These come up in the spring. This is deep autumn. And this is the last day of October and we are in Glendive, Montana in Room 111 of the Super 8 Motel. On TV now Jerry Seinfeld is talking about Bee Movie, his very silly idea which has now come to sweet fruition, And I have written something (anything?) on this blog EVERY day this month. Sleep tight.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Apricot color after rain
We are packing up at the Budget Host motel. Since this is the last day of the month, I'm posting now, so I will be sure to complete the project. A POST EVERY DAY!
This motel is very clean, but quite old--we are trying to figure out when it was built. S thinks maybe "before the War" (WWII). The bathroom is very tiny, with a very low toilet and an extremely low showerhead. I had to duck my head over to rinse off the shampoo!
Yesterday we listened to I Puritani all three discs. Recorded in 1972 with Sutherland and Pavarotti. I got the CD set used and it was still expensive. As we rode, I read about Bellini's life and early death. Just after the great success of this opera, he got a dysentery. He seemed to recover several times and was being cared for by friends at their estate outside Paris. They had some fear of cholera, and kept his friends away, by means of their officious gateman. On the day of the composer's death, a friend was turned away by this gateman earlier in the day. He came back later and the gateman was not there, so he went into the house and up to Bellini's bedroom, where his friend was in the bed. At first he thought Bellini was sleeping, then realized he was cold. This account left unanswered questions: Where was the gateman? Where were the hosts? Where? Why? A lonely death from the past. He was only 32 years old!
This motel is very clean, but quite old--we are trying to figure out when it was built. S thinks maybe "before the War" (WWII). The bathroom is very tiny, with a very low toilet and an extremely low showerhead. I had to duck my head over to rinse off the shampoo!
Yesterday we listened to I Puritani all three discs. Recorded in 1972 with Sutherland and Pavarotti. I got the CD set used and it was still expensive. As we rode, I read about Bellini's life and early death. Just after the great success of this opera, he got a dysentery. He seemed to recover several times and was being cared for by friends at their estate outside Paris. They had some fear of cholera, and kept his friends away, by means of their officious gateman. On the day of the composer's death, a friend was turned away by this gateman earlier in the day. He came back later and the gateman was not there, so he went into the house and up to Bellini's bedroom, where his friend was in the bed. At first he thought Bellini was sleeping, then realized he was cold. This account left unanswered questions: Where was the gateman? Where were the hosts? Where? Why? A lonely death from the past. He was only 32 years old!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Geranium
Another day on the road. Nice weather, and--since we are working our way toward HIghway 95 for the majority of our trip--a route notable for taking us through many small towns in various stages of decay. The small houses of the Northeastern past ranged along the highway. The old brick storefronts, some crumbling, some boarded up, some transmogrified into antique shops or art galleries. Newer strip malls, also decayed, or decaying, A very occasional J.C. Penney's or Walmart.
It seems to me that the best part of America is being lost and we won't know that it is irretrievable until it is completely gone, leaving behind some videotapes that nobody has the equipment to play any more. The place you grew up and learned how to be a useful adult. The place you had to leave to find a good job and rarely go back to.
And now you have to lock your house and your car. You've lost track of the neighbors and schoolmates you knew all your life. No older guys are around who like to show kids like you were how to do things. A mechanic won't let you use his shop because of insurance restrictions. The dentist makes you give him your Visa card number before you get in the chair. Nobody knows your aunts and uncles. Or your grandmother. You've no place to grow anything and nothing to ride that doesn't use gasoline. And certainly no creek or woods for your kids to investigate, unless you are very lucky.
There are so many of these towns, Driving across the country is a way to see how many. Some names today: Oink Joint Road, Otter Tail River, Crow Wing County. And a town named Pillager. We are in Detroit Lakes in room 111 of a budget motel, yellow sections set in a grove of trees. So far, a train has gone by about every 15 minutes. Close and loud. I love it: another touch of the past.
It seems to me that the best part of America is being lost and we won't know that it is irretrievable until it is completely gone, leaving behind some videotapes that nobody has the equipment to play any more. The place you grew up and learned how to be a useful adult. The place you had to leave to find a good job and rarely go back to.
And now you have to lock your house and your car. You've lost track of the neighbors and schoolmates you knew all your life. No older guys are around who like to show kids like you were how to do things. A mechanic won't let you use his shop because of insurance restrictions. The dentist makes you give him your Visa card number before you get in the chair. Nobody knows your aunts and uncles. Or your grandmother. You've no place to grow anything and nothing to ride that doesn't use gasoline. And certainly no creek or woods for your kids to investigate, unless you are very lucky.
There are so many of these towns, Driving across the country is a way to see how many. Some names today: Oink Joint Road, Otter Tail River, Crow Wing County. And a town named Pillager. We are in Detroit Lakes in room 111 of a budget motel, yellow sections set in a grove of trees. So far, a train has gone by about every 15 minutes. Close and loud. I love it: another touch of the past.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Mackinac Bridge
This bridge is more beautiful than most works of art! If you visit the best birding locations around the Straits, you can also spy excellent views of the Bridge from all the points and bogs. Driving across, as we did today, it is clear that this is a no-pedestrian bridge--only sort of catwalks are there, not sidewalks as on the Golden Gate. Unlike the red-lead color of the GG, the ivory color of the suspension towers blends with, and is enhanced by, nature.
All along Highway 28, Highway 77 and Highway 2, the tamaracks (or larches) are turning yellow. Toward the end of the day, when there were hills and higher ground, there were some beautiful bright reddish ochre aspens. In the middle of the day, a large healthy-looking coyote crossed the road ahead of us. He was alert and focused, but not really in a hurry. He pricked up his signature ears and went through the roadside grass into the woods.
Brilliant sun all day, and room 231 at Days Inn in Hurley, WI, has wireless internet!!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
This beautiful land
Leaving in the morning. So far this is my best month keeping up with this blog--every day without fail! But there are two more days to go. We shall see, Wireless internet access in motels: RULES.
I turned down a chance to see some WW II slides tonight. No time. It's a little sad, though. So long ago, and I was there, although not yet taking slides.
It is hard to leave behind the art books I got this summer, but they are WAY too bulky to take. I did remember to get my swimsuit and my warm coat, thus covering all my bases, weatherwise.
I turned down a chance to see some WW II slides tonight. No time. It's a little sad, though. So long ago, and I was there, although not yet taking slides.
It is hard to leave behind the art books I got this summer, but they are WAY too bulky to take. I did remember to get my swimsuit and my warm coat, thus covering all my bases, weatherwise.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The heavy and the light
It looks like I have started a series of portraits of rocks. In this case, I love the delicacy of the weeds against the bulk of the rocks. Today I found a blog by someone who is doing what she calls her Diary Project. She draws on, and mails, an envelope to herself every day. Inside each envelope are secrets. She would like to exhibit the completed work at a gallery and then envelopes would be opened by those who attend, as part of the whole project. The drawings on the envelopes have a delicate beauty, like the weeds in this photograph.
http://diary-project.blogspot.com/
Her blog is here, but I still don't know how to link,
http://diary-project.blogspot.com/
Her blog is here, but I still don't know how to link,
Friday, October 26, 2007
Sunlit grasses along the Straits
These little tricks of light will catch your eye. Today I poured all the water out of the hose and put it in the basement for the winter. And put away the shovel, the rake and the trowels. These things make the coming winter more real and more final. Even so, the gorgeous autumn light seems like it will last forever. Yet each day the trees are more sparsely leafed, and the tracery of limbs more visible. Our gray squirrel has eaten so much sunflower seed that he actually has a belly! Even the chickadees seem fat, and they have glossy fresh plumage as they carry away seed after seed to hide them in the woods.
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