JEWELRY
is hard to come by in these hot hot summer months
rain is in short supply
grass is brown and dry
windows closed against
what the weatherman calls oppressive heat
mother nature holds her breath
waiting, waiting
to exhale
a breeze that scorches
a gale that dries
holding in the tears
that eventually
she will cry
::
She put on her favorite party dress
and danced with July’s fallow moon.
There were fireflies for fairy lights,
crickets singing symphonies,
stars to guide her steps,
and dewdrops for dessert.
::
.
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Last night, my husband and I drove to our camp so he could mow the lawn. I rode along to keep him company, and help keep him awake on the drive (he gets up super-early), and also, a little, because the place that sells dip-tops (the kind of ice cream cone that gets dipped in chocolate) is on the way there.
He mowed, I took some photos, and then we both had ice cream for dinner. Hey, it’s summer. We smiled, as we sat there eating ours, at the little Amish boy in bare feet and straw hat frantically licking a cone of strawberry ice cream half as big as his head.
After our “dinner,” we decided to stop at a glen just down the road and admire the waterfalls. The parking lot we pulled into was filled with teenagers, complete with one standing behind a blanket held up by a friend as she changed into a bathing suit. It was a hot day, and clearly, everyone else in town (or at least everyone under the age of 25) had the same idea.
My husband led the way up the stream, he is a much more graceful water walker than I (so I was glad to lag behind, taking pictures–the one above is my favorite). Even the shale (I think it’s shale?) that we were walking on was pretty…
We walked as far as the first waterfall, and thought briefly of continuing on, but decided to come back another time and bring our dog and make an afternoon of it.
My husband brought him here once before, and he actually climbed up these ledges, which is funny because this is a dog who is afraid of absolutely everything. Except, apparently, waterfalls. I can’t wait to bring him back so I can see him climb for myself.
Such a beautiful place, tucked off a side street right in the center of a tiny little town. I’ve been through here a million times in my life, and never stopped before. There is a little sign on Main Street, but otherwise, you would never know it was there. I have a feeling the town kind of likes it that way.
It was fun to get our feet wet and cool off a bit, and act like a couple of teenagers for an hour.
I think we need to do that more often.
Most mornings, the sun pouring in through this window blinds me as I work on photo editing. I am forever shading my view with my hands to see what is on my computer screen. Yet I refuse to put up a heavy curtain, or pull the blinds.
I’d rather see the sun, feel the breeze, admire my garden.
Most days, this same cup, or its white twin, sits here with me.
Yes, I am a creature of habit.
But I never get tired of morning tea, lace shadows, bird song.
Simple things.
All I need.
::
Wishing you a day filled with simple, beautiful things.
I know I’m not supposed to be, in the gardening world, petunias are often considered to be, well, mundane.
Still, I am in love with this one. That color! And those three-inch blooms… It’s a new variety that I started from seed, and the photos in the catalog most definitely did not do it justice. Plus, it smells delightful, especially in the evening. Sigh….
It was another incredibly perfect weekend weather-wise… and I spent all day Saturday and all day Sunday in my garden. Actually, it was a pretty perfect weekend all the way around, one that ended with my favorite meal, grilled salmon topped with jalapeno/hot pepper jelly sauce. (My husband has become quite the grill master.)
My son came for a visit on Saturday, he and my husband golfed, and then we had a nice cookout followed by a fire in the firepit. It was one of those evenings that you would order if such things could be ordered, clear skies, a crescent moon, perfect temperatures… and fireflies everywhere. My son kept catching them in his hands for me… and I smiled, remembering how he used to do this as a little boy so long ago and is still doing it now, at 26. My, how time flies…
The kitty reunion went well, (that story is here), and everyone was content and relaxed and enjoyed the first weekend of summer.
On Friday afternoon, I ran six miles, which finally puts me back at my pre-surgery “regular” distance. Then, my sister and I took my mom out to dinner, and to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. My mom got a big kick out of the movie, and we had a really nice time.
Quite simply, it was a weekend filled with bits and pieces of all that I love best.
And that is a beautiful thing.
::
Wishing you a week filled with things you love.
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This is my mom (on the left), and her twin sister. Today, they turn 70.
Sandy and Patty… Not identical twins, but close enough. Still inseparable after all these years, still driving each other crazy in the way that only siblings can, still sharing that special bond that only twins have.
They’ve been through so much together. Aunt Pat lives with my parents much of the time these days, splitting her time between there and her children’s homes. She is the comedienne of the pair, while my mom is the straight man, er, woman. Together, they are a riot. There is never a dull moment when these two are around.
Aunt Pat also has twins, and she named them the same names, Sandy and Patty. This has always made me smile.
My mom is the oldest, born just a few short minutes before my aunt. So, of course, she is the boss.
Last Sunday we had a big party for them, and we laughed at this photo, and how much they still look like these adorable little girls.
Happy 70th Birthday you two crazy nuts…
I love you with all of my heart.
xoxo
Summer chooses to roll in with a vengeance, with temps in the low 90s predicted for the next few days.
My garden doesn’t know which end is up this year, one week we reach 90, the next week we go back to 50s or 60s…this is the way it was all Spring.
Somehow, the trees and plants and flowers learned to adapt, keep growing, blooming, living.
Though my tomatoes would be much happier if it stayed warm.
Resilience is a very good thing, indeed. And quite necessary to survival.
Another lesson my garden teaches me.
Air conditioning helps as well, though in truth, I have a love/hate relationship with it. It certainly makes working and sleeping more comfortable, but I miss having the windows open, listening to my birds and breathing in the smells of summer.
All the same, I choose to be grateful for what I have, we didn’t have it for many years, and I spent many hot hot afternoons working in my studio.
These days, my gardens calls to me, inviting me out to play, teasing. But work must come first, and so, I buckle down and do what needs doing. By August, I will be happy to stay inside where it is cool.
Golden day lilies, red poppies, and purple lupines stand just before this bed of lamb’s ears, all visible from my window.
So, there’s that. And really, very little to complain about.
Hot hot, cold cold, sunny, rainy, winter, summer.
It’s all so very, very good, this thing called life.
Breathing. Being.
Beautiful.
Oh my, last week ended up being so crazy that I forgot to post on Friday. Well, I didn’t completely forget, I started a post, and then my photo hosting site wasn’t working (which is the way the whole week was going) and I decided to wait and come back and try again in a bit and then, well, next thing I knew, the day was over.
Here’s hoping this week is calmer, sillier, and saner.
My mom got me this toad house as a gift, and it just cracks me up. When I was working in my garden this weekend I came across the biggest toad I have ever seen. As big as a coffee cup. My mom will cringe when I tell her that, she is not a fan of the toad. I think they are cute.
Besides, at this point, anything that eats snails and slugs is a friend of mine. If only I could train my naughty kitten to hunt them instead of the birdies. Although he does do a pretty good job with the grasshoppers.
One of the tree frogs that live in my window boxes came out to help me mulch this weekend as well. He stuck his head out of the reservoir at the bottom and watched me for awhile, then suddenly he pulled himself all the way out, hung on first with two hands, then one, and then let himself drop down onto the bag of mulch I was working from.
I’ve always wondered how he got up and down from there. I suppose that drop is much easier than climbing down with those little suction cup feet.
I let him hang out with me for a bit, but then I put him back in his home because naughty kitten was lurking about, and he is also quite good at hunting frogs.
Yesterday we went to my brother’s house for a lovely Father’s Day/70th birthday party for my mom and her twin sister. We had a great time.
It was a busy, lovely weekend, so much better than the busy, crazy week that preceded it.
Wishing you a week filled with colorful smiles.
The other night, I looked out the kitchen window, and saw an indigo bunting in the driveway eating seed. That is the first time I have ever seen one in my yard, and only the second time I have ever seen one, period. They are the most beautiful blue color. (If you’ve never seen one, click here for a photo)
Unfortunately, by the time I ran to get my camera and made it outside, he was gone. So, no photo.
But, since I had my camera at the ready, I decided to walk around the yard a bit, and look who was in the front, gathering nesting material. Cedar waxwings are one of my favorite birds, (look how gorgeous!) they are, in fact, the bird I have tried the hardest to attract to my yard, planting a mulberry tree and elderberries with them in mind. I have spotted one or two on occasion, but never regularly.
This one clearly has some plans to stick around.
There were others as well, the mulberry tree has berries just now, so I think they were having a little feast. None of the pictures I managed to get were fabulous, but I don’t mind… just seeing them in my yard was gift enough.
I am a crazy cat lady and a crazy bird watcher.
These two things do not necessarily go together.
I am having another insanely busy week.
I seem to have a theme going here, with all the crazy.
But I have a smile on my face.
So, there’s that.
::
Happy Wednesday.
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