favorites – The Hermits' Rest

Selecting a Seasonal Preference

What is your favorite season of year? Why?

It’s a good thing there’s a prompt to answer today, because action around here was fairly limited. So, I’ll dwell on my favorite season and you can think about yours, and maybe even share it in the comments! Why not? I’ll share some pretty nature sights from today, in the unofficial season of late spring humidity.

They took the forms off our concrete slabs. Whee.

When I lived in Illinois, I could never choose between spring and autumn as my favorite seasons. Crabapple trees, spring bulbs, peonies, and lilacs made the world so beautiful up there. But in autumn there were the orange, red, and yellow deciduous trees that contrasted so beautifully with the dark tree trunks (or light, with birch trees). It was beautiful in Champaign-Urbana, all year round. That’s right. I liked winter as long as it was above 0°F and there wasn’t an ice storm.

Simple sunflower and resident crab spider.

Here in Texas, I only have one season I don’t enjoy, and that’s summer. At least my new job will force me to stay indoors during the worst of the heat. I always feel sad for the animals, especially the chickens, and the dying grass on ground with huge cracks in it from drought always looks apocalyptic. I don’t need more reminders of apocalypses. Plus there are the fewest birds here in summer.

It’s hard not to like spring in this area, with all the wildflowers, birds, and butterflies. I hope we still have them in the future. This year was pretty bad for all of them, thanks to an unusually dry winter. And sadly, spring always reminds me that summer will be here soon. Not to mention how many allergies spring brings (but I appreciate the plants’ need to reproduce).

At this point in my life, autumn is my favorite time of year, even though it often arrives late. I can take long walks, once it cools off, and more birds show up as they migrate south. I love the smell of fallen leaves, which also make it easier to see wildlife. The only problem with that time of year is that it’s so busy! There are conference and events and trips…

Winter here is surprisingly great, though. It’s not that cold except for a few days each year, and there are so many entertaining birds to enjoy. Campgrounds are more empty, too. And I never sweat. I hate all that sweating in the other seasons. (I rarely sweated until menopause finally happened and I’m still not used to all that dripping.)

Mockingbird nest in the little tree we planted in the front yard. What a quality nest!

I’m not confident that I’ve answered the question. Let’s hope I’m much more with it tomorrow.

Pearl crescent. There are so many crescents.

My Favorites

Who are your current most favorite people?

I’ll tell you who my favorite people are right now. They are the ones who:

Care about Mother Earth and show it
Believe everyone has a right to be their authentic selves
Work to protect and support their communities
Are capable of disagreeing respectfully
Do their best to keep learning and loving their whole lives
Accept that they can’t always do all of these things all the time, and extend grace to themselves

If I were a betting person, I’d wager that you are one of my favorite people.

What’s Your Favorite Movie to Re-watch?

What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

Oh geez I’m answering another prompt. But when I read this question, this film studies minor had quick answers. I’ll do television in another post.

I’ll just make a list of the top ten-ish very few films I have watched multiple times. Why few? I am not sure. I just prefer to watch them once and move on. Exceptions to follow.

The light was weird this late afternoon, due to a tornado watch. This is a lark sparrow.

Mary Poppins: this was my first movie. And my first album. It still charms me. Julie Andrews had such a nice vocal range.
A Clockwork Orange: the only violent film I can stand to re-watch. So artistic. So Malcolm McDowell as a youth. Mmm. So Stanley Kubrick.
Young Frankenstein: I will watch this any time I’m offered. And I’ll laugh my ass off. So much to love.
Most other Mel Brooks movies. I share his sense of humor. I grew up around a lot of Jews, so I love all the Yiddish.
Zoolander: another one that never ceases to crack me up. Also my horse has a lot in common with Zoolander. Only can turn in one direction.
Best of Show: dog humor. Improv. All my favorite actors in one movie.
Star Wars — all of them, even the dumb ones. I love Luke.
American Gigolo: naked Richard Gere. Need I say more? Also the soundtrack thumpa-thumping its disco way through a very enigmatic plot. I have no idea what was going on.
Casablanca: because it makes me think of Anita and the good parts of high school.
Rashomon: because it reminds me of the good parts of college. And because I can always use a reminder that reality is relative. Plus. Hilarious Japanese samurai talk.