Don — Page 73

Comforting

April 30, 2018 at 9:29 am by Claudia

A gray and unseasonably cold morning with rain on the way. I slept very little last night because I had some nightmares when I first fell asleep that left me very unsettled. So, I’m exhausted.

But this guy being here makes all the difference in the world. It may be gray and rainy but he’s here. I may be exhausted but he was here to comfort me this morning. It makes such a difference.

Even Monty thinks so.

I don’t know what we’ll do today, most likely it will be very low key. He’s tired, too.

This morning the groundhog (is it Henry, or are there two of them?) was walking by the kitchen door. Awfully close to the house for a shy little creature! And the neighbor’s cat was roaming our property which I don’t like because I don’t want him killing birds. At that point, the groundhog was hiding under my car and when I opened the door and gave a sharp clap to shoo off the cat, the groundhog took off, too. As did a robin. The groundhog is welcome. The cat is not.

This is what I saw when I was waiting in the car at the bus station. And believe me, it got even more spectacular. Don and I were gasping as we drove home.

Happy Monday.

Wrestling with Mother Nature

April 27, 2018 at 9:09 am by Claudia

My journey into the land of poison ivy and brambles is temporarily over. I do have some more brambles to deal with on the other side of the house, but that will have to wait. We have a lot of poison ivy around here, coupled with old trees that have had vines snaking up the bark for years. I bought inexpensive pruners and some gloves and I did my best to snip all of those vines, which resulted in a lot of contorted body positions in order to get to the vines. It won’t eradicate the poison ivy, but it will temporarily stop the growth all the way up the trees. And then I threw the pruners out.

Brambles are a never-ending battle. But I did my best to cut them back where they needed to be cut back. I don’t want to eliminate them entirely as they bloom in the spring and the flowers and scent are heavenly. I wanted to cut them back where they interfere with walking the property and where they send up their shoots and envelop other plants and trees. My hands and legs have several little wounds from my attempts to wrestle with the brambles. To be expected.

All of which made Claudia tuckered out at the end of the day.

Today: rain. Tomorrow: rain.

And I have to recycle today!

A few photos taken in the evening yesterday. These are meant to give you an idea of what is coming up out of the ground. Hostas, day lilies, sedum and coneflowers. Don’t mind the leaves. Since I keep the leaves there all winter, I need more than one pass to get them out of the beds. I haven’t got a chance to do a second pass.

More day lilies and hostas.

This grass is so consistent. Always one of the first plants to come up in the garden, it has spread over the years. That’s a narcissus in the middle of the grass. And the hyacinths are in the distance.

Last night, at the end of a sunny day, I stood at the front door and looked out at the green grass and the gardens, watched the birds flying here and there, caught a glimpse of a groundhog (Henry?) and watched the reflection of the sunset in the waters of the river that is just across the street. Pretty darned lovely.

And Don is coming home on Sunday night. He really misses his home and who can blame him? Especially as winter has departed and spring is here.

Happy Friday.

Adventuring

April 24, 2018 at 9:44 am by Claudia

Lovely day with my husband yesterday. It was beautifully sunny and in the mid-sixties. We went to brunch at a favorite local restaurant and then proceeded to drive around randomly, adopting our “road trip” attitude. I still think about our trip across the country last year and I miss it; the adventure, being open to new experiences, stopping when someplace or thing looks interesting. We decided during that trip that adventuring with that attitude attracts wonderful experiences and people.

We had a taste of that yesterday. I felt my shoulders drop. So did Don.

We discovered a wonderful family run farm market, greenhouse, and wholesale vegetable farm called Davenport Farms.

Favorite thing of the day: this vintage cooler with that fabulous Art Deco font. Still in use after all these years. I love it.

We found some lovely pots and I bought a flat of pansies and some lavender.

I also found these, which made me gasp!

I haven’t thought about these in probably 40 years! I used to suck on these all the time. I love root beer and the flavor of Reed’s Root Beer is intense and long-lasting. It was like reuniting with an old friend! Obviously, I bought them and Don and I proceeded to drive with the windows down, sucking on root beer candies. Heaven. (I did some research – they were made in Chicago.)

We also had some great conversations with the staff. I’ll be going back for sure.

Also saw this in front of a local restaurant:

We tried it out, of course. Sadly, it isn’t for sale. Sigh.

We came home, unloaded the car, took it easy and then made dinner, topped off by watching The Post. Excellent movie and never more relevant than today.

And now I have to get ready to drop him off at the bus station.

I’m just happier when I’m with him. That’s a fact.

Meanwhile, not much is blooming here in the early spring, but the first batch of daffs are gorgeous.

And the lilac buds are getting fatter.

I’ll close with a remembrance of my dear mom who died four years ago today. I love you, Mom. I miss you every day.

Happy Tuesday.

Comforting

Wrestling with Mother Nature

Adventuring

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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