No Limit On Words

Hey Everybody. This is the only photo I got just now.

It turns out there's a limit to the free memory storage of a Blogger account (1024MB) and now that I know there's a limit, it makes perfect sense to me to discover that I have reached that limit, considering how many photos I have already shared here at the Midnight Garden.

I see that I can purchase additional storage space, so once I've managed that, I'll be back to the business of sharing photos and such. For now, a thousand words will have to suffice. I know. I shudder to consider which ones will spill out from my keyboard, don't you? I'll try to be discreet.

The living room painting is finished, more or less, and I'm mostly quite pleased with how it came out. I did think that the sponged-on finish coat ended up obscurring a little more of the dragonfly and crow details, so I want to touch those up a little bit. Actually, I did darken up the crow when I got home this evening, and I guess it's working better now: when I looked over at it a little while later, Badum was perched on the back of the chair, staring up at the crow in exactly the same way he does with live birds. So I think I got it right. ; )

He and I had a startling experience last night. Since we are in a seeming perpetual state of Something Was Just Painted here at the Nest, we've been sleeping with windows open for ventilation purposes...plus I always enjoy the fresh air as long as I can in the Fall. Even though it's down in the low fifties overnight, I like the windows wide open, though sometimes getting up in the night (or to turn on the coffee pot) can be a little chilly. But that's why one has monkey slippers and sweatpants, after all.

ANYWAYZ...now that the nights are cooling down, my roommate has been doing more Cat Caving...which is where, while I am reading in bed before shutting out the light at night, he comes up and digs his way down under the covers, exploring the hidden space beneath the comforter. After nosing around, he usually comes up alongside me, kneading against my side as he settles in, far enough down to be just an adorable face in the darkness down there...but overtime, he always slides his way up further, to facilitate the all-important belly rub.

Through all this, and usually when he arrives on the bed--he is a most agreeable kitty, as a rule --the Purring is going full-force...and as he gets comfier, he starts throwing some heat...and often, he'll snuggle right up into my armpit, one soft paw stretched across my chest, or sometimes reaching up to touch my cheek. He's pretty cute like that.

Ah, so there...I've set the stage for the startling experience. So there we were, snuggling in just like that. It was really quite nice and so I put my book down early and settled back to snuggle in with him and even nodded off for a little while before shutting the light out. (I'm hesitant to do that sometimes when the cat's comfy, as the light outened seems to suggest to him that I'm about to roll over and crush him, and so off he'll dash...) But then he stayed even after the light was out and it was pretty cozy...

...and then suddenly, there was this crystal clear and close...and LOUD...coyote howl. One single perfect howl, splitting the night...the sound filling every space. And before it had a chance to fade, there was a response, suddenly, of what sounded like a dozen to twenty more coyotes and in a bit of a frenzy. Either it was the public portion of some committee meeting where they all talked at once, or perhaps it was some kind of attack in the meadow/marsh behind the houses across the road. I can't be sure I didn't hear distressed birds in all the chaos.

Anyway, my gray buddy darted to the headboard, and then made the rounds of a variety of windows. I have often suspected that he came to me from a brush with a coyote or two, as he was a bit scraped up, as well as scrawny, when he came up the garden path that night. He's had a variety of reactions to the sounds of the coyotes, which sort of bear out my suspicions. It was a while before he returned to bed, to curl up against the backs of my legs and resume the purring.

It was a little unsettling for me, as well, but knowing we were pretty safe on the second floor, I could also appreciate that it was sort of cool to have some pretty intense Nature right there outside..

It was a beautiful weekend, and I'm sorry to have exceeded my limit. I've got some beautiful photos from Saturday afternoon, when I went over to Chatham to see the Budweiser Clydesdales as they paraded down Main Street to celebrate the Chatham Squire's fortieth anniversary. Here's a few photos and another account of the afternoon.

It was a wonderful, sunny afternoon, just warm enough for a day in early October. There were some lovely, late season gardens blooming along the way and so I got all kinds of great photos of those, especially some wonderful Montauk daisies, and the pansies above.

People were packing in all along Main Street, really July Fourth parade crowded. I was looking for my pal Jane amongst the masses, since I would've enjoyed spending some time with her. This was really just another act of Wishful Thinking on my part, since I hadn't actually called her ahead of time to say "hey, meet me in Chatham" or anything. Sadly, I never did see her, though I did meet a few other friends along the way. Jane, if you're reading this, ring me!

The horses were quite beautiful, really stunning creatures. However, since I only saw them as they went past, I must admit I get to see more of them in Budweiser commercials. I suspect, too, that some folks had been led down a path by the use of the word "parade" as a verb, instead of the more lengthy noun we are most of us familiar with. It really was one of those "here they come/there they are/there they go/don't step in the horsepoo!" brief experiences.

Still, I got a nice photo or two which I hope to someday share with you all. (I do regret not having captured a photo of that most famous horseshit to share with my friend Tornwordo.)

Meanwhile, I hope you all had great weekends, too, and that your week in progress is being kind. At least there's a holiday weekend to look forward to at the end of it...and plans for it are shaping up to be great fun, too: I can hardly wait.

Friday Garden Report

I spent most of last night's Vice Presi dential debate coverage muttering as I sponged paint onto the living room walls...it's still a work in progress, so no photos of the finished look yet...but I did catch a few images yesterday I wanted to share with you.

During our early morning breakfast event at work, we had a bit of a sunshower, which gave us the barest glimmer of a rainbow in the northwestern sky...it was already fading by the time I had my camera ready, naturally.

But what's a rainbow, anyway, but a fleeting and intangible promise - like a kiss really - of sweetness and beauty in the future? Who doesn't love a rainbow for that.


I always think there's somethingi cool about it raining while the sun is shining...maybe its two of my favorite elements, water and fire coming together in such a spectacular and sparkly way...I really liked this photo taken under the pear tree outside my office.

After our early morning, I spent a little time in the office, mostly doing unsatisfying battle with my office computer. When it became clear I was about the headbutt the monitor, I decided to take a break for a little time at home and some banking...with a plan to return later on.

High tide was flooding Boat Creek Marsh as I drove through, and when I spotted a blue heron feeding with some gulls in the rising waters, I couldn't resist stopping for a photo or two.

I'm sorry to say the heron disagreed with my idea, and fled at the first sight of me and my camera...of course there was also an unfortunate amount of traffic driving along Bridge Road just then, so perhaps it wasn't all my fault the great bird fled.

But I was pretty pleased with this silhouette shot as it flew out of sight. Also, I loved the contrast of these white asters blooming against the background of some autumn-reddened Virginia creeper.

I took a painting break before dinner and the debates and made it to First Encounter just in time for the last rays of sunset. Actually, I didn't stay long, as there was a pretty powerful wind coming off the bay and it made me downright shivery...so much so that even the Image Stabilization feature on my camera couldn't save all but these two images.

Things are good in the Midnight Garden, and I promise I'll have some more painting photos as the weekend progresses. I hope this finds each and every one of you doing well, with fun plans for at least some part of the weekend!!

Cat Stuff...and Coffee

Here's my very handsome and charming roommate, as seen on one of his favorite new promontories...the bathroom sink. As you can see, the bathroom is still pink, but that is the next painting project on the docket once I finish up the living room this week. Small dinner event at work this evening, so there will probably be no painting when I get home. We'll see if I am motivated to mask the woodwork and such before heading in to the office this morning.

Badum and I were very pleased to get an email from Mom and Dad last night, and learn that Dewey Cat had returned, apparently no worse for wear, from his walkabout experience after escaping into his new Connecticut neighborhood.

During his absence, I'd remained positive. After all, he's a smart "little" kitty, who knows where all his catnip toys and treats and people are...and while he was surely interested to explore his new surroundings, I'm sure he was as happy to return home as Mom and Dad were to see him in the driveway.

Meanwhile, I spent the customary fifteen minutes or so in bed this morning, trying to cajole my gray buddy into getting up and hitting the button that would turn on the coffee maker in the kitchen. I should've bought one with a timer...

It's not easy, nor is there much interest, in getting out from under the covers when there's a warm kitty nestled against your legs, purring his head off. Of course, since he has no need of caffeine and was at least as comfy as me, I had no luck getting him to turn the coffee on.

I wonder, if I set up a network of eyehooks and string...it could run up the bedroom wall, across the ceiling, through the dining room, into the kitchen and then...hmmm, I'd have adapt something to actually flip the switch on the coffee maker...and I AM hesitant to drive a bunch of eye hooks into those newly-painted walls. Thank goodness I have those monkey slippers to slide my feet into as I finally drag myself out from beneath the covers and trudge toward the kitchen.

Here we are, re-snuggling after getting up to turn on the necessary appliances, but returned to bed to await the brewed coffee and listen to the latest bad news as gently presented by NPR. As you can see, my little gray pal was a little suspicious of the appearance of a camera, but I had the flash turned off...and once I'd snapped the picture, it was all about the belly rubbing, at least until that coffee was ready.

Tuesday's Gardens

I wanted to show you a little of the detail from my work on the living room walls. I was really pleased with the tiny purple flowers down near the baseboard.

A very important accomplishment today: I finally got myself over to Orleans Town Hall and made sure that I was registered to vote here in town...and learned where the polling place is, too.

Don't we have a nice looking town hall? I learned this year that Orleans is one of 3,310 communities designed as a Tree City USA. Here are the criteria for the designation.

After I'd tended my business inside, I poked around with my camera, enjoying the grounds a little. There was some beautiful blue and purple cranesbill (aka, perennial geranium) blooming just outside the front doors.

It's possible it's looked better than it did today at this end of the long growing season, but that didn' t stop this bee from visiting as I snapped my photo.

There was something about this big patch of clover in the lawn that really tickled me...or would've, if I'd actually stopped to roll around in it...but hey, I just moved to town, a little decorum can't be a bad thing.





I stopped at Friends Market today. I was getting something for lunch, but also looking to bring a little fall flower color to what was mostly a gray and dismal autumn day.


I sure love these red and rusty chrysanthemums.



I also noticed they've got some pansies on special. I thought about picking some up, but I want to make sure they are at the beginning of their lifecyle and will continue to bloom through the winter (or at least resume when the winter passes). It sure is nice to have some of those cheery little faces around.

The sun did make a veiled appearance at the end of the day. Here's a shot of the sky from the deck earlier this evening.


Tonight, I discovered that the door to the deck, which appeared to have been long-ago painted white, really only had some sort of residue on it from being exposed to the elements.

Once I started rubbing it with some polishing oil, the white film vanished and the door's frame turned a nice chestnut color...a great contrast with the peachy-orange dining room walls.

Tonight I also decided that the pair of snapdragons needed a little context for their frivolity, so I painted these flower silhouettes onto the walls.

I swear, these are the last elements I'm adding to the walls. The next step will be taping off the radiators and woodwork, so I can do the final sponge coat of the top color of the room.

Monday Monday

A cloudy morning started us off today and it sort of matched the mood of my heart. It's funny how it changes a little like the tide lately.

I have chosen with no regret, and seem to be finding happiness wherever I look. And yet still there are things I wish had been different, that sometimes make me a little sad.

I miss the Garden, wonder what is happening along the fence, if the rest of the mums have begun to bloom yet, and if the cosmos ever really started blooming, and if any of them turned out to be seashell shaped.

I have a few roots I would like to extract still, particularly some irises only recently planted there. One or two of them promising to be purple. And maybe a little red dianthus. So I will be heading to Harwich one carefully chosen day soon and I'll be sure to bring the camera along, to show you what I find.


I had to pull over at Rock Harbor when I got a look at the sky over the bay as I headed for work this morning. I'm sorry I didn't notice until I was back behind the wheel and driving what the sky behind me looked like...it was pretty amazing looking. Sorry to tease with just the mention.

Hey, this really bugs me. The property you see here used to be a nice wild patch of woods, all trees and wildflowers. And then last year they cleared most of the lot and built this McMansion. It happens WAY too often on Cape Cod lately.

That was enough of an abomination, a crime against nature, to me...and then this week, they took down another tree or two and hoisted this great banner, which is spotlight-illuminated by night and day. It's a pretty residential area and anyway, I bet its not zoned for nightlit billboards...so add disregard for the law to raping the land, needless power consumption and reshaping the world in one's self-important image. Yep, sounds like an apt advertisement for the candidates.

Oh, I'm getting all itchy thinking about it. Here, let's chill with a bachelor button instead.


As you can see, I got more painting done in the living room this evening. It took a little while to sketch in the crow. I wanted to make sure it looked just right before doing anything with the permanance of black paint.

I'm pretty happy with how its looking right now.

Remember way back on September 13th, when I was painting the bedroom with Cape Cod Gray and tapped the end of the roller on my palm?

I did sort of like the pattern that made...especially as my mind began to transform it into some kind of stylized cave painting version of the sun. And when Patrick suggested in comment that it represented a Brand New Day, I knew it had to be front and center in my plans for the living room.

In fact, it kind of brought together the idea of the garden as cave painting.


It was very important, though, to make the sun a big icon in the scheme of things, and it had to be perfectly round...so I needed something big and round to trace.

In a stroke of luck, I found this pristine metal garbage can lid in the barn outside. What a find! Not only is it perfectly round and just as big as I'd hoped...but also one of those lids that feels fun in your hand, you know, like you've just picked up a great shield and are ready for battle...well, would be, if you also had a sword, and even the slightest clue what to do with it.

I lit my butterfly candle this evening with thoughts toward an orange tiger-striped buddy of mine - Mom and Dad's Dewey cat - who seems to have wandered away from the house in Connecticut they've all just moved into this past week.

I wish him courage and bravery and resourcefulness, and whatever else he needs to make a safe return happen. And meantime, hugs and the power of positive thinking are sent to Mom and Dad.

It's like a mania: tonight I stenciled some more leaves on this particular tree part of the living room wall. I almost think there are enough now...but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

"Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there."

"It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between a man who cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said."

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, 1950.

Painting Thoughts on a Stormy Day

With the heavy rains that spattered against the windows and the exterior walls of the Nest overnight, it would have been an absolute joy to stay snuggled in bed a little longer this morning.

Alas, I had an early morning appointment (the customer had insisted, over my minor protests about the restaurant not yet being open, etc.) scheduled...so was up to prepare for that and also got myself ready to visit the beach after the meeting.

So you can imagine my annoyance to get to work and discover that the appointment had been cancelled in a phone message around 8 a.m...although the message clearly mentioned that the decision not to attend the meeting had been reached the night before...when I was still at work.

So, thanks for your lack of consideration, Potential Customer...I hope there isn't too much bad wedding kharma blow-back from this for you! And that's about as negative as I'm going to let you make me...

My visit to Nauset Beach was certainly a good and fast curative to any crankiness I had about being up and about so early...as Hurricane Kyle churned things about a hundred miles out, there was some wind and rain (I was barefoot, but in a slicker...and delightfully soaked with a warm rain when I finally headed back to the car...more pictures in the previous blog post, for those who may've missed that one!)...and some exciting surf. Our waves here on the Cape are not world-reknowned, though there is still a culture of surfers, who were certainly out there yesterday. But some of the waves yesterday were big and impressive...and once in a while crashed with the surprising KAPOW of a cannon shot.

Most satisfying.

And then it was home to dry off, have a bit of breakfast and turn my attention to getting a little more of the Nest whipped into shape, painting-wise.

The living room remains the focus, as I added some more stenciled leaves to the two tree parts of the room. Since the leaves will become less visible when I've applied the top coat of paint in a day or so, I'm pondering adding a few more leaves to this particular tree-top representation. I guess it will depend on how I feel later on.

I enjoyed some blogger communication today, as I chatted with both Marc and Jess on the phone about their plans to visit Cape Cod for the upcoming Columbus Day weekend. They've actually made reservations at an Inn just down the street from the Nest, as it turns out...and there's talk of an appearance by Marc's Chicken and Noodles, as recently featured at his blog!

Although I will have to work for some of the weekend (these three day occasions are great times to schedule a special event), I look forward to spending the rest of the time with these guys, and also Patrick, who may be catching a ride with them for a return visit to the Nest. (I'll have to save some painting...he's awfully good at it...)

Much has been made about how cool and enjoyable my roommate is. While the Cat Dood is not, like some boys, particularly fond of kissing (he mostly hates when I smooch on him), he is in many other ways a great companion, both fun and caring and not obsessed (as dogs can be) with his next meal. In fact, he is not unlike Ferris Bueller in that, for him, Leisure Rules. If there is a real point against him, he is the only roommate I've ever had who leaves footprints in the bathroom sink.

When he first came to live with me and was a little mal-nourished, he did make a good impression with a mouse-kill, but since then, his interest in mousing has probably been mellowed by being well-fed. I have often joked that he is still interested in mice...the trick is getting them to roll around in the catnip.

So this evening, I was surprised and interested to discover that Badum was doing just a little bit of hunting, and had sort of cornered a breathless and wide-eyed little gray mouse under a bookshelf in the dining room. He chased the mouse from one side to another...and my participation (moving the shelf out from the wall), really only complicated the situation by knocking something off the shelf, which created a diversion during which the mouse was able to dash to the living room...and catch his breath under the relative safety of the baseboard heater, while the cat continued to stalk the place where the mouse had been minutes before.

We'll have to keep an eye on this situation and see what happens and perhaps I'll try not to help next time.

Meanwhile, once I'd finished adding stenciled leaves to the walls, I had a little extra paint left over, and so decided to add that remaining paint onto the walls in a texture that will be somewhat concealed by the finish sponge coat on these walls.


For the texture, I crumpled one of those plastic grocery bags and used that as my paint application tool. Interesting effect, I've always thought, and as I said, only some of it will still be visible when all is said and done.

As I did that, I also made use of the cardboard stencils I made last week, using them to apply some of that paint in the form of large leaves along the baseboard of the interior walls. And then I started playing around with some of the other images I wanted to add onto the walls.


Patience has a little projector thing-y that helped me get some of those images enlarged, though it was not quite as helpful about the enlargement as I had hoped at the start.

While I had to adapt my plan a little bit, things seem to be coming together pretty nicely...and before the night was over, I had the chance to paint in a couple of accent bits, which I'm pretty thrilled with.

Working on this room is so interesting - I find that so many images and ideas and experiences in the Garden, on the blog, in this crazy world of ours are finding their way out of my brain and into my hands and fingers and brushes and stuff and making their way onto the walls here.


Patrick mentioned something in his blog yesterday about how we all seem to become inspired by one another through sharing our experiences and such in bloggety-blog land. I've certainly found that to be true...and in ways I never quite guessed when I started the Midnight Garden a few years back...and in ways I'll mysteriously say you can't possibly imagine. Or maybe you can.

So maybe I'm looking at some of this re-decorating process as a sort of visual journal, an out-growth of that whole experience. Is it all about just addressing the experiences I've had? Am I trying to visualize the future I want? Maybe I'm just thrilled with the way these two dragonflies seem to be dancing around one another and the way the living room's turning into an extension of the garden that grows in my heart.

The creative process of it all certain seems to be opening more doors to the future for me, so I think I'm doing just what I'm supposed to be doing...and exactly where I'm supposed to be doing it. That's an awfully good feeling.

I ran out of steam later in the evening, though I still had a few more things I'd hoped to get painted. But that solar/tribal image and the crow will just have to wait.

Maybe this evening I'll have some fresh energy to tackle that...but I think I'm also going to have to find time to watch last week's two-hour premiere of HEROES before tonight's new episode comes on...so I may find myself distracted with other, very important things.

As I faded to dark last night, I enjoyed an episode of Planet Earth on Discovery Planet. Sigourney Weaver is a great narrator for this terrific series that shows you amazing things you can barely imagine exist in the world. If you have the chance, check it out. It's truly television worth watching.

Sunday at the Beach with Kyle

HURRICANE KYLE LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
1103 AM EDT SUN SEP 28 2008






...HURRICANE KYLE WILL PASS EAST OF NANTUCKET EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...

.AT 1100 AM AST...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE KYLE WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 40.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 67.7 WEST OR ABOUT 140 MILES EAST-
SOUTHEAST OF NANTUCKET MASSACHUSETTS AND ABOUT 355 MILES...575
KM...SOUTHWEST OF HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA.

KYLE IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 24 MPH. THIS GENERAL
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO WITH SOME
DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF KYLE
SHOULD PASS EAST OF NANTUCKET AND CAPE COD EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND THE
COAST OF MAINE TONIGHT. THE STORM WILL MOVE NEAR OR OVER NOVA SCOTIA
AND NEW BRUNSWICK TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KYLE IS
A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. KYLE IS MOVING
OVER COLDER WATERS AND WEAKENING IS LIKELY DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
THE SYSTEM SHOULD LOSE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON MONDAY.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...FROM THE
CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205
MILES.