Tag: Autumn at Sonnystone Acres

Posted in On This Day, Sunday Report

What’s goin’ on

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

On this day in 1895, x-rays were discovered, quite by accident. A German physicist, W.C. Rontgen, was messing around with cathode rays and suddenly a glow appeared in a dark tube. He spent weeks in the lab obsessively studying the rays he had dubbed x, which passed through some solids, including human skin, and left impressions of others, including bone. One of the first X-rays captured via photograph showed the skeleton of Rontgen’s wife’s hand.

It was a world-changing phenomena, and some folks were very concerned that the x-rays could be used in a naughty fashion to peer beneath other folks clothing. Some London stores even sold “x-ray proof clothing” at the time.

I wasn’t around for the 19th century x-ray craze, but I was very familiar with the ads in the comic books selling x-ray specs…

And then there was Bazooka Joe…

I chewed the gum, blew gigantic bubbles that exploded on my face, read my fortune on the comics like it was prophecy, but never wondered what happened to his eye? And his buddy, Mort, with his turtle neck pulled up over his mouth – what’s with that? I must look into this…

Oh, by the way, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen’s discovery changed the world, ushering in new eras of medicine, physics, and atomic science, but he refused to patent his work. He believed the amazing X-ray belonged to everyone. We need more people like that in our world…

So, we had ourselves quite an exciting election last Tuesday. As we have weathered the last ten years, I began to despair that our country (and my old GOP) would ever be free of the MAGA strongman, or that the Dems would ever field some decent candidates, but now I can see the end in sight. It’s going to be brutal, and I don’t expect miracles, but this will probably be my new favorite soap opera, especially since General Hospital is in a slump, and Harry and Meghan have become sordid.

The temps have dropped and we’re running a fire full-time. Tree colors have peaked, and now the leaves are falling quickly. Autumns don’t always live up to the hype, and this year’s been rather meh, but back in 2023, Jack Frost painted our woodlands with all the hues.

How Beautifully Leaves Grow Old…

Posted on •Edit”How Beautifully Leaves Grow Old…”

It’s been unseasonably warm, but seasonably beautiful this past week. We walked through scrunchy red and yellow leaves, admiring the sunlight through the canopy of colour, grateful to have such beauty in our backyard.

If I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.

George Eliot…

Hope you’re rollin’ with the changes in your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Full Fall mode

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We’ve enjoyed a beautiful week of Autumn with Sunshine and temps in the 60s. The trees have changed each day, adding more yellow here and a splash of red there. Yesterday it rained and this morning the temp attempted to reach freeze-point, so the blustering wind is making a blizzard of falling leaves.

The view from my back windows…

The beautiful last hurrah of the past season reminded me of the poem “Autumn Day” by Rainier Maria Rilke…

Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials
and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one
anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long
time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.

Translated by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann,
“The Essential Rilke” (Ecco)

Meanwhile, out on the back porch, the Giant Coleus, now two years old!, stands tall over the mint, and the Nasturtium is growing as if it’s Spring, blooms cascading onto the floor and leaves as big as a plate!!!

The Ancestors have prodded me back to writing and I’ve unearthed more photos and information regarding their adventures, so it’s been a week of researching and writing a Family Story that I’ve wanted to share for several years now. In my rush to crank out phrases to meet my word-count goals, I wrote before I had completed my research and had to delete a good part of the story and start again. I think the deletions count as pen-to-paper, don’t you? The goals are good, I suppose, but this week’s writing has been Fun and I don’t want to spoil by measuring my accomplishment with a random number. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, isn’t it? I believe so…

Did I mention that we have a leaky roof? I said, let’s move!, but Casey thinks we should just fix it, so we’re in the process of getting estimates on that job. I can hardly wait to hear the sound of men scuffling around my roof, but for now I’ll just cozy up next to the fireplace and read a good book…

Hope you’re dry and warm in your neck of the woods…

Peace

P.S. This post is a 2-minute read with 433 words, but it was Actually Really 6,433 words…see how that works?

Posted in Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Sunday Report

How Beautifully Leaves Grow Old…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been unseasonably warm, but seasonably beautiful this past week. We walked through scrunchy red and yellow leaves, admiring the sunlight through the canopy of colour, grateful to have such beauty in our backyard.

If I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.

George Eliot…

Now the rainstorms have arrived, and tonight a cold front will push through, plummeting the temps below freezing. The heater is in the birdbath, feeders are full, ready for a season of caring for our feathered friends. The gardens are stripped down to seed-heads, and the herbs are potted and safely ensconced in the conservatory. Wood smoke fills the air and we’re ready to hunker down for a spell.

Nova, Samantha, and I have a date to see “The Nighmare Before Christmas” at the theatre today. We don’t get trick-or-treaters here at the manse, so this is my chance to eat candy!

Hope it’s warm and cozy in your neck of the woods…

Peace

Posted in Weekly Wrap-Up

Sunday Report 11/1/2020

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Breaking News! We have bought a van, a 2012 Ford E150 conversion van. She’s beautiful and I’ve named her Goldie…guess what color she is? She was previously owned by a Farmer out on the Westside who kept careful maintenance and only drove it 39,180 miles!!! We had her here yesterday while the Jr. girls were visiting and Casey did a complete inspection, finding Nothing wrong.

The girls enjoyed a ride in it when we drove them home, then Casey and I proceeded to haggle with the owner’s surrogate, a super guy who wore a mask. We met halfway between his price and our offer, so we are very satisfied. Since banks had closed, we agreed to meet up Monday to exchange the cash for the check we gave him.

I didn’t take any pictures, dang it! I was going to use the ones that were on the FB Marketplace listing, but it’s already been taken down and I could only download this one…

After the experience with the Old Vans in Paducah, I changed my whole perspective and started thinking Newer, less miles; I also got my heart set on a high top. We did an inventory of our needs – comfortable, good stereo, a lay-down bed for overnight stays on longer trips, storage, room for personalization.

I kept looking at craigslist, FB marketplace, and various other online spots, checking about once a week. Looking within a radius of 150 miles of Eville (Indy, Louisville, St. Louise, and Nashville) there were ludicrous listings to make us laugh… Goldie was only on the market for a day when I saw her and the opportunity was a no-brainer…I’m so grateful when I’m able to manifest… We will Definitely do some day-trippin’ this week.

In the meantime, I’m trying to stay calm: deep breaths, mellow music, cooking a nice meal, and writing. Goldie is a nice distraction from the election noise. I’m weary of being told to Vote. We have always voted day-of, though I love the early voting option.

I expect that the Election Drama will be going on for a spell. Is Anybody enjoying this? Good on you, then, but it’s making me bilious. I’ll bravely be soldiering on, though, with some Extra Editions of The News to cover Election Week… Thanks for Reading!

Peace