Sunday, November 14, 2010

Pitch black and sunrises

I'm blogging at 7:20 AM, against the backdrop of a glorious sunrise...which is wonderful and everything, but really, I would have preferred not to have seen it. The sunrise is one of those things that, unless you have intentions of watching it, is not terribly welcoming. It's more like having a rather irritating bluebird chirping in your ear. But, another night of coughing, another night of (4 hours of) sleeping on the couch, a colorful, bright morning sun to greet me against my will. There's irony in that somewhere.

A friend and I drove out to Great Falls last night, and we promptly learned our lesson about trying to hike through the woods at night with no moonlight or flashlight. We didn't get very far, as a terrifyingly large and four-legged silhouette bounded across the dusky lamplight of a nearby field and scared the bejesus out of both of us (deer can be surprisingly scary when you don't know what they are). We heard its footsteps scurry into the wood next to us, and wondering whatever could cause a creature to run on a calm, peaceful November evening caused both of us to jump back in the car. Then I reminded her that the Blair Witch Project had been filmed nearby. Mistake.

So our little city-slicker pansy asses hurried their way back into the city. So much for adventure. It was nice to see all those stars, though. Seven miles out of DC, and it's a completely different world.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Joy, thy name is Autumn

After a two-week bout of bronchitis (that's still not entirely dead, but we're ignoring the resilient coughing and exhaustion for now), I hopped back on my bike and decided to go photo-hunting. The trees are beautiful, after all, and the weather was gorgeous today--a bit warm, a bit chilly, sunny, and bright. Perfect for snapping pictures.

I would like to add, my camera is five years old and breathing its last few, ragged breaths, but it's a trusty Kodak Easy Share that still manages to take crisp pictures with its 6.1 megapixels.

Miraculously, there were still roses blooming in the Bishop's Garden at the Cathedral, so I snapped a few shots of those. The photos are a bit schmoopy and girly, yes, but I thought they turned out nicely.





As I was photographing the last one, there was a mom/daughter (or teacher/pupil, I couldn't tell which) pair sitting on a bench behind me. The mom/teacher was explaining to the daughter/pupil how the beauty in flowers and gardens is a way of seeing God's work "because God made them." She talked about spending time with friends and family, and how God works in those times, too. I found it kind of funny that they were having this conversation outside of a giant stone cathedral. Not to write off thousands and thousands of years of phenomenal architecture for which men devoted and gave up their very lives...but while I guess gigantic churches are a traditional way of expressing devotion to God, it's one that I've never quite understood. The little faith that I have in whatever deity is out there, I have never felt in stone or in glass or in man-made structures. Which is why I set the focus like I did.

Anyway, it was a very sweet conversation that ended with the little girl saying, "I only wonder one thing....what do those white roses taste like? They just smell so good, that I can only imagine they taste better."

And to round out the afternoon, I'm baking another batch of chocolate chip pumpkin cookies...or muffkies. Muffin cookies! Kind of soft and chewy. They're pretty delicious.

All in all, a lovely autumn day.