It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green

As I wrote earlier, I have taken up riding the bus to work. At first, I figured it would be just a couple of times a week, but I actually do it almost every day. In fact, I have only driven twice since I started. The one day I had Guild in the evening and the other I had to get to work really early (6 am). The earliest bus leaves the mall at 6:30. My husband still drives me to the mall, but I know that we have been saving gas money since he does not pick me up at the mall and the mall is much closer than my work. At first I was not sure that I was saving money, but I know I am saving wear and tear on my car, so even if I am not saving money on gas it self in the end I believe it to be a savings. Plus, I have been getting a lot of exercise. So that is a good thing. And more knitting is being done. That is also a good thing. I thought I would post some photos of stuff I see on my walk to and from the bus station near work. I am guessing at the bird species. Although my MIL is a hard core bird watcher, I have not picked up as much knowledge as I probably should have in the 20 years I have known her.

Here is a cedar wax wing in a tree. There were 6 or 7 of them when I approached, all on the ground twittering away. They all flew up in the tree when I came close. I still think it is a pretty good shot.


Here is a wood pecker I saw after work one day. He was a pesky little fella, hopping around the tree trunk while I tried to take a photo. Overall, I was amazed to get photo at all.


Here are some flowering trees in front of the church near my work. I think they are crab apple trees, but I do not know for sure. Botany is not my forte.


Here is a duck and a drake in a pond area near the bus station.


There is a lot of water between the bus station and my work. There are several fountains/ponds and a little run off area. I think it might be overflow from the lake across the street. Regardless, it attracts a great deal of wildlife. The one day I was nearly beaned in the noggin by an egret flying up from the run off area. I also saw a muskrat there one morning.

I failed to mention that last Monday was my anniversary. I have now been married for 18 years. My wonderful husband gave me this beautiful Longaberger basket.

Isn't lovely?
The Girl asked why we got married on Memorial Day. Of course, we did not get married on Memorial Day, rather the weekend of. I get asked this a lot. Not sure why, It seems a good time as any to get married, but there was an actual reason behind the date. My in-laws live in New Mexico. My husband was graduating from college on the Sunday in the Memorial Day weekend. Since we were going to get married that summer anyway, I figured it made the most sense to get married during the same weekend as graduation, that way his parents only had to make one trip up. So, we got married on Saturday, DH graduated on Sunday and we went to the zoo with my in-laws on Monday. I had to be back at school on Tuesday. So no honeymoon for us. However, I did not want a dance after the reception; my father did not always behave at such events and I did not want to scare off my in-laws. Instead, the wedding party went to see "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" at the local movie theater. Maybe we were too young to get married! LOL! It was great fun to see the cashier’s face when we came in and bought tickets wearing dresses and suits.


I just finished listening to Frankenstein on the Craftlit podcast. I am behind the on the schedule. I have read Frankenstein before, not when I a teenager, like so many people, but rather as an adult. However, it was several years ago, and it was before The Girl came to live with us. Listening to now, I realize even more deeply how wrong Victor is in abandoning his creation. If he had stayed and cared for the creature, could have he saved the creature from his rage and destructive nature? I would like to think so. By the end, I thought of parents who try to do the right thing and their child still ends up destroying themselves. Or even vise versa where the crappiest parent manages to raise a perfect adult, caring and loving even though they never were shown such tenderness. Perhaps the creature did not have a chance to be saved, but I think he is truly sorry for what he has done and takes responsibility for it at the end. He even mourns the loss of his creator. Victor does not take responsibility for anything. In the end, he just wants revenge, not to actually fix what he unleashed on the world. He blames the creature for his ills, when in reality; Victor was the cause of much of his own grief.
And the creature does have feelings of compassion to others before he is assaulted over and over again. It made me think of teenagers who are teased and bullied to the point of lashing out and hurting those around them. How much exclusion from the world can one creature take before it determines that the world does not want them? If the world does not want you, why would you take care of it?
I also wonder if when Mary Shelley wrote the book, if she thought people would sympathize with Victor, or even back then, he would have been considered an arrogant fool. I think she was trying to show the folly of hubris, but I also think it was a common attitude among the elite at the time. So I am sure there were those who did sympathize with Victor rather than the creature. But I think Shelley wanted people to understand the outcasts in the world.