More Garden Stuff

Here are some beets. Wouldn't eat one if you paid me, but they're cool. And I'll eat the greens.

Strawberry flower

Mmmmmmmmmm, Strawberry! My favorite berry!
Cabbage, broccoli, onions, lettuce

Harvesting lettuce

Community Garden

Our garden is coming along. The cold snap last week burned some of our tomatoes, okra, sweet peppers and squash, but they look like most of them will make a comeback.

Here is our full plot.



The strawberries are in their second year and have lots of fruit. Hopefully the voles won't eat too many. We've harvested some lettuce, but mostly we're just weeding and waiting!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

It was a sad day at the Gresham house hold today. Last night as we left the house for dinner we saw a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the feeder. She seemed slumped over and pretty sluggish. When we got home the bird was still there. I have seen hummingbirds perched on feeders after a long migration flight so I hoped that she would have gotten some sugar and rest and taken off in the morning, but sadly she was still there this morning. I got closer and could tell she hadn't survived.

Happy Birthday Maggie! Go Cubs!

Maggie and I went to the Cubs' game last night for her birthday. Well, her b-day isn't until Tuesday, but I found great seats for Wednesday. It was an amazing game! The Cubs were down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth when Geovany Soto tied up the game with a sacrifice fly and then in the bottom of the tenth Alfonso Soriano singled in Mike Fontenot to win the game! We had a great time. Here are a few pictures.

Kosuke Fukudome singles in the 4th


Cubs GM Jim Hendry talking to ESPN announcer Chris (Boomer) Berman
Carlos Zambrano on the mound. D. Lee holding Matt Kemp on first.
Cubs' manager Lou Pinella
The birthday girl and me!

Snyder on the Koan

Just read a short interview with Gary Snyder over at the Poetry Foundation site. Thought this bit was interesting --

How would you say the state of mind of working on a koan resembles that of working on a poem? Or does it?

I’ve had a hard time bringing myself to talk about this question, which is sort of “What is the nature of the koan?”

As I think about it, I realize what a tricky task the koan has. It must challenge the student and draw her into it, but not give away enough to make her think she understands it. Koans are not poetry as a rule, and do not aspire to being poetry, but are some type of simple teaching story that is a little bit like a riddle.

If bright people could read koans and then simply “get it,” they wouldn’t be koans.

The intention of a koan is to make people who are bright in an ordinary way, or ordinary people who are bright in an odd way, work harder and go further into themselves. The language presents an opportunity to perceive a metaphor that calls one not to “thought” but to work. Work is performance. Performance is embodiment, and not subject to ordinary rational analysis—it must spring forth freely and spontaneously, as does life for most working people, who are always dealing with the immediate. That’s one kind of koan. So in a way we’re not talking about “language,” we’re talking about the theater of life.

Will it ever end?

Yesterday it was 84 degrees and humid, today isn't getting above 50 degrees. Add to that a 20 mph wind and I can officially say I am tired of the cold weather! Our squash, peppers and tomatoes may not make it. Next to Lake Michigan it is either freezing because of the wind or oppressively humid. Not much of a choice, as if you could choose!

Just thought I'd vent.

My Birthday Is Coming Up, hint, hint

Memorial Day Warm Up

Chicago warms up this weekend! Finally we get to plant our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant! But of course we get a high of 54 on Thursday! This winter is hanging on like a bad cold.

Don't start your seeds too early!!

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, Lincoln Park

Lily Pool
Shooting Star
Columbine

My Niece Abbie!

Fiddleheads

Here are a few shots of the ferns emerging in the backyard.




from Wikipedia -- "Fiddlehead ferns refers to the unfurled fronds of a young fern harvested for food consumption. The fiddlehead, or circinate vernation, unrolls as the fern matures and grows due to more growth in the inside of the curl.

The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. It is also called a crozier, after the curved staff used by shepherds and bishops."

Earth Hour: Turn off your lights 8-9pm Tonight

Just thought I would get a plug in for Earth Hour tonight.

http://www6.earthhourus.org/

The city of Chicago is participating as well as many major cities across the world. So just take one hour and shut off your lights from 8-9pm. Light a candle. Play a guitar. Read a book. Talk to your family! Whatever!

Stuff

Here is some of our stuff. I'm not a big fan of "stuff," but I still want it! I love bringing things back from vacations and sometimes making things. This first picture has a shrine Maggie made on the left, a rock that looks like it has a bear print that I found in Oklahoma, two bear fetishes we bought at Dave's Rock Shop here in Evanston, Some more rocks found in the southwest, two crosses I made, a deer antler I found along the Cimarron, a small southwestern pot, a Frida box, an iron something or other that says "ER" on it, and a small mammal skull that I haven't quite figured out yet.
I found this Audubon print of Canvasbacks at the Junior League here in Evanston.
This fish fossil was given to me by my Father in law. The little Bison was my Grandmother Gresham's.
I wish we could say we found this skull, but we bought it at this huge, amazing shop in Santa Fe called Jackalope.
And this painting I got for my birthday is by my friend Rob Compton.
And my ultimate collection of "stuff" are my Tolkien books. Here are just a few.

Day 20

America Can Change

"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country, a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope " the audacity to hope " for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

Wilmette Harbor

Spent some time at Wilmette Harbor this morning. It was fun watching the Goldeneyes getting into spring even though it was cold! Saw Redheads, a Ring-necked Duck, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Common, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, one White-winged Scoter, Mallards, Canada Geese, Belted Kingfisher, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrow, Ring-billed Gulls and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

Goldeneyes getting into spring
Beautiful male Red-breasted Merganser


White-winged Scoter eating
More Common Goldeneyes

Greater Scaup eating a meal
Here's the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette as seen across the harbor. It truly is beautiful and very accessible, so make sure you stop by if you have a chance.

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
- Sir Arthur Eddington

Machias Seal Island

Check out these pictures of migrating birds that stop to rest on Machias Seal Island off the Maine coast. Amazing!

Chet Gresham, Pitcher, Brooklyn Yankees

So I decided to officially put my name on this blog. Not sure why I hadn't. Some since of modesty I guess. Not that it matters at all. So anyway, afterward I googled my name to see if this blog came up and I found out that I am a pitcher for the Brooklyn Yankees!! When I clicked on it I figured there was some real baseball player on some Yankees' farm team with my name, but I'm guessing no. I really have no idea what this is, but it doesn't look like I am that good, and I haven't been born yet, but still it's good to be noticed.

Bobby Broom Trio

Maggie and I went to see the Bobby Broom Trio at Pete Miller's last night. I had read about Broom (guitarist) and was looking forward to seeing him. And I wasn't disappointed. He has played with greats like, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Art Blakey and the list goes on and on. I like Jazz a lot, but I'm not a student of it. I wish I could articulate why it was so good, but I can't. It just was! When he wanted to be fast and flawless he was, but when he wanted to give it a little more improvised feel he did that as well. It seemed like he could do anything he wanted. I'm usually more a fan of the brass instruments like sax and trumpet, but guitar has to be right up there. He is also in the Deep Blue Organ Trio which I can't wait to see play. They have a Hammond B3 Organ player and I love that sound.

Day 4

Seedlings Day 3

On Sunday night I planted some cabbage, brussels sprouts and broccoli. I didn't expect to see the seeds sprout so quickly, but today I saw a few little flecks of green!