Foggy Morn

Today is a very foggy morning. There was so much fog that I could not even see the school bus as it picked up my daughter.

The neighbors' field was enveloped in white gauze.

When it is foggy, the spider webs stand out.

Yesterday, which was not a foggy day, I spotted a spider rolling up and wrapping a bee that had been caught in its web. The bee was still buzzing when I came upon this scene.

Then the bee stopped buzzing, and the spider stopped wrapping up the bee, but it did something to it with its mouth.

Was it the kiss of death?

After that, the spider went and sat back down in the center of the web to await a new bee. There were several bees buzzing nearby.

The spider made me think of this verse from a longer poem called "Assassin"  that I wrote decades ago and will be attributed to Marah Fallowfield in Our Lady of Kaifeng: Courtyard of the Happy Way:

Timing is definitely the thing. Yesterday, for a fleeting second, I came face to face with a deer in my front yard.

It was only the briefest glimpse, but it was so close. One moment later, and I might not have caught it on camera at all. That's timing. Timing also applies in the longer run, as we meet or fail to meet the right person.

 Bow is growing up, and that brings change -- new feelings, new longings. Yesterday, Bow watched a video of a female chimpanzee who is close to his age. She was playing with a water hose that she used to clean up her enclosure, but also to take a drink from. Bow watched with great interest, although he did not seem as excited as he had been watching Lady Gaga videos. He did not say anything afterwards, but I got the impression that he was more interested in the idea of  playing with a water hose than getting together with her.  In other words, he identified with her, but did not see her as an object of adulation.

Should we adore a mate? Or should we see them as a person? Or can we do both? It's a question I address in some of my novels.

A Sampling of my books

Bow did not ask to meet that female chimp. I wonder what would happen if they did meet.

Playing with Socks

I hate socks. They make me uncomfortable and sweaty, and I seldom wear them. But when it's really cold, and I am going for a walk outside, there is some advantage to heavy socks within my boots. Yesterday Bow saw me come back from my walk, take off my boots and remain in socks. He got very excited, and he beckoned me to approach, so he could examine my socks. Did I mention that he loves to see anything we wear on our feet?

Bow likes to take off my socks, one by one, then put one on, while using the other as a ball.

He did this several times yesterday.

Now, before you ask why I don't just give Bow a pair of socks of his own, I can tell you that he will not keep the socks on for long. For Bow, this is a fun game, but it would be torture to have to keep the socks on for any length of time. He feels the same way about clothes. He likes clothes, even likes trying them on, but they won't stay on for long.

When Bow was little he wore clothes, but as soon as he was big enough to make the decision for himself, he chose to do without. Bow remembers those days. We sometimes look at old pictures together.

Growing up means separating and individuating and choosing what to keep and what to discard from the traditions of your childhood.  In this, Bow is no different from anyone else.