One of the Most Beautiful Places in Texas
It’s unfortunate that it’s so hard to photograph beautiful places. Also, it’s unfortunate that I’m not very well-traveled. Because of the latter, I may be more easily impressed by watery landscapes that any given person. Either way, here is a link to the best photos I could find of where my kids and I went camping this weekend. Brian Greenstone did a very good job of capturing the rocks and the enormity. But no photograph could capture the sound, the movement, or the exact clean transclucent greenness of the water.
The other beautiful place I’ve loved in Texas is Lake Travis in Austin – the cliffy bit that looks almost like Hawaii. People say that Big Bend is beautiful, too, but I haven’t been there yet. Some day.
Smeagol’s Journey
Our cat ran away Thursday night while we were packing the car for our trip. I should have known he’d do it, because for a couple of weeks before that, he’d been sniffing the air through the open windows in a very excited way.
So he left, and he answer our cries that night, late that night, the next morning, or later Friday when we left town. Rory left his food bowl on the patio.
As we drove back home on Sunday afternoon, I remarked upon how much I was looking forward to seeing my boyfriend Tad.
“I miss Smeagol like you miss Tad,” Rory said. All three kids wished aloud that Smeagol would be waiting on the patio when we got home.
He wasn’t. Tad came over. We ordered pizza. We prepared to watch Saved! on DVD.
We heard pitiful meowing through the open window.
We ran to bring Smeagol into the apartment. He crept very slowly through the hedges and to our door. His torso was thinner and his white parts had become off-white. He had dried blood on his ear and his paw-pads were swollen red. His eyes weren’t as sparkly as they used to be, when he was lolling around at home all day, bored and tearing up the furniture. He looked really tired.
We offered him food and petting. All he wanted was sleep. He slept through the whole movie (which was funny), right there with us, stretched out on the living room floor.
Later, he carefully stepped around the apartment, re-examining every familiar room. Tad and I surmised that he’d gone through some trauma over the weekend. Tad guessed that he probably wouldn’t be so quick to run outside again. I wondered if he’d look back on all the times we’d kept him in against his will, this time with a new understanding and appreciation of our concern.
Who knows? Who can say if cats feel regret? Either way, Smeagol became a man this weekend. As much of a man as a cat without testicles can become, I mean.
Linkelodeon
- This Flash animation is one of those beautifully gruesome things that repulses and fascinates me at the same time. It’s not violent or obscene. It’s just… gruesome, repulsive, beautiful, and fascinating. And And one of a series, of course.
- Here is some gruesome/beautiful/repulsive/fascinating art, while we’re on that theme. Via Charles.
- Lynne Cheney’s historical lesbian romance novel, via Bookslut.
- The President George W. Bush Christmas Ornament. Thanks to Charlie L.
- This psycho roommate story sounds like hyperbole to me. Like the hyperbole of a victimized, slightly neurotic roommate out for revenge. But that’s just my opinion – take it with salt to taste.
- The Reverend Bunny’s Secret Henna Gallery is good because it has clear pictures plus background/history on each design.
- More mehndi. I love to look at this stuff.
- This chick Alicia shares her experience with dying hair unnatural colors.
- Original Pug Puppy Art.
- For those who’ve been wondering: Biology of Barnacles.
- For everyone else: “Man ends up with barnacle stuck to his penis.”
