I do love word games like ‘Spelling Bee’ or Wordle. I like the challenge of trying to find words with a certain amount of letters. I like it when I can think of lots of words with the same endings or similar sounds, when the suffixes are the same like -ion.
I do like my own language, American English. English is made up of words from many different countries though. And I do like learning the about word origins.
It’s harder for me to learn new words these days. I attribute this in part to sleep deprivation. But maybe the new words are not as comforting to me as the ones I already have tucked away in my brain.
These ramblings are for ‘Writer’s Workshop.’ Featured image via macey11@pixabay.com
We’re in an atmospheric river here in Southern California. ☔ So I am skipping last minute in person shopping. Just going to make do with what I have here already for meals and gifts. Have to drive to the airport this afternoon, though. Hope I don’t encounter any flooded roads.
This is the first year in a long time since I am not making Thanksgiving dinner at my house. My brother-in-law will be doing it. I am bringing some side dishes. I think this is a good idea, to take a break. The most important thing is to spend time with my kids and grandson.
Freeing up my creative juices a bit on a rainy Saturday. An atmospheric river is running by Southern California and we are getting a light sprinkling here in the desert so far this morning.
It feels hard to start writing. Has it really been a year since I have written on my blog? I got notices that fees were due to keep the blog open and I would think of closing it down. But I was not ready end it. I thought I might write again.
I love this image of the mailboxes, the different shapes and colors. If I had a mailbox like this I would love getting letters even more than I do now.
Exercising my writing muscles. Definitely feeling rusty and lethargic. Sleep deprivation could be a contributing factor. More on that later.
How are you all doing on your journey through life? Are you driving, or taking an Uber? Are you being swept along in strong currents? Do you have a sturdy craft or at least a good life jacket? I feel like I barely have floaties lately. Maybe only one floatie.
Our citrus trees are blooming. The fragrance is tropical, similar to gardenias. The grapefruit tree still had a lot of unpicked fruit. I harvested 20 more grapefruit off it. I have a picker tool but these last fruit are mostly up higher and tucked into the branches. My picker tool got stuck a few times and it was hard to pull the fruit out. My efforts shook the tree and some blossoms fell off. I do not want the tree to lose blossoms, but there are still a lot left on the tree. The tangelo tree is really blooming, and I think we will get a big crop this year. Even the other orange tree that hasn’t bloomed for a couple years has some blossoms and a small bird’s nest. Speaking of bird’s nests, the Say’s phoebes continue their construction over our patio door. I hope they are successful this year.
The roadrunners haven’t been around. It could be that there is a lot of man-made construction going on near our community. A large earth moving project to build flood channels. There will be another housing project going in east of us. I hope the roadunners aren’t driven off permanently.
Blossoms tucked under leaves along with some fruitA couple of large grapefruit found under some leavesTangelo has a lot of blossoms this yearPowder puff bush blooming
The moderate temperature and sunshine led me to sit out on our patio today and read a recent book selection from the local library, ‘The Rising Tide, A Vera Stanhope Novel’ by Ann Cleaves. The author has really got her Vera character down pat. Her mannerisms and humor clearly illustrated. It is very comforting to read mysteries that you know will be solved by the end of the book.
I thought while sitting outside that I don’t spend enough time enjoying our yard. I have missed out on what is going on out there. There are hummingbirds who fly under our lounge chair and peck around. I wonder if they’re gathering cobwebs for their nests like I saw the Say’s Phoebes do.
There is a bird nest in one of the citrus trees. It looks a bit messy. I am not sure if this is intentional or if the nest has been disheveled by the wind. The birds have not had a lot of success with nest building in our yard.
Bird nest in orange tree
We have a low flow sprinkler system on our property. Around a fruit tree in the yard is a small tree irrigation ditch. When the sprinklers are on it fills up with water that is slowly absorbed into the ground. I recently noticed a group of finches making good use of the little pond. They were taking sips of water and jumping in to splash around. It was fun to watch them from behind my patio door. This morning there was a white-crowned sparrow in there.
White-crowned sparrow splashes in waterWhite-crowned sparrow by Wolfgang Wander via wikipedia.org
We have been harvesting some of the grapefruit. Not as many as last year but still enough to share with neighbors.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you we can feel the season changing here. There is a chill in the air which is not at all unpleasant. It feels like a time to slow down and take stock as winter approaches. I want to pause and take time to think and not write. Writing is like talking for me and I need to be quiet and keep my thought to myself for now. I am taking a break at least until the New Year.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 