Short and Simple

Cleo, a pleasant companion

Always ready for a walk.

Sweet and kind. 

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then 

when I die I want to go where they went."
~ Unknown

        

An Up and Down Day

Morning began as usual

misty meadows

geese and their goslings 

on a glassy pond.

The reality of my memory (or lack thereof)

differences and distances in banking systems

frustrated and angered me.

(that’s the polite version)

Deep breath

Call the bank

Resolve the situation

The underboil still simmering,

I had to cook something.

My hosts both away and busy 

I had the kitchen to myself.

They would need supper.

First groceries.    

I was a woman on a mission.

Back from the store,

I mixed up an Alfredo Sauce,

added shrimp and mushrooms

Tossed a spinach salad with strawberries

Whew!

Emotional steam almost fizzled out,

Dana and Larry home

A salmon on the grill outside

Each with our own choice of beverage, we shared a pleasant evening meal at the patio table outside in the early cool of a clear, calm evening.

When angry, count to ten before you

speak; if very angry, an hundred.  

- Thomas Jefferson

Life in the Meadow

Mom and pop saw Cleo and I coming 

and hustled their family into the water.

Sadly, only seven goslings today 

but they swam quickly and smoothly 

into the center of the pond.

At the other end of the pond

we were treated to a kildeer’s illusion of injury

Fluttering and dragging in the dirt, 

leading us away from a nest hidden 

somewhere along the shore.

The kildeer mate made lots of extra chatter

Stopped to visit a neighbour and see a wild turkey - 22 lbs fully feathered - shot on an early morning hunt, soon to be food for a family.

Down the hill in front of the house,

blue birds nest in a post bird house.

It has been so amazing, on these early morning walks,

to see and hear life all around

calling

twittering

honking

gobbling

Daisies

Buttercups

Red clover

All alive and vibrant.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is 

the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

~ Albert Einstein

Another wandering day

Down the lane with Cleo
round the buttercups afield

to the pond where

four goslings now are eight

guarded by mom, pop and

a vanguard of a half dozen relatives

It may take a village 

to raise a child,

but in the goose world ~

it takes a gaggle 

to raise a gosling!

Then on with my day, GPS my guide

from one locale to another,

Larry’s studio my goal

Skype call with my writing coach

amid fairy dresses and ball gowns

On to lunch then exploration

through winding roadways

houses neat and traffic everywhere!

Then grocery time, meal plans afoot

fixin’s for a salad to complement 

our burgers grilled just out of doors.

(And did I mention laundry?)

A visit from Dana’s mom while supper

was prepared ~ a most welcome treat.

WarHorse on the movie screen ended the evening well.

Kitties and Cleo curled up and completed another lovely day.

"What lies behind us and lies before us 

are tiny compared to what lies within us."

~ Emerson

Off on my Own

Off on my own, I braved today in my car with my tools to write.

The GPS had her heading set,

I knew not if it ‘twere right.

A sigh of relief escaped from me when I heard ‘destination has been reached'.

Time for breakfast, 
Morning Pages done

I napped a bit in my car.

Topped off with massage!

Maintaining my routine of care

Before return to the open road

I wandered winding green treed lanes

A stop in a lovely town visited last year for

coffee and chocolate chip cookies (they are my bane.)

It’s been a good day and now 

it will be a good night!

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which 

once existed between man and the universe."

~ Anatole France

A Change of Pace

Farmer's Market in North Carolina 2012

Up early and on the road

to a lovely small community

via a busy winding highway.

Early morning sun 

burning dew from the air.

A walk around a few blocks

while my brother did an errand.

Stores still closed, 

proprietors outside sweeping sidewalks, beginning their day.

A Farmer’s Market,

stalls closed on Mondays,

displayed a garden 

with straight rows of vegetables

green and quiet in the sun.

Long meandering study of dusty antiques 

when Larry and I met up again:

A brass desk ornament with double ink wells!

Old writing desks for child or adult

Rocking chairs ~ tried on for size and proper creak

Props for portraits

tall stools with rungs to pose on

old hats

ancient ball gloves

and so much more!

Home for a quick write then 

out with friends 

for a visit and dinner.

Stopped at the farm on the way 

back for more family visit with 

the nocturnal gardeners and their headlights.

No photo could suffice for the whole day

except this rose from the Farmer’s Market

A single rose can be my garden...a single friend, my world.

 ~ Leo Buscaglia

Sprinkles and Fairy Dust

Two of many dehydrating hosta's after the move ~
 not quite 'settled' or in shade.

Transplanting hostas ~ 
a new challenge,

new soil, heavy with clay,

my palette.

My growing, blond 2 year old assistant was ready 

her blue plastic cup of sand ~

‘for sprinkles’ 

securely in hand.

Hardworking tools gathered;

placements chosen for the move, most in deep shade,
under trees, against brick walls, hidden under shrubbery.

Healthy, variegated 

white and green hostas 

came away easily from 

cramped beds in great clumps.

Prepared to

dig deep

dig wide, unsettling

old hostas, with lush dense leaves,

in one place 

for many years,

roots thick, packed and wound tightly together.

With each new bed prepared,

a couple of teaspoons of ‘sprinkles’

gently placed in the hole,

quickly dehydrating hostas were

lowered in

watered in

with hopes that 

the ‘sprinkles’ were really fairy dust.

"An idea can turn to dust or magic,

depending on the talent that rubs against it."

- William Bernbach