Pictures for Pam, Day 206: Macro Monday: Live Long & Prosper, in a Double Dedication with Marie-claire Gallet

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I don't know what it's like where you live, but in southern Oregon the weather seems to change from comfortable to "blasting inferno" in a span of what feels like just a few days. It seems like yesterday when it was too cold to go out for my walks without needing to warm my hands and feet when I got back inside. Now the days are often reaching 90 degrees outside and soon our lovely green meadows will be dry and brown again. Ah well, 'tis the way of things, right?

That being said, fire season is just around the corner and we must clean up our property to help ensure that our home is safe. We know all-too-well about the reality of fires here. You may remember me mentioning that a few years back a squirrel ran up our power pole, managed to get itself electrocuted, fell into the grass and started a fire which quickly ate our tool shop and everything in it. As part of the fire wolfed down our shop, the rest of it raced up our hillside, eating every bush and tree in its path. Our house was saved and we had insurance to cover the damage but my heart aches from the loss of the trees on the hill. It is our hope to keep the rest of our property safe from future fires so clean-up is mandatory.

A few days ago, Steve went around the house with both our powerful DR mower and the "Beast", a heavy-duty wheeled string mower. Yesterday he put the flail mower on our tractor and spent hours working on one side of our property. Today he went around the other side, taking down everything to near-dirt level. He still has a bit more to do but we feel a lot better about the condition of our property now.

As for me, I spent the morning raking up all the dried grass and weeds that Steve cut down the other day. Once bagged, I marched up to the top of our septic leech field hill and added the contents to the place I reserve for lawn trimmings. It makes me laugh that the plants there are so lush and happy…they really like all of the stuff that I dump there!

While I've been going about my day, I've been thinking about Pam and Marie-claire and I've also been thinking about people who I've lost in my life over the years. Some people meant a great deal to me, even though I never met them. That list just goes on and on. One person who died not too long ago was Leonard Nimoy, a man who I respected and admired very much. My family used to watch Star Trek every night at dinner and it became quite the tradition. Through the years I learned more about Nimoy and thought he was a wonderful person--someone I would have dearly loved to have met.

Today is Macro Monday with the theme of "Hands". I thought a fingerprint would be fun to share (see my inset for that one!) but then I couldn't resist making Spock's famous Vulcan greeting because it's so much fun and it makes me think of Leonard. Then it hit me--that it was the perfect picture for the day. If you do not know, the greeting goes along with the saying, "live long and prosper," with a reply of "peace and long life." In fact, Nimoy used the real Jewish blessing which looks the same, to create this Vulcan gesture. My picture today is a salute to my leading ladies, Pam and Marie-claire! (I had fun processing this image to be sort of sci-fi and hopefully interesting to look at!) (By the way, if you would like to know more about this gesture, visit the following link: Wiki: Vulcan Salute)

Pam, you have been in my thoughts all day long and I hope that your bumps and bruises are healing…left-side neglect really sucks. :( I'm sending love and *HUGGGGGGGSSSSS* over the airwaves my dear!

Explored on 6/4/19; highest placement, #2.