Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Old Friends


We are sitting on the porch looking out over Kelly's Cove on Penobscot Bay. The evenings are long, shadows longer at the end of the day. We are having the last of the wine we all drank at dinner. The guests are gone and I savor this rare time with my oldest friend I have known since I was sensible at the age of four.
We do not talk about our families; there has been plenty of time for that during this week's visit. And we do not exchange histories of all the time since high school. We do not talk about our men, sons, brothers and husbands. Juliet sits back in her porch chair, almost folded into the night and I think how beautiful she is right now. We talk about the students we have had over our long careers as teachers. We give each other the gift of nuanced and poignant stories we have never told before. No one at all, including my siblings, shares such a long intimate history with me as Juliet does.

 Now we are both retired and live in our paradises north and south. We both give our new lives (after working so many years) a great new energy in our communities. Juliet revels in teaching in a "senior" college where anyone can learn and anyone can teach.

Being here for most of a week, anticipating a hurricane that wasn't much beyond some wind and rain where we were, my husband and I were welcomed and fascinated by being in this household. Juliet's husband, Paul, is a local doctor, the ethical and intelligent kind we all wish we had. We love their comfortable house so nicely situated across the lane from the endlessly interesting coming and going of the tide over the rocks and beach. One day we cheered Paul on as he swam (in water much too cold for these Floridians) with Velvet, their amazing dog.

Everything was so comfortable. We loved the walks along the shore line into the small village of toy-like colorful cottages full of summer people enjoying the last days of summer, sitting on the porches, watering the petunias, hauling their kayaks in and out. We loved the produce market where locals sold hand made cheeses and those tiny sweet blueberries (picked by Little Sal's mother?) We loved going to a chamber music concert in a close by village, and we loved shopping in the co-op for some of our meals. Of course we loved talking politics and books.

Since we were little, Juliet and I spent every possible moment outdoors in the woods and still, we are both so interested in plants and birds as a part of life.

I enjoyed hanging up the freshly washed clothes on a line out back where the woods came down the hill and the hummingbirds buzzed everything red. Everything just felt right!

Seeing my old friend again was just the best. We all have those old wrinkled faces, and the usual health issues, but I certainly rejoice to think of the incredible skein of our lives.





Friday, August 19, 2011

This Paradise

I stand outside my studio as the light fades, huge pink and purple clouds on the horizon, promising future rain. The bats are out, intent on the flying bugs. Listening to music blasting out from my ipod, I am happy. No one here forever: our property spreads as far as the eye can see. Only the cows are heading this way and they will lie down for the night in the tall grass.

Of course there are so many things we have to do here, especially in this rainy season when everything grows so rampantly. This morning when it was somewhat cooler we put in a couple of hours readying the vegetable garden for the fall. We must have removed ten bushels of weeds and there is still more to be done. We placed the raised beds where we wanted them. Neither of can bear to remove the huge red sage bushes that attract so many butterflies. And how long can we let those volunteer zinnias stay? The compost pile is covered with morning glories and zinnias except for that small place where I dig in the daily
 kitchen scraps.

My usual computer is in sick bay due to a dysfunctional power source, so bear with me as I write on a tiny device, no photos possible.

The huge wall in my studio is covered with many pieces of beautiful fabric, squares and triangles. This quilt will be for Quincy, the grandchild I know best. I plan to make each grandchild in the youngest tier a quilt for Christmas. That leaves two to go after these. On the large work table are six table mats in the making. I love fabric!

And so much else! We are off to Maine for a few days to visit my oldest friend who lives on the edge of a bay there.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Getting Ready!

It is so hot that one can't possibly think of going out in the garden to weed. But we have made some new raised beds and they are ready to take out to the garden. The new seeds have arrived and I have already planted the new cauliflower and arugula starts. The rest of all the seeds will be directly planted in the new beds.

But for now we are enjoying all the hundreds of butterflies and bees and hummingbirds visiting the huge crop of volunteer red sage, zinnias, and butterfly plants that have taken over the plot. My daughter took several red sage plants to plant in her garden but it hardly makes a dent in the profusion. Soon I will have to take out the volunteer morning glories that climb on every available part of the fence.

Last night my grandson Quincy and I went out to set and bait the traps we hoped would capture the pesky armadillos that continue to root around in the garden. Quincy thought that wet dog food would attract them and he was right. This morning there were two oppossums in the traps. He went out with grandpa to let them go a mile away on the edge of the property. The armadillos are still at large..

Right now I cannot keep perseverating about national politics. So, I am enjoying the here and now of life on the ranch at the edge of the Green Swamp, gardening, working on local volunteering in the Lacoochee community and entertaining the many guests who come. I try not to listen to NPR too much!

My mission right now is to spread the word about good eating! Everyone needs to grow at least some of their own food. In addition to the school/community garden, I will be distributing plant starts and containers full of potting soil to the families who come to the "clay nights" we'll have at the elementary school this fall. When we hosted 'Art Camp' this summer, the kids and parents really loved the fruits and vegetables we served. This stuff is expensive, I know, so anything I can do to encourage a good diet with fresh vegetables is a small but positive thing.

This weekend my husband, the cook, made an exquisite soup! Two parts of peeled tomatoes, one part of peeled peaches, sauted onion. Cook it down until soft. Not long! Then puree it all in a blender or giraffe or food processor. Chill. Add minced tarragon and some heavy cream. Serve in chilled bowls. Yum!