The Desert Contrarian Has Her Say

Yep, that is me. When I was much younger I always said I would be a misanthrope when I grew up and also an eccentric old lady when I got old. Well, I am not Old  yet but but it won't be too much longer. I have not yet retired to the hermitage of the hollow Cottonwood Tree along some southwestern stream that I once envisioned but that day may come. You know, a kind of Hobbit Hole house in a huge old tree. Not too practical obviously but a neat idea. The eccentric old lady is emerging like a moth from its chrysalis, full grown and ready to fly--off the handle, to conclusions and into a hissy fit with little notice! ROFL.(Okay, hissy fits are technically thrown, not flown into but you get the idea.)

 Riding off into the mustard yellow sunset on my trusty steed...

And contrary is something I have always been. Last night I woke up once and found a peculiar notion rattling around in my head. A bit of background is needed here. I get  Feng Shui tips as well as a western and a Chinese horoscope and my one card tarot reading each day in email from an outfit called Astrology.com. They do bombard you with ads to purchase special readings, conversations with live psychics and such but the little fun things are free. Check it out.

Now how the lady who does the Feng Shui stuff does it I cannot say but she comes up each day with a supposed factoid that this is the national or international day of such and so. And then ties a feng shui tip or trick to it. Amazing! There are days you never imagined, much less heard of, some quite marvelous and others totally ludicrous. Well, to make a long story short, I woke to find a "special day" idea bouncing around in my head. I rolled it across my tongue and said, "yes, I like it!" What was my day? How about "The National (or International, if you prefer) Cutting Through the Crap Day"? Doesn't that just have a fabulous ring to it? I can visualize standing up in varied places, perhaps starting with Congress or one's local state capital and screaming, "Shut up! This is The National Cutting Through the Crap Day" and I am cutting right through yours! Get back to facts and truth and right." Of course it is never going to happen but I can still smile from ear to ear at the thought.

So, my sisters and friends. go and cut through some crap! You will do the world a service and I am sure make yourself feel better. I may make it the National Week. Month or Year!! Let us unite and raise our voices in heartfelt protest.

More comments and offerings to come soon. I am slowly mastering Win7 and a laptop keyboard. Operative word is slowly but it is happening. At least I found that Word 2003 will run on Win7--thanks be to all the Powers!--and on we go from there. Once I have the first parts down I will attempt Word 2010 or maybe just jump to 2013.but I can write and such in the meantime. Whew.

Go in peace and harmony--but cut through the crap.

Old Dogs and New Tricks

I am probably the last--no, I know there are others--but I am a holdout and dragging  my heels as hard as I can. I *love* XP and have held on to it to the bitter end here and am still going to run my trusty old tower system with it for as long as I can but I do see the handwriting on the wall so there will not be much more on-line work done from it. My dear brother has come up with a nice Compaq laptop running Win7 which should still be good for a time yet and I've got it up and running. I struggle with laptop keyboards and touchpad-in-lieu of mouse but I'll cope. I even have loaded Word 2010 on it--again, a major change I just hate--and am going to make myself learn it. And it is way different from my familiar Word 2003. DTBL!!

I  just don't see why they have to keep reinventing wheels here but that's the way it goes. You cannot make big bucks selling and keeping up old stuff. The crowd that used to have to get the newest super-power zero to ninety nine in 20 second muscle cars are that way about computers now and then everyone is going over to tablets and smart-phones with touch screens and apps and all that stuff. What is going to happen to working office computers and the things writers use and all that??? They say the PC is all but dead and I am growling like a mad dog. Who is going to write a novel on an iPad for pete's sake?? It damn well won't be me!!

So bear with me. I've got to export a lot of things from one system to the other That means downloading to a flash drive or CD and then uploading to the other. They are not networked and so direct transfer isn't possible and without some super high tech gear XP and Win7 do not play nice together even if they were networked. So tedious cut/copy, paste, move and all that. Still growing... And then adapt my fingers to a very compact keyboard--never was a great typist anyway, learn that I want backspace and not delete when I hit the wrong letters--and where to find things and what they are called now. Frustration is my current middle name

WHO shrank the doggie door?

And my dang tongue is not quite long enough!

Yep, I'm one sad pooch here!!

. I think I will make a run down to Staples and grab a handful of flash drive USB sticks and I'll write on the old system and then move the file to the new to send to my publisher etc. I'll keep my fave photos on another and put some of them into the laptop so my slide show will run. I use it on power and not battery 99% of the time so no issues there. And if I do make that trip to Alaska this summer, I may even go nutso enough to grab a tablet and use it for my notes and rough drafts and such on that trek.

So cut the old gal some slack. I'll learn and I'll adapt but I have to bitch and whine and grouse a bit in the meantime! I may not post quite as often for a bit here but will endeavor not to vanish! Oh, I had my semi-annual freeze-dry treatment on Thursday--that's when the dermatologist takes the liquid nitrogen to the blotches and patches and yucky spots on the aging over-sunned skin. Now they are either blisters or itch like a fiend. This too will pass. They had it right--getting older is not for the faint of heart!!

For now Happy Easter to those who commemorate or Blessed Oester or hail to spring as it bursts into blooms, greenery and April showers. Yes, we are getting some of them today. So far, NMA in the rain gauge but have hopes for at least a tenth or so. It's a nice novelty to have the air small damp and to see some of that wet stuff in the heavy clouds and coming down on the hills above us if not right here.

Hummingbirds are back!

For over ten days I have been spending most of my time in the house and quite a lot of it horizontal or semi-reclining but I did hear a couple of hummers--the distinct buzz of their wings and the faint little twitters they make--on a rare expedition out to soak up some sun. So I managed to heat up some sugar water and fill and hang two feeders. It's been windy a lot and that doesn't help my situation or that of several of my friends and family but we are all on the mend at last.. The last two days I have been sitting out on the patio some though and have seen at least three of my little mascots. They are just so amazing!

I had a flu shot but this flu-type bug charged right in over it. Causes a head full of nasty gunk, a hacking, gagging cough, some fever, body aches and general misery. Then I got a sinus infection on top of it and finally went to urgent care for some antibiotics as I may have mentioned. After a week of that treatment the infection is nearly gone. I am feeling noticeably better but still not up to full speed and energy. That will probably take another week or two. Drat and darn. I have lost two weeks of time I needed to get a bunch of projects wrapped up and more plans made for my potential Alaska trip. Still waiting on replies to some letters I sent but I expect I will be hearing from some of them soon.

My roses have burst into bloom. Three of the bushes are almost covered in buds and blooms. The sweet scent fills the patio area and adds a pleasant ambiance to my already favorite place. The hummers zoom by and check out some of the blooms. I'm not sure how much nectar roses have but if the scent is a sign, they must be sweet! I'll try to get some photos soon. Meanwhile here are a few I took last year. With an added year to grow and develop, though, they are even more spectacular!! Although the photo is not as spectacular the third one is my favorite; it is a gorgeous apricot hue and as sweet scented as any rose I ever grew. I get the names mixed up so will have to go back and double check my planting records! Also my iris should begin blooming before long. Most are white but there is one pretty purple-bronze one. Now if only my lilacs will grow enough to bloom!!

Best laid plans...

Drat and dang. Bobbie Burns did have it right when he penned that verse. Mine have gang aglee for sure for over a week here as I have been down with an ugly flu-like bug that decided to morph into a nasty sinus infection while it was parasiting in me. I began to run a high fever over the weekend and ended up going to urgent care--try getting into your doctor on short notice these days--and coming away with a two-week dose of antibiotics. I'm allergic to lots of those but so far old-fashioned sulfa (did you know it was the first antibiotic to be used widely?) works for me and it is now coming back because a lot of nasty organisms have not built up a resistance to it due to long limited use. After seven of the twenty-eight horse-choking capsules taken, I am feeling better, like there may be life when this is over after all. Sheesh!! Give me another day or three to regain my stride.

I got word that I will have two releases at Amber Quill in May, the reissue of another Gwynn Morgan novel and a new Deirdre O'Dare story as well. If you want more on that you will have to pop over to the DeirdreDares blog. 'cause I don't sell books here. That is just offered in passing.

My other big project is still in waiting--for some replies back to the letters I have already sent out, to far-away Alaska. I will let a cat's whisker out of the bag and confess that one was to the Iditarod Trail Committee--they will answer I am pretty sure once the extensive business of finishing the 2014 race stuff is done--and to several of the currently living lady mushers who go back to the early days and some of the current ones. I will also say that it involves a proposal for a book...  A lot more soon, guaranteed! So meanwhile cross your fingers and say a prayer or two for me that I can make this happen. It will be special and different and  something of a lot more substance than any of my fiction has ever been. Maybe my legacy as a writer, in some ways.

How can anyone help but love those beautiful dogs? This image is owned by the Committee but I share it with all respect and honor. Hasta luego!

Spring: Flowers and Wind Warnings

Yes, it really is spring. I walked on the arroyo bank yesterday and in about a week the mesquites had gone from barely showing the knobby buds to new green emerging! It went very fast this year. Other weeds and plants are leafing and blooming as well. I have seen several lilacs beginning to bloom now around the area. Mine are not quite there and only one may be mature enough to bloom but in a few years, I will enjoy them. Lilacs and roses are my favorite flowers.

 Remember my pix from last spring? Here are a couple of reminders.

 The filaree is nearly bloomed out now and the mesquites are not quite as fully leafed out as this one yet (it was taken April 13 last year) but they will be in a week or so. Thus it's a little ahead of 2013.

And here in the high desert of the southwest US, wind is another feature of spring. It may not blow every day but as the upper air patterns and the jet stream change with the shifting seasons, winds are common and often pretty severe. We have a high wind warning now in effect until about midnight and more winds, just barely less powerful, are in tomorrow's forecast. Wind usually means blowing dust, too. In this case we are fortunate because a front passed by last night with accompanying showers and thunderstorms! We only got about .15 of an inch but that did settle the dust a bit. Lots of flashes and booms during the night had the dogs all upset but once it quiets down, they go back to sleep. I'll tolerate a little disruption for any moisture since it is so sorely needed. And ironic how the Pacific Coast has been inundated and the northeast blizzarded almost beyond belief. Mother Nature sure seems to have permanent PMS this year!

Meanwhile I stay inside when it is too blowy so my allergies do not go wild. There is plenty to do anyway. I am working on a baby quilt for my gentleman friend's first great-grand daughter, plowing along on two new Deirdre stories and writing a lot of letters to try to get the new project I mentioned off the ground. It's kind of nerve wracking to wait but since things could fail to take shape (though I am hoping and praying that is not the case!) I am not making any announcements yet. You'll be among the first to hear once it is assured.

But I will have another mule article in a couple of months. More on that when it comes out. Here is one more shot of my on one of my mules. This was taken in Mescal Canyon just south of Jerome along the Mingus foothills. I think I inadvertently reversed the negative when I scanned it but not sure.  Anyway you can see how rough the terrain is there! From the looks I would say this was taken in spring, too. Snow melt fueled the stream that was dry in the early summer and later in the fall after carrying runoff when the monsoon rains came.

Two verses-daring and werewolves?

These two poems were actually intended to be part of my last post but it was getting way too long, so I held them back for a follow-on. They do share an inspiration with the theme of daring to be different and to reach for the stars, though. One a bit less perhaps but it has links to my recent immersion in the Iditarod. I'm having a bit of withdrawal there since the race is over down to the final awards and sending everyone home from Nome but that's okay. More on that as it becomes relevant.  Anyway here are the verses... Both copyright protected as of March 2014, the date of their composition, as are all contents of this blog.. Any copies of any material are to be made with permission only!

          Prayer for Courage

Dare to be different, dare to exceed

Limits you self-set and too quickly heed.

Dare to reach higher, to try one more time

Dare to take chances and risk all to climb.

Challenge your weakness and build ‘til you’re strong.

Take that strange road that seems hidden and long.

Lift up your head, your heart and your pride

For the worst that can happen is after you’ve died

You realize your doubts, your shyness and fears

Held you back, kept you down all through your years.

So give it your best shot, be bold, strive and dare

To fly to the far peaks on a wing and a prayer.

                                                   GMW 3/14

            Mystery Memory

Have I run through a long, cold night?

Fought my fear of the swirling white?

Heard the shush and crunch of snow,

Felt the bite when the storm winds blow?

Though I cannot know, my spirit claims

Many and varied lifetimes and names,

Most of them spent in desert climes

But other places at other times

Perhaps have seen and challenged me,

Brought me down or set me free.

So as this long day slips nearer night,

Spirit-feet recall the cold, the white.

Once in a dream-night I ran with a pack,

Howled and ran, never looking back.

So was that a memory or merely a dream?

I can only trust in how real it did seem.
                                      GMW 3/14

I do have an affinity for wolves and they are mostly creatures of the more northern climes. Who knows. Yes, there are the so-called Mexican Gray Wolves down along the border here and of course their kin the coyotes, but I have dreamed of running over the snow and such, more than once actually.  I was never sure if that running was on two feet or four... Maybe I was a northern were-wolf in some incarnation! Smiling but not laughing as to me at least it is no joke.

Dare to be Different, Dare to Excel!

I may have mentioned that I was valedictorian of my high school class back in 1962. I had resolved in 1959 that I would make it when my old hero and crush Marvin only managed to be co-salutatorian. I have to attribute some of it to luck since after the year I was out of school, I fell in with a somewhat under-achieving class, but I did work and strive for that goal, too. I had to make a speech that graduation night and was very nervous because I was still terribly shy at the time. I made the actual speech high on pain pills due to a bad tooth extraction, but I did make a speech. My theme  was "Dare to be Different." I always was; I suppose I always will be. But in that case, the difference I supported was in daring to reach and strive, to try to exceed the norm and the standards of others to be your personal best. I've always held that sentiment or at least since I was old enough to understand it.

Here is the text of that speech: (Secretary Bolin was at that time Secretary of State of Arizona and if memory serves later became governor. Mr West was the HS Superintendent.) At the right is the young woman who gave that speech. I can hardly believe she was me or I am she...a half century later.

     "Secretary Bolin,  Mr. West, members of the school board and faculty, parents and friends. Tonight it is my honor and duty to represent my class in saying goodbye to high school days and in thanking all of you who have done so much to help us that we might reach this night.
     You are all interested in us, otherwise you would not be here tonight. Because of your interest, you have aided us in achieving this first major goal of our lives. You have done so much that we can never repay you completely. Tonight we thank all of you. In the future we hope to live our lives in such a way that you can be proud of us and know the effort you have spent on was is not wasted.
     Graduation is a unique time. At what other time can you look both forward and backward, see childhood and adulthood at one glance? The terms "graduation" and "commencement" are contradictory. One applies a beginning and the other an ending. Out feelings tonight are contradictory also.
     We are sad and happy, fearful and hopeful, humble and proud. Although we are sorry to be leaving behind the carefree days of youth, we are eagerly awaiting the future even though it may not always be bright. 
     When we ponder upon the significance of this ceremony and realize that it is now our turn to face life as adults, we feel humble for fear we may not be strong enough to carry this new burden. Still, we can't help feeling a bit of pride because we have finally reached an important goal in our lives. Because of this success, we are encouraged to believe that we may eventually reach goals which now seem as unattainable as our high school diplomas once did.
     So we laugh a little, cry a little, and then square our shoulders and come to join you. Let us in, please, and forgive our mistakes for we will be only apprentice adults for awhile and we have yet a great deal to learn. Certainly we will remember this night for many years to come. Don't you remember your graduation? Whether you graduated in 1961 or 1912, you recall your special day and perhaps some feature of life at that time. Probably your reaction when you compare your graduation day to this one will be, "times have changed."  Perhaps you think that schools are not strict enough nowadays.
     I disagree with that idea but I do believe that a few aspects of young people's educations are being neglected. Of course schools are not responsible for all of the teaching. The parents' duty is extensive. Whether the schools, parents or the times are at fault, I cannot say, but I believe that today's young people are not learning enough old-fashioned pioneer spirit.
     What is pioneer spirit? Why is it needed today? Pioneer spirit is difficult to define. it is a strange quality which nearly everyone possessed a few generations ago. Today it is a much more rare quality than wealth. 
     To me, pioneer spirit can be defined as a combination of independence, self-discipline and plain courage. You may say that such principles are out of date and out of place in our modern world.I cannot agree. 
     Today, pioneers, brave people who are willing to work beyond the call of duty and risk all to succeed are needed more than ever before. There are thousands of new frontiers waiting to be explored. The greatest frontiers ever open to mankind await pioneers who can conquer them.  Certainly the vastness of outer space provides a great challenge to modern explorers.Also there are many discoveries to be made.in medicine and science.
     I do not wish to imply that modern young people are lacking in good qualities. According to many experts and psychologists, they are superior to past generations in many ways, but they are strangely lacking in ambition and individualism. Although the lower level of intelligence and ability is rising, the top level is falling at a similar rate. Soon there will be neither superior nor inferior individuals, nor with there be replacements for today's experts and leaders. 
     No one can deny that most doctors, scientists, astronauts and even educators are exceptional people. Because not everyone is exceptional, superior individuals are different. They do not fit in well. Modern society is not sympathetic to people who don't fit in. Practically every aspect of life today seems to form obstacles for those who wish to rise above the masses. People who have pioneer spirit and exceptional abilities are discouraged by those who scorn them for being "different" and urge them to conform to conventional standards. Where will the future Albert Einsteins, Marie Curies, and Scott Carpenters come from? 
     Young people must dare to be different! Teachers, parents and other leaders must help them by removing some of the obstacles from their paths. Independence and resourcefulness must be rewarded ratter than rejected. Security, no doubt, is wonderful. Also there may be safety in hiding in the masses, but safety and security seldom coincide with fame and adventure, high achievement. Some of us must sacrifice safety and security for the thrills and rewards which will come to the pioneers of the future. Some of us must dare to be different!
     Thank you.

Many years have passed since that night near the end of May, 1962 when I spoke those words but the beliefs I held then are essentially unchanged. I think this is why I am fascinated by excellence, daring and sacrifice, courage and determination wherever I see them. Setting example for the young people of today who will deal with a world more troubled, complex and needy than I ever dreamed is the most important role one can aspire to. So to the graduates of 2014, I can repeat the challenge: Dare to be different! Dare to excel!