The meteorites are probably magnetite. A streak test on porcelain made a wider, darker mark than a known sample.
Fun weekend at Mount Lemmon. It even snowed a bit. Fireplaces, ridiculous games, laughter, cheesecake, chili, chicken soup, babies, teenagers, and of course hiking.
The forest is coming back after the fire. There are a lot of gorgeous carbon skeletons of huge trees, and there are also ferns, aspen, and baby pine trees. Cool, clear water burbled under a floating blanket of pink and amber maple leaves.
The appraisal on the land is pending. Once that’s done, I think we break ground. House, septic, and water first, then electricity.
House financing looks smooth; house actually. might. happen. I’ve been standing on the threshold of my dreams for a long time. Do I really get to go in and live there?
What does one call a little black chihuahua by dachshund cross puppy boy? He’ll be ready to come home by Thanksgiving. One of those adorable screw-up-with-huge-potential students is giving him to me.
Do I want to have a picnic on my land under the stars hanging off the tailgate over a camp table?
Yup.
Do I want to go hike in the moonlight to photograph petrogylphs?
Yup.
Yorick romped, Rozlyn and I climbed cliffs and clicked shutters, Dan played tour guide, and everybody skipped back to the truck way after bedtime on a school night.
And the house seems to rolling into final financing stage. Construction is next.
NEXT!
No ridiculous hurdles in sight.
?! Ok, I can take it. Unfamiliar, but I’ll manage.
It was very, very beautiful out there at night. I really ant to live there.
We were romping with the dog in the wash behind the house. It attracts magnets, has a deep heat-patina, and has rounded edges. A gift from another world.
Went to pick out the house. There’s a show sample for sale for less than the one I was going to get with a better floor plan and better finish on the walls. This also means it has had a little time to settle and air out. Best case scenario, really.
Puttered happily in the kitchen somewhere between bemused and agog with the feast of simple pleasures. Ate the resulting fabulous dinner with good people.
Went to Valley of the Moon and watched the ingenuous Halloween tour: cheesy, hopeful, sincere.
Perhaps only my students will understand when I say in a hopeful whisper: he read a story to me.
Besides that, tattoo magic, a second photo picked up by Schmap, my daughter went to the San Jose Museum of Art and saw my photo on the wall next to Ansel Adam’s work, much more fascinating conversation, short hikes, and hope.
This is a fictionalized autobiography. It is the truth from my perspective richly mixed with equivocations and fantasies.
Just because I can take it doesn't mean I should.
This lyrical compilation features poetry and vivid photography of California, Georgia, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Arizona, Mexico, and Japan. 67 images, 7 free verse and haiku poems.
This is a sample image. Any image on the saruchan.net site is available for all-the-pixels downloads. Please email me at laurel@saruchan.net to select your favorites.