Back in November, granddaughter Bella was able to participate in her first horse show, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Griffith Park. Only 4, she has started to learn to ride, but she was in a lead-line class, where her trainer led the horse around the arena. Sure enough, in the best family tradition, …
Month: January 2015
Wading Bird
One day back before Christmas, I was surprised to see a Red-tailed Hawk land on top of the retaining wall on the north side of the house. Luckily the dogs were in the house so they weren’t out to disturb him (her? knowledgeable people, please opine). He stayed still long enough that I could get …
Local Artist
Libby’s friend Happy Piasso is a Navajo silvermith who is not always traditional. The belt buckle design is based on a Japanese Goshawk portait in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (notice the red coral eye); the ring is built around a silver bat skull.
Firewood
There is something soul- satisfying about getting firewood when you are in the midst of a real winter… Libby supervises Tyler Scartaccini and Tom Rupenacht’s delivery of a good load of what we call “cedar”. It is actually a juniper but locally the common name is reserved for alligator juniper. This is the species with …
Poem
Hawk Roosting I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed. Inaction, no falsifying dream Between my hooked head and hooked feet: Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat. The convenience of the high trees! The air’s buoyancy and the sun’s ray Are of advantage to me; And the earth’s face upward …
Feathers
Bird and Moon knows “raptors” have feathers… (HT Annie Davidson). Apparently, Stephen Spielberg does not.
Book Note
I believe that some of you might enjoy Marilyn Johnson’s new book, Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble. It’s a book written by an objective outsider looking in at archaeologists, their interests, motivations, and careers. Johnson has written two previous books on other “odd” professions, This Book is Overdue! about librarians …
Stand Up And More
A couple of years ago, our daughter Lauren decided that she would like to try doing stand up comedy. Between then and now she has gone from working for free on open-mike nights in clubs to paid work. I put up this poster for an appearance she is making next month. This summer, she and …
When Man Becomes Prey
Cat Urbigkit’s newest, When Man Becomes Prey, is extremely relevant to the matter of the home- invader coyote below.* I rather thoughtlessly quipped “Ask Val Geist” because I have been corresponding with him on such matters for years, and the old zoologist’s theories about too- bold urban predators are bedrock. But Cat is a pastoralist …
Winter
Last moonrise out our front door. I don’t know why coastal people think this is Phoenix… Right or double click to enlarge…