Small reprieves of coffee and birdsong

Today is a good day, the rain falling and falling, finally, all the bags of compost dispersed this weekend making even bare patches in the garden look lush and happy. True, rain is falling on a wheelbarrow heaped with items headed for the trash, but I am content in the knowledge that both garage and shed are tidier than they've been in years. And someone stopped to pick up the huge wooden toboggan we left on the curb, hoping a passerby would fall for it the way Mark did years ago (it's lived in our garage, yearning for snow, for years).

But most of all, today is a good day because Mark and I started it by consoling a crying boy in the park who had lost his phone as he rode to middle school on his bike. We asked where exactly he'd been riding and promised to deliver his phone to the school if we found it. "Oh no," I fretted, slowly searching a block of damp sidewalk. "We have to find it!" Reader, we found it. And we got to tell him we found it and see his smiley, relieved little face. 

I found you some things:

Artificial yes. Intelligence? Not so much.

Alliumphobia, perfectly rational.

Here's to October, the month of months! If you're reading this, I probably love you so, so, so much. 

I have walked out in rain—and back in rain

Related: I have been one acquainted with the ice. A surprise (TO ME) ice storm brought down a spectacular number of large branches into our yard, many of which fell upon and adjacent to the Honda of Nine Lives. It made for exciting photo opportunities but didn't cause any real damage. And our friend Geo came over immediately with his chainsaw and safety gear, so now our yard is full of logs that we'll eventually have to deal with. Pine and willow, pine and willow everywhere.

The ice was beautiful for days, sparkling in the trees and glittering down in shattered, shining pieces. Clover did. Not. Like it. There was crackling and popping like the whole world was full of strange brittle wind chimes. Now we've moved into the soggy phase. The birds are huge fans of the impromptu hiding spots around the yard, little bird fortresses of branch and pine needle, and even though the feeders are almost empty, they're thronged with the little brown ones.

I haven't collected much for you lately, but here are a few artifacts to tide you over:

Huh.

(Said in hiccup voice)

NOT ON YOUR TINTYPE, BUDDY.

And we'll not complain if it never stops at all

Minimalism in all things except reading glasses. And by that, I don't mean bejeweled frames, I mean that I apparently need a dozen pairs — in my bag, my coat pocket, in the car, in the kitchen*, bathroom**, down in the printing area, on my desk, beside my bed. Plus backups. Or maybe it's time for progressive lenses.

Okay, apparently it's going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights four days. Yesterday I divided some plants, planted some flower seeds, cleaned up some garden beds. I filled ten leaf bags with willow branches, pine needles, weeds, errant day lilies, and some leaves, then hauled them through the house*** and into the garage to keep them dry until my yard waste pickup day (Thursday). Then I'll haul them back out and put them on the curb. I've hardly made a dent in the collection of brush that expands through the year, mostly willow branches that blow down in every storm, piled behind the old playhouse (That's okay — the birds love it!). Speaking of the birds, Mark helped me move the bird feeders farther away from the pine tree in the corner of our back yard, since several squirrels recently tested their acrobatic abilities and discovered they could leap through the air from tree to feeder and suck the bird seed into their greedy mouths while hanging upside down. I don't think they can make it that far now, though I'm eager to see them try.

Can't believe the only thing I wrote in the entire month of April was this half-assed post about reading glasses and puttering in my yard , but would you get a load of these feet??

*reading recipes and labels

**tweezing and deciphering medicine bottles

***garage door — long story

Behind the clouds the sun is still shining

 

Mise en place

November's getting down to business out there today. I'm trying my best to keep it hygge in here on a Friday work day, the day my brain 100% believes is the weekend.

My life goal is to be a good iced bun.

I love you, Great British Bake Off/Baking Show

Lizzie 2021

Okay, forward through a rainy work day and into the weekend (full disclosure: the weekend is usually also a work day, plus extra sleeping in and watering plants and puttering in the yard, but I'm actually visiting Holly tomorrow so it's going to be a very weekendy weekend)!

Slant of Light

I looked for light all day, but the sun stubbornly hid, the sky was gray. It drizzled and drazzled. I picked Isaac up early at The Learning Shack and we went book shopping--and it was at Yes Books that I finally spotted it.

After, there was a doctor's appointment (the pediatrician's waiting room is...funny when your very youngest baby is going on 18 years old), falafel, and a lovely chat with my boy before I dropped him off at Blunt for tonight's show.

Eighteenth

A soft, rainy Monday, and such a fun morning at the dog beach. Gus ran around in circles with a huge goofy smile on his face, swam and wrestled. Somebody unearthed a huge marrow bone, and the whole posse of dogs played keepaway with it.

I'm missing my sweet girl on this day before her birthday.

But look at her consorting with another elephant! My favorite of her quotes about this: "Sometimes you're just walking by somebody's house and there happens to be an elephant in the front yard!" My favorite of Isaac's quotes about this: "ZOE AND HER ELEPHRIEND!!!!!"

the rain cold as the sea, the sea deep as love

Empty-nested this weekend, as Zoë spends a few last days with her great friend Sujata and Isaac  takes an SAT class at Harvard and gets generally spoiled by his grandparents. My boy is sixteen for two more days, my girl has her feet planted on the ground of this continent for seventeen more days, the month of May is here for six more days, the rain will last for one more day (I have spoken, do you hear me, rain?).

I am listening to Kishi Bashi like crazy this morning, also getting little sneak peeks of The National's new album. Mark and I finished Rectify last night, and I love some things about it so much, so I'm looking forward to another season. I am pretty much jumping up and down with excitement about Arrested Development on Sunday, and I'm nearly as excited about the Coen brothers' new film and Wes Anderson's too.


*title of this post from Mary Ruefle's Rain Effect

Things Come in Pretty Colors

Even in March, this is kind of a beautiful world, isn't it?