When my brother died in 2014 I found among his belongings a natural canvas Lands End Square Rigger Pullover. Still in the package, it had never been worn but the shirt’s nautical styling was very reminiscent of Ronnie. He had been a Merchant Marine, a tug boat captain and a small boat enthusiast.

It’s taken me all these years to figure out a way to make the Pullover my own. I wanted it to fit my aesthetic but retain that bit of Ronnie’s style too. So here’s what I did…

This is the original Square Rigger.

I dyed it a pretty shade of blue.

And added some embroidery – Ronnie had an anchor tattooed on his shoulder.

I’m very happy with the end result. But even more than that I’m happy about the time I spent working on this remembrance of my brother.

A friend and I made an impromptu stop at an Estate Sale near Comfort, Texas. The house was an old farm house that was probably quite grand in it’s day. We didn’t see anything that we wanted to purchase but I did capture these images in one of the outbuildings.

Colorful exotic juice.

Colorful exotic fruit.

Sunset on the Spire
Elinor Wylie, 1885 – 1928

All that I dream
By day or night
Lives in that stream
Of lovely light.
Here is the earth,
And there is the spire;
This is my hearth,
And that is my fire.
From the sun’s dome
I am shouted proof
That this is my home,
And that is my roof.
Here is my food,
And here is my drink,
And I am wooed
From the moon’s brink.
And the days go over,
And the nights end;
Here is my lover,
Here is my friend.
All that I
Could ever ask
Wears that sky
Like a thin gold mask.

A drive-in movie theater in Gatesville, Texas. It’s been in operation since 1950, though under different names. They show a double feature every night (even if it rains). And they don’t show R rated movies.

June in Texas means that only the sturdiest flowers can survive. I think these hardy sunflowers imply a certain kind of optimism.

Sunflower

“…..Like every flower, she has a little
theory, and what she thinks
is up. I imagine the long
climb out of the dark
beyond morning glories, day lilies, four o’clocks
up there to the dream she keeps
lifting, where it’s noon all day.”

~ by Frank Steele 

While I am aware that in many places thistles are considered noxious weeds, I am attracted to the way they look in their purple bloom. We are near Moody,  Texas at Mother Neff State Park where I saw these tough little thistles surviving the heat.

I’ve been holding onto this poem about thistles for just this occasion.

Why There Will Always Be Thistle
By Maxine Kumin

Sheep will not eat it
nor horses nor cattle
unless they are starving.
Unchecked, it will sprawl over
pasture and meadow
choking the sweet grass
defeating the clover
until you are driven
to take arms against it
but if unthinking
you grasp it barehanded
you will need tweezers
to pick out the stickers.

Outlawed in most Northern
states of the Union
still it jumps borders.
Its taproot runs deeper
than underground rivers
and once it’s been severed
by breadknife or shovel
—two popular methods
employed by the desperate—
the bits that remain will
spring up like dragons’ teeth
a field full of soldiers
their spines at the ready.

Bright little bursts of
chrome yellow explode from
the thistle in autumn
when goldfinches gorge on
the seeds of its flower.
The ones left uneaten
dry up and pop open
and parachutes carry
their procreant power
to disparate venues
in each hemisphere
which is why there will always
be thistle next year.

Making pita bread is a surprisingly dramatic process. I make it using my basic bread recipe – whole wheat flour, yeast, salt and water. I bake it on my grill using a pizza stone. Each pita only needs about 3 minutes to cook. And the results are much better than store bought.

Just starting to bubble up…

Fully puffed up and steaming…

Perfectly cooked pocket pita.

This century plant is growing in our neighborhood. The bloom is probably twenty feet high. It’s an incredible sight especially seen up against the deep blue summer sky.

I read that a century plant doesn’t actually live to be 100 years old, more like 20 years. The plant will die after it blooms but leaves behind “adventitious shoots” at the base which will continue to grow.

Just back from a long trip in our RV. We covered 3500 miles in 45 days and traveled through 20 states. Here is a recap…

The above sign says Minnesota (most unreadable welcome sign).

Wisconsin – this isn’t actually their “welcome” sign. It’s the best I could do!

Pennsylvania – hard to read because of the rain on the windshield.

Maryland – impossible to read because of the rain on the windshield. We went thru a bit of a rainy stretch here.

Did not get a photo of the Virginia welcome sign. We crossed over into Virginia from Washington DC. Never saw a sign.

Didn’t get a photo of South Carolina. The state line snuck up on me,

Sweet Home Alabama – barely readable.

And finally, my home state,

Always nice to be back home!