The Aerie
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So I'm stuck in El Paso during the Dog Days of summer. Somehow I think
I could have planned this for a better time of year, but oh well.
[P7210007.jpg] So one minute we were wondering if the project in El
Paso would get signed, and the next thing I knew the last two weeks of
summer were snatched out from beneath my feet at the stroke of a pen.
Gone was a long, leisurely stroll through the State Fair. Away went at
least one barbeque, one trip to the beach, at least. Away witn two
weeks with my kids who I miss terribly.
[P7210038.jpg] In order to shoehorn in a little bit of summer before I
left, we went to the [1]Cottage View drive in, one of the few
remaining Minnesota drive-ins, and one described as being likely to
close after this year.
The drive-in is certainly a strange thing. I take it for granted, just
one of the items on the cultural landscape, but it's interesting to
think of what it represents: [P7210049.jpg] a time when a moving
picture was an event rather than a commodity, and when a car was a
sign of prestige and comfort rather than a kind of tool or an office
on wheels. Well, okay, for some deluded fools, a car still IS a sign
of prestige, as is a hollow suburban mansion or a holiday in the
Hamptons.
[P7210056.jpg] But the confluence of the two
TITLE:the public moving picture (because not everyone had a television
in the home, and NOBODY had a "home movie player"), and the car
TITLE:create this odd thing, the drive-in theater.
Is it any wonder its on the wane? Why go sit in the vehicle where you
commute for two hours daily and watch a movie through a bug-spattered
windshield, when you can watch with phenomenal home sound and video?
The only loss is that you don't mingle with the other patrons. Our
night at the drive-in featured the occupants of the car next to me
toking up during the show. Decades go by, but the smell of burning
weed is still quite distinctive...
[P8080018.jpg] On the way home we travelled up West River Road as we
usually do, slow but calming, even at night. As we rounded a curve
there was an owl, standing in the road in front of us. As we pulled up
it flew up onto a nearby tree. The photo at right was taken completely
blind -- I couldn't actually SEE the owl -- with a very long exposure.
Even then I had to bump the brightness and contrast, so it looks a bit
washed out. As I took several snapshots at different long exposures
(using the car hood as brace), it sounded like the owl was crying out
a few times. Then I turned around and realized that another owl -- its
mate? -- was in the tree behind me.
[P8140043.jpg] Another part of summer is the annual Growing of the
Monarch. In past years we have contented ourselves with one monarch at
a time. But this year, with transplanted milkweeds now
well-established in the garden, we ended up growing two pairs of
monarchs, about three days apart.
[P8170008.jpg] Part of this was our desire to catch the moment of
pupation itself. Past years we've looked, and seen the grown
caterpillar in its "J" shape, and then at next glance it's fully
pupated. This year having four caterpillars allowed us to catch all
the important points. But not without some effort. My spouse
maintained a vigil for three hours one evening, and a couple more in
the morning before calling me in for the big event.
[P8170012.jpg] So we got in a few summertime things before El Paso
loomed up and ate the last part of my summer. I have some El Paso
photos to post, but dinner is calling and this entry is already long
enough. Hopefully I'll post again before two weeks pass, but if I
don't, here's one last shot of the butterfly disappearing, like
summmer, never to be seen again...
[2]Last
Posted by Albatross at August 23, 2003 12:00 AM