Why? What Have You Heard?

Happy Anniversary (Belated, but you know why...) I love you!

2025-05-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

Fifteen Years On
Fifteen years
And (still) counting
Despite all the best efforts
Of medical science
Ill fortune
And the scourge of mutated cells
This year we marked our
Day of celebration
By infusing you with
Something to kill
So that it might bring life
And we both survived
I love you!

Happy Anniversary! Welcome Home

2024-05-01T00:00:00.004-04:00

Fourteen Years On
Fourteen
In numerology,
It is often associated
with adaptability, resourcefulness, and independence
It carries the energy of transformation
and encourages you
to embrace change fearlessly
Who would’ve thought it would bring instead
(or perhaps as well as)
stability, harmony and permanance?
But here we are.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Happy the Thirteenth!

2023-05-01T05:00:00.020-04:00

Thirteen Years On
Baker's Dozen
Bad luck you say?
Not from where I'm sitting.
I don't believe in superstition,
Or luck, for that matter.
But I believe in you.
I believe in love.
And most of all,
I believe in us.
Turns out
We're pretty good at this.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Happy Anniversary! Remember This?

2022-05-01T05:00:00.006-04:00

Twelve Years On
Our first beach trip.
It amazes me still that one unexpected message
One chance encounter, with no expectations
And, if I'm honest, not a lot of optimism either
Somehow turned into dozes of other trips
And a house in the burbs with a couple of cats
And secret recipes only we know.
One leap of faith, because what else could it be?
Sudddenly, somehow, without any effort at all
Became twelve years of unconquerable happy
And counting.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Happy Anniversary! These Go To Eleven!

2021-05-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

Eleven Years On
Eleven years
One dog
Four cats
Three grandchildren
Two nieces
One house
Three cars
A dozen elections
Two dozen concerts
All the homemade pizza and wings we could eat
And we're just getting started.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Happy Anniversary (by an order of magnitude)! I love you!

2020-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

A Perfect Ten
Ten.
X.
Diez, Dix, Zehn, Tio, Dieci, Десять, Deset, Kymmenen, दस, Tíu, Mười...
How long is that in relationship years?
Must be at least a hundred, right?
So how is it that it feels like it was just a few days ago, I was headed west to meet you?
Never knowing, never imagining
That ten years on I would be sitting here marveling
At how very right this all turned out to be.
I'm not surprised anymore, but I am still amazed.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Happy Anniversary! I love you!

2019-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Nine Years On
Somewhere in the Wayback Machine
You'll find two people
Rubbing their chins and wondering
Is this going to be another bust?
Or is it the real deal?
Fortunately for us here in the present
For reasons only they could explain (or not)
Those two decided
That is was worth finding out what it would be
Without worrying too much about what it might be.
Guess we owe them one.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

thematic photographic 424 - green!

2018-09-25T18:34:00.000-04:00

"Extreme Votivation VIII"
Raleigh, NC - July 2010 (Click to embiggen)

Green it is, then. Interesting fact about green: the human eye can detect more variations of green than any other color. I don't know why that is, possibly because it falls dead-bang in the middle of the visible spectrum, but it's the reason that green is used in night vision equipment rather than black and white.

I didn't need night vision gear for this shot, though, just some cheap fireworks and a hollowed out votive candle. And something to put the whole rig on that wouldn't get wrecked by melted wax.

Thematic Photographic hosted by Carmi
Hosted by Written Inc.
More at my RedBubble.com site

thematic photographic 422 - lights on

2018-08-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

"Bridge Over the Haw River"
Saxapahaw, NC - October 2010 (Click to embiggen)

It's been a while, hasn't it? Seems like 10 years since I first came upon Thematic Photographic, but it hasn't. It's actually been a little more than 10 years. I came aboard for Thematic Photographic 3: Glass not knowing if I was even doing it right. Over the next couple of years that first challenge grew into something like 4 or 5 photo posts a day, and the sheer scale of it all was getting to a level that was... well, probably unhealthy. And it seemed like most of the bloggers I knew were abandoning blogging for one social media platform or another (or just giving it up in general). Throw in just general life stuff along with various equipment failures and other priorities and my posts became something like annual events. Just visiting here has become rare. Rare enough that today I got an email form the Blogger team asking if I still wanted to get email notifications of comments. That led me to stop in and look at the notification settings (which took a while to re-learn), and in the process of all this I noticed that there was a recent post to Written, Inc. One click later, I learned that Carmi was still doing Thematic Photographic, and was up to issue 422. That's pretty impressive staying power. (My last entry was TP 116: "Red", in case you were wondering). So in honor of that, I figured I must have something that fits the theme lying around, right? And a little bit of digging in the archives led me to this shot from almost 8 years ago.

Thematic Photographic hosted by Carmi Hosted by Written Inc.
More at my RedBubble.com site

Happy Anniversary! I love you!

2018-05-01T06:41:00.001-04:00

Eight Years On
Things begin.
Things end.
All creatures born,
Eventually die.
All things built,
Eventually crumble.
The pendulum of power,
Swings as it chooses.
And somehow,
Through it all
We continue.
Happy Anniversary, I love you!

Remembering Clyde: August 1, 2002 - October 13, 2017

2017-10-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

Orange County, NC, USA - Mar 19, 2011

The year 2017 is not going to be remembered fondly in our house. It's been kind of a rough one for us, and an even rougher one for our four-legged companions. In April, we lost Tonka, who'd been my faithful sidekick for all of his 14 1/2 years.
Today we lost Miss Clyde, who had been Wendy's baby for even longer than that.
She'd been diagnosed with a very aggressive type of malignant tumor in her mouth a month or so ago, that made eating difficult, and possibly even painful for her. We knew she didn't have a lot of time left, and the best we were going to be able to do for her was keep her as comfortable as possible for the time she had remaining. We weren't really prepared for how rapidly things would deteriorate, though. I suppose nobody ever is. She hated the pain medication we were given for her, and would disappear any time she knew it was coming. She'd always given me kind of a wide berth, but when she started hiding from Wendy we started to realize that we were probably in the end stage. Then a few days ago, she started refusing nearly all food. At which point we knew that it was time; she was ready to be done and if we didn't end it for her, she was going to do it herself.
So this morning, we took her for her last ride. Her passing was quiet, a transition so peaceful that it was almost impossible to detect. We brought her home and laid her to rest in the wooded part of the back yard that she loved, a small volunteer arbor vitae marking her final resting place.
And if she could, she'd ask that if you wish to remember her, to make a memorial contribution to her favorite rescue, Goathouse Refuge in Pittsboro. She didn't come from there, but she heartily approved of the work they do there, "providing cage-free care for cats regardless of age, medical issues or disposition until a permanent loving adoptive home can be found."
Travel well, Clyde. You will never be forgotten, and you are always loved.

Happy Anniversary! I love you!!

2017-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Seven Years On
It hardly seems possible that seven whole years have come and gone since that first meeting at Monterrey. In some ways it feels like we jumped in a Tardis and flashed forward while the rest of the world went about its business in real time.
But in other ways, at other times, it feels as though I've known you my entire life. Or maybe in a life before this one -- if such a thing exists.
The way you know without knowing exactly what to say, or exactly what to do; almost better than I do myself.
It's still astonishing to me, even after all this time, and all the events of those years, how instinctively we fit together.
I don't know if there's such a thing as "destiny" in the objective sense of the word or not.
I just know that when we met, I knew almost form the beginning that we were supposed ot be together.
And now seven years on, I see nothing to dissuade me from that assessment.
Fate? Divine intervention? Or just dumb luck?
I don't know, nor do I concern myself overmuch with the answer.
I just know I love you. And that's enough. Happy Anniversary!

For an Absent Friend

2017-04-23T22:23:00.000-04:00

Tonka - November 12, 2002 - April 21 2017
Wendell, NC, USA - April 15, 2017

If you were around back in the days when posting to this blog was more than an annual event, you'll remember Tonka.
He was rather more famous for his cartoon alter ego than anything else, but he was a very real friend to many. To me he was an integral part of my life and my world. And on Friday, April 21, 2017 that part of me was torn away, leaving a void that will never be fully filled.
I always knew the day would come when I would have to let him go; such is the nature of life with a dog. That's just how the cruel sense of irony the universe has works. He'd had some health issues late in his life, but had always bounced back, even the times when I was sure he wouldn't. But this time, they told me that even surgery would be more risk than reward -- even if it succeeded. And even that assumed that there were no further issues that weren't detectable by visual examination.
Faced with that prognosis, there was really only one alternative. He was not going to get better. He would only get worse, and spend what little time I could buy him suffering from an assortment of problems, any one of which could send him over the brink with little or no warning.
So I made the call I always knew, but somehow never believed, I would have to make. He left this realm peacefully, surrounded by people who loved him and cared about him. And the last thing he heard before he breathed his last was my voice telling him I loved him.
When you bring a dog into your life, a bargain is struck. Tonka never failed to deliver on his part of that bargain; and Friday last, it was my turn to deliver on mine. I was there when he took his first breath in this life, I owed it to him to be there for his last, and to make sure that his passing was as gentle and painless as possible. Knowing this, and knowing it was the only humane choice, does nothing to dull the pain of loss. It does not stop me from second guessing whether I waited too long or not long enough. But I always figured he would tell me when it was time to let go, and everything in the week leading up to his last ride was telling me he was ready to be done.
One day, I hope, the countless number of great memories of our time together will crowd out the singular horrible memory of those last moments. Because I would do it all over again, even knowing how the story ends. I wouldn't ever trade the time I had with him for a chance to avoid the pain of losing him. And it's not even close. I have never had a better friend.
Travel well, Tonka, and I'll see you on the other side. I love you pal.
Update 5/18/17: Tonka's "Auntie Daryl" posted about him here. She used to send him special cookies on his birthday that he really loved. Thanks D. Much love!

Happy Anniversary! I Love You!

2016-05-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

Six Years On
One fine evening
With Mexican food and coffee
Grew into this
Those first tentative moments
Became a house, with two cats and a dog
A Cuisinart and a Costco membership
And a shared data plan
With lawns (grudgingly) mowed
And fresh baked bread
And a whole life
I never dared hope for
But fell in my lap in spite of me.
Happy Anniversary. I love you.

Happy Anniversary! (my annual blog post)

2015-05-01T08:45:00.000-04:00

Five Years On
Another trip around the sun
To go along with
All the beach trips and barbecues
All the miles and miles of stitches
All the laughter
And the very few tears
I never had much faith
In that myth of The One
But we you are
In Our House (with all that entails)
Sharing space as well as life
Leaving me too amazed to say anything except
Happy Anniversary. I love you.

Happy Anniversary -- I Love You!

2014-05-01T07:45:00.001-04:00

Four Years On
Four years.
That's like 98 human years or something.
And yet
Here I am
waking up with Our Song
Playing on the iHead®
And with your face
Just behind my eyes
Where only I can see
I long ago stopped trying
To figure out how it was
That fortune favored me so grandly.
It's just enough that She did.

Happy Anniversary... I Love You!

2013-05-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

Three Years On
Against all the odds
(or maybe not... entropy is a funny thing)
A humble strand of ones and zeros
Deflected my trajectory by 90 degrees
And brought me to you.
Three years and countless cookies later
If I saw a movie about us
I would accuse the writers
Of overextending the concept
Of suspension of disbelief.
And yet.
Here we are.
And there's no better place to be.

Happy Anniversary Wendy. I Love You

2012-05-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

Two Years On
"Every day
Is the anniversary
Of something beautiful."
That's what I said
Last year on this day.
I've never been more right
Or more happy to be right.
I love you Wendy.
Happy Anniversary.

If You Can Vote in North Carolina...

2012-04-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

Raleigh, NC, USA - April 19, 2012
Don't wait until May. Do it now. It's just... bad.

introducing the iBug ®

2011-11-08T05:00:00.002-05:00

Asheville, NC, USA - August 13, 2011
What, you couldn't see that one coming?
More at my RedBubble.com site

why i otter...

2011-11-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

Western NC Nature Center Asheville, NC, USA - August 15, 2011
What, you couldn't see that one coming?
More at my RedBubble.com site

summit meeting

2011-11-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Mt. Mitchell, NC, USA - August 15, 2011
More at my RedBubble.com site

there wolfe, there castle

2011-11-05T05:00:00.001-04:00

Asheville, NC, USA - August 14, 2011
But as far as I know Thomas Wolfe did not live here either...
More at my RedBubble.com site

they were quite good

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

Asheville, NC, USA - August 15, 2011
More at my RedBubble.com site

thomas wolfe did not live here either*

2011-11-03T05:00:00.000-04:00

Asheville, NC, USA - August 14, 2011
*But he did use this house as the setting for Look Homeward Angel and its owner as a character. For more, check out http://www.lion-rose.com/history
More at my RedBubble.com site