintagefern. jord congratulated me for wearing 3-d earrings. we snacked on kettle corn and i got a porcelain peace magnet because i saved the magnets from crashing to the ground.

we headed to the grateful tomato garden (wasatch community garden) before our 12pm volunteering commitment. jord and i volunteered on the garden winter staff and it was nice to see how the garden has grown. the line for crumb-brothers-bread-fresh-garden-pesto-uber-fresh-heirloom-tomato sandwiches was long but moving quickly.

so many tomatoes of all sorts. i ate so many tomatoes. i was a slicer, so i noshed quite a bit. my favorites were the yellowy-pink-orangey ones. we went home with two bags of tomatoes and about a pound of sliced ones. jord bought some honey off a local dude. also, in between the plant sale and the free plants for volunteers, we ended up with sage, arugula and a mystery plant (dun dun DUN).

we got back to the apartment just as a big storm was rolling in. it was lovely. i put my honey in the honey jar and tried it with peanut butter and a cracker. so yum.

when the rain dissipated we went back to the street fair, where i bought a cross-stitch of (gasp!) an owl from whitney. jord bought several pieces of paper art (including a righteous eagle with fish prey), a couple buttons and a cassette tape from gav. we bolth wanted to buy a terrarium, but we're going to wait and make one with brit. down the street, there was a house filled with estate-sale items. i bought a small wooden jewelry box and a ladybug clip. tricia and her kids were there, and we talked about amy and todd.

when we got home, i pulled out the pastry dough i had made friday and beat the hell out of it. i used julia child's recipe. (i was going to make a "quick and easy" crust, but then decided if i was going to do it, i was going to do it right). i partially baked the crust and then poured the quiche lorraine (with added mushrooms) filling into the crust. it smelled like heaven was baking in the oven.

we ate the quiche for dinner. it was SO GOOD. i thought i was going to screw up julia's recipe, but i channeled her life force and BOOM. deliriously good quiche. also deliriously fattening and rich quiche. grum a yum.

thusly, we took zig for a night hike up in the foothills. we saw several ghostly nighthawks on the way up. the temperature was perfect and the city below was glimmering. on the way down we spotted a big buck and a doe. zig phreeked out and flew after them. it's a strange dog that's scared of a breeze but will charge animals five times his size.

then, this morning, we went to city creek for a run. we saw a hairy woodpecker. the end.

i don't know why i felt i needed to outline this weekend. it was just perfect. and now i'm sitting with the brlack cat. he makes me so happy.

what makes the classic series so classic?

courage. it doesn't get better than this. it just doesn't.

i got two classic series nobjules in one wrapper!!

buy them here:
http://www.southeastmarket.com/

(such a great little market. the grocers are friendly and helpful.)

homegrown tomatoes

the jaune flammes are rapturously good.

jord and i are volunteering at the annual tomato sandwich party and plant sale at the grateful tomato garden (800 south 600 east, slc) for wasatch community gardens, september 10, 11am-2pm.

it is FREE, and you should COME.

more info:
http://wasatchgardens.org/event/tomato-sandwich-party-and-fall-plant-sale/9/10/11

hummingbirds make zim tired.

moments ago, there was a veritable cloud of hummingbirds outside this fifth-story window.

maybe not a cloud. maybe more like 10 birds or so, but.

i stuck my head out the window to de-brownleaf the basil plant on the fire escape. this plant is finally doing a little better.

as i was doing this, a hummingbird flitted around the feeder, which was roughly ten inches or so from my head. i held still to see if he would land for a sip. land, he did. i got to see his tiny green head up close, his thin little tongue lick the last droplet of sugar water from his thin little beak, his beak open to make a peep, the vibration of his wings.

very pretty at dusk this late summer night.

everyday i'm away from you shakes

birthday celebration at the museum
followed by mrowing zim
followed by yoga with friends
followed by feeding dickie
followed by a run
followed by friends
and now a firework show.

but one someone is missing.

even though i feel a little gross from eating TOO MANY COOKIES

i feel on top of the world.

the sky is overcast and a cool breeze is coming through the open windows.
salt lake city is sparkling.
zim is brlack and soft and a genius of cuddles.

and i have the best friends and family in the universe and whatever lays beyond it.

running this time of day

my muscles are warm and pliant from yoga
the air is cool and energizing
someone is barbecuing chicken and it smells like maupiti
all the dogs are taking their owners for walks
olympus is inviting
the golden spruce shines in the alpenglow
the stench of brakes rises off of i-80
my kitten greets me on the front lawn
mosquitoes attempt to bite my shoulders

for the record.

this is the first weekend in a good while that i haven't been out of town, busy with events or some combination of the two. it's strange to be able to sit and read with zim curled up next to me. it's cold and rainy. it's quiet, as my roommates all headed out for the weekend. frankly, it's a little unsettling.

it's that unsettlement that leads me to remember the last little while.

highlights of the last two months (in chronological order?):

sitting between jord and pm at bolero with sinfonietta and chaconne by ballet west.
crocheting with the lake bonneville coral reef project
moscow mules at bar x with the best of companies
seeing press plush at garfo and meeting the talented cara
shopping for amy at the blue boutique
hiking to the highest point of antelope island, frary peak, with two darlings
amy and todd's graduation
eating with mom, dad, jason and brandy
amy's bridal shower(s)
an epic easter egg hunt at the christopher's
amy and todd's wedding (to eachother)
brunch of said wedding replete with bird nests
poetry share at the salt lake city library
finding kolaches at johnny kolache
being in vernal with jord
sage grouse lek
watching georges st. pierre beat the crud out of the other guy
burrowing owls
hanging out with dora, talking about the gsl for traveling treasures
my graduation (technically a walk, as i won't be finished until early fall)
pat's barbecue with my family
wasatch community garden plant sale
EH potluck
little fat boy being towed by jord's truck from downtown
little fat boy being fixed without another costly repair
sundancing into the darkness with beth
my juicy knee
making and eating rolled tacos with the best caitie in the world
dissecting a cockroach
experimenting with saltwatercoloring
eating pakistani food and worrying about the rapture at living traditions festival
amy and todd's reception (seeing so many friends)
eating at the wild grape with jord
hiking the in the foothills with jord and zig, balsam root and astragalus lighting the way
taking in the lilacs
drinking a boba tea with pm
dreaming with brooke about loving the west
running 7 miles up city creek
bluegrass and pizza with the spensor and the tracy
nate's birthday dinner at bayleaf
running 9 miles with two lovely gals
so much good yoga!

and so many secret highlights.
maybe i need a journal.

i like it, i do.

featherful

white pelican
red-winged blackbird
yellow-headed blackbird
western meadowlark
mallard
canvasback
northern shoveler
american coot
great blue heron (with babies!)
pied-billed grebe
canada goose
nothern harrier
american avocet
black-necked stilt
bufflehead
killdeer
cinnamon teal
california gull
american robin
american kestrel

a hairy woodpecker and a turkey vulture at the garden,

and a mourning dove sits outside my window cooing.

such a great morning with the birds.

not distracted.

abstracted.

go see "angels in america" performed by the salt lake acting company.

part one shows through the 31st.

in4mation

warmer longer.

colder soon.

ahora, sí, estoy enamorada

the serviceberry leaves are red.
the oaks are dropping acorns.
the bigtooth maple leaves are sugary and falling.
the male tarantulas are wandering.

today, i found a dead bumblebee clinging to a rabbitbrush stem.

everyday with the garden will be missed.

Por donde fuimos, islas o puentes o banderas,
violines del fugaz otoño acribillado,
repitió la alegría los labios de la copa,
el dolor nos detuvo con su lección de llanto.

Soneto XXVIII, Neruda.

blood and dust.

i have to fill my tank today, or i will run out of gas the next time i drive.

(and i don't want to live through another "running out of gas" incident. always ridiculously embarassing.)

so here's the problem:

i started working at red butte garden (which is my new boyfriend by the way. i love it/him very much) and i haven't figured out the bus schedule/shuttle schedule/etc yet. so i've been driving. the fatty. fatty fatkins. and though he is a kind and reliable friend, i don't love driving him.

i miss my little walk to the bus stop. i miss seeing my favorite tree on 27th south. i miss my little friends, who wear rain bonnets and say HELLO so very loudly, who discuss the weather with me. i miss zoning out and staring out the window for approximately 15 minutes each way.

absence makes the heart frown, sometimes imperceptibly. i need to figure this out.

but this is a list you want to kiss.

in the garden yesterday.

a pair of red-tailed hawks
a pair of woodpeckers (hairy maybe, but maybe i don't know)
a pair of canada geese (courtship dance and mating included!)
a flocklet of ruby-crowned kinglets
a pair of quail (not california quail, but some big fat quail, maybe chuckar)

i wish i knew birds.

i am ready

for a barefoot summer.