It’s just after daybreak and there’s a muted grey in the air. I’m racing against the sun. Who will get there first? I plop myself down in front of a disheveled bed and assess the damage. Crabgrass thru and thru. My archrival, next to squash bugs and Japanese beetles. I hear the cicadas warm up … Continue reading pull
Sunrise slips under the covers and whispers me awake. New day. New mercy. The hens are gleaning and preening, per their usual morning routine. They’re quiet until they catch me in their line of sight. Then it’s all the chatter of a hen house as I sip hot coffee. Some folks read the newspaper; I … Continue reading morning
Waxy fruit squeaky between my fingers. It’s the sound snow peas make as they are being twisted for the table. Berries that droop lower and lower, weighty with juice. It’s a race to catch them before they free fall to the mulch below, or are marred by the birds. Crimson draws all the life. The … Continue reading gain
Lightning bugs arise like steam out of the tall grass. The setting sun is draping gold silk over the trees. It’s serene for a split second. Summer has been kind so far. Merciful. The clothesline is stretched naked but for the pins drooping below. No breeze to blow dry. I don’t mind; I am too … Continue reading catch it
It’s early morning and I spy a spiderweb stretched across the clothes line. It looks like spun silk glistening in the flickering rays. Dancing shadows from leaves and light entertain me. We’re all just waking up and stretching ourselves towards the day. My red songbird perches on the wisteria vine. He’s a male Cardinal with … Continue reading yellow
Early morning rain on the rusted tin roof. It begins as ping after ping then it accelerates, like a dozen children knocking, looking for me. It’s only moments before it’s a finale applause, though the show has just started. The storm is on top of me but I’m hiding in the coop. This is where … Continue reading rain
It’s darn-near perfect outside. What an incredibly mild week of summer we’ve had. A reprieve. I love that word. Its definition is to cancel or postpone punishment. The heat can assault and afflict. I’ve seen it scorch leaves and vines to yellow crisps. And then that’s it – no more producing. I think that is … Continue reading waist high
“Mom! Mom!…I AM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU!” My five year old suddenly shouted from behind a bush on the side of the house. I was standing nearby, looking at his tiny bare feet poking out below. I could hear the bashfulness in his voice. He couldn’t look at me directly while making his bold … Continue reading in love
Propagation. I find so much satisfaction in taking what I have and making more from it. It requires cutting roots and leaves, or burying runners and vines, but it’s always unto a new thing. It’s resourcefulness at its finest. I deeply value the ability to take a little and make a lot. There is no … Continue reading propagate
It’s cool enough for a light sweater this morning, so I wrap my robe around me, not caring who might see. I’m just giddy for the opportunity to feel chilled, then clothed. Twenty-two summers later, and I still despise Arkansas heat. This Yankee would never survive a mile further south. My blood runs hot and … Continue reading serendipity
SHE GILDS THE LILY: a lavish waste of words and wonder 