And then this. It is one of the annoyances of my life that this happens every day and I almost never see it. We have these great gifts and we have traded them for… Raleigh?

Just another sunrise over the ocean. If you are blind, you have other joys, but I can’t share this one with you had I a billion alt tags. I’m sorry.

The rising sun broke through the clouds this morning like the pulsing craquelure of dying firelogs. The camera would not have done it justice.

Here is a proposition to ponder: the dog is both a living creature and a technology.

Another view of the front yard. I thought about posting a campaign sign for the city election, but there is, as you can see, simply no room.

purple cone flowers and red salvia

Having survived (barely) the heat and drought of June, the front-yard flower meadow rebounded and is still full of life. The tall orange cosmos are the latest wave—trying, I guess, to prove that the last shall be first…

orange, red, magenta flowers

Tree seen from underneath, with bright red leaves mottling to green higher up

In an effort to appear to be lighthearted, I’ll repost this from 2012: The angry poet lashes out at his solicitors on election day.

Carving sale November 7–17 — I’ll post again the week of the 4th, but for those of you who have asked, here’s your advance warning. I’ll also have Christmas ornaments available then; more on that soon.

chip carving of bird in garden of flowers; green carved frame

Something different this time. I wanted to do the tree; not sure how I feel about the rest.

chip carving of trees in winter

I would like to support my locally-owned bookstore, which is close enough to my house that I can walk there and back within an hour. But every time I check their online store to see whether they have the book I want to read, it says “ships from warehouse in 3-6 days.” It’s not so much that I’m in a hurry — I most often buy books through Alibris, and have them shipped media mail. But I can’t see why I should pay them, in essence, to place an order for me. The bookstore feels less like a community partner and more like a government agency levying a tax. And the fact that my preferred reading is so rarely found on their shelves tells me that I am not really part of their community, anyhow. Though I know that just from walking around the place.

What I want from a bookstore is ecumenical chaos. This is not the same as having everything. But it is to be open to having anything.