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Category Archives: The Urban Porch ™
Tipping Over Into Summer
As I headed back toward the house after the last evening dog walk tonight, I wondered to myself when the fireflies would appear. They always show up in June. As if a manifestation of my wishes, there they were as … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Food, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife
Tagged blooms of late spring, early summer, early summer blooms, firefly season, gifts of spring, June, late gifts of spring, late June, late spring, late spring blooms
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The Purples of May
I can’t keep up with it, how is it possible these days of spring are blowing by? A glorious May it has been, filled with heady fragrance, breezy blue skies, gentle rains. On this last day of the month, here … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Earworm of the day, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wow!
Tagged a garden of bracelets, blooms, End of May, garden gems, garden gemstones, Gardening, jewel tones, jewels, last day of May, May, purple, purple haze, shades of purple, siberian irises, the garden, the purples of May
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Toutes Les Fleurs Blanches
The Dogwood tree at the side of The Urban Porch exploded with radiant blooms, sun filtering through translucent petals against vibrating blue skies. Each year I almost forget how stunning the Dogwoods can be until it happens again. Day after … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged All the white flowers, Dogwood flowers, Dogwoods, Gardens, gardens in my neighborhood, May blooms, scenes from the urban porch, spring flowers, The bluest sky ever, the neighborhood, white blooms, White flowers
2 Comments
Pink
As always, the big old cherry tree across the street from The Urban Porch made a spectacular annual showing. Walking beneath this fairy-like bower over the last few weeks has provided moments of daily enchantment. The burst of warm temps … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wow!
Tagged cherry tree, cherry tree flowers, fairyland tree, flowering cherry, flowering tree, old cherry tree, Papillon in petals, petals, Pink blanket, pink petals, pink snow
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Respect
I’ve been bouncing between doing a little bit of yard work and planting myself in a chair on The Urban Porch during this spate of gorgeous days. The poppy patch, located in a corner of the front yard by the … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Daeja's Garden, Dogs, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Rant, Seasons, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Vent, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged disrespectful people, flower thief, garden police, neighborhood garden, picking flowers, picking up after dog, poppies, poppy patch, poppy police, signs, stealing flowers, yard signs
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Two Springs
Today I think I am mostly going to fill the page with visuals. Spring has truly sprung. My family are East Coast-West Coast people. At times all of us have been living in the East. Other times all have been … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Travel, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife, Wow!
Tagged bi-coastal family, blooms, east coast, exploding spring, Family, family visit, Flowers, northern california, spring flowers, spring photos, spring twice, super blooms, upstate new york, west coast
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Waiting for the Sun
So many of us get excited by celestial phenomena, and I’m mostly on that train, having repeatedly found myself shivering in my nightgown while standing on a back deck covered in snow – at 2:30 am in sub-freezing temps – … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Earworm of the day, Flashback, nature, Perspective, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weird, Wow!
Tagged 95%, celestial phenomena, connections, crescents, Earworm of the day, human connections, Neighbors, sharing an event, solar eclipse, The Doors, totality, treasures, waiting for the sun
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The Waiting
If you pay attention you can already detect the scent of green – I love how the color is synonymous with the fragrance. The trees here are still in their remission, but the promise of verdancy is in the air. … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Coping, Food, Gardening, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Winter
Tagged almost equinox, another year, anticipation, green, interesting fruits, lychee, moods, persimmon, seasonal changes, seasonal moods, seasonal shifts, small joys, spring is almost here, vernal, waiting for spring
5 Comments
Pattern, Color, Detail, Distraction (Look Away)
I’ve got a partial saga written and sitting in my draft folder. It is a convoluted and frustrating story that still has not reached a resolution, which plays into the procrastination. At certain moments, salient points and corresponding sentences will … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Coping, Food, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized
Tagged amethyst, avoiding the unfinished, beauty, Color, distractions, labradorite, moon jellies, patterns, purple potatoes, skies, stripes, sunsets, Texture, visual distracttions
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Funny What the Weather Will Do
January is bouncing all over the place in both weather and emotions these days. Views From the Urban Porch have been varied and unpredictable. One day I’m staring at an atmosphere so vibrantly blue that it conjures up tropical skies … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Cooking, Coping, Dogs, Earworm of the day, Flashback, Food, Friends, grief, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Weird, Winter
Tagged Changes, changing weather, diversions, earworm, grief, ice, January, january deaths, mood, most deaths in january, passages, personal history, retail therapy, sky, sky changes, snow, snowmelt, weather changes, youth
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First Snow
January has brought our first real snowstorm. It is so fresh and lovely. The Japanese maple leaves on My Red Tree had never quite let go this past autumn. Now they are heavily laden with fluffy clumps, soon to drop … Continue reading
Posted in Dogs, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Weather, Winter
Tagged cozy, first snow, first week of january, haiku, January, Japanese Maple, little dog problems, little dogs, maple syrup snow, Matsuo Basho, my red tree, Piette's House at Montfoucault, Pissarro, snowfall, snowstorm, the white of winter, winter, winter haiku, Winter Solitude
2 Comments
Summing Up Twenty-three
Every time it gets to the last days of writing for the year, I visualize a cartoon of myself wiping my brow and saying “Whew! Made it! So here we are again. I’m scrolling back over the posts for this year … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, baking, Birds, Bucket List, Cooking, Coping, Dogs, Earworm of the day, Flashback, Food, Holidays, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized
Tagged 2023, aging, another year, baking fail, Christmas, dead monsters, earworms, end of the year, Holidays, letting go, New Year, senior musings, senior reflections, summing up, the holiday curse, whew!
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Random in the Rain
I’m sitting here at the computer, eating a very yummy but particularly stinky combination of melted goat cheese “brie” topped with last season’s harvest of honey from my brother’s hives, with a scattering of Spanish almonds on top. It is … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Autumn, baking, Cooking, Food, Holidays, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Winter
Tagged chevre dish, cozy like a dog, dutch baby breakfast, dutch baby sunday, flashbacks of youth, last of the leaves, making autumn last, melted goat cheese, my foodie thoughts, my red tree, odd memories, what ever happened to
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Fall Back
The week has brought forth a number of seasonal changes and fall-scapes. With something just short of a flourish, the Halloween decorations were happily removed from The Urban Porch ™ very early the following morning – so ready to have … Continue reading
Posted in Autumn, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Holidays, House plants, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife
Tagged autumn scenes, curious raccoons, daylight savings time, fall back, fallscapes, first frost, Halloween, night animals, November, peak leaves are over, take down the decorations, the fading of autumn, trick or treat, trick or treaters
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Patience
Not too many days ago a friend and I were lamenting to each other on the phone about how the autumn foliage is not as dramatic, that the absence of serious color is a bit disappointing. How everything is either … Continue reading
Posted in Autumn, Earworm of the day, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged colorful leaves, everything in its own time, fall foliage, get centered, late october, slow autumn, waiting for foliage, where is the color?
1 Comment
Looking for Light
There is too much to say and nothing to say at the same time concerning the painful state of the world these days. We are on visual and emotional overload. My rants on this blog (and there have been a … Continue reading
Posted in Autumn, Coping, Holidays, Perspective, Seasons, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged Autumn, avoiding the awful, circle of life, climate, coping mechanisms, dealing with stress, diversions, dull foliage, fake spider webs, Fall, Halloween, halloween decorations, no fall color, not looking, sleeping bees, weird seasons
2 Comments
The Percale Fail, Updates and Mind Meanderings
Some minor updates and musings to share following the last post. This one goes all over the place, just because. All of the the invasive, toxic White Snakeroot with its scribbly looking flower heads was pulled up. It came out … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Perspective, senior musings, Shopping, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Weird
Tagged Aso Shiso, chemicals on sheets, comfortable sheets, fig season, halloween decorations, hot flashes, Laura Ashley scratchy sheets, percale sheet fail, pretty sheets, Red Perilla, scratchy sheets, Shiso juice, softening sheets, The Urban Porch ™
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Gone to Seed
September quickly steps aside, leaving us with those cool nights where having the window open just a bit provides for a good sleep under cozy blankets. The other morning the heat actually kicked on, just for short while. I bought … Continue reading
Stepping Out of Limbo
Mid-September. I’m awaiting a burst of productivity to occur, but it’s not happening. Earworm of the day, recorded by Jimmy Cliff in 1971: Sitting here in limboBut I know it won’t be longSitting here in limboLike a bird without a … Continue reading
Posted in Autumn, Cooking, Daeja's Garden, Earworm of the day, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged almost fall, colors of early autumn, easy recipe for the unmotivated, feeling in limbo, late summer colors, no motivation, stagnation, waiting for Autumn, zucchini for dinner
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Hit the Road Jack
What a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky day! I sit here on The Urban Porch ™ with Rudi, watching the busy proliferation of bumble bees, honey bees, black wasps, Blue-winged wasps and swallowtail butterflies hovering about. There are all sorts of smaller … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Earworm of the day, nature, Perspective, Rant, Seasons, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife
Tagged aggressive hornet, earworm, hateful hornet, most hated insect, nasty insect, stinging insects, wasps, wasps i have known, yellow jackets
2 Comments
Close to Over
In a few more weeks the school busses will be back on the roads again. Meanwhile, the kids are buzzing with anticipation as they await the news of who their teachers will be this year. It feels almost surreal how … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged almost time for school, August, down another rabbit hole, Earworm of the day, late august, late summer palette, the colors of late summer, unpredictable mushrooms
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Water
Repeatedly throughout the day, I move from the air conditioned space that has provided relief from the heat and step out onto The Urban Porch ™ in order to leave the chill and be enveloped in the warm, bathwater density … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Flashback, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged August, beauty, end of summer, Family, heat, humidity, July, Memories, nature, observations, Rain, rituals, Summer, urban porch
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Aurora
If anyone in the immediate neighborhood had looked out their window shortly before midnight last night, they might have seen a woman standing in the center of the street in the middle of a lightning storm, wearing only a long … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Daeja's Garden, Divorce, Flashback, Friends, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged aurora borealis, bee magnet, garden neglect, hosta, lack of inhibition, lightning, Memories, neighborhood, neighborhood colors, Neighbors, northern lights, rose of sharon, strobe lightning, summer bees, summer insects, summer storms
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Control
Due to the wildfire smoke moving down from Nova Scotia and Quebec, there will be no lengthy observations while actually sitting out on The Urban Porch ™. There is an ominous, post-apocalyptic tint to the sky at the moment. Odd … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Coping, nature, Perspective, Seasons, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Weird
Tagged earworms, helpless in nature, in the grand scheme of things, neighborhood street art, no honest politicians, smoke in the sky, tiny installations, wildfires
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Bustin’ Out All Over
Earworm time again! Today it’s Rodgers & Hammerstein – “June is Bustin’ Out All Over”, by way of an elementary school assembly I was in, back in sixth grade. It’s amazing how some of this stuff can stay in your … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Daeja's Garden, Flashback, Gardening, Humor, nature, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weird
Tagged earworms, flower explosions, June, June is Bustin' Out All Over, Rodgers & Hammerstein, school assembly memories
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Mélange
What a month it’s been! Beautiful days, some lazy indulgences, some quirky sights to be seen. Due to the outrageously fine weather, I’ve spent some significant (and perhaps a bit wasteful) lengths of time just hanging out on The Urban … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Birds, Cooking, Daeja's Garden, Food, Friends, Gardening, nature, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged blue, doing nothing, grandparents, May, purple, retirement, spring flowers, the most beautiful May, wild food
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Moving Right Along
Time seems to be whipping by at a pretty good clip. It feels as though we are all in some sped up animation. During a conversation with a friend years ago, we expounded on the theory that time goes faster … Continue reading
Uncivilized
Because it has been so weather-glorious, I’ve waffled back and forth about whether to do the happy thing and share a bit more about blue skies, nature discoveries and snippets from The Urban Porch ™ ……or instead launch into a … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Perspective, Rant, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Vent, Weird
Tagged angry americans, back in my day, born into an uncivilized world, collapse of society, disrespectful people, lack of courtesy, rude people, something's gotta change, what is wrong with people?
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Oddballs and Mishaps Around “The Urban Porch ™”
So what’s happening on and around The Urban Porch ™ this week? Some lovely rain, prompting the grass to suddenly get so crazy high that I actually mowed for a second time. That might be an April mowing record. Inspired by … Continue reading
daeja's view 