Persistence of memory. (With apologies to Salvadore Dali for infringing into his memory.)

 

 

Can't be certain but this must be the same male hummingbird who has been hanging around our balcony since late October. More recently we have hung a feeder on the balcony and this fellow has taken up this position on the railing for most of the daylight hours. He sits there as a sentry keeping track of the comings and goings around the feeder. If another hummer approaches, as if to get a sip of sugar water from "his" supply, he rises up and chases the intruder away.

Neighbors here at Aljoya with feeders hanging on their balconies, report regularly seeing multiple hummers sipping from their feeder. "Our" male is not of a sharing nature.

Yesterday, early morning there were two females at the feeder, they had moved on before the guard arrived for duty.

I'll wait to see how he works out relations with females wanting to sip from his sugar water supply, over the next several weeks.

 

 

HERE COMES THE SUN

I know we haven’t yet passed the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and it may be months before we see daffodils again but still I think it is ok to start humming:

“Here comes the sun, do, dun, do, do

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right”

     You do remember The Beattles don't you?  Google "Here comes the sun" if you need help with remembering the tune:

     If for whatever reason; "Its not all right", try the more seasonal Gene Autry story:   

    “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane.

 

 

 

The short story is The Ghost Town Collectives; it was written by Britney Corrigan; and it is available to read at:  https://www.terrain.org/2020/fiction/the-ghost-town-collectives/.  It is the story of 51 year old Liam McDaniel.  That was the year he bought a ghost town in Colorado and spent most of the year among ghosts, in the ghost town he bought.

“Liam’s circumstances were unusual for their raw improbability. Perhaps you understand this from within circumstances of your own. You know Liam, sympathize with his loss. Perhaps you lost someone, too.”

Look into the short story by Brittney Corrigan to learn all manner of collective nouns and read her wonderful if melancholy story of Liam who lost wife daughter and son to the Covid virus.  Reading the short story you will learn that: “A group of patients is called a virtue. A group of doctors is called a doctrine. There is no definitive collective noun for corpses. There are many names for a group of trees. A clump, a forest, a coupe. A grove. A thicket. A stillness. A stand.”  “There is no agreed upon name for a collective of tears.”

When you finish reading the story you can decide for yourself which if any of the collective nouns are real or if they were all invented in the story.

I can look out my window to watch progress on the soon to be completed Light Rail line to Northgate.  It is scheduled to open in 2021.

As I watch and when Charlie and I make our regular walks, I’ve been seeing this railroad car running back and forth along the elevated tracks approaching the Northgate Light Rail station.

I don’t imagine it is a prototype for a new design for rail cars to use on the new stretch of track, but…! It would make a good open-air observation car; it has seats for passengers; and is that a conductor learning and testing the new car and new tracks. Looks like it can be raised and lowered for moving between tunnel and open tracks.

Something to keep track of and watch as the scheduled opening opening approaches. No date has been published as yet for opening celebration when the new station will be opened and passengers can ride the new rails.

Like

Comment

Share