Whispers and Promises

Just a few weeks ago Motivated Mom was pointing out the brilliant colors of post summer. Flowers were giving their all in a final blaze of color and trees sported richly hued patchwork cloaks.

Weakened from their heroic displays of plumage, the flowers have now collapsed to the ground and trees have shed their leaves. Like athletes who have depleted the last of their energy reserves, the trees now stand with their branches hanging limp and barren.

Lined up along perimeters of dried and brown fields, battalions of trees stand shoulder to shoulder - their weary and skeletal arms linked with one another for the mutual support that will carry them through the gray and bleak days of the coldest months of the year.

I find myself wondering where trees find the stamina to survive the blustery cold for weeks on end. I suppose it is from the sap that runs deep in trunks and roots. A reassuring glue of life that carries whispers of unending cycles and promises of the return of warmer days.

Tumblethought

I've been thinking about kaleidoscopes over the past few days. Mainly because my blog and story ideas have been tumbling around in my head the way the pieces of colored glass tumble in the end of those cardboard tubes.

And like those ever changing colored displays, my thoughts tumble and shift quicker than I capture any one. A story I thought I was writing tumbles onto a different path. The blog idea firmly fixed in my mind falls to pieces before I can get to the keyboard.

I know what you're thinking.  The man is battling the onset of Alzheimer's.

I beg to differ (I think).

It all has something to do with the shift back to standard time. Ever since the clocks changed, my thoughts refuse to remain in focus.  I think there's an important message here, but the message changes before I can finish interpreting what it is.

This was not the way today's blog post started.  Today's blog was going to be about....... oh, never mind.

He Robot

Don't know if you were aware - but while we have been watching movies like I Robot and viewing them as science fiction, the Honda corporation has churned out the real deal.

Honda named their robot Asimo (I'm guessing that's an acknowledgment to Issac Asimov, the writer who took us into a world where humanoid robots interact with humans routinely).

Asimo can run, play kick ball, speak, respond to human voices, navigate down a crowded sidewalk - and perform tasks considered too risky for humans.  That last item is one of Asimo's primary selling points - doing the jobs that would ordinarily put humans at risk - which I guess means new parents will soon be buying their own Asimo to take care of changing diapers.

In case you're as fascinated by this as I am.  I'm including a link to the website here:  http://asimo.honda.com

Out of Sorts

Upside is down, inside is out, I wake before my alarm and fall asleep before bedtime.

Such are the struggles of the first few days of the return to standard time.

If it's standard why do I feel so out of sorts?

Signs of Hibernation

While running errands this weekend it occurred to me that humankind has its own form of hibernation. Front porches now stand empty - rocking chairs, tables, and wall decorations having been moved into storage. Likewise backyard decks are now empty platforms. Homeowners have abandoned outdoor living, moving their lives behind curtained windows.

Behind those curtains, fires blaze in wood stoves and fireplaces, soups simmer in five quart pots, and beds are covered with flannel sheets and down comforters. 

It is humankind's acknowledgment that nature still rules supreme. While we cannot sleep the months away as the bears do, we can still snuggle in our dens once our workday obligations are complete.

The Unexpected

What do you do when your boss comes to you and says you've been selected to give an hour and a half presentation to a hundred people?

Perhaps you raise an eyebrow.

When the boss says the presentation is the next day you might get a little concerned.

When he tells you the format for the presentation still needs to be developed....

....you get more than a little concerned

What I've learned in putting this education piece together today is... no matter how much I plan, no matter how organized I am, I will always encounter the unexpected.

Here's hoping the hundred people who gather in the auditorium tomorrow will never know I wasn't planning on being there.

Life's Mysteries

Another mystery to solve....

Six weeks ago nearby farmers harvested their fields of hay, bundled their hay into rectangles the size of small cottages, stacked these bundles like they were building condos - and still those towers sit untouched.

Is this the ultimate in building green?  Are the farmers waiting for the bundles of hay to petrify so the bundles can be hollowed out, then doors and windows added?

Perhaps the farmers are waiting for the hay to turn so crispy dry that the bundles spontaneously ignite and provide the heat for a record setting marshmallow toasting event.

When (if) the hay disappears how will I ever know what use it was put to?  It's a question that will linger in my mind till the end of my days.