A soggy morning walk in Huntsville State Park, TX, with Texas Women Car Campers.

A beautiful morning in Daingerfield State Park, TX.

Kicking off 2026 with my first read of the year—happy New Year, Bluesky!

This image expresses how I feel as I welcome the New Year—feeling a bit skeptical, worried, and concerned about losing my footing, but still holding onto hope for brighter days ahead.

“Public lands are our public commons, breathing spaces in a country that is increasingly holding its breath,” she wrote, adding, “We stand before a giant sequoia and remember the size of our hearts instead of the weight of our egos.” The Best Sentences of 2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/o...

Took advantage of the 75-degree day yesterday to explore a new-to-me park trail. Herman Baker Trail in Sherman, TX. A whiplashing 28 this morning!

Christmas morning walk on a local bike path. The scent of the fallen leaves was intoxicating.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanic Gardens.

Perfect. “Peering into the Trump mind-set — the logic underpinning his priorities, his morality, his decision making — is like opening up a garbage pail left out for days during a summer heat wave.” -Thomas Edsall The Trump Mind-Set Is Not Complex www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/o...

Phone camera just can't capture how white the trunks of these Sycamore trees are.

Beautiful essay, touching and bittersweet as my good friend moved away yesterday. “All good friends are wicked angels, tempting us to a place of greater communion through the shared invitation of a joke. All good friends will be missed forever. “ www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/m...

A dense Saturday morning fog in North Texas.

More of this, please, Mr. Friedman! “This is one of the most shameful episodes in American foreign policy, and the entire Republican Party is complicit in its perpetuation.” -Gift article The ‘Useful Idiots’ From America Whom Putin Is Playing Like a Flute www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...

“The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself. As the recent “peace plan” for Ukraine demonstrated.” -George F. Will wapo.st/4pg1HJa

He is risen

I just don't get David Brooks. His opinion last Friday infuriated me. Jim's comment in the clip below expresses exactly what I felt better than I could have put into words. Gift article. The Epstein Story? Count Me Out. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o...

“How do you say “Thanksgiving” in Russian?” -gift article Trump’s Proposed Ukraine ‘Deal’ Is a Disgrace www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...

The vulture family is back for a visit.

Glorious weather yesterday and today. Makes it almost worth being a 🔵 in this red state. Almost.

“On a Veterans Day when optimism about the American experiment can be hard to summon, they [cemeteries] transport us back to a moment when America was an essential force for good.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/o...

Gift article. Supreme Court Denies Request to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Decision www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...

This pretty well captures my mood this morning — equal parts gloomy and furious.

Way to go my NJ peeps!🎉 Live Updates: Key Races in New Jersey and Virginia to Be Decided www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...

Finally, something in the news that made me smile. Live Updates: Mamdani Wins N.Y.C. Mayor’s Race After Highest Turnout in Decades www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...

Gift article. I am glad that the NYT made such a dramatic statement, but it isn't the NYT readers who need to see it. How do you get this across to tRumpers? Are We Losing Our Democracy? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Good morning Bluesky. Tooting my own horn after a 2+ mile early morning walk with a friend.

The rampant bothsideism in this column is infuriating. The Reader Picks are far more illuminating than the opinion piece. Gift article. The Rot Creeping Into Our Minds www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...

Love this — “Literature is fragile. It serves no obvious purpose. It does not feed us or clothe us or, unless you get very lucky, enrich us. But literature is also as close to immortal as any cultural endeavor of humankind has ever been.” -Gerald Howard www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...

I love this guy. “The more gets burned down around us in this awful period that we’re living through right now, during the Trump administration, the more we have to get to work building things that will stand for the next century.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/o...

Well stated. This man is detestable, demonstrating a complete lack of empathy and integrity in his actions. wapo.st/3VTALll

I thought that David Brooks might be gaining a new perspective, but after reading his opinion piece, "Why I Am Not a Liberal” he obviously doesn't understand what it means to grow up in poverty. What an outrageous statement — “As a society, we are pretty good at transferring money to the poor, …”

Watching these Black Vultures has been a blast! Had a pair chilling on an old shed, and before long, they had a nest. I think these three are the two chicks and their mom. They’re always together and super curious about everything. Right now, they’re enjoying a drink from an uncovered rain barrel.

mainandvine Lisa @truthandcookies.bsky.social

As a musician, I have an appreciation for semicolons; they serve as a pause in writing, like musical rests. They provide a moment of reflection without concluding the thought completely. wapo.st/4kXLLsO

Great article by Dana Milbank. Reading about the Appalachian Trail rekindles my dream of hiking it. I hiked the Appalachian Trail. It fixed my brain.

That didn't take long. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

My dear brother, I was just 12 when we faced the loss of you, yet the memories of our childhood have remained vivid. You stepped in to fill the role of the father I never had the chance to know, taking on that responsibility with such grace, humor, and warmth. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/26/u...

This can’t be legal. I guess it's reprehensible moves like this that the orange horror extorted law firms to provide pro bono legal services — only law firms under duress would defend this stupidity. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...

Eeuw, no wonder he had a brain worm. I don't know what is more appalling, the fact that sewage is allowed to overflow into the waterway, that he is ignorant of that fact, or he knows about it and let his grandkids near the water. 🤯 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/u...

Happy Mother's Day.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. #BlueSkyMonday

I’ve dubbed today my “Wimpy Wednesday.” I couldn't face anything more than the news headlines. I’d much rather be at Hagerman National Wildlife Preserve, in a kayak, soaking up the sounds of birds and the beauty of nature. Pam Rendall captured this stunning image.

In reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, one atrocity seems to give way to another. The capacity for human disconnection from the fundamental tenets of humanity never seems to end. wapo.st/3YNw5PF

A magical scene in the almond groves near my brother's house in Chico, CA. In high school, I collected tree trimmings from these groves to help fundraise for my music department's trip to an international festival in Berlin. Both experiences were transformative.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is a hidden gem in Pottsboro, Texas. It's a haven for migratory birds, although I usually visit for the lovely wildflowers. The refuge has a dedicated photography group that shares wildlife images. This standout caught my eye; taken by Pam Randall-Bass.

Scenes from my North Texas backyard.

Whoever this person is, they're my hero (from WAPO story re 5 things emails). “And in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, one employee has chosen resistance. The employee uses ChatGPT to generate 10 to 20 pages of word salad each week, then hits send.”

Tulsa Botanic Gardens.