With a Fresh Eye

Last night we went out for supper with friends Trudie and Leo, after which we all stopped at Vashev and Marie’s for a glass of wine. It was a lovely warm evening so we sat out in their back garden enjoying our surroundings and trading stories. The cat was stalking a chipmunk who teased and taunted. Birds came to the feeders for a bedtime snack. The cardinal wowed us with his bright red plumage.

As I was sitting there, I was thinking how much our property was missing places to pull up some chairs under a tree and started formulating plans in my head. Well, this morning I took stock of what we’d have to do and wouldn’t you know it… not much is needed at all! We just need some comfy chairs – they had plastic Adirondack chairs which seemed perfect. If we build some stairs from the deck down to grass level we’ll end up in a pleasant shady spot with easy access to the house. If we go a bit farther afield there’s a spot in the front near the flower beds that would be lovely. Just moving the truck reveals a lovely spot with a vista of the pond and lowlands of the creek.

I guess I just had to look at our property with new eyes (sort of like how I looked in the mirror the other day, but this time better!). So many of the trees have grown now, and some of the landscaping is more mature. Adding a few more spots of flowers or shrubs will finish it off nicely. We’d still have a “rural” look but it would be somewhere that a picnic blanket and basket of food would not look out of place. It is no longer the barren landscape that we started with 18 years ago.

Today I’ve been blessed with a bounty of produce from Trudie’s garden. She shared zucchini (lovely small ones), cucumbers, giant bulbs of garlic, hot little peppers (so good and the perfect hotness), and a huge pile of basil. So of course I spent some time making pesto, or at least the starting of it. I just did basil, garlic and olive oil to freeze in small batches. I can include some in any number of dishes, including Thai stir-fries with some sesame oil and hot peppers. Oh the eating possibilities!

Tonight supper is whole wheat pasta with a proper pesto, with grilled zucchini tossed in. Yum. Is it supper time yet?

If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food, either.
Joseph Wood Krutch