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Yes, it’s the Year of the Horse, again...
Just the word:
HORSE…
As a girl, I was a great fan of
Roy Rogers and his ever-present Trigger.
Oh, how crushed was I when I overhead
Aunt Mary say to Aunt Florence,
"I don't know what she sees in that Roy Rogers.
"His eyes are too small and he's
"Not handsome at all."
So I didn't talk to her about him anymore.
But I did still talk about Trigger!
After all, horses were the
Main reason I liked cowboys.
As an adult, I learned that my mother
Never liked cowboy movies,
But when I was little…
And my father travelled...
She took me every week
To see Roy and Trigger.
And Dale and Buttermilk.
And Gene and Champion.
And Hop-A-Long and Silver.
She even named her little
Willys Jeep car Nellie Belle
In honour of my enjoyment
Of these western forays.
Driving with my parents
We would seek white horses.
I learned to lick my thumb and
Place its wet spot on the palm
Of my other hand, then make
A fist and slap it quickly and loudly
Onto that same wet spot.
It was called "stamping white horses."
Do you know of this game?
There was no score kept…
Just spotting and stamping.
Once visiting my grandparents'
Little gas-station-cum-general-store
In Van Alstyne, Texas, I fell in love
With a clock in a horseshoe
Next to which stood a golden Trigger.
It was some kind of painted cast metal.
I don't know if the Horse Clock was
One of the items for sale... or a vague
Attempt at décor... but I was totally smitten.
And my grandparents, in the
Great tradition of all grandparents,
Gave. It. To. Me.
Again, the adult me knows
How this Horse Clock
Must have offended my mother's taste.
But I looooved it with all my heart.
Whenever we moved (which was often)
This same mother ensured
My Horse Clock took pride of place
Next to my bed where I could easily touch it
From my pillow.
Yes, I did learn to tell time
With that Horse Clock.
Other horses came over time.
On our frequent trips to Matamoros
And Nueva Laredo, my mother
Helped me find a photographer
In the zocolo who always had a
Wooden Horse for posing upon.
My childhood scrapbook is spattered
With these images showing me
As I grew. There are even a few
From my late teen years
In happy counterpoint.
My blind almost Godmother, Sammie,
Even prevailed upon my mother
One time to help her climb aboard
One such steed so she could
Send me her picture like mine of yore.
During fourth and sixth grades
We lived in tiny Bartonville, Texas,
And there pastured an aging
And gentle Sadie for a neighbour.
Sadie let me lead her to our fence
So I could climb from fence to her back
And explore our vast four acres
Bareback.
I fed her carrots that she
Delicately bit as I held them
And sugar cubes that she
Lipped from my open palm.
My mother, the city girl, later
Confessed her fears at the time.
I'm glad I didn't know.
When I was preggers with Peter
His dad and I visited friends
Who lived on a very remote ranch
In the mountains of northern Mexico.
One day, we rode our horses
For so many hours
Our hosts sent out cowboy
Search parties to find us...
To ensure our baby's safety.
Later, Peter and I rode horses
On a bridle path at Lake Louise.
He remembers the horses' names
Still.
Of course, Little Peter and Little Kate
Each had their own horse on springs.
I painted them white, because,
Like my mother, the aesthetic
Has always been more important to me
Than the commercial.
Peter called his horse "Wrong"
And Kate called hers "Mine."
They know why.
What's that other little horse
On the calendar?
The one in the middle?
I discovered it while looking
For something else
And kept it because
It's sweet.
Have a very happy
Year of the Fire Horse,
My friends.
...
In China it's known as a time for victories, unexpected adventure and surprising romance! The horse is associated with fire and therefore always ready to race on… during the Year of Horse, we must be careful not to let that fire consume any wood that might be around us. The lesson this year is to run, but to plan and to pace ourselves, to ensure we reach our ultimate goals.
...
In western astrology, Mercury will be going retrograde for the first time this year from Feb 25th to March 19th. Back up everything on all your devices about a week before. Double-check all your documents. Try to avoid entering into any new contract, but if you must, be prepared for delays. If you have an on-going contract negotiation, revisit areas you thought were settled… they might have become unstuck.
...
If all this sounds familiar, I confess to recycling this month’s offering, albeit a bit more teal-y this time. See my previous Year of the Horse calendar from 2014.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
And here we all are again...
On New Year’s Eve
A quarter century ago,
I wrote my first
New Year’s poem.
It’s about peeling
An onion.
I hand-delivered
Printed copies
Along with a fresh
Purple onion
To people in the GTA.
I continued
With my New Year’s poems
For another seven years.
That’s when I started
Folding these
Into my January calendars
Like this year.
You can find those
Early offerings here.
...
In another time
And place
The Russian poet,
Joseph Brodsky
Wrote annual observations
He called Nativity Poems.
Here from his 1968,
His compelling exhortation:
So, if only in our lifetime,
let us be various!
...
Like this maverick pelican
Who’s left his herd
Huddled on their
Lake Merritt island refuge…
This might be the pelican
Known as Hank.
He’s definitely
Reminding us
Each to find our own way
To be various.
The very act
Of striking out
On our own
Can give us
The precious option
Fresh perspectives
Every day.
Hank makes it look easy.
...Thank you, Kate, for this Oakland pic. This month, at the usual link above right, I’m including higher resolution options with the 2026 watermark and without. You choose.
...If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
Defying the Season...
Look at these glorious
Tulips…
Just for me…
Not the usual chrysanthemums
For November birthdays,
But Spring’s promise
Just for me...
Gifted by my grandson Lucas
In honour of my own day.
They’re blooming…
Opening up bigger each day.
And I am so proud
Of their seasonal defiance…
Because I’m old now
And I like to think
I’m blooming
Ever wilder each day.
...
Like Sara Millican says,
It's a privilege to get old
Because not everybody
Gets the chance.
And I don’t just mean
People we’ve lost,
I also mean people
Like Madonna…
It’s NSFW, but some of you
Might enjoy watching her here.
I also love her Zuri dress.
I’m guessing she doesn’t
Have to do
Her own ironing.
...
So…
I’m blooming wilder
And joyously
Letting myself go…
Even
More....
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
Remembering to Remember...
Because I’m a Buddhist
My non-Buddhist friends
Have frequently gifted me
With Buddhist items from
Their travels.
One such gift was
A Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel
And another,
These small
Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags.
I also own a table-top
Balcony Buddha.
None of these is any part
Of my own Nichiren practice…
But
I do enjoy their peaceful
Intentions.
November is
The month where
I remember and share
My intentions for a better
Tomorrow.
This is the month
Of NaNoWriMo…
Which sadly now is no mo..
But you can still sit down
And write for the month.
Then there’s Polished Man…
A movement started in Oz
To help end violence
Against children and women.
Grab a bottle of blue
Fingernail polish,
And paint just one nail..
And tell others and give money.
And Movember.
Grow a mo and donate
To promote men’s health.
The eleventh, of course,
Is Remembrance Day.
I always set my alarm
For 11 am
And stop
Whatever…
Wherever..
And think of my friend, Van,
Whom I met in Oz.
I entreat you,
Be sure to remember
To remember
On the eleventh
Vonnegut
Et al.
His birthday
And pleas
For humanity.
Which brings me back
To these prayer flags…
I like to infuse them
With the intention
Of Peace.
In my Buddhism
We call it
Kosen Rufu…
Peace in the world…
Every day a part
Of my morning and evening
Chanting. ...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
Celebrating black cats all month long...
About a year after
I moved
To my current abode,
Kate met Hoochie and
Was immediately captivated
By these eyes!!!
She snapped a pic
To show us all.
I used to look after Hoochie
When her mommies,
Nancy and Katherine, travelled.
Hoochie has since moved on
To another plane and we all smile
As we remember
Her incredible softness...
And those eyes.
Of course,
Kate still has Batman…
Here showing how
To get ready for
The end of the month…
If not for
The end of times.
Marje still has Toffle.
Of course
Kelley’s Domino and Moneypenny and Oliver
Dot my black-cat memories
And
Many years ago
Our own family had Cocoa…
Except for the occasional fleeting
Deep chocolate Siamese highlights,
She looked black.
And that counts.
All black cats count...
Especially this month.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
Loping across longitudes...For a long time now
Kate has developed
A daily habit
Of running at least a mile.
Often more,
Sometimes a lot more,
But always
At least a mile…
Every day, rain or shine…
At home or away.
Over the years she’s shared
Pix of things she sees
Along the way.
I’ve shown you
A lot of them.
Now I’m showing
You some more.
Because, again,
I just can't choose!
For the last few days
She’s been running
Near Oakland’s Lake Merritt.
OMG.
We could do a decade
Of calendars
With just these pix. ...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
I wandered..
Lonely as a cloud…
Then found
I was in the spotlight
Doing an amazing
Solo.
...
Thank you Roy for the pix
And your 13 years of
Being my wonderful
Neighbour...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
