arachnids
A Spider sewed at Night
Without a Light
Upon an Arc of White
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If Ruff it was of Dame
Or Shroud of Gnome
Himself himself inform
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Of Immortality
His Strategy
Was Physiognomy
Emily Dickinson
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Unlike a close friend of mine,
I am not a big fan of spiders,
nor scorpions, nor octopuses.
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Senior Adventures
There may be snow on the roof, but there’s still a fire inside.
As we grow older, we are justified in taking far more risks, embarking on far more adventures, pursuing far more dangerous dreams, than is someone in their more youthful years.
It’s not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams. ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I read an article in my news feed about a 101 years old great-grandfather who has just taken up skydiving. You may think that sounds crazy, but what has Verdun Hayes got to lose? The veteran of D Day has already lived a long life, and if he kills himself doing something dangerous, by how may days, months, or years has he cut his life short? Not that many I’d bet.
Contrast this with a man in his twenties, who has just started a family ~ just the kind of man we would expect to go skydiving. If he kills himself, not only has he cut his life short by maybe 50 years, he’s also orphaned his children and widowed his wife. Maybe that young father should be careful, risk averse, not very adventurous.
I would argue that as we grow older we have much less to lose than we had when we were young, so why not gamble more, take more risks, become more adventurous in our senior years?
A twenty-three years long study in Ohio determined that people who saw growing older as something positive lived a whopping seven and a half years longer than those who didn’t. ~ Victoria Moran
Later this year I’m flying out to California, picking up a Mustang convertible, meeting up with ‘the girl who rides shotgun’, then driving across California, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming to witness a total eclipse of the sun on Monday August 21st. I think that’s a pretty crazy adventure, but what have I got to lose? Not a lot.
Taking risks with your wealth, health, and happiness, (not to mention taking risks with your life), is not really for the young. As we grow older we can afford to gamble more because we have much less to lose.
Don’t waste your life by working another 10 years slaving away in that 40 hours a week job. Have fun instead, add adventure to your senior years, you have nothing to lose except your unhappiness.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday ~ Mt. San Jacinto
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway & Mt. San Jacinto
just a time being you and me
cool at the top of the mountain
that’s where we both want to be
long way to the top of the mountain
at the top the air is crystal clear to see
a far piece from the top of the mountain
the majestic view of land and town still free
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better if a cool guy isn’t afraid of heights
words and pictures by jack collier and the girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday # 27
feeling a little blue in January is normal
the stillness of the bluest night
the way you look in the moonlight
shining dress silvered turquoise bright
and night sky sapphire eyes melt my heart
with desire for you until bright azure daylight
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words and pictures by jack collier
and the girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday #25
California Road Trip.
Echo Beach, Route 66, Hotel California
Gorillaz, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
California Girls, Breakfast in America
California Rain, California King Bed
Dog Breath, Champagne, Back to California
I’m Going Home, Get Back, Grateful Dead
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pictures by the girl riding shotgun
jack collier doing the driving
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday # 22
California Sunshine
You know what? Today I’m sick of the miserable English winter. I’m a bit fed up with all the Xmas false bonhomie and commercialism that precedes the real joy of Christmas. So, just to please myself here are some shots from road trips I took in the warm Southern California Sunshine. These pictures were taken with a Lumix pocket camera.
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All these pictures were taken by
jack collier and
the girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday # 21
I like the desert. I also like Palm Springs, mountains, and cable cars ~ although this one near Palm Springs is called an Aerial Tramway. If you want to look like a manly man don’t be scared of cable cars.
All these shots were taken with a LUMIX Panasonic DMC-X53 pocket camera, which is far better to cart up a mountain that my old 35mm SLR with all its attendant lenses. My days of carrying around a heavy SLR are done and gone.
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pictures by jack collier
and the girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday # 16
This Sunday there’s some pictures of a California seaside town, (mostly of the beach). These are just a few from a road trip I took with a friend, (a.k.a. the girl riding shotgun). Almost everyone, (especially attractive women), likes to hang around cool seaside towns, for the day, for a weekend, or even a short break, it’s just that there aren’t many places like Southern California.
All these shots were taken with a compact LUMIX Panasonic DMC-AS3 camera, using the built-in features. This camera is so lightweight, small, and smart that it’s perfect for a long day in the sun, and keeping with you as the sun goes down, the fire-pits are lit, and the bars come alive.
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pictures by jack collier
and the girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday # 11
This Sunday I offer yet more ‘scape pictures from my library. ‘scape pictures, what in the world are ‘scape pictures? Seascapes, cloudscapes, landscapes, cityscapes, roadscapes, or pictures of Venice. Venice California. I thought I might like to build and live there, (notice the vacant lot), then I thought about all that water and that there might be more than a few mosquitos. Everyone hates a mosquito.
On the other hand, most girls like wandering around cool places like Venice. Women are very curious about how other people live. A man has to love that.
All these shots were taken with a compact LUMIX Panasonic DMC-AS3 camera. This camera is so lightweight, small, and smart that it’s good for taking everywhere.
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Pictures of some really high-end homes,
and an egret, in Venice by jack collier
and the cute girl riding shotgun
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Food on Friday # 42 California
Don’t get me wrong, I like California, but sometimes the food there owes a lot to everywhere else. So, for this week’s Food on Friday I’ve tried to come up with some dishes that I think would go down well with my friend, ‘the girl riding shotgun’ and especially dishes that aren’t so Mexican or Spanish in flavour.
No, that didn’t make much sense to me either. But here are some great recipes from some great cooks.
First up this week, from we have this hoisin salmon with zucchini slaw from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest.
Hoisin Salmon With Zucchini Slaw
Also from Tieghan there’s this great looking heirloom tomato and zucchini galette with honey and thyme.
Heirloom Tomato Galette With Honey & Thyme
Heather Christo makes the very best looking salads of all, and this grilled chicken, beet and cherry salad with honey balsamic dressing is no exception. Only in California.
Grilled Chicken Beet And Cherry Salad
Jessica Merchant, (aka How Sweet It Is), is from Pittsburgh PA, but I think this BBQ shrimp and lime avocado toast is quintessentially Californian. So sue me.
BBQ Shrimp And Lime Avocado Toast
Silicon Velley girl Elise Bauer created a lot of her recipes in Carmichael, but this very Califonian sauteed shrimp with warm tropical fruit salsa would go down well anywhere in SoCal. Check out all Elise’ dishes at Simply Recipes.
Sauteed Shrimp With Warm Tropical Fruit Salsa
I know, for a fact, that most Californians can’t even poach an egg, but this dish of wild fennel poached trout with courgette taziki would go down well at the end of a hot Californian day. Petra from Food Eat Love may be English, but the name of Petra’s blog is very Californian.
Wild Fennel Poached Trout With Courgette Taziki
Completely different from England the LA based White on Rice Couple, Todd Porter and Diane Cu have a great low carb chicken zucchini noodle pad Thai. OK, low carb is cool. Right?
Low Carb Chicken Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
From the very Californian Chungah we have this seriously easy and seriously good dish of lemon dill salmon in foil. Really this great looking fish is a 30 minute dish, tops. And, I’m pretty certain anyone can make a great job of cooking this. damn delicious dish.
Lemon Dill Salmon In Foil
If you want something even easier, also from Chungah, we have these zucchini parmesan foil packets. This idea is just so, so very simple to do. Trust me, I’ve tried cooking like this, and it works.
Zucchini Parmesan Foil Packets
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California is a great place for a long, long road trip, the road trip with no timetable and no destination.
Trust me, I know
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
