My feminist men (some of them)

 

Mustang Sallies Krew for Gaspirilla parades in Tampa FL...probably a St. Patrick's day here. I found my son, Marty, over on the left, wearing glasses, just behind a couple of ladies in front of him. And then looking closer I saw his son, William, also peeking out from over the shoulder of lady on far left front! (See below enlargement.) They, and other men, are support staff for security during the parades.

William on end of second row, and his dad, Marty looking between two first row women.

Marty also posted on Facebook these gatherings to fight breast cancer. He's in the back with the black hat on and full pink shirt. And after cutting him out of another group I found he's in tights and a tutu as well! Only 2 men stood up for breast cancer awareness that day!

I'm so glad that Marty has this group of friends, who he's been helping with several parades each year for I would guess over 10 years.

Today's quote:

A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others. 

-William Faulkner, novelist (1897-1962)

Mish mash of critters

 Looking through my collection of critters, I will offer what's already on file. Haven't met many new ones this week

Brown bears with salmon run

  

Llama  and Inca wall

Some rabbits for vernal equinox

Mandarin Duck

Sharing  with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

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Today's quote:

Life should not be lived through a series of mind games, but instead with truth and self-reflection.

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Today's art:

By Carol Long

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Family  album:

A birthday gathering for my ex-hubby in 2023 for his 84th, with son Marty standing behind him, then my grandsons Michael and William, with ex's cousin Margaret and her hubby behind them. 

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Smoke continues, so I wear my N-95 mask when going out. It's no fun having my windows with curtains and blinds down...but by evening, I start to cough without that precaution, just sitting near the windows. Fires continue in the mountains within a few miles, and we're sure hoping for rain soon.  Forecast for tomorrow now (originally said Monday.) I'll take it, any time possible. Poor fire fighters from all over have been working so hard.

Some springy flowers

 I took these photos last Wednesday, when it was 73 F degrees.

And I met my downstairs neighbors S?, and Josie and now know Lois lives below me. Maybe I'll remember S? name as it was a surname and I kept repeating it in my brain hoping to remember them all. Since I remembered the other 2 it's possible it's still there in the little neurons floating around. (I'm thinking maybe Sandford...)

These tiny hyacinths had that awful drainpipe behind them.  I'll cut it out in the next photo.

But the horrible phone shadow remains!

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Today's quote: 

Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence.

RACHEL NAOMI REMEN ---------------- Today's good news: I love how natural climate solutions can often be better and cheaper than technological ones. Just take what happened in the Czech Republic recently. A new dam on the Klabava River south of Prague to protect critical habitat and endangered crayfish had been on the books since 2018. But the project ground to a halt after hitting bureaucratic delays.    Meanwhile, a colony of beavers took things into their own paws, building a series of dams in the same locations the engineers had planned to. The dams created a wetland that covers almost five acres, saving the Czech government some 1.2 million euros. “It’s full service, beavers are absolutely fantastic and when they are in an area where they can’t cause damage, they do a brilliant job,” said Bohumil Fišer, the head of the Brdy Protected Landscape Area.   “Beavers are brilliant ecosystem engineers and can transform habitats for a huge range of other species,” says Alastair Driver, a rewilding specialist and the former head of conservation for the U.K. Environment Agency.  “I spent decades of my career [in the U.K.] rewiggling rivers and installing leaky dams. Beavers do it for free, one thousand times better than people like me ever did.” Beaver ponds are a haven for wildlife, including fish, amphibians and birds, and their dams help improve water quality as well as providing flood and erosion control. And that's not all; the wetlands built by beaver dams sequester carbon, which helps mitigate climate change. Thanks Katharine Hayhoe ---------------- Today's art: Claude Monet, Woman Seated under the Willows, 1880. -------------------- Family Album for today: Granddaughter Cayenne, Grandmama' Barbara (me), Grandson William Granddaughter Cayenne and William. Of course a grandmother loves her 30 year old grandson who still looks like he's 15. No matter how they look, who they love, and what they do (as long as it's legal and ethical) I love them to the moon and back!

The rest of the Weaverville day trip

  

We stopped at "All Good Coffee" to split a vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffin three ways, as well as our choices of drinks. 

We then went to another gallery, where I found some cute earrings that matched the necklace I was wearing, fused glass in silver settings. The first photo on this post is outside their doorway. We had to read a lot of humorous cards, and purchase a few as well. Then it was time for lunch! Oh yes, the bakery called us!

 

Just the cakes...there are so many more pastries, one can just go crazy.

It was difficult to choose just which goodies to take home, as well as our lunch choices!

My "to go" slice of carrot cake, which has coconut in it. 

We love chatting, while waiting for lunch to be served!

My tuna salad and African Chicken Peanut soup...I took home half of each for later. They had a combo of two sides for $8. What a deal!

Helen's noodles and kale salad.

Teresa chose the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich (Gruyere cheese) and took some soup home.

Teresa's adult daughter gave her heck because she didn't bring her some treats for her family (but Teresa did bring home treats for her own family for later!) Can't miss Well Bred Bakery in Weaverville, NC

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Open Yesterday's Pages, my blog about history, featured a woman aviatrix you probably never heard of,  Beryl Markham.

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Today's quote:

Jackie Collins, novelist, said, "My philosophy for women is this: if you’re going to get married and have a fabulous marriage … then you’re going to have to do everything you’ve ever wanted to do before you get married."

Today's art: 

Looking Glass Falls, by Christopher Guilkey, 2021

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My family sharing for today:

Cayenne, William and Michael, children of oldest son, Marty. 2013, Tampa FL

Cinnamon and her daughter, Cayenne, by the back of her head, and pet Severus. (Stuffed moose is not known to have a name.) Cinnamon is my continuing friend, the mother of Will and Cayenne, and now Marty's ex-wife.  Riverview FL, Christmas 2023