June Irises

"Then we had the irises, rising beautiful and cool on their tall stalks, like blown glass . . . 

like pastel water momentarily frozen in a splash, light blue, light mauve...

and then we had the darker ones, velvet and purple, black cat's ears in the sun...."      

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

 

 

Sometimes, driving out in the country, I see a lonely grove of trees and a clump of iris in a field.  They are all that is left where a farmhouse once stood, where lives were lived and loved, where the seasons turned with absolute purpose and certainty until the land was reclaimed by green.

Except for the iris.

Meet LuLu

      A big package came on a truck while I was gone yesterday. 

I didn't get home until late so I had to wait until this morning to open it.

Inside the box was a tangle of tubes, all wrapped in bubblewrap and foam packaging.

I pulled it out of the box in the garage, put on the seat and handlebars . . .

unfolded it . . .

and there she is.  I named her LuLu after the friend I lost recently (a great suggestion from Paid in Chickens, thank you very much!).  And she even came with a bell. 

 

"You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

So . . . get on your way!"

Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go

 

 

 

 

Some/One

 Some/One, on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is a comment about war.  Displayed in a dimly lit, nearly empty room with intense light directed upon the sculpture, it is both moving and thought-provoking. 

Thousands of individual military dog tags make up the exterior.  The outstretched arms seem to me  to represent the sacrifice of those whose names are there, each tag representing a man or woman, a frail human body attempting to stave off the effects of war.  Inside are images of machine parts, the machinery of war at work with nothing but this coat of thin metal between it and the world.  

 

Some/One was created by South Korean sculptor Do Ho Sun.  He served in the Korean military. 

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Perfection

"When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt back your head and laugh at the sky!"

Buddha

 

 

Wild Columbine

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

This feather-light tiny nest fell out of a huge
spruce tree.  I don't know if it was
finished yet.

 

Have a perfect day!

 

Saying 'Yes'

  As I said a few days ago, I recently lost a friend.  We had been friends since we were 14 and she walked into my school wearing a big green Girl Scout uniform.  SO not cool. We had all given up Scouts in the 7th grade. But, similar passions for hiking, canoeing, bird watching, cycling, camping, and travel won out and we became lifetime friends.

   Louise never married so she was always generous with my children, enjoyed them immensely, encouraged them, and considered them family.  She had the loudest laugh of anyone I ever knew, and she used it often.  She also had exuberance and appreciation that knew no bounds.  We loved it when Louise came to stay, but, when Louise left, we needed a rest from her energy, volume, and enthusiasm.
  

  Louise retired from a lifetime of teaching just a few months ago.  She wasn't nearly done living.  She had plans, oh, my she had plans, and was just waiting for spring weather to get them underway.  
 

  I can't believe she is gone. It's a cliche, but it is also true as can be.  I can't find the place to settle that thought in my mind.  How can someone with such a huge energy field just not be there anymore?

   Life is drawn up short for some time, and then it goes on.  My reaction, and my tribute, is to renew my intent to fill every moment of my own life and savor every experience. 
 

   So I booked my flights for September.  I began making plans and room reservations.  And I ordered something I have wanted for years:

  

A bike that folds up and fits in my car.  Now all I need is a bell, a wicker basket, and a straw hat with daisies on it!

 

   

 

    

A Very Local Lunch

 

   I like to challenge myself to eat as local as possible and today's lunch is a big winner!

   Cold soup: sorrel and asparagus from my garden, with chicken and broth from my sister and BIL's Chicken Palace*, and clotted cream from the local creamery, clotted by me.

   Rhubarb crumble: rhubarb from my garden, local honey from farmer's market, clotted cream - same as soup. 

Beverage: spearmint tea from right outside the back door.


*Chicken Palace, because it's cozier and fancier than my house!

News From the Garden

The first apple blossoms opened this morning.  They are so lovely against the blue sky.

 

 That means it's time to fertilize.  I use a mixture of bone meal, kelp, and blood meal, spread at the dripline and watered in.

Somebody has been busy, a chickadee, or maybe a mouse over the winter.  The white stuff hanging out is a piece of the remay cloth I use to cover the strawberry bed to keep out the birds.  (Not that I mind sharing, but they take a peck out of every berry and leave only mush for me!)  There is a variety of other soft natural materials inside. 

These are the only plants still waiting to go in the ground, except for the pepper plants I'll buy at the farmer's market tomorrow.  Otherwise, the garden is planted, hooray!

 My daughter lives in an apartment in the big city, no place for a garden.  She is quite an accomplished cook so I potted up some herbs for her in these giant teacups.  Both my daughters love tea, like their mama. 

It's a long holiday weekend in the US, with Memorial Day on Monday.  And it looks like we will be having some really nice weather for this start to the summer season. I will be especially remembering my friend Louise that day for the Memorial Day weekend camping trips we took my kids on.  Louise passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. I still can't believe she is gone.

 

Thanks for reading.  I enjoy reading your comments.