sunday snaps

Piper and I were determined to get into the woods today.

I packed water, snacks, and the camera.

And a special rawhide chew in case Piper was Extra Good.

It was very hot and humid. We didn't walk far.

Piper wasn't even interested in running way ahead.

Or running in circles around me.

Or running.

And as soon as I chose a spot and took off my pack,

she carefully chose a spot also.

Look at that draped tail.

Too humid to wag!

Not too humid to roll though!

After:

But just one good shake and she's re-styled.

We stayed on a slope by the pond for a long time.

So long, a few birds began to land in nearby trees.

 This bird perched high overhead.

I have no idea what kind of bird it is - do you?

 I think it may have been bathing,

and flew onto the branch to fluff and dry.

It took much longer than Piper to style it's look.

For that matter, it took longer than I do.

"Obviously! Just look at your hair!"

Why, is it full of twigs?

Because I've been walking though high bushes? 

I didn't take many, because it's such an important wildlife food.

But...I couldn't resist a few.

 Handfuls.

~~~

I hope your weekend contained some Extra Good bits.

As good as highbush blueberries.

And even better than rawhide chews.

Let's hold on to the good moments.

~~~~~

giveaway giveaway

It's been a while since there's been a Comptonia giveaway, and I've been trying for over a week to come up with a good idea. Yarn? Could do. A book? Maybe. But with so much tension and upheaval going on in the wider-than-my-world, I wanted to do something that would feel a little special. A little uplifting.

A little positive for goodness' sake.

It took a while, but then...light dawned!

I emailed a question, and Kiva emailed right back
and said, "Good idea!" so here we go.

Are you familiar with Kiva? Since 2005, this non-profit group has funded microloans all over the world by combining donations of $25 or more. Donors choose a loan they wish to contribute to, and after that loan is repaid, a donor can re-loan the original donation to another borrower!

All the screenshots are from the Kiva website.

They are nice images; left-click to embiggen.

I. Love. Kiva.

I love the fact that 100% of every donation goes to funding a loan. There is a separate option for donating to Kiva admin costs. This is brilliant. A $25 lender does not have to wonder how many of those dollars are really going to the designated borrower, because ALL the dollars are going there.

I love that Kiva does such a great job of making this program work. The repayment rate is 97.1%. That's due diligence, that is.

I love that more than 2 million loans have been made, in 83 countries, by 1.5 million lenders, to the tune of over 800 million dollars. Oh, and Kiva has a top rating on Charity Navigator.

It's an unusual experience, making a Kiva donation. Reading the borrower information is a tiny, unique window on ordinary lives around the world. There's much I wouldn't have imagined. And much as familiar as the view from my porch.

Maybe a cooperative group of farming women in Vietnam are adding to their small breeding herd of pigs. Or cattle. Or goats. Maybe an urban taxi driver needs to repair the vehicle that supports an extended family, or a shop owner needs enough capital to begin purchasing products at a lower bulk rate. Maybe someone is planting apple trees in Moldova, or growing a business in California. 

The Kiva website offers simple filters to help a donor find the loan they wish to support. Some search filters are geographical. Some filter by the purpose of the loan - such as agriculture, or retail business, or clean energy - or by characteristics of the borrower: elderly, single parent, individual/group, etc.

So, okay...

this is all very interesting, but what happened to the giveaway? Have you forgotten the giveaway? The one I mentioned waaaay up at the top of this post?

It's a $25 Kiva Gift Card

(purchased by me)

for the winner to donate to your Kiva loan of choice.

It's a giveaway giveaway :)

Yay! Right?

If you have already donated to Kiva, the $25 will be added to your account. If you are new to Kiva, redeeming the gift card will set up your account. And in case you have concerns: in my experience, Kiva does not pester donors. I get an email periodically to let me know when a loan has received repayments, so I know when I have enough funds available to donate again - that's about it. And that's actually pretty nice.

So if you want your name in the hat for this giveaway, just leave a comment. Any comment will do, but if you feel like sharing something joyful, that will be appreciated by me and every reader who comments after you, I'm sure.

Feel free to share this giveaway, in any way you like. It's open to anyone on the planet, or on the International Space Station.

I'll do the random number thing next Thursday, the 21th.

Good luck!

~~~~~~

happy day of your choice

Thank you for your kind comments on my little ink drawings - I really appreciate your encouragement. I haven't done much drawing since I was a youngster, and more or less stopped completely as I became a photographer. Come to think of it, before #DrawingAugust2015, my last attempt at drawing or painting was an intensive week-long class at a museum school. It was intense; drawing all morning and painting all afternoon. The funny part is, I was taking classes because my first photography show was coming up and I wanted access to the museum's darkroom. That's where I was at night!

Ancient history. Or herstory.

But now, just picking up a pen or (exciting! new!) watercolor pencils and playing around is probably a good habit for me to try to develop. It both requires and allows the kind of focus that puts every recirculating thought - big or small, but nagging, all - out of my mind for a little while.

The perpetual Task List.
The neighbors with their illegal fireworks.
Whether Piper needs a dental appointment.
If an affordable vehicle will miraculously appear.
And if so, will it be before my car implodes?

And so on.

So....

when a half-hour walk over hill and dale

with a happy companion...

takes you to a studio that looks like this...

and you've remembered to bring insect repellent,

a water bottle, and treats for the mid-sketching game of

"Waaaait....go FIND it!"...

"This is the Waaaait part! Look how good I am at this!"

well, it's a gift to spend 15 minutes or so in quiet focus.

On a little plant next to your knee, say.

And even if you have to get back up and walk again,

before you can sit a little while longer...

It's all good.

Piper says so! 

~~~

If you celebrate Independence Day,

I hope you are having a good one!

And if you don't celebrate the Fourth of July, perhaps you might consider celebrating Piper Day? It's a floating holiday, comes around as often as you like, and is suitable for celebrating in all sorts of happymaking ways :)

"Everybody loves Piper Day!"

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

postcard from the porch

 

The windowboxes are in place,

and the little plants are beginning to grow.

The simple experimental brackets and shelf are working,

though I may make small changes someday.

Or some year.

It was difficult to envision the proportions on individual pieces until everything was in place, and by the time I had decided on the measurements of the brackets pieces and put them together, made a trip to the lumber mill and fetched home an 8' and a 12' piece of 1x12" roughcut for the shelves, gone to the hardware store to buy the proper screws, installed the brackets, and lifted each of the seven planted boxes onto the shelves...

I was ready to call the job "finished for now."

And they are already making me quite happy!

Some of the nasturtiums are even beginning to flower!

(Here, with window screen Special Effects) 

Piper, too, is absolutely beside herself with delight

about the windowboxes!

Well, she may not really care about the windowboxes,

but Piper always enjoys the porch.

And so do I, especially when it's as hot outside as it is right now.

This afternoon is going to be spent on the porch.

Living in the moment.

There will be knitting.

There will be sketching.

There will be beef-flavored biscuits.

That last one is for Piper,

but the knitting and sketching is all for me.

I hope you are having a peaceful and restorative Sunday.

~~~~~