A flash of neon green, bright against the dead dull leaves, drew the eye of a hiking companion on an autumn woodland trail.

The small snake seemed unaware of her glowing beauty and the visibility, as well as the vulnerability, of her striking appearance. She seemed unaware of us as well and continued her hunt as we gaped from above the forest floor.

I bent closer and she turned her pleasantly intent gaze in my direction, flicking her tiny tongue to taste my smell: food or foe?

Finding neither she turned back to her never-ending quest for food, leaving us with a green glowing memory that we share forever.

During Sunday brunch at the One Love Cafe in Gainesville, Florida I savored a tasty veggie bowl spiced with the sounds of live music by Hot Club De Ville.

This quartet, three guitars and a stand up bass, is tight.

Ranging from gypsy ballads to swing and beyond, their playlist was a constant delight.

I wept, I laughed, I slapped my knee, and I danced…Need I say more?

Only one Sunday per month, at the One Love Cafe in Gainesville, Florida… don’tmiss them!

Solo on a sidewalk can be a tough gig but Bird Chamberlain brings a big speaker, a big voice, and a big presence to Mo’s Mediterranean Table in downtown Valdosta, Georgia.
As I dined on crème brûlée and Turkish coffee (hey, I’m a grownup, if I say it’s dinner then it’s dinner) Bird’s down home hollerin’ blues voice filled the evening air.
Bird was then joined by harmonica virtuoso Murray the K and Sage Khan, who blows a hot horn.
That sidewalk turned into a dance party!
Fine food and fun music are two of life’s greatest pleasures… and Mo’s Mediterranean Table hosts live music often. Check online for upcoming performances.

Seven years ago in a Valdosta dive bar I was quite taken with the music of a singer-songwriter from a Brooks County farm family, Johnathan Coody. Recently, at long last, I saw him perform live again at the BASH Festival in Gainesville, Florida.

He played the song that I found most memorable seven years ago, “Independent Operator”, with even better musicality and equipment. It is a fine statement about a real job delivering bread to grocery stores, a job Coody really worked in the grand tradition of American folksingers.

All Coody’s songs come from his life experiences, some painfully so.

The man is a poet with a guitar and a charmingly modest manner. Hearing him live is a must, if only for the diffident little chuckle that he gives at the end of all of his songs.

An orange butterfly visited one of the bright marigolds. Pumping her wings as she sucked up sweet nectar she flashed the silvery undersides of her hindwings in the sunlight, then flew on.
A second in the brief lifespan of an insect.
Forever in my mind’s eye.

The Purple Dragon was driving (no flying, restricted airspace near an Air Force base) until stopped behind another car at a red light.
When the light turned green the car in front did not move.
Squinting, the Purple Dragon tried to see the other driver through the tinted windows. Were they asleep? Were they dead? Were they texting?
“Auto horns sound so aggressive and one hesitates to be rude,” mused PD. “Perhaps we need a horn with a ‘Gentle Suggestion’ setting in addition to ‘GTF Outta My Way’.”

Florida spaceport news fascinates the Purple Dragon.
“I see that they’re trying to fix the Artemis rocket on the launch pad,” observed the PD, “in spite of the guy in the greasy overalls who keeps saying ‘Roll’er back in the garage so we can take a look at’er!’.”
“And it is Florida, so the problem is probably pythons.
“Snakes on a rocket!”

Dragons seldom shop for sox, since they much prefer flying to walking.
“But when I saw these baby purple dragon sox, I had to have them,” gushed the Purple Dragon.
“I ordered five pair, so when the package came I felt fully stocked with sox and that’s such good thing I had to sing:
🎶
“No lox on the box, that’s a good thing;
and a dragon with a box of sox
is better than than a fox with a box of rox!”
🎶
“Silly song, I know, but new sox are as worthy of celebration as any other good thing.

“Celebrate today!”
LISTEN to the Purple Dragon!

Prey immobilized.
The Purple Dragon hovered over the cowering victim, fresh rivulets of red trickling from toothy jaws…
“Calm down, it’s a watermelon!” snapped PD. “I am a plant based dragon. This is how dragons eat watermelon:
“Room temp, slice in half, dig chunks out with a spoon and eat over the sink.
“Yes, it’s messy,” admitted PD, “but at least dragons are too polite to spit seeds. “

Flipping through the channels while TCM hawks wine and moviewear during intermission, the Purple Dragon finally found something good.
“The Food That Built America!” exulted PD. “The History Channel usually features Ancient Aliens and UnXplained junk science, but this program is solid information.
“The stories of how name-brand manufactured foods were developed and marketed reveal a lot about American culture.
“Of course these reenactments of events focus on conflict (what is it with you humans, that you do so love fights?).
“But the facts show that most corporations were founded on greed, theft, and betrayal.”
PD shifted to a more comfortable seat on the sofa.
“An entire economy based on extracting every last dollar from one’s neighbors, by any means necessary.
“Living with each other, you humans don’t need any other predators. “