Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Checking In

Hello. I am still here.

I feel optimistic about Obama. I want to believe the polls. I can't believe the election is just a few weeks away. I've hit my saturation point on the campaign and talking heads stuff. I want this to be over.

The Santa Ana winds blew furiously the other night. The windows rattled. In the morning our lawn was covered with pine needles from the neigbor's tree.

I saw a dead bird next to my euphorbias this morning. A small bird. Kinda pretty, except that it was dead. The other week I saw a praying mantis on my guava tree. It scared the bejesus (sp?) out of me because I didn't see it until it was a couple inches from my face. It was really trippy looking. It looked just like the mantis in Kung Fu Panda.

Speaking of Jesus, I saw Religulous. It was hella funny. I really liked it-- probably in large part because I don't believe in God. I guess if I were a true believer I might be pissed.

I love Fall weather, except that it gets dark so early. I think Spring is my favorite season.

I've been swimming about 3 times a week at the Rose Bowl. Weekend swims are my favorite. I go for endurance over speed. The other day I managed to swim a mile. It was great.

I love going to gardens. Over Labor Day weekend we went to Lotusland in Santa Barbara. It's the 40 acre estate of the late Ganna Walska, a many times well-married Polish opera singer. The gardens were awesome, wacky, unconventional. I highly recommend.

Our next vacation is slated for mid-February. As usual, I'm getting a little OCD about where to go. Every other day I think of another possible place. I research fares, hotels, weather patterns. I used to enjoy the legwork. Now it's just a pain.

6 comments:

MK said...

Re: the dead bird. Where did you find it? Was it close to a window? If so, it's probably windowkill. It's peak migration season, so it wouldn't hurt making at least that particular window bird-safe. Birds see polarized light, the downside of which is that they can't see glass.

Can you describe the bird? (size? sparrow-sized, robin-sized? Markings? Long tail, short tail? Pointy, thin beak or thick conical beak like a sparrow?)

chanchow said...

The bird was still there this morning. It's about 4 inches long, with a white belly. Short tail. Small head. I didn't get a look at the beak. It is lying pretty close to the chimney (about 3-4 feet from the closest window).

MK said...

Can you email me a picture?

chanchow said...

OK. I'll see if it's still there when I get home.

Octopus Grigori said...

The Chanchow lives!

YES WE CAN

chanchow said...

Hey MK-- The bird was gone before I could snap a shot. Some kitty must've taken it away.