Musings

We joined the highway hoards returning to their nests after holiday adventures (eating, shopping, hopefully laughing), and found these junque-laden Joads on the move. The retired schoolbus was packed and the maroon crossover(?) seemed the spriteliest vehicle of the bunch by far.

Note in this snap and the previous one that the traffic was heavier in the other direction. For something like 50 miles of interstate it must have averaged about 30mph. We only had momentary slow-downs in comparison. Don’t know the temporary migration patterns that would produce this differential.

We stopped in Pascagoula to stretch our legs at a park across from this pier. I surmise that all had been rebuilt after Katrina (now way back) in 2005.

The park had a shallow wading pool with misters that could have been no more than ankle deep on a toddler when activated. Off to the side was a sign: “Please rub top of bollard to activate.” The Guru looked at it and said, “You first.”

We looked for a seafood place along the Gulf. The first choice was up on super tall pillars with a great view, but closed for cleanup (not cleaning). Ooops. But it was next to a marina full of working boats with nets not crab/lobster pots, which of course was very interesting.

We continued along the shore and found this place, not up on pillars, but still with a fine view of the water from the dining room.

These nifty new phones/cameras are wonderful. These are the colors of the sunset. Ignore the insect blotches, plz.

Deciding that it’d be wiser to get a needed car wash before we got to the desert, we went through the Wall of Foam (blue sign), and got the worst of the accumulated gunk (nastiness of oak residue was particularly worrisome on the hood) removed.

There wasn’t any other traffic on the old US highway we took instead of the interstate parallel to the shore, and the Guru stopped so I could nudge the phone/camera into the land of computational photography. It was darned dark out, but it captured the bridge superstructure as well as a few stars in the night sky. Oh, boy, we’ll have fun experimenting this whole trip!

Posted at 4:26 PM | Comments Off on You first

I finally found the upstairs maid (hahaha) and got her busy. Three loads of laundry and lots of miscellany. Still: odds and ends remain for tomorrow morning.

I think of this as both clapboard and lap siding. Turns out both terms are used. Here, in the yew-ess of ay, anyway.

Sunny and warm for my walk. Found this blue flag convention, but not the blue flags of spring. Sewer lines? Buried cable? A mystery.

Posted at 7:44 PM | 1 Comment »

We had a miscellaneous errand over toward downtown, so we strolled around that area. This is the view of downtown from Jackson Street bridge. You many have seen it in a movie or in advertising art.

Turns out the libraries are closed for the holiday, so we used the book drop. Our regular branch is closed for renovations, so we used a different branch, over by the MLK center. [TMI, pretty sure.]

One of my favorite public art pieces of all time. MLK stating that he has a dream, I’m guessing.

People live around here now, in some rather expensive new apartments and not in the crack-infested public housing that was here.

Nice reflection in window of business undergoing renovation…sign is for an axe-throwing business. Have fun, it states in multiple ways.

Pansy (etc.) triangle by the MLK center. Your federal dollars at work. National Park Service property.

We discovered that we didn’t know that the Grady HIGH SCHOOL football team has a practice field. More tax dollars at work.

Posted at 6:45 PM | Comments Off on More than tax dollars

The parallel I’m suggesting is that these are the dessicating seedheads of our fennel. They succeed the plant’s main event—the green phase.

Today, we followed our main event—Wednesday early T-day dinner—with lovely, wonderful, tasty left-overs.

Of course, some people might argue that left-over day is its own version of a main event—sooo, sooo easy!

Posted at 5:13 PM | Comments Off on Parallels

My dad, the Botanist, called these, as I recall, Georgia bugs, meaning he saw them here and did not associate them with the Midwest. This one hung around the back door this afternoon, but was not admitted to our early T-giving. We had a good harvest this year, albeit from assorted grocery stores.

Posted at 10:19 PM | Comments Off on Good harvest

Raw materials are in place…

…and some have been prepped. Or partly prepped.

Posted at 6:45 PM | Comments Off on Feasting: not yet

Lots of leaves on the ground…

and in the trees, still.

Pretty sure: this is not a proper haiku syllable count.

Posted at 6:50 PM | Comments Off on Knobby trunk, blue sky

Out buying our T-giving bird, we found decorations for the succeeding standard US holiday. I pondered sitting and waiting for the holly-jolly holly-day, but I’ve got a meal to prep. For THIS week.

Apologies for the grumpiness, but how many people in a GROCERY store are buying for Xmas????

On the other hand, the trees, wreaths, and other greenery out front of the store smelled piney-lovely.

Posted at 9:32 PM | Comments Off on Holly jolly

Or is it an easy one?

Watch the rain fall…or watch the bread cubes for the dressing dry?

Posted at 7:16 PM | 1 Comment »

Nice organic loaves have been cubed to dry, preparatory to incorporation with sautéed veg and butter (mmm) and stock and summer savory to make dressing. Days from now.

Meanwhile…pansy season has commenced.

Posted at 1:20 PM | Comments Off on Preparations