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The Big Wind

Pelican1 — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:18:21 +0000

This big pile of debris is part of the fence that used to be around the garden I tend. It blew over in a huge Santa Ana wind storm a few nights ago. I’ve never seen this severity of wind in all my years here — gale force winds in the low lands and hurricane force winds at higher altitudes.

Arrangements were quickly made and a lovely new fence has already been installed.

But now we have to cut up and dispose of the debris:

Oh, and I have a lot of fence that I must paint……

A New Hobby

Pelican1 — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:27:25 +0000

I have been experimenting with casting my own glycerin soaps. Here is my very first. This is scented with sweet orange, cinnamon, and clove essential oils. I call this “Autumn Blend”.

Some Thoughts About Autumn

Pelican1 — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:43:27 +0000

Yesterday I took the day off from work to pull out dying vines and plants from my garden. My summer garden supplemented the diets of several people in three households, but now the tomato vines are spent and the squash and cucumber plants are mildewed and turning white. (To see the progress of my garden over the past year, click HERE). After pulling out the dead things and mixing the soil with some manure, I cleaned up, went home and continued this “weeding” by decluttering my house and getting rid of accumulated paperwork that had piled up over the last couple of months.

We all know and probably celebrate the various harvest festivals during this period, such as Thanksgiving, but autumn is more than reaping what we have sown and nurtured during the year. Autumn is also a time of pausing and taking into account the maturity that we have achieve in all our endeavors. It is a time to clean up and prepare for the rest and replenishment that comes from the dark time of the upcoming winter. It is not surprising then that some cultures celebrate their New Year around this time. This past week was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and in a few weeks will come Halloween (Samhain), the traditional New Year observance in the Celtic tradition. According to traditional Chinese cosmology, Spring and Summer are the “Yang” part of the year — the time of growth and fruition. Autumn begins the part of the year which is “Yin”, a time of retreating energy and restoration. It is a time of assessing what we have accomplished. It is a time to breathe and acknowledge what is complete in our lives.

To commemorate this season, here is a poem I wrote a few years ago:

Spent from their fiery rampage,
Santa Anas
rest and brood,
flat-lining smoke
over the still indigo of the bay,
a remnant of their holocaust
through the hills. Swollen

pus-yellow moon slowly sinks;
ocherous shafts of dawn light
prophesy yet another hot
October day,
while Santa Anas,
hot off the desert, wait
for the end of the day.

The devil winds herald
the arrival of the dead–
The Eve of All Hallows
The Day of All Saints
El Dia del los Muertos
From the Hebrides to New Spain
celebrations of death call

for a time of reflection,
a preparation for rebirth,
by the winds of change
that burn the chaff,
nourish the earth,
and make way
for sweet winter rain. (LGloyd (c) 1997)

Support Your Local Independent Bookstore

Pelican1 — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 04:59:13 +0000

My local Borders Bookstore, as with all the others in this chain, is going out of business. I have to say that I am somewhat conflicted over this. There is something sad about a bookstore closing down. Bookstores, especially those open late at night, are places where those of a bookish deportment can hang out. They are safe places filled with civilized, literate people. But, on the other hand, these big, glossy, corporate box-stores put a lot of indy bookstores — used bookstores in particular — out of business. Local independent bookstores are places where the people who work there actually READ the books they sell and take the time to speak with patrons about why they love books.

I have to admit, though, that I am partially responsible for Borders going out of business. First, it was the siren lure of Amazon. Why buy it full price when you could get it for a discount? I would still go to the brick-and-mortar stores when impatience took hold of me and I did not want to wait the week or ten days it took for Amazon to send a book. But the death knell to the relationship with the boxy bookstores came when I met my Kindle. (Yes, yes I have started sleeping with my Kindle). I could have my books cheaply and instantly delivered by the flick of a button.

One day last week, I poked my head in Borders and saw a line of book patrons, at least fifty people long, curled all the way back to the cafe section, the arms of each patron filled with 40% off books. Scavenging is an ugly business. I turned right around and left the store.

I needed a real bookstore fix, so I headed on over to my favorite used bookstore, Dave’s Olde Book Shope. I needed the comforting smell of musty books and the embrace of its towering shelves over narrow aisles. I entered through the back door (when were you ever able to do that at Borders?) and found Dave sprawled on the floor sorting books. He smiled with recognition. I cringed with guilt because it has been months since I’d been in there. He asked if he could help me find something. (The last time I tried to find something in Borders, I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to help me). After he directed me to the shelves I was looking for, I too sprawled out on the floor, browsing and flipping pages. I went back in time to when I was a kid at one of the many old bookstores in our neighborhood. Yes, I know, I am a nerd but this is what nerds do.

I selected two books. When I approached the desk to pay for them, Dave was busy conversing with a young man about Pillars of the Earth and the Lonesome Dove series. Never, ever had I seen a chain store worker actually discussing books with a patron. I stood and listened for a few minutes and made a mental note of someday reading Ken Follett’s book. (This is what happens when you take the time to discuss books).

As I finished the transaction and headed out the door, I was hit with this thought: could the demise of the chain stores breathe new life into the local independent book venture? As Dave says in the clip below, there is a place for both real and electronic books.

But this is not going to happen if we don’t support our local brick-and-mortar stores. I urge you then to find your own local bookstores and patronize them. Most likely you are still going to find a used book cheaper than the same one in electronic format or shipped from Amazon.

Second, tell someone else in your neighborhood about that bookstore. Share the store’s website on your Facebook page or Twitter feed. (If the store is on FB or Twitter, like it or follow it.) If you have a blog, blog about it. I happened to find a Youtube clip about Dave’s and I am posting it below.

If we say we love books and bookstores, then it is up to us to save our neighborhood stores.

Harvest Time

Pelican1 — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:42:46 +0000

Cukes, tomatoes, parsley and basil.

A New Past-Time?

Pelican1 — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:49:45 +0000

After 35 years, I picked up a bow once more. The bows are a lot different now. When I was younger, our bows did not have sight finders, string beads or fancy handles. However, the principles are still the same, and I am happy to say that I’ve still “got it.” About 80% of my shots were in the bull’s eye.

My sister was a pretty good archer back in the day (she has a nice trophy to prove it). She was a good sport today and let me make a video of her. Here it is:

Is this a new past-time for me? Maybe. We’ll see how sore my arms are tomorrow.

Tomatoes Running Amok

Pelican1 — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:36:58 +0000

After two years of working a backyard plot where an RV had been parked for 25 years, I think… I HOPE…. I have finally conditioned the soil and coaxed it back to life.

In March, I planted out these three tomatoes plants and sowed some zucchini, cucumber, and cantaloup seeds.

Two months later I have gargantuan tomatoes bushes running amok in the yard, threatening to overcome the zukes and cukes. So my dad and I put stakes in the ground this morning and tied the vines up.

The Early Girl bush is heavy with green fruit. Yes, I do have a basil plant growing nearby. We are going to feast well in a few weeks!

About Pelicans

Pelican1 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:07:09 +0000

To hear my April 13 podcast, click HERE.

First Podcast

Pelican1 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:32:01 +0000

Hi, all. I’ve been experimenting with podcasting software and I created a very short (2 minutes) podcast. Unfortunately, WordPress does not allow me to embed the player here, so I created a separate blog at Blogger to accommodate my casts. So if you are so inclined to listen, click this link below. It will take you to another blog where you need to click the podcast player there to hear it. I’d love to know what you think. You can leave a comment on Blogger or come back here and leave a comment. Thank you.

Click here to go to my podcast blog.

Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution

Pelican1 — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:45:42 +0000

If you did not see Chef Jamie Oliver’s first season of Food Revolution last year, know that he took on the Board of Education of a town in West Virginia to implement a healthy menu in all the schools in that district. He made significant headway.

Now, in Season 2 of the Food Revolution, Mr. Oliver is taking on the LAUSD. As a product of that school district, I am particularly interested in the outcome and will be watching. (Let me add that I brought my lunch to school every day for obvious reasons…..).

Here’s a sneak preview:

Pelican