Becoming a ghost in the machine?

So today I got the sniffles when I read that Mars Phoenix is shutting down. Which is ridiculous. I mean, I got a lump in my throat over Chalcedony’s fate in “Tideline.” Then when I read “Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk” to my friends, I could hardly speak through the ending. Now this.

Still Harvesting

The collards on the hillside were looking a bit clumpy and wilted, and there was a dusting of frost here and there. Oh noes! Were the tomatoes too optimistic?

Alebrije

I’ve been suckered by the craziest thing. Have you ever been to an animal shelter and there’s that one cat (or dog) and you take one look and you know you’re in trouble. Well, I got that feeling when I saw Leroy.
He’s an alebrije, a wood carving from Oaxaca. They’ve travelled from fever dreams to [...]

California goldenrod

While out in my old stomping ground, I also visited the Old Mission Dam. It was built in the early 19th century by the Indians and monks of Mission San Diego de Alcala to create a steady water supply from the San Diego river. Now it’s a quiet little park. There were ducks on the [...]

To be content-free or not to be content-free

Did I mention that my posts here may become more irregular? Or that sometimes I feel like I’ve jumped the rails? Well, the rails have rusted away under me. So I have a question for you.

Immortal Snake

I’m a sucker for stories based on myths and folktales, and even if I don’t know the original, I love that sense of ancient days, with kings and gods and priests, and impossible situations evaded with cunning. “Immortal Snake,” by Rachel Pollack, is mythic from beginning to end.
Long ago, in a time beyond memory, Great [...]

Fear of Rain

While listening to a reading of “Fear of Rain,” by Robert T. Jeschoneck, I was immediately drawn in by  Aphrodite, a girl raised by Mr. Flood to drown Johnstown yet again. I liked that crazy old coot, Mr. Flood. The story is told with wonderful description, vivid magic, and a building tension. And it was [...]

Desert Broom

I’m back. I spent a few days in San Diego visiting family, traipsing about, and of course–bee hunting. Are you surprised?
The first place I found bees was on this trail to Cowles Mountain. It’s not exactly Everest, but I grew up just down the hill from here, and the silhouette of that peak haunts my [...]

Optimistic Tomatoes

If you need a little optimism in your life, grow tomatoes. (Besides, we might all be growing victory gardens next year.) They will keep flowering no matter what, until the first hard frost. Look at this! It’s after Columbus Day, and it’s still hoping. Too bad. I pinched the flower off so the plant will [...]

Bears

“Bears” by Leah Bobet opens with one of those sweeping statements that just beg to be justified:
Ninety-eight percent of all fictional deaths are directly attributable to being eaten by bears.
Bullshit, you say? What about those shooting and stabbings and drownings and beatings and death by Doomed Gay Manlove?
Well, it’s not my problem if you can’t [...]