the dishpan

 I was on the swing reading Ray Bradburyˋs “Zen in the Art of Writing”; the humid air seemed to caress me as I digested the words and started travelling to places in the past. The book doesnˋt describe how he writes - grammar and syntax - but is more of a trip through his memories and how they triggered his stories. Iˋm not much of a fiction writer but one memory wedged itself into my consciousness, forcing me into the house to pick up my tablet so that my fingers could draw the story from my mind.

I wasnˋt remembering an adventure or tragedy but instead one of those sweet moments that are somehow fleeting but the emotion remains vivid.

I was 15 years old… you know how that is, old enough to think I knew everything, but too young to realize I didnˋt. Kirsten was an innocent 10 year old. A 5 year age difference when you are 15 is a lifetime. 

We were out with the family sailing in the 1000 Islands and docked for a few days at Endymion Island. There was a huge freestanding wood stove built of stone and cast iron and a few picnic tables off the end of the dock. The night was dark with a sky filled with stars. Kirsten and I stood around one of the tables washing the dinner dishes…. Anyway, we were talking and laughing, having the sort of time that burns itself into oneˋs memory. The pile of dishes was almost washed so I kept re-dipping each dish into water so sheˋd have to dry it again. You may think that itˋs kind of mean, instead it was the opposite. A part of me knew that some moments are short and that if the dishes ended the spell would be broken and weˋd be back to being a 15 year old and a 10 year old. 

I sometimes wonder if this was a gift from the future to show us that those moments around the dishpan would someday be the norm. 

Awesome!

“bread fresh from the oven”

“zoom calls”

“sitting on the swing on a hot summer day”

“music blaring by the pool”

“crunchy grilled cheese sandwich made from fresh bread”

people who need people

 Joy! Bliss! The words roll around my mind as I finish a morning stroll around the field through the wildflowers. Queen Anneˋs Lace continues to dominate with isolated pockets of hot humid air dripping with the scent of honey - summer air. I paused for a moment in the breath from heaven. The only thing missing to trigger a time travel event is the tarry scent of creosote. 

Back at the house, sweaty but happy, I stripped down and slipped in the cold pool water. Nirvana.

Of course I had my camera along for the ride to the field. Looking through the lense focuses my attention on the awesome, bringing another dimension to the walk. I couldnˋt capture the feeling in the air, but I did manage a lame reproduction of the glory of nature.

People who need people… thatˋs us these days. Weˋve been feasting on company with only one day last week and this weekend without someone extra in our lives. Itˋs as if we were starving as words tumble out of our mouths in a frantic pace racing to make up for 1 ½ years of isolation.

Mom and Dad came for a short visit on Thursday. We huddled in the shade on the back deck, surrounded by planters, pots, and barrels of plants. 

Friday Bruce & Tina came for an early supper, on the deck of course, we still arenˋt venturing inside for serious visiting except with the family. Every year they visit overnight for meteor shower watching, but alas, this year and last year, weˋve kept it a daytime visit. Actually I donˋt think they came at all last year, at least it seems that way as there seemed to be so much to catch up on!

Weˋve been pretty lucky with the weather with rain forecast only one day last week. Unfortunately there are thunderstorms in the forecast today so we canˋt continue our amazing socializing streak :-(

“People,

People who need people,

Are the luckiest people in the world

We're children, needing other children

And yet letting a grown-up pride

Hide all the need inside

Acting more like children than children”

~Barbara Streisand

Awesome!

“slipping into the cool pool waters on a sunny morning”

“friends laughing around the patio table”

“harvesting bunches of herbs for the freezer”

“turkeys in the hay field”

“remembering a friend from grade 1 that had a toy that played ˋturkey in the strawˋ”

“wondering if it was the same friend that my little dresser came from”

“walking through a patch of humid air heavy with the scent of honey”

“a memory of Presquˋile waterfront - a few Queen Anneˋs Lace plants clung to the cliff leading to the water and just over our fence”

off the edge of the earth

 I havenˋt fallen off the edge of the earth but have been going about my days in a partial haze. Itˋs been busy: we had friends over on Friday night, packed up and went to Kirstenˋs for Saturday night, had Trudie, Leo and Pat for a visit yesterday afternoon, and finally, today we had lunch at Trudie & Leoˋs in her lovely garden.

Looking back at the past few days I could almost be tricked into thinking that covid was no longer going on, but alas, distance and visiting outdoors proves the facts.

Iˋve continued to use huge bundles of herbs and should do another harvest this week to process and freeze. On the weekend we ate raw zucchini on the charcuterie board which stood in for crackers wonderfully. We planted yellow zucchini cause thatˋs all the nursery has left and Iˋve become a convert. The skin is slightly thicker and itˋs perhaps more dense (?) which makes it a good choice for raw dipping. And the bright yellow colour is awesome!

Iˋm still staring at that trug of apples and wondering what the heck Iˋm going to do with them!

Awesome!

“laying out a grazing supper”

“wandering around Trudieˋs amazing garden”

“a tiny hummingbird in the flowers beside where we were having lunch”

“pulling up to Kirstenˋs house and seeing the whole family in the laneway”

“Carm getting the truck in place to hitch - it was tricky!”

“legendario”

“a distant rumble”