He thinks he is a ghost, so I pretend to be afraid; when he howls under the blanket, try not to laugh when he pops his head out in what I imagine is his version of “BOO!” She imagines herself a swimmer; practices her strokes in the sunlight, head tilted upward, eyes on the sky, knowing she will have to work twice as hard as the birds who flit by the window, flaunting their wings, knowing it will not come easy, but determined still to fly. Continue reading Let’s Pretend….

My husband; the speck in the white shirt, dwarfed by proud Magnolia, engulfed by stubborn hedge; the man who is the biggest part of my life, swallowed whole as he scans the sky for rain, turns on the sprinkler, tends to newly planted grass and decades old flowers, both of whom he hopes will live to surpass us both. Continue reading Into the Wild

I’ll be back tomorrow……. Today was one of those days that fly by in a blur and end with nothing interesting to report. It has been a week of those days to be honest. Idle chit chat on the front porch ends when the light goes dim, the glasses empty, the dogs whine. Before you know it it is late, and you are scrambling to get dinner on the table, check the news, see if the world is still standing and figure out your standing in it. Dishes are stacked neatly in the sink, along with other tasks, relegated to … Continue reading Tomorrow, Tomorrow…..

Sitting on the porch the conversation goes quiet. I imagine it has hushed all over town as birds sit on the wires, cross the lines of communication, feel the pulse quicken in the tension lines, fly away and listen to the squabble left in their wake. Continue reading Bird, Bird, Bird on a Wire

This day has gotten away from me, I have little to show for it and I can’t tell you exactly why. What I DO have is this picture I snapped this morning while out walking the dogs. We pass this house almost everyday and this morning, suddenly, everything was in bloom. When I stop to take pictures, my husband gets fidgety and the dogs grow impatient. There is shifting of weight and straining of leashes. Sometimes there is huffing. I have learned however, that nature changes quickly around here. The wind picks up, the light shifts, buds burst into bloom, … Continue reading Don’t Blink You Might Miss It

It has been a low interest day with one notable exception. Dobby and Judith have both decided, out of the blue, that the staircase landing, looking down, is THE place to be. Perhaps it has something to do with airflow or sunspots or watching us as we pass by below. Perhaps, I am sensing, it has something to do with the Victorian Lady portrait I hung on a whim the other day, at the foot of the stairs. Perhaps, as my husband is sensing, it is just my imagination running wild. Perhaps I will have to research the portrait like … Continue reading Sixth Sense? Perhaps…..

Last night people with fireworks made a ruckus. Tonight Nature is showing them how it is done. We sit on the porch, because the upstairs air went out and it is cooler outside. We grumble about the heat and swat at the bugs, marvel at the lightning and startle at the thunder that shakes the house and causes the porch beneath us to sway. And we reminisce about “The Olden Days.” Days long before our time. Days before air conditioning, when the promise of a breeze brought people out to their porches. Days before television, when people watched the sky. … Continue reading The Olden Days

I forgot how difficult red can be. How many, many, many coats it takes to cover. This red paint may be the death of us, and it certainly looks like a crime scene in my sink, but so far we have not killed each other which I am counting as an accomplishment. Stay tuned for the final results…. Continue reading Red Rum

Our little town, we have discovered recently, is very fond of things that go “Boom!” Moving from Arizona, where fireworks are more controlled due to the fire hazard that is the desert, to the “downtown” area of a town with looser ordinances, has resulted in a much louder Fourth of July kick off than we are used to. To be honest, I really wouldn’t notice or care about the extra noise if it weren’t for my sweet Herbie. He is an amazing dog but has always been a bit skittish when it comes to loud noises. He whines and pants … Continue reading Red, White and Boom!