Welcome to my World

Welcome to the domain different--to paraphrase from New Mexico's capital city of Santa Fe which bills itself "The City Different." Perhaps this space is not completely unique but my world shapes what I write as well as many other facets of my life. The four Ds figure prominently but there are many other things as well. Here you will learn what makes me tick, what thrills and inspires me, experiences that impact my life and many other antidotes, vignettes and journal notes that set the paradigm for Dierdre O'Dare and her alter ego Gwynn Morgan and the fiction and poetry they write. I sell nothing here--just share with friends and others who may wander in. There will be pictures, poems, observations, rants on occasion and sometimes even jokes. Welcome to our world!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day 2013

I cannot let this day go by unmarked. To commemorate I want to share a verse I wrote some years back. I wish I could share the picture that inspired it but I do not have rights granted although I did give the artist rights to use my verse if he gave me credit. The picture showed a young woman of times past in a long blue dress. In her hand she held a black-edged letter at leaning against a chair at her side was a cavalry sabre and draped over the chair a flag of fewer stars than the one we now salute. . It was beautiful and immeasurably sad. I have to remember the widows and orphans today too along with those who gave all. This verse is copyrighted but may be shared for patriotic purposes with credit to the author. Here is the verse:

Note, apologies for the lines that are out of rank and file! I copied this from a special format to make an e-book and self-published poetry collection and the format has some hidden characters I can't quite get rid of!

The Price of Freedom                 
The price of freedom is always high.
In each generation, some must die.
In each generation, some must mourn,
thus is the price of freedom borne.

The letter ‑‑ Dear Madame, I do regret
to tell you that your beloved met
with his Maker, a fortnight past.
I saw, at least, that death came fast.
Here is his sword, the flag he held high‑‑
In each generation, some must die...
Even ere the letter, somehow she knew
though she wished and hoped it was not true.
The price of freedom is ever dear
Oh, but why must it strike so near?
Each generation the price must pay,
in their own time, in their own way.

The price of freedom is never paid
in full; the mortgage is ere conveyed
to each generation, or else they lose
the right, the privilege to live, to choose.

With Washington, some crossed the Delaware
Before the English knew they were there;
With Jackson, some marched to New Orleans
and looked upon some hellish scenes.
At Gettysburg, brother fought against brother,
fighting the forces that freedom would smother....
They followed Teddy up San Juan Hill,
the Maine remembering, with a will,
and on from there to the trenches of France
where soldiers found not war's romance
but death in blood, in mud, in cold...
forever theirs, to have and hold.

The price of freedom must still be paid
with constant vigilance, bullet and blade.
The price of freedom is never low,
for in each generation, some must go.

The war to end all wars did not;
how soon the lesson they forgot.
Once again, young men and old
went to fight for what can't be sold
but must be bought in blood and tears,
bought over and over, through the years;
aye, over and over, for it is no lie
that the price of freedom is always high.
In desert and jungle and cold north lands,
still straight and tall the soldier stands.
                        Holding aloft the red, white and blue,
paying the price there, for me and for you.
But the price of freedom we all must pay
in our own time and in our own way.


Author's Note:
  This verse was inspired by a painting by western artist Harold I. Hopkinson which portrayed a young woman with a letter in her hand and a cavalry saber on a chair at her side.  My father was in World War II, my husband in Korea, friends went to 'Nam and my son and son-in-law to Desert Storm.  Though I am not ashamed to be a patriot, sometimes I wonder, like the sixties song: when will they ever learn?  But as a historian, I fear human nature will never change enough to end it all.

                                            (c)     GMW, 1995

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Wonders overhead--even a dragon!!

I have enjoyed some lovely sights lately by watching the sky. I missed the full moon's rise as there were clouds but what clouds! I did get a couple of pictures of the not-quite-full moon veiled in some gossamer sunset clouds a couple of nights earlier though. Here they are:

Isn't that just as pretty as can be? I am a sunset freak so put the moon, one of my favorite celestial bodies in the mix and it's awesome.

Then Friday there were some amazing clouds. It was storming on the far side of the mountains just east of me. I thought for awhile the clouds might spill over the hills but they did not. Despite that, though, they did offer some spectacularl heavenly vistas. A loval professional photographer who works for the newspaper took a shot similar to mine that 'went viral' but I think my picture is just as good! First I show the white billowing 'thunder heads' a bit before sunset. The next shot is similar to the now famous one. To me it looks like a breaking wave; all we need is a surfer preparing to run the pipeline!

And then, not long after I took the 'breaking wave' shot, what did I see but a dragon!! Now my dear friend Sue-Ellen Welfonder loves dragons and magiickal sights in the sky so, Dear Friend, this 'bud's' for you! I could hardly believe my eyes, but there it is, a sea-dragon maybe, swimming along beneath that great wave. A relative of Nessie perhaps? Who knows, but  I was just thrilled to death to see it and even more to get a photo to keep forever to enhance my memory! You see its head there lower middle, right above the mountain and its cresty back glides along, dark under the apricot/bronze clouds above. In a few minutes it dove down and vanished in the dark swirls but there it was!! I am still amazed and kind of awed!!
BTW, to get a slide show version where the photos are much larger, just click on the first one and they will all then be shown near full screen for you!


Saturday, May 25, 2013

Worth Dying For?

Warning--opinions that may offend some folks coming up. Read at your own risk!

This morning I saw  a bumper sticker on a car in my neighborhood and it got me to thinking. "No religion is worth dying for." Now those who know me well may be aware that I am very much set against organized religion--all kinds, colors, creeds and so on. It is my opinion that more atrocities have been committed in the name of religion than almost anything and nearly every faith is guilty here. The fault does not lie with God or gods or the beliefs themselves but with the tendency of people to get so wrapped up in their particular faith that it breeds bigotry, intolerance, narrow-mindedness, hatred and distrust of those with other beliefs and such a strong urge to proselytize that they may torture or kill to try to force their creed off on others. (Because of course it is the "one true way.") How can that be a good thing? I guess I kind of go along with one of the Beatles songs, Imagine, which .indicated a similar mindset to mine. Though I do not subscribe to there being nothing after this life and never have.

But beyond that, I also wondered: what truly is worth dying for? To save a loved one? To preserve and protect your country, your people, your home? And I decided I am not quite sure what, if anything, is. It often takes more courage to live for something or someone than to die for it. If we give our life to save a loved one then that person has to bear the guilt or grief of going on without us and maybe feeling they should have died instead of us. Many thousands, even millions, have lost their lives in wars which may or may not have been justified and fought in a good and honorable cause. My gut feeling is that most were not! And so it goes, perhaps the fate of us humans to make these choices, rightly or wrongly.

Would I go into something knowing I might die for a cause, a person or to prove a point? Yes, I probably would. Over the years I have looked death in the face a few times and did not turn tail--often there was no way I could. All I could do was pray and try to stand firm until the situation ran its course, whatever it was. Other times I was too late or unable for whatever reason to prevent a death close to me and I will bear pain and perhaps some guilt for those to the end of my days. You cannot live three score and more without experiencing such things, I guess. Life and death are inseparably interwoven, entwined, two sides of one coin perhaps..

Life is tough and living for anything demands courage, as I said. You are opening yourself to pain and struggle, to hard choices and the proverbial slings and arrows. Unrequited love, hard times, disappointment, and the loss of dear friends, both human and furred or feathered or even scaled whose thread is cut by fate what seems to be much too soon. So I guess mostly I choose to live for everything, as long as I am permitted to.  How about you? What do you feel is worth living--or dying--for? It is something to think about and reach your own decision and conclusions. I think it is important. Sometimes challenging your old beliefs and habits and taken-for-granted stands can be very valuable.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Better late than never

Yes, I promised pictures of the globe mallow...and not yesterday!  I must start saying "next time" instead of tomorrow on these things! Stuff does happen and I get behind!! Anyway, here is the globe mallow and also a couple of views of a cholla cactus just starting to bloom. There are many forms of cholla from a tiny delicate one with pencil-thin pads or leaves to fat and 'fuzzy' looking teddy bear cholla which looks fuzzy but actually has zillions of tiny wicked needles! The type here are common in Arizona and New Mexico but I am not sure the name they go by. They do have lovely flowers, though! And did you know that roses are distantly related to cacti?? I was amazed to learn this but then it kind of makes sense!! Roses have thorns too as well as gorgeous flowers. BTW the four climbers I planted just about a year ago are doing great! I swear I inherited the green thumb from my late father-in-law whose yard and garden in Bisbee, AZ was amazing. Sadly it is long gone now. I've been lucky with roses for some time now.


Note about The Daily Puppy

There seems to be a change in how this operates. Instead of the picture appearing on the blog page you now have to click on the doggie name and breed which will take you to their site and several pix pop up. That is okay too and I know most of my readers here are dog lovers... so feel free to take a peek! Today's pup is a Corgi--we think our BeeBee is part Corgi although she is also a good part Blue Heeler or Australian Cattle Dog. As I have said, I love the herding breeds especially although I have met very few dogs I did not like--or that did not like me! Still, the Aussies, the Heelers, the Border Collies, and even some of the big guys like the Berners and others hold a big chunk of my heart!! They are all so smart and seem to be especially caring,  devoted and full of love and fun yet so dedicated to their duty and fiercely protective of their herd or their persons. Such loyalty is wonderful and deserves a full measure in return. I pray for all those pets in Oklahoma--may they be reunited with their owners if possible or find new loving homes.

And a wonderful thing I just noted on Yahoo. There were three dogs in the Ohio house where the three young women were held prisoners. They were seized of course and now the three women will have the first chance to adopt them if they wish. It was assumed they knew and interacted with the dogs and maybe found comfort and solace with them so who better to help each other? Caring for a pet is proven to be very beneficial to injured and traumatized people. Returning vets are doing very well with dogs and some cats and both physical injury/therapy and PTSD effects are helped by this bond. Since these women are surely among the walking wounded, it would be wonderful if they can keep a dog and help assuage their pain. I thought that was so great!


The Magick of Books

I *love* this clever bookcase and I think grabbed it off Pinterest. Apologies to the creator but I had to share!! Isn't it just too neat??

I suppose loving books is a prerequisite for becoming a writer. Most of us were avid readers before we every put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. I know I was. It began when I was a wee tyke, the firstborn of a pair of parents who were "hippies" before there were such. They read to me, I suppose from infancy on, at least from my earliest memories. I still have a beloved book of Mother Goose Rhymes which was illustrated with many line drawings, most of which were colored with colored pencils over the course of several years. That may have influenced my love of art and creativity too! Anyway not long after I learned the alphabet and enough basic phonetics to make a stab at spelling words, I was writing verses and making little greeting cards and such to send to my doting grandma and others. From that small start...

And I read and read and read. A friend a bit older introduced me to Nancy Drew when I was about eight and I read through the whole set, at least those existing at that time. By the time I was done with that and a few other books for tweens and teens--there wasn't the vast stock of young adult stock literature then but some--I quickly went on to 'westerns' such as Zane Grey, Max Brand and Ernest Haycox, Loved cowboys and still do! So by the age of twelve or so I was filling steno notebooks with my versions of ranch romances--and yes, I did read a magazine by that very name when I could afford a copy.

So for the next half century and more I carried on a love affair with the written word. It still goes on, having outlived a number of real-life love affairs that perhaps also had their influences on my writing. I recognized that romance should be my genre shortly after I discovered what was then just coming to be one of the biggest things in popular genre fiction. Everything I wrote had a love story in it, after all. But I had a lot to learn and it was a slow and sometimes arduous process. Still I persisted and now finally have a number of books with one of my pseudonyms on the cover and lots of things available in digital forms. And still I read.

On my birthday a few weeks back I took a small step I had meant to take for some time! I applied to be a volunteer worker at Books Revisited, a local used bookstore that operates totally on donations and volunteer help and supports the local library. Small towns have to work and struggle to maintain a decent library, especially now that they have to compete for scarce resources with essentials like public safety, potholed streets, and other critical things the public may value more than books. They were happy to accept me--no surprise?? And I have now worked three shifts--just a half day a week for now and I help with the shelving, arranging and maintaining the stock. They have books of course--all kinds of lovely books!!--and magazines, movies, and music. I am in hog heaven!

So far I have managed to exert restraint and not avail myself of the privilege of borrowing anything to test or buy at the special discount. The regular prices are even very modest, but so far... Yet I know that will not last long. Books are something I cannot resist. I try now to limit myself to about 80-90% electronic and store them on flash drives and only 10-20% paper but I still totally adore 'real' books--be they new and crisp (there is a scent to most books that will clue you to the age etc.) or tattered and well-used. Some will surely join my household in the near future. I've given away so many the last ten years and still miss some but hopefully they were adopted to good homes!

Books have such magick! They can transport you to distant and exotic places, carry you away on amazing adventures, sweep you up in powerful emotions of love, hate, fear, exhilaration, anger, joy and despair! Words have so much power, so much vitality and force. Think about it--where would we be without them? Even if we only use them in cryptic text messages or emails, they are our way to reach out to others and get out of the confines of our own minds and narrow lives. And if we love and enjoy books, we have so much of a magic carpet at our disposal. I pray I never lose the visual and mental ability to read!.That would be an unspeakable injury to me. I've not quite devoted my life to books but they've been a major influence and aspect to be sure.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Still more desert plants and rambles

Spring is fading into summer and it gets drier as well as warmer.96  yesterday at my house.. It's windy today and a few clouds but any rain will fall along the Colorado border or maybe the higher northern and central mountains. This is the season for dry thunder storms where there may be lightning but any rain that leaves the clouds evaporates before it gets near the ground. This causes some violent downdraft winds and of course the lightning can spark fires. Everyone is a bit on edge about that. Wind and dry and hot and lightning is a dangerous combination!

Anyway I continue to capture a few more photos on Ginger's and my walks. No new birds but I did find one of Gambel quail from Arizona that I will share. And of course more plants. At the left are some ocotillo in the wild--you can see they are more sparse and not as large as those that are getting special care. And below them the quail--it looks like a male and two chicks of different sizes. Quail families can be that way--usually a clutch hatches within a day or two but sometimes not and sometimes an orphan chick will be taken in by another pair of adult birds. And sometimes due to the high mortality rate of all quail at this season single parents raise a group of chicks alone. The cocks and hens look similar but the males have a black belly, a redder head cap and a larger plume.

Next is a desert willow. These small trees normally grow along streams or in arroyos where the water supply is underground but in reach of their roots. They grew along the Verde River back in Arizona and I find them again here. The flowers are beautiful, almost like small orchids. They are about a half inch across and an inch deep, mostly in shades of magenta as you see here. This particular tree happens to be in my front yard and just burst into bloom two days ago! Here is a shot of the tree and a second close-up of the flowers.

I have not uploaded them yet but I got a shot of a globe mallow this morning. They are all over the west and several varieties--some are smaller and lower to the ground. The ones here seem to be almost small shrub size and clearly perennials. They are a dusty green on the leaves and stems, slightly fuzzy or hairy. The flowers are always shades of red or orange, about a half inch across with a fuzzy yellow pistil in the middle.

In our family they are also known as "Louie Blossoms." There is a story behind that name. Years ago when I was a teen and brother Charlie just a kid, we had an old blackish-brown mule named Louie, In the spring when the first greenery appeared most livestock go after it eagerly. All the horses and mules ate filaree as I showed you earlier but Louie especially liked the globe mallow. I am not sure why but then I never tasted one. I do know they are not toxic though. Anyway from then on we knew them as "Louie Blossoms." Promise a picture soon but I'd have to leave this page and open another program to download and clean up my shots. So we will save that for next time.

Tomorrow Ginger and I have a different expedition planned. We will start off in the car and go to one place where there is some old barb wire fence down and scattered. I am going to cut and coil some of it up. I can use it to make wreaths and such decorated with beads and flowers and it will also keep any animals from getting entangled in it. Next I will get a bucket or two of extra sand from a nearby construction project where they've used it in mortar to build cement block walls around some new houses and last, we'll find a trail going up into the hills and I will trim a half dozen or so branches of ocotillo. With luck one or two will take root in that bucket of sand if I keep it moist for a few weeks and then I can plant them in a corner of the yard. That's about the only cactus I would allow inside my fence! I also saw some cholla getting ready to bloom and will watch to get some pictures of it at just the right time. Cholla will never be inside, for sure! They do not literally 'jump' as fable says but at the least touch they will stick and those barbed thorns are brutal to extract! Prickly pear is bad but cholla is fierce!! Do not ever fall into one. Yikes--I shudder at the thought. They too come in many varieties and are all over the west, some even in Colorado, normally not a 'cactus' place.

Oh, one more, the yucca. They are in the big aloe family which is all over the world at least in the temperate to tropical zones. The waxy flowers are very pretty and leave behind oval seedpods which cling to the stem for a long time. Some folks even spray paint a dried stem with those pods and make it a holiday decoration with tiny lights! They come in several sizes and kinds as well.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Desert rain and more flora and fauna

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day. If you are a woman you are some kind of 'mom' whether you have given birth to a child or not. We are all role models and nurturers in one way or another. I got my kids "scond hand and house broke" (both the human and the canine ones LOL) but that was all right.  I had a nice day; kind of lazy but also some work, mostly yard work which to me is almost fun! I love to be outside and even getting a little dirty is okay!

Friday we had a wonderful rain. I think we got the hjghest total of anywhere in the state right here because I had .95 in my rain gauge! It came down hard for an hour or so, even a bit of fine hail. That kind of made up for the times the showers have skirted all around us. It was a real desert kind of  rain, too, with lots of "donner and blitzen" which puts that fine ozone sharpness in the air to add to and enhance the scents of wet creosote and mesquite and the other pungent, wild scents that come with the wind and rain. I love it!!

Now all the desert plants will brighten up, grow and thrive for a time. They are all adapted to absorb life-giving moisture whenever it comes and do their growth spurts, bloom and make seed if they can and become vital and energized for a time. Ginger and I took a nice walk today, early, from about 7:00 to 8:00 and made our way along some nature/hiking trails up the hills a bit to our east. Of course I took pictures!

In the last week or so we saw some special birds. I did not get my own pix but here are some of two of the birds we saw, a western tanager and a western scrub jay. The tanager is especially gorgeous. This is the male, of course, since the females like many birds are rather drab.

We see lots of quail and doves of course. There are several kinds of doves but only one quail instead of the two I used to feed in Arizona. The Gambel Quail is here, and that is not a misspelling as the bird is named after a naturalist of the past, not either gamboling or gambling!! I'm sure I have a shot or two of them in my collection.  If not I will scan one when I can. I *think* I have figured how to get my old scanner back on line!

And then of course there are more plants to share. An ubiquitous  SW resident is the Prickly Pear cactus. There are several varieties but they all have similar yellow flowers. Here is one that I got a shot of the other day.  Then here is another variety, the "Mule Ear"; this one is a kind of sickly looking specimen!  It may be we're at the edge of its optimum range here, a bit too chilly at times or maybe high as I think they are more of a Mexican species.   At any rate there is so much to see when we go out for our walks and we never know for sure just what we may see. I have taken to sticking my little camera into the belt pack in which I carry Ginger's training treats. That way I can slip it out and snap a shot in a jiffy, She now knows "Stop. Wait." as a command very well. :-) Tomorrow I will try to present some more birds and plants!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Beltane beauties--desert flora

Yes, Beltane--May Day--it is. On our walk this morning, I made Ginger sit and wait several times while I pulled my camera out of her 'treat bag' clipped to my pocket to get some pix to share. Of course I rewarded her good behavior with a treat or two as well!!

I mentioned ocotillo the other day so here are a couple of shots of them. Normally in the desert they get less water and probably no fertilizer so the domesticated ones are more luxurious and taller than average but if you can image a whole 'forest' of them in bloom...I can attest they are spectacular. Long ago between Bisbee and Douglas AZ I saw just that when out on an expedition with my late hubby and a friend. They were gorgeous!

I also saw a neat little cactus; these remind me of the 'pincushion' in Arizona but are a little different. I will have to do some research to find the name to share but did want to show the picture. This one has a weed growing around it but each flower sits on a kind of thumb shaped arm about 3-4" high and maybe 1-1.5" in diameter, very covered with wee thorns, sharp as tiny needles. In the close up of the ocotillo you can see those thorns which are larger but very sharp and tough to ride through on horseback. You want to be wearing nice heavy leather chaps! The Mexican vaqueros even made leather 'aprons' to protect their horses' chests and necks from them!

Then the next picture is an Ephedra or "Mormon Tea" bush just starting to bloom. This one is in my yard--no thorns--and will soon be covered with bright yellow flowers. Finally the mesquite--they hardly look like flowers but they are; those fuzzy yellow "caterpillars" will later turn into the long slender seed (bean) pods which many animals use for forage and the desert Native Americans used for food. They have very high protein and taste odd but not bad.