The Leaves Are Falling

At some point when I wasn't looking, most of the trees around my house decided to shed their leaves, leaving my back yard thickly padded with their cast-off foliage. I think it is time to go buy a rake! Ironically, there are no trees in my backyard, but my neighbors are kind enough to donate their leaves by having huge trees growing practically on the property line, overhanging my yard. Thus I receive none of the benefits of having trees myself (climbing them, constructing a tree house in them, using them for stringing up hammocks, etc.) and all of the disadvantages - loads of leaves to rake, and large broken-off branches after every storm.

In the front, though, there are two red Japanese maples which have grown ferociously since I moved in, from three feet to 15 or so - and thus, there is a lush red carpet leading to my front door. I will have to dress up more so that I live up to the red carpet standards.

Remiss! Amiss!

I have been remiss. It has been so long since I posted. In my defense, my dear friend has been very sick, in and out of hospitals, sometimes being released in the afternoon and then back in the Emergency Room at night. I didn't really want to write about it - it is very personal, and while I have the right to divulge my own intimate feelings and experiences, I don't have the right to divulge those of my friends.

I think a little equilibrium is settling in, however, so here I am. Although Autumn inevitably tints my emotions with a tinge of melancholy, there is no doubt the trees are beautiful. I read something this evening which cheered me a bit - it said that Autumn isn't the END of the gardening season; it is the BEGINNING of the next gardening season, and that, at least in terms of preparation, seems quite true. That also means I had better get cracking!

My roses are still blooming, although it is beastly cold, and so are corydalis, geraniums, hardy fuchsia, and all my annuals except marigold, which sadly seems to have had its head bitten off.
I am so grateful everytime I see my roses blooming. They are so ineffably beautiful - they offer a vision of what is possible in this world.

I am working on my main altered book - four pages left! My scanner is on the blink; otherwise I would include some images. Instead I will add a couple of previous collages.

Late Starts and Summer Days

Bleh! This is one of those days where I move as though I am moored in extra-thick molasses up to my waist, and everything, even changing my beloved geriatric cat Homer's water, seems to take an interminable amount of time.

And so it is, that with the sun shining outside, it is nearly 3pm and I haven't done more than stick half my body outside the front door yet.

So why am I writing this? Because I want a reminder I can see to get going early in the day, and then come back later to take care of the small stuff. The small stuff will swamp me everytime if I let it suck me in!

One of my errands is to drop off a thank-you card to a friend who gave me a basket of home-grown, heirloom variety tomatoes. When I was growing up, eating slices of beefsteak Jersey tomatoes with a sprinkle of salt was a treat as profound as the most luscious dessert. In case you haven't noticed, most supermarket and even many farm stand tomatoes have the excitement of moist cardboard to offer. The tomatoes my friend gave me were thick, red, juicy, and flavorful, each variety in its own way. So I made a very, very quick collage as a thank you (and potential bribe for future gifts of tomatoes, I must admit)! Here it is - and now I am off on my day's adventures, late, but still eager to enjoy the sun.

An hour on the canal -

The day before yesterday, I went kayaking for the first time on the canal which runs through my town. It was a blissful summer afternoon - sunny but not sweltering - and I felt enterprising. I love being on the water, although I am relatively inept. A kayak was new to me. The young man at the kayak and canoe rental gave the kayak a smooth shove after I clambered in, and euphoria suffused me. I paddled along, trying to keep my strokes smooth and rhythmic, and felt so blissfully relaxed I couldn't imagine why didn't get out on the water everyday. (The answer to this question? Real life, alas!)

Along the way I encountered several turtles sunning themselves, including a baby turtle. I wondered if any of them were descendants of the turtles my parents would get me periodically at the pet store, and eventually set free at the lake or canal.

Streaks of brilliant lobelia cardinalis blazed along the banks of the canal at one point - such a clear, hot, vibrating red that I could hardly believe it was real.

I prudently turned back half an hour out, so my canal trip was an hour. Today I have a blister on my right thumb as a souvenir - and evidence that I need to work on my paddling technique.

I don't know why it is so difficult for me to make time for life-enhancing outings like this, which are, after all, not that time-consuming. All I know is, my life would be better if I did, and so I intend to work on consciously incorporating more walks, drives, kayaking, canoeing, and the like into my week. So why am I sitting here writing this? It's time for me to take two hours on this luscious afternoon and do something different from my routine - I hope to report on my exploits later!

Garden Paradise

I have to admit, my favorite form of gardening is wandering among my flowering plants and sniffing them for perfume. Every now and then I am inspired to weed - all too rarely, alas - and every now and then I spray them in a pathetic attempt to combat the various diseases and pesky insects that bedevil them later in the season - but basically, my plants struggle bravely through without much help from me.

I have become religious about watering them, though, and to my delighted surprise, it has resulted in heavy and frequent rebloom of my favorite roses, pink Eden, scarlet Blaze Improved, and pink Heritage. The sight of the fresh blooms against a true blue sky always moves me - such a direct reminder of the beauty in the world.

Alas! someone bonked into my deep pink Carefree Beauty rose and broke the main budding spray. I am trying to coax it back into bloom with water and pep talks.

I have a beautiful white rose, also, whose name I have annoyingly forgotten, which is in the midst of being ineffably generous with its second flush of blooms. I am so grateful.

Here are one or two photos of the garden bounty.

Thunder, lighting, downpours!

What dramatic weather today! First, horrendous humidity, and then the crashing of heavenly cymbals, thunder and lightening and downpours so dense you couldn't see through your windshield when driving.

I went to do some artwork with young students of mine (4 and 5) and the youngest was quite afraid of the thunder. We drew some pictures of the sound and covered them with glitter (almost everything looks better with some glitter on it!) and everyone felt better.

We then got silly and glued glitter to our toenails. Gorgeous! Luckily, the parents didn't seem to mind.

Just as I left, the skies opened again, and in the space of 6 yards or so, I became completely soaked.
All the better to snuggle up at home afterwards, then.

The Harlingen Dutch Reform Cemetary

There was an abandoned-looking old cemetary on the side of busy Route 206 I passed dozens of times in the last several years. Every time I was tempted to pull over and stroll through it. There is something about picturesque abandonment that lures me . . . but each time, I was in too much of a hurry or ambivalent about whether it would be trespassing.

This past Sunday, I decided I needed an adventure, and I hopped in my trusty URFmobile (named after part of my license plate) and drove off. It was much further out than I had recalled - I was about to turn around and give up because I had already reached Hillsborough - when I saw it. Now, alas, it has been taken care of - the lawn mown, baby trees planted and staked, every inch of it groomed. I came too late. But still I wandered through it. Most of the gravestones were from the early to mid 1800s, and several had carved decorations. Many had pious poems, alas, erased by time, the elements, and the chemicals from the thousands of cars driving by within 15 feet hourly on the busy highway.

I took cell phone pix of a few of the headstones (yes, I know - why don't I get myself a nifty bitty digital camera to carry around? Inertia, I guess. One of these eons I will . . . ) and include them here.

A band of woods bordered the cemetery on the non-highway sides, and I found berry bushes where the birds had considerately left some berries for me. They are tiny, but so delicious - they put our cultivated berries to shame, for the most part.

I am glad for the people buried there that the church has decided to take care of the grounds, but I have learned once again to carpe diem! I would have preferred to wander through the tall grasses.

I love things that sparkle, especially rhinestones - in fact, my nickname is The Rhinestone Queen, which I received 20 years ago in recognition of the various rhinestone earrings I wore to my relatively conservative job as writer/designer/editor for academic publications.

I love juicy colors - vibrant pinks and turquoises and sun-splashed yellows as well as wisteria lavender and lime green and so on and so on. When I see bright, luscious colors in unusual combinations, I feel a physical jolt of excitement.

And I love nifty vintage items - photographs, embroideries, handmade old dolls, pitchers, books - alas, you name it, I probably collect it.

So although I will write about a lot of things in this blog, I also want to take photos of things that make me salivate with pleasure and share them.

This is just a quickie first post to get the feel of blogging - I am coming quite late to the game! and feel a little out of my league. But I figure one step at a time, so here we go!