A Different Kind of Busy, Taking My Chances, For Love

1. I have a daily appointment to feed B.'s bees and it has been my counterweight for an exceptionally busy week. I walk into her quiet garden and I hear the humming of the hives. All of the business swirling in my mind stops while I watch the bees come and go, come and go. I take a seat and just keep watching for a while.
2. I could turn the sprinkler off in order to adjust it but, no. I'd rather dart into the spray, turn the knob and dart back out again.
3. My non-cooking daughter calls me for a chocolate cake recipe to bake from scratch for her husband's birthday. I picture her hands holding the electric mixer.

Good Form, Bunny!, Paradise, Reading...

1. A bunny scampers across the road, then takes a flying leap across the ditch into the tall grass.
2. Today is our last long Monday for the summer! Tess and I kick back and celebrate by eating French Toast and blueberries for dinner while we watch a movie.
3. I finished reading The Tall Woman by Wilma Dykeman. It's hard to find reviews written about this novel which was written in 1962. It's a simple story of a woman's difficult but rewarding life in post civil war Appalachia. I enjoyed it because of the author's beautiful writing style and for her ability to write about loving others despite hate and pain. 

Ocean Views, Clear Views, and Big Views

1. Strong winds wave the field grass and their seed heads glitter like the crests of waves on a choppy sea.
2. Tess and I methodically go around and clean the inside and outside of every window in the house. It's great to have a partner in the chore. It's really great to look out of clean windows after we're done.
3. We carried some coolers of fresh fruit and sandwiches up to the trail to leave for Trail Magic. We met two hikers on the way in who partook of our offering. They sat down right where they stopped and ate immediately even though there was a picnic table only a few yards ahead. Later, when I went to retrieve the empty coolers, it appeared everyone did the same thing. They stopped and ate right on the spot, not bothering to walk ahead to the picnic table. I keep thinking about that and wondering if that's what it's like to live in the moment.
3a. I went back to the trail alone at dusk. This section is on a ridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway with breathtaking views. To the west is Purgatory Mountain, as shown here. To the east would be the Peaks of Otter. I sat on a ridge in the center, in solitude.
3b. I can't say enough about how much I love living here. My first view of these mountains is etched in my memory when we drove through in 2000 from New York to Alabama. I remember gazing out the window at these mountains, feeling homesick for New York, and thinking, "This is beautiful. If I ever couldn't go back home then I think I could accept living here." None of us had any idea that we would move here two years later.

Purgatory Mountain photo courtesy outdoorhub.com

Am I There Yet?, Safe and Happy, Tropical

Begin at the beginning and go on
till you come to the end; then stop.
--Lewis Carroll

 
1. Chelsea passed three AT half-way points this week. She called me from the second (and official 2014 halfway point) and I asked her how the spot was marked. She said there was a piece of paper nailed to a tree. Seriously? I expected fireworks. I like this photo of her at the third marker which was the halfway mileage in 2011.
2. I'm waiting my turn in a boring waiting room in a guarded building. Down the hall and unseen, I hear the guards conversing and teasing each other about sharing cookies or something. They sound like a happy group and it makes the whole place feel happier.
3. It rained and poured and the wind blew incessantly. It remained warm and humid throughout, so it  felt tropical.

Time Travel Messes with Your Head, Summer Attire, Cleaning Up an Act

1. A dream reaches deep into the past and relives a memory. I'm standing there and it feels, and smells, and looks so real. I wasn't just seeing it; I was feeling it as though time never existed and decades ago is right now. I was safe and happy and my father was nearby.
2. Loose linen pants, a tank top, and bare feet. These have got to be the most comfortable clothes for a hot day.
3. For several days in a row, there is a young man picking up trash on our road. I thought his good deed should not go unnoticed so I stopped a few days ago and asked him if he was a good-hearted volunteer. He smiled a guilty smile and said he had gotten into trouble. "Ah, Community Service" I nodded. "Well, I appreciate that you're cleaning up our road. Thank you!", I said and drove off. Now we wave to each other every morning. He's doing a fantastic job. If this is his work ethic and it holds true, he should succeed in life. I pray that for him; he seems like a fine young man.

Two Really Goods and One Bad

1. Tess gave me a paper Bird CD. I love every song on it.



2. I can't stop laughing at the card Claire sent. She explains, "I wanted to give you a card that said something like "wishing you a great day filled with fun, relaxation and all the things you enjoy most. However, Mari begged for a music card because she thought you would like that best".
So, my card has Ninja cats on it and plays the song, "Kung Foo Fighting".
3. OK. Aside from the above two things, it was honestly a crappy day. It was really hot, I had miles and miles of driving to do after work (but not before I went to the dentist and found out my bill is going to be BIG), and then I got a ticket for going through a yellow light that turned red when I was under it...during rush hour...at the truck stop intersection...with Tess in the car. How embarrassing.
It's one of those days when I just can't wait to go to bed and be done with it.

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

Anne of Green Gables

Mother's Day: Our Daughters and the Rivers I've Cried

1. My children have blessed me beyond anything I could ever deserve. I am not perfect and they are not perfect, but love seems to smooth out all those imperfections. Whatever would we do without unconditional love?
2. Sitting on the porch, recounting stories of the horrid teenage years, one daughter reminded us of her sister's nighttime-sneaking out-escapades in Birmingham. "The police called in the middle of the night!" I recall. Steve adds, "He asked me if I knew where my daughter was. I answered, 'Apparently not.'"
Now we can laugh!
3. We don't go for fancy things or large gestures on Mother's Day. In fact, I traditionally cook for my family on this day. This year we had Audrey and Jared, Jared's mother, and Tess here. One vision that stands out in my mind from today is when Audrey held up her fork with a few asparagus spears flopping on the tines. She waved it slightly and announced, "This asparagus from the garden is really good!" It was classic. She was no different from herself at five years old.
4. A simple text from Chad at the end of the day read, "Happy Mother's Day! Chelsea is proof that you are a magnificent mother!" Aaand that's when I cried.