Little Dinosaur

Gecko on our patio.  Click to enlarge to better see his amazing scaly skin.

I was whispering sweet-nothings into his ear(?) while trying to get the focus just right, and I like to think that that had something to do with his several minutes of stillness and "compliance."  Or, the staidness could be just attributed to his survival instinct. I mean, I guess, yeah.

Out West

we took a trip to the texas desert. some weird things happened to us. instead of elucidating on the weird stuff, i'd rather share the beauty of what we saw.














high water bridge, where the pecos and rio grande rivers meet:














sanderson, tex.:














the beginning of sunset, night one. fort stockton, tex.:














outside balmorhea, tex.:














coyote, outside fort davis, tex:














prada marfa--public art piece of a mock prada store, in the middle of nowhere:














valentine, tex.:




























bank of marfa:











































viewing platform for the mysterious marfa lights (astronomical wonder). we tried, but we didn't see any of those elusive marfa lights:














sunset from viewing platform:















alpine, tex:








































first time entering the state of new mexico (very exciting). bullet holes in sign:






orla, tex. (tiny, forgotten ghost town):
















pecos, tex:


























(the end.)

Craving Structures

rods and cones

soundtrack.

Night commences, and things become shadows of themselves (sometimes silhouettes make ugly things beautiful and beautiful things more beautiful)...
.




























...and then, it gets darker and colors glow...






























...and to me, it's all very pretty.

Phoenix

I believe in astrology about as much as I believe in mega-churches. I have this problem digesting the idea of capitalism and belief systems working in tandem (and to me, there is too much cross-pollination with money-making and the two aforementioned "religions"). Sometimes, I will read Free Will Astrology, though. It's available online here, but it's also published in the, ahem, nether regions of many alternative weeklies (i.e. back pages with shady, propositional advertisements). To me, Free Will Astrology is a tongue-in-cheek version of soothsaying (kinda like Colbert's O'Reilly-esque-ness), and thus, I find it to be very entertaining and creative. For instance, there are sometimes random, yet semi-related popular YouTube links included in one's Zodiac horoscope; and there are [almost] always wending, humorous, random anecdotes for each sign, supposedly assisting one in reaching inferences on how the highfalutin story relates to one's current life circumstances.

Lately, I've been dealt a huge personal, soul-crushing, endurance-testing, self-esteem jeopardizing setback. It's been a gaping wound of sorts, beset by slow amelioration. Sometimes, even, the wound will tear and reopen and leave me hurting again (and starting at square one of the healing process).

For fun, I read my Free Will horoscope last week, and I found it UNUSUALLY sobering (and very very strangely apropos--and I mean spot-effing-on):

Virgo: What have you had to relinquish in the past 10 months, Virgo? What were you forced to sacrifice or surrender? Whatever it is, I predict you will be compensated for it over the course of the next year. And the process begins soon. It's not likely that the incoming blessing will bring an exact replacement for the dream that got away. Rather, you will be awakened to an unexpected new source of excitement, thereby dissolving a lingering sense of loss and liberating you to rise again.

Indeed, Matt and I have been afforded some big, potentially life-altering options (albeit somewhat bittersweet) from which to choose in the next few weeks. Those forthcoming decisions might just turn out to be the salve my pain needs.

Golden cloud just before dusk, the other night

fade into you.

Clouds Crying Snow

Tears fell in Boerne
And stuck to your breath
Blew up to the sky
And landed on a cloud
Your heartache made the cloud sad
And it started crying
The cloud's teardrops froze,
Because my heart is so cold.
- Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Trouble"

(pictures/portraits(?) taken yesterday at Umlauf Sculpture Garden)