The Hollosphere

We have woodpeckers. Acorn woodpeckers, I think they are, specifically. Each morning as the sun comes up, we are jolted awake by their rapid pounding on the house. Often, they go at it in twos and threes, making a heckuva racket. We get up out of bed, shoo them away, and go on about our day. As the day proceeds, our activities are punctuated by frequent hollering sessions at the boogers as they return again and again and again.

The hammering noise is bad enough. What distresses me even more is the damage that they do to the house siding and fascia boards. They drill holes everywhere, poke acorns into the holes, even jamming acorns under the edges of the roofing material, to the point of lifting it away from its underlayment.

Our house is surrounded by lovely oak and pine forests. I wondered what was so compelling about our house (and Ann’s next door, which over the decades is being slowly turned into a swiss cheese of ‘pecker holes) to attract them away from the trees all around. A few minutes of online investigation informed me that the little blighters have more than one motivation for banging on things with their heads.

One reason they drill, I learned, is to hollow out spaces to make their nests. Another reason is going after insects in the wood. I don’t think I’ve seen the kind of damage I would guess to indicate either of those behaviors, however, based on the examples I found. A third reason may be at work in our case.

Continue reading ‘Enemy Mine’ »

Sometimes, if it’s been days since I’ve been to town, say, or seen a car or another human being besides Conal, I think to myself I’m becoming a real hillbilly. And then I realize… oh.  Wow.  Maybe not so much.

Today was a softly lovely pre-spring day with temperatures in the mid-sixties and warm sunshine. Yay, California. It was a wonderful day for getting out and about, and Conal and I decided to go to town. We had some banking and light grocery shopping to do, as well as the usual post office stop (mail is not delivered where we live). Our internet satellite bandwidth limit has been chafing a bit lately, so we planned to stop by the library to see if we might find it a comfortable place to take the laptops and get online, once they finally get around to installing a public wireless network, which Conal was told by a library staffer “might be late spring.”

Our occasional town forays are also a chance to have lunch at my favorite San Andreas eatery, The Blue House Bistro. Their vegetarian burrito with fresh green salad is our favorite choice. Today, we also particularly enjoyed their light and delicately floral iced tea, which the server told us was a local brew. We’ve been there enough times now to know where to sit to avoid being overwhelmed by the jazz standards and kitchen/bar activity. This time, we had a lovely little window table at the far end of the dining area. We also had the place virtually to ourselves since we arrived just after the lunch rush.

After lunch, it was just a few steps into the next parking lot to visit the bank. Then we were off to the post office, where we ran into neighbor John G. as we checked our boxes and sorted through our mail. Dropping a reject piece of mail into the basket on the counter in the main office, I said hello to Angie, our Purty Post Office Princess (I like her long braid and irrepressible humor) and she howdy’d in return. As I was scooting back out the door, the woman Angie was helping at the counter said, “Who is that?” and Angie said, “Oh, that’s Holly and Conal–” I don’t know what was said after that, as I was already out the door. I would have eavesdropped a bit more if I could have figured out how to do it without getting caught.

Once outside in the parking lot, John’s wife Ann came up to us to say hello and check in about coordinating gardening efforts in Conal’s mom’s deer-proof garden space. After a nice chat we said our see ya’s and went off to Treat’s (our funky little hardware/grocery store). Well, golly, as we were rolling our cart up to the registers, there again was John. Not only that, but John was visiting in the checkout line with Jim N. and his wife Polly, the next neighbors down Murraydale Lane. More friendly banter ensued.

After asking John in the parking lot outside the store for the location of the nearest mailbox (in the excitement at the PO, I forgot to drop our outgoing mail in the slot), we detoured to the blue box on the next corner, and then around the block down historic Main Street to go the back way to the library.

As we were pulling in to the library, who should be walking across the parking lot but Ann G. We all had a chuckle at seeing each other for the third time in half an hour, and the laughter only increased as we walked in to find Jim and Polly there, too. Apparently, all three cars were running synchronized errands and didn’t know it.

Ah, small town life.

What is it about cookies? Cookies, cookies, cookies. We love them so.

I’ve been massaging a new cookie recipe for a few months, attempting to create a really yummy vegetarian chocolate chip cookie. As usual, none of the recipes I found in my books or online were quite what I was looking for. I wanted to eliminate butter and eggs and refined sugar, as well as white flour.

Wait, what? There is nothing left, you say?! Oh ho! I say not so fast, Cookie Monster (c’mon, you know you are). Observe:

Holly’s Vegetarian Chocolate Chippers

Ingredients

Egg replacer:

• 3 Tbsp finely ground flax seeds
• 4 Tbsp water

Dry:

• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• ¼ c. vital wheat gluten
• 1 c. finely grated coconut
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Wet:

• ½ c. corn oil
• ½ c. honey
• ¼ c. pure maple syrup
• ¼ c. dark molasses
• ¼ c. Florida Crystals natural sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Goodies:

• 1 package Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips
• ½ c. chopped nuts of your choice (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil two large cookie sheets.

2. Place flax seeds and water in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, stir together wet ingredients and the flax seed mixture.

5. Add half the dry ingredients at a time to the wet mixture and blend till just combined.

6. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts or other goodies (if using).

7. Scoop 2 Tbsp portions onto a cookie sheet. The cookies will spread some. Try to keep the chips in toward the center of the dough so the chocolate doesn’t scorch.

8. Bake 15-18 minutes, till desired doneness. Longer baking time will result in crispier edges, but be careful not to over bake. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

9. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes: 24 cookies

These babies are chewy and yummerific enough to totally satisfy the cookie monster in anyone, so give this recipe a try. Heck, you may want to try it over and over over. Because perfecting a recipe is an excellent excuse to bake a lot of cookies. You know, in the name of science.

Bonus: Eating this dough raw is perfectly safe, since there are no raw eggs to worry about. Just don’t eat *too* much, or you might get a tummy ache anyway!

Surfing around reading various news sites and blogs on the ‘net, like ya do, I stumbled across Stephen Fry’s blog. Mm-hmm, you read that correctly, Stephen Fry has a blog.

Yes, the delightful British actor of stage, movies, and television. Who, for example, played Oscar Wilde. And had a hilarious show with Hugh Laurie, oh so many years ago. And played the painfully funny Mybug in one of my favorite movies, Cold Comfort Farm.

Okay, so maybe it’s not such a big deal that he has a blog. Heck, I have a blog, for goodness’ sake. But wait, it’s not like that! Mr. Fry, apparently, is a longtime tech geek and gadgetophile. Who knew? I enjoyed reading his blog articles with titles such as “Social networking through the ages,” and especially (since I have been doing a lot of camera research lately) “Compact cameras have arrived at That Stage.” I didn’t find any earth-shattering news, just entirely fun stuff with an across-the-pond twist, particularly when read using Mr. Fry’s haughtiest inflections in your head. Trust me on that part.

For what garden-variety Yankee can resist a slyly snide phrase like “barely sentient” and the completely nontechnical yet highly enjoyable “far more capacity than could ever be sanely used” when spoken in snooty British comedy show tones? Americans don’t talk (or, God knows, blog) like this, and thus I found the content to be only half the fun. The language alone kept me reading. And laughing. Case in point:

What is wrong with that Ixus I bought three years ago? That old Pentax Optio will see me through to my old age, won’t it? No! No, you crazed enemy of freedom, you wild-eyed anti-capitalist, you deranged luddite. Haven’t you heard of Face Detection Technology? Smile Capture? Best Shot Automatic YouTube Uploading?

If you’ve enjoyed Mr. Fry’s work, do follow the Wikipedia link (oh dear, have I just lapsed into a fake accent?!). I did not know how multi-talented a guy he is, nor how much difficulty he has coped with in his life. It just helps me appreciate him all the more. Indeed.

Michael Stillwater, recording artist and music healer (amongst many other amazing gifts), has released a recording, “O Great Spirit,” from his November 2, 2007 Chantwave concert at The Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle. I had the oh-so-yummy pleasure of joining Michael on stage for this show, as did friends Erin Mcgaughan, Sean Bendickson, and Rick Bakken.

All my music-making with Michael, whether live or in recording sessions, has been loose and flowing, and the evening of this recording was no exception. This is not a rehearsed set. As musicians supporting Michael, we take in the feel of the song in the moment and contribute whatever feels juicy vocally and instrumentally. In some cases, we’re doing a song we’ve never heard before.

Working this way is something that I love and at the same time pushes my boundaries and scares the poop out of me. There is no safety net. There is all the room in the world for weirdness, and also the most sublime harmonic moments. Michael is teaching me about letting go of judgment of the voice, stretching and taking risks. He himself makes up songs for people–on the spot–for healing and connection to Spirit. Talk about trusting in the Divine Flow! I’m grateful for his modeling that deep trust, as well as his treasured friendship. Through his example, I’m getting to a deepening sense of trust in my own ability to tap into that divine energy of inspiration.

O Great Spirit is available for download here. Listening samples are also available. Be sure to check out Michael’s other recordings while you’re visiting his site, Inner Harmony, and I certainly recommend seeing him live if you get the chance. Hey, you never know, I might be up there singing, too.

A couple of months ago my beloved Microsoft Notebook Optical 3000 mouse finally bit the dust. It had provided several years of enjoyable use, probably the equivalent of over 150,000 miles in mouse terms. All trouble-free. Ah well, adieu and Godspeed, my dear worn-out surfing companion. Digging a clunky old tailed mouse out of the spare computer parts box (at least it was USB!), I went in search of a new mouse friend.

The Microsoft Notebook Laser Mouse 6000 would have been an easy choice of upgrade. However, the Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse (pictured) quickly got my attention by virtue of its many useful-sounding features, including a cozy travel case, switchable smooth-scrolling wheel, on-off switch, and especially the itty-bitty stowable USB dongle.

I chose TigerDirect to purchase my Nano. I’ve found TigerDirect’s prices competitive, their selection comprehensive, their shipping rapid-quick, and although their website sometimes overwhelms me with its busy-ness, I’ve come to trust them.

This article by EverythingUSB.com gives a detailed and informative review that I liked and that matches my experience with the VX Nano. I won’t duplicate their excellent work here, just add my own impressions.

The mouse arrived lickety-split (delivered by our friendly UPS guy, Jonas) and I put it straight to work. Everything was in order and I found the software quick and intuitive, helping me to figure out the features and user options in no time. The USB dongle is so truly tiny it gets to live in the USB port on the right side of my HP Pavilion laptop. This port has been pretty much unusable up to now, since every other USB device or dongle plugged into it gets in the way of my mousing hand (hel-looo, HP?). The Nano dongle protrudes about a quarter of an inch. I’m serious. See it in the picture? That’s for reals. How did they do that? I don’t even realize it’s there. Yay!

One thing that I had not counted on enjoying so much is the free-wheeling scroll button. Wow, if you give that thing a good finger-flick and let go (while in smooth-scrolling mode), you’ll be zinging through pages incredibly fast with minimal effort. You know when you flip your bicycle upside down to work on a tire or brakes or something, and you give one of the wheels a whirl, and it spins and spins and spins until you stop it (or it slooooooowly comes to a stop)? That’s how this scroll wheel behaves. With my Microsoft mouse, I was continually cranking away on that wheel, a figurative and literal pain. With one good zing of the Nano’s wheel, you can sit back and watch pages whip past. Nice. And much gentler on my wrist.

I have fallen in mousie love.

At $59.99, there were certainly less expensive alternatives out there, but my new Nano fits my needs perfectly and has proved reliable and enjoyable thus far. The price was worth it to me, as the Nano did more than replace my old mouse (RIP), giving me useful and fun new features that improve my life at the computer every day.

There probably was a time in my life when I wasn’t discouraged by and resigned to my gloomy evaluation of our government as at best ineffective and wasteful, and at worst corrupt and actively damaging humanity’s chances of creating a culture of peace between all nations (gee, thanks, Dubya, don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out). I just can’t remember any such a time. I have generally felt best while maintaining an intentional distance from that world, since I haven’t had a lot of hope that it will ever be any different.

My guess is that I’m not alone in my discouragement. I have been watching from a half-interested distance as the 2008 presidential primaries proceed, seeming to be pretty much business-as-usual, if rather a closer horse race for the Democratic nomination than has been seen in some time. I’ve felt bemused and sad to realize that in the first woman with a real chance at the presidency I don’t recognize womanly characteristics that would make her winning a big deal to me. Okay, so she cried. Once.

Now, I don’t know enough about Senator Clinton to speak from anything but the very vaguest of impressions. I think that in itself speaks to the condition of this political moment for a lot of people, especially women who value increasing the feminine perspective in high-level government. A woman as the leader of the free world would be… wow. That would be something, wouldn’t it? Well, maybe, but if Hilary gets in there I don’t have any sense that it would be a big deal, just business-as-usual, only with skirt suits.

Barack Obama, I have been repeatedly hearing, is a voice for true change, and not just because of his race. One quote I enjoyed: “My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.” Hmm. I liked what I heard. Could it be safe for me to poke my head out of my secluded valley and pay attention?

And still my apathy endured. The first Ms. President? The first African-American president? Sure, I can see the interest (and irony) of having one of each valiantly vying for the job, but who cares? I just want somebody to stop the war, give some priority to helping poor and uninsured folks instead of the already wealthy, to balance the budget, and through skillful diplomacy and peace efforts restore our place as a concerned and effective world citizen. The next president can be green with purple polka-dots, for all I care.

So how is any of this same-ol’ same-ol’ worth my (and your) precious RAM today?

Well, today, my apathy and resignation took quite a jolt in the pants.

Continue reading ‘Is that a Sea Change I See?’ »

Ever since she heard about lolcats, Tessa Leone Croydon has been wanting to get in on the fun. So she convinced my daughter, Tasha, to help her out with her plan for lolfame and posed for this picture. Now all she needs is some help coming up with the lol part. Here are the ideas so far:

• Haaaay! who puts teh vodka up too hai for meez?! (Holly)
• I iz cobra kitteh no mess wif me! (Holly)
• Vampyr kitteh sez I WANTS UR BLUD! (Tasha’s buddy, Kellie)
• Me did it maaaaaaaaaaaiii waaaaaaaaaaaaii! (Holly)
• Hey u kidz! Get off mah lawn! (Tasha’s friend freewaydiva)
• Fangz of Doom, I has dem (Holly)
• Figaro, Figaro, Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigaro!!!!! (BB/Mom)

Btw, I just got off the phone with Tasha, who was calling me from the vet’s office. She had taken the kitteh to the vet because we were worried about Tess’s recent weight loss and also about some flaky, itchy skin issues. I could not be happier or more relieved to report that the vet found Tess to be in excellent health. He said that if he’d seen her on the street he’d guess she was about ten years old, a considerable compliment to a grand old diva of fifteen. Apparently, she (Tess not Tasha) growled and hissed at him a bit, to which he commented, “Well, she’s a tortoiseshell, so…” referring to her coloring (a racial remark!). Hmm, I had not heard that torties were reputed grouches. I guess when you have golden laser beams for eyes, you gotta act the part.

Dr. Joe told Tasha that the little monster is at a good weight for her size (she was a bit of a porker in the past, apparently), and simply suffering from an allergic reaction to fleas. He gave Tess a cortisone shot to quickly alleviate any discomfort, and for long-term protection from the rotten little biters she’ll get some of that wonderful back-of-the-neck flea treatment.

Yay! Our kitteh be da picshur of health. Now, all she needs is your help to achieve lolcat greatness, so let’s hear your best lols!

Yay, California. As near as I can figure, early February in San Andreas = late April in Seattle. Sweet! Not that I don’t miss my beloved Seattle, but I get a kick out of seeing the following forecast on my iGoogle page today:

Wait–what the heck is up with the 100% humidity reading, though? My handy dandy weather station (birthday present–or was it Christmas?– from Mom) tells me the relative humidity here at my desk is 32%. So, huh. Weird. There is so much I don’t know about the world.

Anyway, yay for egg yolks!