ideas

Reality is stratified, like the layers of an onion or the pages of a book. Between the pages are the spaces where ideas grow. Just fragile shreds of summer-green lace, these tiny poppy sprouts spread wild across the crumbled chocolate earth. They're not in rows like the seedlings in a vegetable bed, not as formal as furrows or as homely as beans. They wait, dancing radiant and random, weaving in and out of the pages of reality.
You need to be still, still as dust, still as your favorite cat, to feel the pages turn and see the spaces open up. The ideas are already there, little needy things that require the light of your attention, salty moisture from the sweat of your practice, and the fine fertile earth of imagination in which to put down roots. Then they'll grow as they grow. You can't push them, can't force a poppy to be a tree. You open yourself, offer your voice, maybe weed a little or sometimes gently prune. Giving them this quiet care will cultivate thriving ideas that you can transplant easily.

garden shots - spring 09

The other morning I got out early with my camera. There was a light overcast, and I was hoping it would be bright enough to photograph well but not so bright as to make shadows. I don't think I have a very good camera, but I do like how the garden looks. Above is a photo of the front walkway. There's a rockrose in bloom, as well as the wild lilac.















This is another view of the front walkway. The strawberries are in bloom, although a bunch of volunteer _______ have come up in the the midst of them. You can see the rock birdbath, and to the right of it is a three-leaf sumac.














This is from our back porch. This shot would be prettier if I'd cleaned off the table first, but I like the mix of plants and pot colors.














Last weekend we moved the chicken coop to the other side of the yard, because the neighbors complained about the smell. Now it's under the kitchen window, so we can keep a closer eye on them, and it looks cool under the tree there.




















This is another back porch shot, showing my pretty Japanese maple with the yellow grass growing around it in the pot.



















Also from the back porch. I think this is the only rhododendron color I like. The buds start scarlet then turn yellow as they bloom, sorta like little sunsets. Very pretty.



















The enkianthus in bloom. This is the best year yet for this tree. Also, the blossoms show up more with the golden hops growing up behind it.














One of the two raised beds in the front yard. Mostly herbs in this one - sage, chives, oregano, lavender. Also planted garlic in it last fall, and they're looking good. Put some Walla Walla Sweet onions in this spring, and planted corn in the center. It's looking good so far, and that sage on the near end is going to look fabulous in a couple more days when it's all in bloom.














This is one of the three Pacific Coast iris that I have growing along the front walkway. I love the saturated purple color!














This is the other side of the rock birdbath, showing the sumac on the left and some monarda (?) Ruby (Something) in front of it.



















This view is looking across the front yard towards the front walkway. It's so peaceful in the front yard. The only thing I want to fix is that it needs a couple little chairs or a bench or something so you can sit and enjoy it. Of course there's always things to fix......all over......

waiting

So right now I'm waiting. I'm waiting for it to be after 9am so I can call the caterer (again!) and work out another of the endless details that this weekend's auction involves. I'm also waiting for the auction to be over! Can't describe how glad I will be to have it done with. I'm also waiting to pick up the 5th graders at the ferry this afternoon at 2pm. They've been at science camp since last Sunday, and it's the first time Dear Daughter has been away from home like this. I've missed her quite a bit, and will be glad to have her home. I'm also waiting till next Tues when the new Southern Vampire mystery, Dead and Gone is released. Really can't wait to get my hands on it, and neither can a few of my friends who are in line to borrow it when I'm done. Little do they know that I'm going to end up with two copies, to facillitate the borrowing and lending. And there are several books at the library that I'm waiting for. That's what prompted this train of thought this morning. I checked the library website to see if any had come in, and none are in yet, though 3 are in transit. Which made me think about all that I'm waiting for. I should say something clever about the meaning of anticipation in my life, but can't think of anything. Post-call brain, I guess. So I'm just going to sit here and wait, see if I can catch the caterer, get some sleep before picking the kids up, and wait some more.

{Oh, and for those who are interested, the top picture shows a bunch of species tulips growing up from underneath a variegated pieris - that never blooms - in front of our back porch. The bottom picture is the new bed we put in along the back of the house as part of our 'build a pathway and clean up the garbage can situation' project last year. These were the only bulbs I planted last fall, and they sure are pretty. You can kinda see the smoker and the shed that now covers the trashcans. Looks a whole lot better than it did.}

hydrangeas are cool

Up 6 cement steps from our front walkway, there's a small landing and the front door. The area at the top of the steps is small enough that if the kids go up the steps in front of me it can be tricky to actually get to the door. Of course, despite the lack of space, I've got planters all along the perimeter of the landing, making it even smaller. And, at the bottom of the steps, there are three hydrangea shrubs in pots. Hydrangeas are my favorite family of plants, and I think the picture above shows why. Here it is November and this cluster of planters is one of the high points in my yard. The shrub on the left, w/ the scarlet leaves, has burgundy flowers that fade to all different colors. The shrub in the middle, with purplish flowers, blooms blue. It was given to me as a baby shower present when my Dear Son, who's 9 now, was born. And you can just see the third shrub at the far right. It's one that came from a cutting from a really big hydrangea that used to be outside the 5th floor entrance at Seattle Children's Hospital. The groundskeeper there is really cool and sold me a couple starts at their annual plant sale. That was several years ago, and honestly the poor thing spent a few years planted in a very unhappy place until finally year before last some kid or pet or other landed on it and broke it in half. I took the bigger half and put it in this pot, where it looks better than it ever has. From the other broken half I took 4 cuttings and rooted them, and now they're growing fairly well in 4" pots along the edge of the landing at the top of the stairs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DaFgADkOwk

On a completely different note, here's a link to a video I posted last night. It's Dear Husband and me singing a song at his cousin's wedding reception in Aspen. It was recorded by my brother-in-law on his little camera, and the picture quality isn't great. The sound's ok - you get the gist of it anyway - and there are a couple of places where I'd like a do-over on the tuning. But, it shows the moment, and I love the song, and I really loved working with Dear Husband on it. In his own band(s) he doesn't sing lead much (great back-up singer, though, with a huge range and generally in tune) and doesn't really play the guitar much, although he's probably the best bass player I've ever worked with. So this was a bigger stretch for him than it was for me (Resident Diva), and I totally admire him for it.

If you listen to the lyrics, it might seem like a strange choice for a wedding reception, but it really catches where we're at after 13 years of marriage. And at the reception, we found that while the bride and groom were pleasantly confused by our choice, the married couples in the crowd totally got where we were coming from. Recently I read a blog post by Sister Julie, an IMH Nun who writes about being a Nun in contemporary society. In this post, she has asked Sister Candyce Rekart, IMH about whether she's ever reevaluated her vocation. The post includes a video clip of Sister Candyce responding to the question, and at the end of her response, she talks about how there are times when she gets up in the morning and reaffirms her commitment to her vocation, then gets up the next morning and has to make the same reaffirmation. I'm not able to show the depth of her response here, but the point I heard from her response is that her commitment is a daily process. And I was completely struck by how closely that compares to marriage. There are times when it's really easy, but other times when it takes a daily reminder of my vow. And there are times when I know staying married takes a level of Divine Intervention, because it doesn't just come from the two of us.

http://anunslife.org/2008/11/12/your-questions-ihm-sisters-respond-2/

And finally, here's a photo of the chickens that live in my back yard. I had an idea for this when I uploaded the pix, but now I've lost it. It's not that important but I can't figure out how to delete the image. Their names are Eight Ball, Lacie, and Beulah Mae. And they do lay eggs. In Seattle. It's cool.

follow-up to the previous post

This is a look into my front yard. There are asters (Ruby Morn), japanese anemone, miscanthus, pineapple mint, eucalyptus, and raspberries falling all over the place. But it's pretty.

First one

So I started this process today, but was interrupted by the kids, who wanted lunch. And over lunch we had to have a quick Pig Latin lesson. They're getting better at it. We debated over the correct pronunciation of "I" (ay-I, I think). But now they're back to playing, and I'm back to writing.

Took a couple of quick pictures of my yard, and will try to post one. It's pretty, in a Secret Garden kind of way, but I'm tired of being unable to walk through the front yard without getting mugged by the raspberry plants. And the eucalyptus is kind of in the way and annoying, too. I can't imagine a garden without raspberries, and love picking a big bowl for breakfast, but that's in June. By this time of year, they're sprawling and prickly and not all that much fun. So I'm debating whether to cut them back, but am afraid I won't get any berries next year if I cut back too hard. Of course, it does me no good to have berries if I can't get at them. It's overcast and cool today, so I'm not really motivated to work outside anyway. I guess the raspberries are safe for now.