IT'S UP TO US

I saw a headline questioning whether the American Dream was still possible.

We all pretty much know what the American Dream is:  individual freedom, freedom from tyranny, freedom to be what it is possible for us to be, AND the belief that we must then let all others have these same freedoms.

And the answer to all of this, I think, is the same it as always been:  "It's Up To Us"

We have to do the work.  We have to vote for good and decent leaders.  We have to encourage others to vote for good and decent leaders.  We have to speak out against those who want to assume power without accountability.  

IT'S UP TO US.  IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

As everyone everywhere is fully aware, there is a movie by this same title:  Everything Everywhere All At Once.  But we have now become extremely aware that that title also describes Life Today!

Despite being warned as far back as 2000, by Al Gore, of the impending hazards of climate because of the impending damage to our planet by ourselves, nothing much was done.  And now it's going to be so much harder to do anything about Climate Change, while we are at the same time experiencing the extremes of Climate Change:  weather so mild in late fall and early winter that spring flowers bloom; tornadoes constantly sweeping across our country; heavy flooding along the coastal areas; terrible wildfires in the West; terrible heat in the west and moving eastward.  And these are just the things we know, from the headlines.

I have to believe the Human Race is capable of doing something about all this.  How about cross-country canals so that flooding can be diverted to fire-prone areas, which are fire-prone because of drought.  How about more trees in cities to clean the air and the temperatures.  How about humankind stopping wars on itself and using resources to make the earth clean and comfortable?  How about religion being a private thing that doesn't determine who lives and who dies?  How about learning more about housing constructions in the Middle East out of mud that build homes that are cool and comfortable?

How about all the possible good ideas out there that aren't being thought of because of the distractions from all the hate and anger out there?  

How about we at least try?   

A CREATURE CALLED CRITTER

 Last summer, the summer of 2023, we had triple digit temperatures.  One day in August, my son and I were sitting at the dining room table and looking out the window, when we spotted something unusual.  At first glance, it was a grey bird, but on second and third glances, we saw it was a very small kitten.  

We had no idea where it had come from, or how long it had been there.  We didn't know what to do, at first, but eventually we realized that while it was terrified of us, it would surely need food and water.  Of course it ran away at first as my son approached, but he would simply put the food and water down, early in the morning while it was still relatively cool.  Over a period of several days, he patiently put the food and water out every morning, and again late in the evening, each time cleverly retreating away a little closer each day.  Eventually he moved the food and water toward our patio, and the kitten followed it.  Eventually he moved the food and water on our patio and sat near it in the shade.  Eventually he had left the door from the garden room to the patio open and had stepped inside while the kitty was eating, and lo and behold, the kitten followed him into the garden room.  We quickly put fresh food and water down inside, turned the ceiling fans on, and rustled up a litter box.  

At that point, we considered taking the kitten to the nearest animal shelter, because we already had a beloved calico cat named Gina, but we learned the shelter was overwhelmed and having to close several days a week.  So we named the kitten Critter, because at that point we didn't know if it was male or female.  Even with the fans, the garden room was too hot, so we moved the kitten, litter box and all, into my son's room, and kept the door closed.  Then my son began a series of trips to the local veternarian, to have the kitty examined.  It turns out Critter is a female, same as our Gina.  Critter had all the necessary checks and vaccinations, and when our vet pronounced it safe, Gina was allowed to go into the bedroom to meet Critter.  Now they simply share the house!

Somehow, with careful introductions and all that, the two kitties have become friends.  I think a lot has to do with the fact that Gina is about 4 years older than Critter, and can therefore act as the older, wiser individual!  Sometimes they wrestle, sometimes they chase each other, and sometimes they like to nap near each other on one of the beds.  They both give us so much joy and laughter, and have taught us so much.  Especially to be aware of, and think about, and find ways to help all the children of the world, including those far away.  💕💕💕💕💕

THE FEELINGS WE ARE FEELING

 As one becomes more mature, it becomes apparent that one is much more aware of one's personal feelings about life, about the world, about others, but it also becomes apparent that one becomes more aware of what everyone else is experiencing.  And right now, my mind and heart are reeling from all the problems and disasters and losses that are being experienced everywhere.  

Bizarre and violent weather has destroyed so many homes and business buildings in so many places across the center of our country.  I sit in my home, full of things that are displayed to represent experiences and memories in my life, and I hear about all those losses, and my humanity reaches out helplessly to all of those who have simply lost everything.  

In other countries, violent idiocies are destroying homes and families and futures.  In Gaza, children are dying of malnutrition, while heads of state cannot grasp that these sufferings will not, will never, bring back losses.

In Ukraine, a vicious invasion just destroys, constantly, as if that destruction could possibly gain the destroyers praise and victory.

Some of the human destruction is because of religion, other destruction is because of hubris.  

To those who destroy in the names of their religions, I repeat a quote I read:  "I stand for humanity!"

To those who destroy in the name of vanity, I repeat another quote I read:  "What would it benefit for those who gain the whole world, and lose their own soul?"

For, though I am not particularly wise or good or brave or strong, I know this for certain:  As the song goes, 'What the world needs now is love, sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of."

NEVERTHELESS, I AM PERSISTING

 It's been too long since my last post.  Too many things have happened that perhaps should have been written about, but the inexorable pressure of time makes the past truly passed.

So now here I am, living under what is called a heat dome, in Texas, trying to figure out all the current wild aspects of our lives!  

There is a recent movie, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.  I tried to watch and appreciate the movie; it won lots of awards.  But in fact, it is the title that seems to be with me every day. There are so many bizarre things happening, everywhere, all at once.  The planet has heated up, definitely.  Politics are bordering on the insane.  So many aspects of ordinary life have spun out of control, if control was really ever there.  But there is such an undercurrent of hate and anger in just everyday life, resulting in terrible violence.

And yet, I find kindness and courtesy in many instances when out and about.   People still hold doors and try to help with courtesy. 

For every bizarre politician, there are several trying so hard to help and protect.  

For every tale of devastation, there are others of hope.

The Hollow Man I wrote about long ago is still in play, and yet, he may soon be chastened.

And one must believe/hope/wish that soon, there will be a fall and a time to recover.  For everyone.

EVERY WHICH WAY I CAN

 The list is long of all the difficult and challenging things that are occurring at the same time in our world.  Sometimes one almost feels we are in some sort of sci-fi movie, because so much seems so strange.  There seems to be so much anger in our society and in our world.  Just the headlines in the news can be terrifying.

And yet, and yet, many of my favorite perennials, especially the daylilies, insist on blooming, insist on bringing beauty for whoever would see it.  

And yet, perhaps because I seem to be looking more and more mature, so many will open a door for me, or stop their car if I'm walking to my car.

And yet, my calico kitty is always welcome to love and attention, with a loud purr that shows she's pleased.

And yet, I encounter smiles so many times while shopping, just the friendly sort that says 'hi'.

And yet, a small bowl of very good vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries on it can assuage a lot of worry.

And yet, I can still find a good book to read or a good movie to read.

And yet, a loved one's voice on the phone or a shared laugh, all of these can help me find a way to be comforted.  

SOMETHING I FOUND IN A DRAWER

Sometimes I (and everyone else, I presume) find something interesting, a clipping or whatever, and slip it into a drawer to go back to, one day.  This is from a newspaper clipping that I don't know the exact date of, but know that it definitely predates 1989, the death of the author, the Reverend Gaston Foote.  It's called "Looking for God," and has a really good view point:

"Sir Julian Huxley, a distinguished scientist, told us 40 years ago that we were entering a new era in which God would be completely abandoned.  I quote:  'Man must stop creeping for shelter to the arms of a father-figure whom he himself has created and stop trying to escape responsibility by sheltering under the umbrella of divine authority.'

Is this a day for the eclipse of God?  In this connection may I suggest three things.  First. we may be looking for the wrong kind of God.  If the God we seek is the one who directs us against our wills, manipulates us as though we were puppets, pulls on our leash when we go in the wrong direction, we may not find that kind of God.  God is not so much power, but person; not force, but Father.

In the second place, we may be looking for God in the wrong places.  We often speak of tornadoes, floods and plane accidents as acts of God.  Are they?  Or simply the result of the laws of cause and effect?

We think of God as being in the unnatural, the unpredictable.  Is He not more realistically in the natural and the predictable?  I seem to find God in the laboratories where men work to eradicate disease, spot tornadoes, predict earthquakes and overcome floods.

Finally, we we often look for God in the wrong direction.  He is not out there in space on cloud nine sending thunderbolts to frighten his children.  God is not so much a noun or an object as he is a spirit of love, truth, understanding, respect, friendship.

I believe I had a glimpse of God on a recent weekend in a city park.  A young couple had taken a group of underprivileged children out for a day's outing so they could become better acquainted with them, help them feel a sense of personal importance, let them know that they were, one by one, deeply loved by the creator of the universe.  Have you not seen God lately?"

BY MY COUNT

 Well, last year was a roller-coaster year for most of us folks on this planet, beginning with the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and ending with the fraught election, which did not relieve tensions but seemed to heighten them.

Now, by my count, and still counting, we have at least six (6) pandemics to deal with:  Covid; Trumpism; Political Divide; Climate Change; Racial Divide; Domestic Terrorism.

Like most folks who put their thoughts out here, in a blog, I wish very much I could reassure everyone who bothers to read this, with solutions.  Alas, like most folks, I wake up every day trying to figure out what to do next, and what world concern must be dealt with next, along, of course, with the every-day concerns of trying to keep, for instance, a stock of toilet paper and peanut butter and basic emergency stuff. We have, apparently, five different brands of toilet paper, since we buy a package when we can find it, and of course, using it along the way.

We are among those still waiting to be summoned for a Covid vaccination, carefully registered and definitely in the mature classification.  We are as perplexed as the high percentage of the world's population that an individual who incited violence at our nation's capitol should maintain such loyalty.  We are surprised that one of the founding parties of our nation should become devoted to a personality cult among other apparent devotions to so much except the country it purports to represent.  We are both grateful that racial disparity is coming to the forefront and horrified that it still is not nearly close to being resolved. And as to those who simply do not wish to be governed by the federal, state, and local governments in their areas, well, how about this:  they live as they wish and they let the rest of us live as we wish, in quiet, respectful, accepting style.

So there they all are: the problems we all face, the examination of all the attitudes, the general hopes of the majority, the resigned acceptance that we must continue to take one day at a time, do our best to stay steady, and take care of each other. Oh, and keep looking for toilet paper.

PLEASE NOTE:  THIS WAS WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, JUST NOW GETTING POSTED!

SOME DAYS

 We all live our lives the same:  moment by moment, hour by hour, and so on.  We all eventually figure out that we cannot change the past or figure out what the future is.  Period.  Like it or not, that's simply the human condition.  And by and large, we all accept it.  

But there are some days when, even if the sun is shining, our day is so gloomy that we lapse into what might have been, or worry about what's next.  Some days are simply too full of stress and/or demands and/or frustrations, and we want to sit down, like a small child would, and say 'No!  I don't want to!' We want to go outside and just start running (or walking, depending).  Or we want to kick and wave our arms and shriek.  Loudly.

And there is no magic I have found to help deal with these situations, what I call 'down days'.  Except.

Except to figure out maybe just one thing to look forward to.  Like eating a cookie or a spoonful of ice cream, or picking up the cat for a brief hug.  She doesn't like long hugs but she does love the short ones.  

Or to just hug a loved one, if one is around.  Or to look outside and see what is there.  

A dear friend once told me we all are entitled to moments of self-pity.  She called those moments a pity-party.  And said we could have one any time we needed one, but only for fifteen minutes.  Which gives one time to indulge in a bit of despair and then perhaps figure out what they are going to do next.  Perhaps figure out what kind of cookie.

GOODBYE, GOODLUCK, AND GOOD RIDDANCE

 After the end of 2019, which was disastrous for us personally, from the standpoint of serious and multiple health issues, we thought, as we always try to do, that 'next year will be better'!  But that was because we were thinking only of our on personal issues.  

Actually, since the day after the presidential election in 2016, we had held to ourselves the concerns and fears of damage that a totally incapable president might do, but we also held tightly the thoughts that there are checks and balances written into the US Constitution that would protect us as a country.  Wow, were we mistaken!  

Now at the end of 2020, we find ourselves still dealing with personal health issues, living extremely quiet lives to avoid  exposure wo a world-wide pandemic, and every day seeing the current president break a Constitutional rule.  Disregarding every sort of effort to help our country (except for an ignorant proposal laced with selfish interests).  Apparently even more ignorant, if that is possible, of how real life in our country works than when he won office.  

Yes, we have to believe that things can begin to get better.  Yes, there will hopefully be accountability for the massive wrongs done to our country.  But the death toll is so unimaginable and so real, the damage to our economy is so heartbreaking, and the failure of one of the two major political parties to support their country rather than support whatever description one could apply to the president's current pattern of behavior:  this is stress beyond measure.  Sorrow beyond measure.  Disgust beyond measure.  

Let us hope we can still find hope.  

THE CRUELEST THING SO FAR

 Since the day after Election Day in November 2016, we have been dreading what someone such as the current president could do to our country.  However, we suffered from a failure of imagination when it came to the president's completely disastrous response to the pandemic.  Only just behind the president in horrific response has been his party's response to the suffering of our people.  Now, on the very eve of a pitiful, too late, too inadequate plan of assistance to desperate need of most of the American people, our tax money back to us for food and shelter, this president, this hollow creature with no ability to care, is threatening to hold the current plan up until who knows when.

If this were a movie, no one would believe it.  We shake our heads all the time, trying to figure out what to do.  We ourselves have basics, but the families, the children, the elderlies, the majority of Americans, are caught between a do-nothing Senate majority and a do-everything-bad president, and coming at the darkest time of the year, at the traditionally holiday season, there is only certain things that can be done right now.

We can help each other by sharing what we have.

We can hope that the new administration will be able to eventually hold accountable the people who are failing us.

And we can make sure our votes are made and counted and that we bring to office more people who care.

THE THRILL OF IT ALL

 This year, this year, has been a year that cannot be described in ordinary words such as 'difficult' or even 'horrific'.  As a planet, we passed 'horrific' back in the summer.  BUT there are still so many small, sometimes very small things we can find to give us joy, to give us a moment of peace.  We cannot compare the stress and inconvenience and frustration and yes, even fear, that most of us are experiencing'  with the stress of front-line workers, the desolation of loss of so many, the fear of loss of shelter and food.  These are terrible, unacceptable experiences for all our fellow humans.  

But if we can, and when we can, we can find a moment of laughter, a bit of relief from reality, in such very small things.  A dianthus plant blooming in December, tiny and fragrant:

And just today, a daughter calling and wondering if perhaps, just perhaps, we would like a gift of her wonderful home-made chocolate and peanut candy.  Not just the offer, but the priceless look of total delight on the faces of her father and brother, gave us all a few minutes of laughing and celebrating the offer and the anticipation.

There are many moments to mourn, just now, but there are also moments to rejoice, to listen to Christmas songs as if for the first time, to hope, to plan, to believe in the future.  

WHEN I'M JUST THINKING

 Like most folks, my mind wanders all over the place, pushed in one direction by something I read or see, pushed in another direction by a memory.

For instance, even though we in this part of the world have experienced mild winters before and known roses to bloom in December, this year has been unique in its own way.  Here it is in late November, and there are zinnias and Mexican tuberoses and potted periwinkle and clibrachoa all blooming in the garden, as well as pots of impatiens and pentas.  It's a  big awkward for me right now, because I have pots of pansies that I planted, ready to put out in the outside pots for the winter.  But to discard the impatiens and pentas when they are flourishing is something I cannot do right now, although I may have to simply transplant them to a space in a flower bed, so that I can settle the pansies into where they will be belong, before some arctic blast comes along (and we always have to be prepared for one).  

In the meantime spring-blooming bulbs are sending their spears up, so at least I know where they are so I can plant some perennials around them.  I plan every year to mark open spaces that don't contain bulbs so that I can slide some daylilies or whatever into the open spots, but as I have said, my mind wanders and/or events overwhelm me.  Maybe next year!

 

WHAT A STRANGE UNIVERSE

Frankly, our family now frequently discuss the fact that we feel we are living in some sort of science-fiction movie.  I say 'movie', because things and we ourselves are in motion, but so much is so strange and time has become somewhat like a played accordion must feel:  sometimes close together, sometimes far apart.

Like the rest of the world, we must deal with the pandemic on an every-day basis.  But to us there seem to be four pandemics:  the covid virus; the violence of climate changes that are producing early and multiple violent storms and in the west, terrible fires; the pain and worry of racial injustices and the terrible unhappiness that has come to the fore; and, in our country, the disaster that an inappropriate administration has wrought on our democracy and its health and economy and therefore, so many people.  

That there are unimaginable numbers of people being evicted from their homes because they have no jobs, that there are fellow citizens who have no source of food, that people are losing everything they have in violent storms or in uncontrollable fires, this is not a reality we can figure out how to deal with.  But we are trying.

As individuals who have studied history somewhat, we know that over centuries and millenia there have been many challenges for humanity.  But in this century, and in this country, and with all the presumed advances in technology and science, we cannot help but be shocked by humankind's continued inhumanity to humankind.  On the other hand, many times we have seen instances of individuals who have reached out to their fellow humans and given care, or joy or kindness or encouragement.  We figure our duty is to do the same, as best we can.

THE GREATEST POWER IN THE UNIVERSE

So there are so many powers in the known universe that we all can come up with at least one:  love, religion, nuclear energy, electricity, gravity – the list is very, very long.

But here is my theory:  the greatest power in the universe is actually Time.  Because all of the other powers I’ve named, from love to gravity, can all be changed or controlled in one way or another.  Love can fade, religion can falter, nuclear energy can be simply not employed, electricity is a mystery all in itself and must be manufactured, even gravity has been found to be repelled by anti-gravity thingies.

Now we come to time.  It simply cannot be stopped.  At least outside of sci-fi stories.  One can stop a clock, one can turn the clock’s measure of time backward or forward (which is simply a type of pretending), or one can accept the fact that time is inexorable.  When one comes to terms with that, one can only then possibly use time to our advantage, to fill our allotted hours with fun and joy and happiness and giving.  Or utterly waste time until it is too late. 

Because, like many great powers, Time really does not care about us.  It can’t.  It is too busy just being.

LUCK AND GEOGRAPHY

One of the most interesting things about philosophy is that it really is not a rarefied study by briilliant people in book-lined rooms, it instead seems to be simply observation of the human condition as we ourselves experience it.

For instance, having been in a happy and devoted relationship for many decades, we have both been frequently asked 'how we did it?'  How did we create and sustain a committed relationship for so very long?

After some thought, it occurred to me was that the simple answer is 'luck and geography'.  Just that simple.  For instance, if we had been born thousands of miles apart, we quite likely would never have met.  But luckily, we were born in the same area, and at a time when we were both without someone special in our life, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to his best friend and that was that.  Connection.  Luck.  Geography.

The Surprises of Gardening

Nothing is more like gambling, for me, than gardening.  Between the individualities of plants, the unpredictabilities of weather (we do try to predict, but nevertheless ...) and all the many factors of location, amount of light, etcetera, gardening really never ceases to surprise.

This last winter, however, the plant world of my garden exceeded itself.  The most unique situation was the pansies.  Every fall we plant pansies because they are my mate's favorite plant, although he has learned to like many others over time.  Anyway, I had planted several pansies in a largish pot so that we could see the blooms from our dining table.  Then I had planted several in pots on the patio for just winter color, and finally more in the concrete pots in the front, that hold pansies in the fall and winter, and begonias that I carry over the winter in the garden room, and replace the pansies for the spring and summer.  

Ah, but then we had a weather episode of three nights in a row when the temp fell to 20 degrees after some mild days.  That combination can slay many hardy plants.  The pansies in the front pots did fine, but the pots on the patio and the one across from our dining room window suffered and eventually, to all purposes, simply perished.  At that time I had no opportunity to replace the apparently dead pansies, and truly, I know a dead pansy when I see it.  Flat and brown, etc.  But ... sure enough, as milder days came along, there were these tiny green leaves coming out of the flat brown former plants.  Cynically, I figured they were weeds.  And yet they looked liked pansy leaves, so I left them alone.  Then as more growth showed up, the pots were fed and watered, and the new pansy plants bloomed. 

That isn't even the best of the story, quite.  For today, on July 4, with weather in the mid to upper 90's, the big pansy pot still has pansies blooming.  No one could have ever persuaded me that pansies would continue blooming in July in this heat, but the pansies could!

EVERYONE LIVES ONE DAY AT A TIME.

EVERYONE LIVES ONE DAY AT A TIME.

WHEREVER WE FIND OURSELVES, THAT IS TRUE.

WHETHER WE ARE IN A CELL OR A RESORT,

THE TRICK IS TO TRY TO FIND SOMETHING INTERESTING.

THE TRICK IS TO LOOK INSIDE OURSELVES

AND TRY TO FIND DETERMINATION.

WE ALL MUST TRY TO BE CALM.

THERE IS A REASON WHY THE SAYING ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’

BEGAN DURING A TERRIBLE WAR.

THERE IS A REASON WHY WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW.

THE SCENT AND SIGHTS OF SUMMER

Just now, in spite of little to no rain historic heat, the crape myrtles and the purple phlox are blooming and their scent is blown around by light breezes.  Since my standards for outside plants are: tough, beautiful, and fragrant if possible, these meet the test.  And, like most plants which are tough, they do tend to take over.  The purple phlox would gladly fill a very large bed, and very nearly do so right now.  The crape myrtles, particularly the white Natchez, grow very vigorously, bloom very vigorously, and cast their spent blooms very vigorously.  That is no problem for our crapes, but our next door neighbor has beautiful ones too, which grow next to our shared fence, and which just about cover the area where my garden work bench is, both the bench and the walkway in front of it, and everything in the surrounds.  Yet how can I complain when I love them so.

In addition to these lovelies, which more or less save the season, there are zinnias blooming everywhere, including the garden paths, all with my encouragement.  The zinnias have no noticeable scent, but the butterflies love them, enough said.  

Among my many other plant enthusiasms are bulbs.  Not all bulbs, just the ones which are tough and beautiful.  Each wave of spring bulb dazzles me in turn, from grape hyacinths and daffodils and hyacinths to bluebells and all the rest, and then the fall bulbs of sternbergia and August lilies (lycoris squamigera), ah, but then there are the spider lilies. Spider lilies are tough and beautiful but not fragrant like so many other bulbs.  But there is something so exotic about the spider lilies (lycoris radiata) that they grab me every late summer/early fall when they bloom.  

That something that looks so dramatic and delicate is actually really very tough, at least in this part of the country, is so amazing.  And they grow more and more blooms each year that they are left alone.  Because they do not like to be moved.  So the first year they are planted, blooms are forget-about-it.  But after that they flourish.  I've seen areas where they bloom in lawns and multiply gloriously.  But mine are in beds, safe from lawnmowers and being walked upon and every year they dazzle.  A good dazzle is good for everyone.

Then there are the bunnies

We live in an urban neighborhood, not very far from a major freeway.  And yet we have all sorts of critters that seem to find our backyard.  This last spring and summer, we had a small rabbit, who our son named 'Benny', although we were way too shy to ask if it was a girl bunny or a boy bunny.  The bunny became accustomed to our comings and goings in the garden as long as we didn't get too close.  We have this very large quince, which was supposed to be a 'dwarf', but which has become known as the quince that took over the flower bed.  We eventually had to extend the bed area several feet to accommodate the lovely thing, which is glorious in the spring and sometimes reblooms during the fall equinox as well.  Anyway we noted that Benny seemed to find the quince a sanctuary to dart into if humans got too close.  That was the way it was at first.  Then we noticed that Benny spent quite a lot of time under the quince, because Benny was spotted coming out of the quince shelter often.

Since our precious Max cat passed last year, there is no one to threaten a bunny in our garden.  However, we found that Benny apparently could threaten some of the plants, especially a begonia I had transplanted into a flowerbed across from our breakfast table window.  Still, what were we to do?  Benny mostly ate grass when we were watching, so we just let well enough alone.  Then a month or so ago, one of us spotted a bigger bunny, with longer ears.  We don't know if this is Benny, transformed by growth (Benny had shorter ears at first acquaintance), or a stranger.

And then, today, I walked out into the garden room to check the morning world, and there was a really small bunny making its way across the patio in dainty small steps.  Suddenly a squirrel came down from the tree there.  The tiny bunny froze.  The squirrel moved on down the tree in what I would describe as a threatening manner.  The tiny bunny flashed away across the garden so quickly it was amazing.  Then the rascally squirrel turned and climbed back up the tree.  It was one of those moments we treasure, seeing a bit of the natural world we can forget in our world of freeways and cell phones and all that.