near miss

early this morning i open the refrigerator to get milk for tea and pow! from above my head drops - something. and there it is on the floor. what can it be? its the smallest white pumpkin from last falls wedding. kept as a momento and placed atop of the fridge to hasten the drying process. obviously that didnt work. the insides were total mush that missed my head by only inches. the remains were scooped into a dustpan and heaved into the compost pile. maybe next year white pumpkins will grow there without even being planted.

being grammie

the end of a wondrous week spent with the girl and her new little one. tomorrow will be business as usual here and i fear i may have feelings of withdrawl not being around them. in some cultures grandparents live with their children and their grandchildren. whle im not quite ready for that, i sure am starting to see the value in it.

moose xing

in this neck of the woods moose are supposed to be pretty prevalent. i probably pass a sign like this five times a week. but ive never seen a moose crossing. ive even sat and waited. one time i rounded a curve in the road after dusk and saw the head-on outline of a moose by the side of the road. it looked like a huge black alien and i had no idea what it was until well after i had sped by it. i dont know whether he crossed the road or not. i just know there was no sign there saying that he would.

almost daisies

lots of varieties of daisies in the garden. they should be in bloom in a week or so along with many of the other perennials. just in time for midsummer bouquets.

holly berried

the female hollies in the garden are resplendent with green berries. so barring some weather-related catastrophe, it appears this christmas will be another banner season for holly and well be decking the halls with boughs of it. speaking of christmas six months from now it will be over. again.

lazy day

what could be better than spending a sunny sunday afternoon working in the garden drinking lemon water and listening to the red sox game on the radio and having them win - and then napping in an adirondack chair under a maple tree?

and the beat goes on

this is the phrase my musician father used to describe the cycle of life. the birthing, the dying, and everything in between. since his death a few years back ive thought of this phrase on several occasions. but never has it been as significant as it has this past week. it is so humbing to see the girl as a mother. to begin to think of her as a peer. to see how good she is at a job shes had only a few days. to remember her as a young woman, a teenager, a girl, a small child, and a tiny baby herself - not so long ago. to hear a phrases from a nurse and have it startlingly trigger the memory of some long forgotten incident or vision. to think of not only grandmothers but great grandmothers and hear from them untold details of pregnancies and births from long long ago. to have a renewed interest in worldly wonders, knowing that theres a brand new life poised to experience them. all this from one tiny birth. yeah, the beat goes on...

so smitten

yes, i am neglecting blogging in favor of being with the girl and the new baby. the bag i carry stays packed with all the things that normally fill my life - books, cameras, credit cards, computer paraphernalia, snacks. yet when im there these things are quickly forgotten and all i can manage to do is gaze at the baby girl. today i was asked if my eyes hurt from looking on her so much. never will that happen.

afterward

i thought i was ready for this. but emotions have taken over these last two days and i can think of nothing but the baby girl and her new family. so this is where ive been. late nights ive been at the computer working with pictures, video, and yes, audio. all recorded in an effort to capture and hold the wonder of this miraculous event. and i doubt ive even come close.

a star is born

and i was here for it. the girl was amazing during labor. her husband was a calming presence and a wonderful support. the baby girl is small but healthy - and so beautiful. and her grammie keeps fighting back the tears of joy.

plant sale

in late spring area garden club members divide plants in their gardens and sell them to boost their treasuries. these plants are inexpensive and the money goes to a good cause. but the best reason to buy there is the knowledge that the plants have survived a new england winter. so i go early for the best selection. there are plants on and under card tables, in groups and lines by color and species. plants temporarily potted in five gallon buckets or in the bottom halves of milk jugs or sticking out of bags. dahlia bulbs and herbs. perennials with their names on plastic knives or popsicle sticks protruding from the soil. inquire as to soil or light requirements and the person who grew the plant will come over and tell you everything. ask when it flowers and get shown the picture in a field guide. today for a little under thirty dollars i bought hosta and rubeckia, iris and echinachea, oregano and heliopsis. so many plants a lovely garden club lady had to help me get them to the car, chatting about gardening all the way.

abstract

shot over and above my head as i sat on a bench on the flower-filled porch of a small establishment and watched as cars and people went in and out of town at lunchtime. a perfectly good waste of about twenty minutes. and what a nice way to begin a vacation.

random acts

a great kindness was done to me today by someone i know only slightly. but i believe the intent was purposeful and genuine and i know its effect was profound. i write this more for myself than for you reader. i want the memory of today to sustain me for a very long while.

last day

nothing is so difficult as a beginning, unless perhaps its the end.
-lord byron
its the last day of school. historically a hard day for me facing a loss of routine and the absence of little people and friends. couple that with the fact that my position is changing and i must move. not a day ive been looking forward to at all. i promise tomorrows post will be cheerier.

just how crazy things are

yes i shopped. no i didnt get milk. and it wasnt until i had poured the cereal and sliced the banana that i realized it. all we had was fat free chocolate milk. i briefly debated the merits of dry cereal vs. chocolate milk cereal. then i poured it on. maybe it will taste like count chocula i reasoned. not that ive ever even eaten count chocula mind you! it took a few spoonfuls before the full effect of the taste hit and i realized just how very unbreakfastlike this breakfast was. so i fished out the bananas and ate them. the rest i threw out. after i drained the chocolate milk. what was i thinking?

little messages

this is the old slate by the kitchen door. the one where id leave notes for the girl when she was little. its held dates for her band concerts and school plays. phone numbers for her dorm room and later her apartment. numbers where she could be reached while she was traveling. its said merry christmas and happy birthday and congratulations. since january its held the weekly pregnancy countdown which changes every saturday. and look! any time now its going to say welcome to grammies, little one!

origami

finally i have succeeded in crafting a paper crane. sort of. as you can see i still need work on folding the section that is the head and beak. these beaks look like they flew headfirst into a japanese maple.

what is that?

i took this picture because i wasnt totally sure what this even is. obviously its a pine cone. but how can that yellow thing turn into something that looks like the pinecones in the basket by the fireplace or in the wreath on the door? the answer: it doesnt. these are tiny male pinecones covered with yellow pollen. as the wind blows the pollen disperses and settles on resin-covered long green female cones so that fertilization and thus seed production can occur. when theyve done what they set out to do, these little cones fall to the ground. this little bit of info is probably buried somewhere deep in the junior high section of my brain. but it was a wonder to me today. a thank you to dr science (aka barry) and his assistant gretchen for the email education.

busy busy busy

june is always a crazy time for me. early mornings and late nights trying to get everything finished. i was very late getting home from work tonight but turned the car around to snap this picture. the quietest moment of my day. and how amazing that the clock read 8:30pm and there was still so much light.

my drink of choice

a few weeks ago the girl casually mentions that macdonalds iced coffee is far superior to the brand i was drinking. so i give it a try. and now i am hooked. a bona fide iced coffee junkie. fortunately there are no mcds around here and i have to wait to indulge until an errand takes me out of town. but on more than one occasion i have planned my travel routes so i will be in close proximity to mickey dees. and then i drive through and get one. newmans own. organic. delicious. my addictions not as bad as it sounds though. i have yet to order a large. and i drink decaf. so far at least.

ready & waiting

today is june first. only two weeks til the little peanut arrives. and i dont want to miss a thing. so my cellphone is set on high. and vibrate, just in case. now lets hope im in range.