this is new for me and they always wonder about teaching old dogs new tricks...well, here we go for the new tricks and the old dog...and getting older by the minute, especially after sunday when another "anniversary of my birth" goes into the annals of history. and i really don't feel a day over 75 - i really don't.

i'm going to work this into the web site - do the updates as normal - but use this as part of the what's going on in our world here and in general. it will make cleaning up the website a little bit easier as well.

i drove into work this morning thinking how interesting it is to live in a farming valley/community and watch the subtle changes of nature take place right before our eyes. our favorite fruit & vege stand has taken down an entire orchard of almonds over the last two weeks - the entire corner and parcel of land looks so sad and vacant right now - all the remains of the trees dry and brown and all the piles of firewood cut and drying - getting ready for sale. i haven't had the opportunity to ask if they are replacing the trees - i only hope - i'm sure there is a shelf life to an almond tree and it's production. but, a little bit further down kiernan...all the little peach trees have now shed their heavy cardboard trunk protectors that have encased the trunks for well over two years now, protecting from the winds and bugs, etc. - and so life and nature move along.

the world seems to still be at odds with each other. businesses are declining, there are commercial vacancies all over the city here and many, many houses in foreclosure - we are in the top 3 counties in the country as far as foreclosures are concerned - not something that defines us well i'm afraid.

my saddest concerns are media (either television or newspaper or magazine) - everybody is crying and wringing their hands and talking so much doom and gloom - there doesn't seem to be even the slightest bit of hope around...and i truly believe that all the "d&g" just brings more d&g and pretty soon people are so beaten down that it's just hard to get out of bed in the morning. it all makes me very tired and sad - to be sure - and every morning i have to slap myself upside the head and remember my life is good and productive...and although i wish life in general was a little bit happier at the moment...i can make-do with this until the earth tilts on it's axis a little bit the other way.

and so...thanksgiving in thursday - later this year it seems - and then, can we actually believe it - the holidays are right behind. we all keep saying the year has flown by - but i believe 2008 was launched with rocket fuel and blew by me sometime in june and i never saw it coming and i really truly didn't see it leaving.

so...the little girl daisy buchanan needs to go for a little stroll around the building, the leaves are turning beautiful reds and golds and yellows and dropping in flurries of color across the skies...and fall is here and winter is coming very, very quickly so off to gather my nuts and get my nest ready...

as soon as i figure out how to post pictures, etc to this (remember the learning curve here) i will start doing some personal postings.

thanks for visiting...enjoy your weekend and preparations for turkey day - even if the preparations only consist of picking out the pair of pants with the best elastic :)