Like Sasquatch, Max emerged from the shadows of the woods when I drove up to the house. I wasn't fooled - he was waiting for Tom, not me. But Tom was late. Max figured I was better than nothing.
Yesterday's blog post was fresh on my mind...all the to-do lists...all the squeezed, stretched, crowded minutes...but the afternoon sun was warm, not hot...the breeze was a gentle hug...and Max looked so hopeful.
So we headed off for a short walk around the property, Frankie trotting along beside us. I needed to scope out big rocks for my landscaping idea, anyway...
We took it slow...plenty of time for sniffing (Max), gobbling bugs (Frankie), and just breathing (me)... down the driveway to the pond where we watched some swallow-type birds criss-crossing above the water, feasting on evening insects... across the earthen dam framed in budding grapevine, down to the little pond where we've discovered a few minnows, across the bridge, and back up the rise to Cemetery # 2, where Charly and Chewy are buried.
I've spent a few Saturdays raking the weeds there, piling up the brush for Tom to burn. My first thought was to just clear this area so I could get to the graves, as morbid as that sounds...then, copying my neighbor, I had the idea of planting wild flowers in the clearing. It's too late for that, but I love the green of the uncovered new grass, the roll of the land, and the existing wildflowers popping up, yellows and purples. By late summer the colors will fade, washed out by the heat and the sunshine; but now they are as bright and vivid as a dream.
Tom finally made it home; I grabbed my camera and we headed back out for another walk, but I only went part of the way. I mostly just wanted to capture the emerging (wild) wildflowers, stretching up from the ground toward the sun; they remind me of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz movie, peeking out, checking to see if the coast is clear. (I bet they had spring flowers in mind when they directed that scene.)
There are some little daisy-like blossoms, some pure yellows and a surprise - my favorite purple prairie verbena have popped up out of nowhere.
Back up at the house, I wasn't quite ready to leave the sunshine. I poured a glass of wine and sat on the porch swing, listening to the birds, the waterfall...noticing the buds, the clouds...
"Let's play ping-pong!" Tom said, returning with Max. That's what I forgot to add to my 'untouchables' list yesterday! Ping-pong!
We played long enough for Frankie to remember he shouldn't try to coach from the rock right beside the table (the balls go everywhere!) and for Max to get bored and move from the yard beside us back to his bed farther down the porch.
Take a walk with me...
Daisy-ish flowers...I need to look up the name of these!
Cemetery #2...Tom in the distance, designing something, I can tell...believe me, I've seen that stance often enough!
A damn dam update...still falling apart...lovely, isn't it? eerrgghh...
Yellow, reaching for the sun...
My favorites, tenacious purple prairie verbena...
Chewy and Charly, never forgotten...
Frankie keeping me company...
