From far away, you can't see the blue. You see the green right away, and then the orange tufts between the greens, but you don't see the berries. I've learned so much about trees in the last three years.

Look at the birds swarm. I'd've sworn it was a pecan tree, though obviously it is not. Watch those grackles move like hummingbirds. But then, those aren't grackles either. What are they? Midsized brown birds. They frighten off in waves. One wave. After another. After another.

Today I went home for lunch and sat on my porch. Shadows of squirrels on the lines amuse me when I am in my kitchen. It is a little different when I am outside. Knowing, by shadow, that there is a small mammal on a line three feet above your head and slightly behind you is, in fact, terrifying.

I have solved a problem. The problem of dressy earrings for gauged ears is, granted, not a huge, universal problem, but it is one none the less. Clip on earrings. Thank you to all the old ladies of the world and to Salvation Army for selling huge, audacious earrings for $2.

I am struggling to remember that money is finite. It runs out. I eat rice and beans. It is awesome.