Poem for Tuesday and Cougar Mountain Lion Cubs

Sonnet 19 

By William Shakespeare 

Devouring time, blunt thou the lion's paws

And make the earth devour her own sweet brood,

Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws

And burn the long-liv'd phoenix in her blood,

Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,

And do what e'er thou wilt, swift-footed time,

To the wide world and all her fading sweets:

But I forbid thee one most heinous crime,

O carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,

Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen,

Him in thy course untainted do allow

For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.

Yet do thy worst, old time, despite thy wrong,

My love shall in my verse ever live young. 

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I had a fairly quiet Tuesday morning doing paperwork and talking to a couple of friends, then lunch, making PDFs of some of the things I scanned yesterday, and a walk to the beach just as the rain was ending, so dozens of ducks and a huge murder of ravens were emerging. We came back for my DS9 group, which watched "Blood Oath" -- the episode in which Kang, Koloth, and Kor gather with Dax to fulfill a blood oath, and while some of them take issue with the fact that Dax is no longer Curzon, none of them care that Dax is now a woman who wants to be called Jadzia. There's also a wonderful scene in which Kira talks to Jadzia about what happens when you kill people and a bunch nicely unresolved between Dax and Sisko. 

We ordered Ballard Pizza for dinner and ate it while starting to watch the last several episodes of the new Robin Hood, which remains anachronistic, hard to pin down politically (is it good English values against the invader French, or nascent Christianity softening the Saxons into better people?), and extremely entertaining. Sean Bean, Connie Nielsen, and Steven Waddington own every scene they're in, the younger women are interesting and complicated, and there's so many Plantagenet dynasty shenanigans that it feels like a Lion in Winter prequel with a much stronger Prince John. Lots of things aren't resolved so I really hope there's another season! Speaking of lions, here are the cubs at Cougar Mountain Zoo: 

Poem for Monday and Gingerbread Village

From 'The death of Robert, earle of Hun­ting­ton,

otherwise called Robin Hood of merrie Sherwodde' 

By Anthony Mundy and Henry Chettle 

I promis’d him a play of Robin Hoode,

His honorable life, in merry Sherewod;

His majestie himselfe survaid the plot,

And bad me boldly write it, it was good.

For merry jeasts, they have bene showne before

As how the frier fell into the well,

For love of Jinny, that faire bonny bell:

How Greeneleafe rob’d the shrieve of Notingham,

And other mirthful matter, full of game.

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Monday was a chore day early -- recycling, dishes, laundry, phone calls to the bank -- but it wasn't raining, so we got a nice walk in the park and a beautiful early winter twilight. In between, I did my semiannual scanning of receipts, pamphlets, holiday cards, printouts from doctors/vets, and other things to be saved digitally so we can get rid of paper clutter, which is kind of a fun way to relive parts of the year. We wanted to watch the 1996 Twelfth Night with Helena Bonham Carter, but couldn't find it streaming free anywhere. 

Instead we got a week's free trial of MGM+ so we can watch the new Robin Hood series with Sean Bean as the Sheriff, Tom Mison as Robin's father, and Connie Nielsen as a very enjoyable Eleanor of Aquitaine. The history and costumes are nonsense but the characterizations are engaging and it passes the Bechdel Test in the first 15 minutes. I'm not sure how I feel about Robin being so violent; the Norman Christian invaders are the main villains and it's funny to see the "true English" as the pagans struggling against imperialism. 

Rumor has it that the show may return for a second season, which makes me hopeful that Sean Bean won't die too quickly (there are ten episodes and we're not even halfway through). I like that the women aren't judged for their sexuality except by fathers/priests and the lovers have decent chemistry. More on that tomorrow; meanwhile, here are some photos from the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, constructed by local architects as a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes -- this year's theme is Toy Shop Time Machine.

Greetings from Farrel-McWhirter Park

Sunday was a beautiful day. We had a quiet morning talking to Adam and Haley about possible travel plans and Paul's father about his week, then after lunch we went to Farrel-McWhirter Park. We went to the farm to see the animals, walked on the perimeter trail in the woods for a couple of miles, and met a cat in the woods stalking a Douglas squirrel; we ultimately carried the cat out toward the farm, where we met a volunteer who said she thought it was one of the barn cats who sometimes sneak away from their job hunting barnyard rodents.

 

We stopped at World Market and Safeway on the way home for provisions for the week and had enchiladas for dinner for the Day of the Dead. Then we watched the Seahawks clobber the Commanders, though I missed the beginning of the game because Kris Waldherr of the Goddess Tarot was reading cards for Kickstarter patrons and again it was a small group, less than ten of us. Afterward we finished watching King & Conqueror, which has a number of historical absurdities (Harold has both his brothers killed! Edward the Confessor murders his mother!) yet I enjoyed anyway.

Greetings from UW

It was drizzly on and off on Saturday, though our plans were indoor anyway -- we met Daniel and Cahaya at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture on the campus of the University of Washington. First we went to Off The Rez Cafe, which is Native-owned and famous for its frybread (we got both the chili taco kinds and the dessert kinds, all of which were excellent). Then we visited the dinosaur and fossil exhibits, the Northwest Native art galleries (including a great exhibit on Coast Salish wool and weaving), the sustainability and colonial history displays, and the paleontology and archaeology labs. 

We came home in time for the World Series, which was a terrific game; it didn't end the way I wanted, but considering that the pundits were predicting beforehand that the Dodgers would blow the Blue Jays away, it was nice that it repeatedly took extra innings and just a couple of mistakes by Toronto for L.A. to win. Now we're watching King & Conqueror, the miniseries about the Norman Conquest with James Norton as Harold and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William, plus lots of other actors I like (Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, Clemence Poesy); there are definitely historical liberties taken, but I'm enjoying it so far. 

Greetings from Bellevue

Our plan was to go out early on Sunday before the rain, but we wound up on several Skype calls -- with Adam, Haley, and her family, then with my parents -- then the sky opened up, so we ate didn't leave the house till the Ravens game was nearly over and they'd blown the two-point conversion that would have tied it up. We went to Bellevue, first to Kelsey Creek Farm Park, where we saw the farm animals and looked for the beavers (saw the lodge and ducks but no beavers), then to Bellevue Botanical Garden, where they were installing the lights for the holiday displays and a few fall flowers were still out. 

 

We came home just as the rain started up again, watched some more football, ate our leftover Mod Pizza from the other night, and watched the first episode of Dune: Prophecy, which has a crazy timeline and so many plot points in common with The Wheel of Time that I'm probably going to get them mixed up, but it has a lot of actors I like so I'll probably stick with it for a while. Then we watched the rest of the first season of Wolf Hall, which was excellent -- some dialogue that seemed to owe more to previous movies than historical records, but very well acted and beautiful to look at. I want to see season two!

Greetings from Golden Gardens

It rained all day Saturday -- not misty Seattle rain but serious soaking rain. Nevertheless, since the low tide was at a convenient time to look for tidepools, we drove through the city early and went to Carkeek Park, which was extremely crowded and had packed parking lots. So we headed on to Golden Gardens, which wasn't crowded at all, and walked along the stones lining the beach where there were barnacles and anemones, then walked to the docks and saw cormorants, crows, and many gulls, including one that caught a red rock crab. We also saw women in bikinis doing a polar plunge, though it was in the low 40s. 

 

Despite our rain gear, we were soaking wet by the time we left the beach, so we came home to change, get warm, and eat lunch. Then we went to Safeway and Trader Joe's to get food for the week. By the time we got back, the Maryland-Rutgers game was on, which did not end well for the Terps. We have spent the rest of the evening watching Wolf Hall, which we can't remember why we didn't watch when it was first on PBS; we watched the first episode and then something must have happened, maybe something else on at the same time, because we never saw any more and we want to catch up before the new series arrives.

Poem for Friday and Fremont Troll

Troll Sat Alone On His Seat Of Stone 

By J.R.R. Tolkien 

Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,

And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;

For many a year he had gnawed it near,

For meat was hard to come by.

Done by! Gum by!

In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,

And meat was hard to come by.

Up came Tom with his big boots on.

Said he to Troll: ‘Pray, what is yon?

For it looks like the shin o’ my nuncle Tim.

As should be a-lyin’ in the graveyard.

Caveyard! Paveyard!

This many a year has Tim been gone,

And I thought he were lyin’ in the graveyard.’

‘My lad,’ said Troll, ‘this bone I stole.

But what be bones that lie in a hole?

Thy nuncle was dead as a lump o’ lead,

Afore I found his shinbone.

Tinbone! Skinbone!

He can spare a share for a poor old troll,

For he don’t need his shinbone.’

Said Tom: ‘I don’t see why the likes o’ thee

Without axin’ leave should go makin’ free

With the shank or the shin o’ my father’s kin;

So hand the old bone over!

Rover! Trover!

Though dead he be, it belongs to he;

So hand the old bone over!’

‘For a couple o’ pins,’ says Troll, and grins,

‘I’ll eat thee too, and gnaw thy shins.

A bit o’ fresh meat will go down sweet!

I’ll try my teeth on thee now.

Hee now! See now!

I’m tired o’ gnawing old bones and skins;

I’ve a mind to dine on thee now.’

But just as he thought his dinner was caught,

He found his hands had hold of naught.

Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind

And gave him the boot to larn him.

Warn him! Darn him!

A bump o’ the boot on the seat, Tom thought,

Would be the way to larn him.

But harder than stone is the flesh and bone

Of a troll that sits in the hills alone.

As well set your boot to the mountain’s root,

For the seat of a troll don’t feel it.

Peel it! Heal it!

Old Troll laughed, when he heard Tom groan,

And he knew his toes could feel it.

Tom’s leg is game, since home he came,

And his bootless foot is lasting lame;

But Troll don’t care, and he’s still there

With the bone he boned from its owner.

Doner! Boner!

Troll’s old seat is still the same,

And the bone he boned from its owner!

-------- 

Friday was pretty quiet around here, though lovely -- we had perfect, cloudless weather, the dock fully emerged from the flood waters, the parking lot reconstruction nearly finished, and I got a couple of belated birthday presents delivered correctly after the past few either disappeared or got delivered to neighbors and I only found out from Amazon photos where they had been left. Since it was gorgeous, we walked to the beach, where there were a pair of eagles, dozens of ducks, and a large flock of coots, plus many people walking their dogs and enjoying the beautiful weather. We saw this week's For All Mankind -- please don't end this season with a Deep Impact scenario. 

We also finished watching the final episodes of The Crown, which has mostly been excruciating this last half-season -- I have no particular reason to like Carole Middleton, but everything about her portrayal seems ridiculously mean considering everyone from Camilla to Philip gets a redemption arc, and everything enjoyable in the "Ritz" episode feels like it was swiped not from history but from A Royal Night Out, The Queen's Sister, even The King's Speech. I did like seeing the cameos in the last episode but I found it out of character for Elizabeth even as they've written her. Here are some views of the troll and the troll garden in Fremont when we visited Adam last weekend:

Poem for Thursday and Last Night of Chanukah

Season of Skinny Candles 

By Marge Piercy 

A row of tall skinny candles burns

quickly into the night

air, the shames raised

over the rest

for its hard work.

Darkness rushes in

after the sun sinks

like a bright plug pulled.

Our eyes drown in night

thick as ink pudding.

When even the moon

starves to a sliver

of quicksilver

the little candles poke

holes in the blackness.

A time to eat fat

and oil, a time to gamble

for pennies and gambol

-------- 

My Thursday morning was not eventful apart from a trip to Safeway because we were out of everything I might want to put on a bagel at lunchtime. In the afternoon, we walked to the beach, where there was a huge flock of coots and not a few ducks and geese, with an eagle watching all of us from high up in one of the trees. (The cats have toy mouse gifts.)

Then we came home for my usual Thursday night chat group (all six of us tonight), followed by the last night of Chanukah (we exchanged books) and The Masked Singer we missed Wednesday. Now we're watching the endgame of The Crown, which is really making me cringe -- Camilla the Good Parent! Carole Middleton the Schemer! Bleah!