Get the Picture

I have all of life's treasures
And they are fine and they are good
They remind me that houses
Are just made of wood
What makes a house grand
Ain't the roof or the doors
If there's love in a house
It's a palace for sure
--Tom Waits

There's no place like home
--The Wizard of Oz

Come On Up to the House

Out here in the country, everybody marks their place a different way. Some have a funky mailbox; for a birthday party you might see balloons tied to a split-rail fence. Some people tell their friends, "If you're on your way up from the city, turn right when you see an old a retroesque sedan and a pickup, a few miles past the post office turn." We all respond to different signs.

When Mohammad Comes To

There are ranges, and there are mountains. Shasta is a mountain, and for hundreds of square miles of Northern California it takes ownership of a traveler's gaze and won't give it up.


Yesterday Shasta was free of the clouds that normally cluster around its peak. The clouds don't take away from Shasta's character; they just add a shaggy magnificence.


The sunset makes the mountain seem even more radiant. As twilight deepens, Shasta still seems to glow as it cools off.


Andrew was not sure how to add a link in a comment, so he asked me to point out a related poem he posted about Mount Saint Helens.

In Dutch

April is the coolest month. Tulips go off in all colors, from Jerusalem to Argentina. This just in from Mount Vernon, Washington:

Rolling

The nieces and nephews have the same magnetic personalities as their uncle, but at least they can ride skateboards.

The Bug-Blatter Beast of Kraal

Many bugs are missing from California's Central Valley tonight. Is a serial killer on the loose? Or was it an invasion of Venus fly-traps?

Roses arose. Is a rose?

Believe it or not, exactly a week before I took this picture, this bush donated a dozen roses to the cause. All three rose bushes are having a good spring, but this one bursts with life.

Up From Durango

I had to ride up 1,000 feet of elevation gain to get here, but luckily the weather was fine in Southern California for the holiday.


The locomotive is way up in the hills--that's why they set her on the narrow gauge. What you're looking at, in case there's any confusion, is a genuine coal-fired steam engine, complete with a full and formal (if tiny) boiler. It's always fine to spend time with friends. Even if you have to huff and puff to get there.

Riding back home went considerably faster.

Out on the Cutting Edge

It's an homage to either Lawrence Block or the staff of the Time copy desk.

Actually, it's just that Brother #3 hasn't blogged for a while, and I get bored, so I decided I'd better put something fresh up here. This is a downsizing machine. It runs all day most days.

San Diego Left

. . . so I turned around and went home.

(With thanks but no apologies to RVDW.)

Happy Trails

Daylight Savings Time starts in the U.S. today, meaning it's light enough to go for a serious ride after work. In the time-honored tradition of the ages, training season is officially back in session.