Monday, July 25, 2016

Monday

A bright summer day. That description really fits the bill. The sky is blue, the colors are intense. The bugs retreated for a while, the humidity dipped -- all this and flowers too!



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(Unusual: a double lily!)


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(The bed that almost never appears on Ocean: the one lining the driveway.)


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(A look toward the sheep shed, with that intense look of midsummer.)


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(Last year's new bed, getting a lot of traction here on Ocean, because I'm watching closely its beautiful development.)


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Breakfast. Wonderful in every way.


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It's Monday and Snowdrop spends a full day at the farmhouse. Or, rather, at the farmette. Once she arrives, there's no keeping her indoors. Not for long, anyway. When I ask her -- want to pick blueberries? -- she torpedoes herself to the door, pushing mightily on the handle to let us out.

(Here she is, munching from the cup which itself has blueberries on it.)


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We go to the tomato patch. She's familiar with it and she is excited by the fact that we can finally pick a tomato for her to taste. (Wouldn't you love a sun warmed small tomato right off the bush?)


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Yes, there are a few minutes indoors. For those favorite upside down swings with ah-ah-eh (that would be grandpa Ed)...


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... and always, always, a few precious moments with books, and with penguin, and with a book read to penguin...


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But when I ask her if she would help me water the pots outside, she's right on it!

(Even though it's not an easy watering can to handle.)


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(I need more water, grandma!)


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And suddenly, I am reminded of something. I do not pretend to do things here that follow in the noble path of the Impressionist painters. But looking over the photos from today, I have to smile at the similarities.


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(Isn't it just a tiny bit in line with Monet's "Garden at Vetheuil?")





And this one:


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Didn't it for a minute recall for you another impression, this one by Renoir?





It's not that I have here, at the farmette, anything that is special, or unusual, or worthy of a canvas. The greater truth is that we all do this stuff: we grow flowers and delight in seeing our toddler lift up a watering can, and yes, great artists have painted it and us lesser beings simply live it -- the canvases of life's happiest moments.


So yes, terrible things take place daily. But those of us lucky enough to escape the horror, we almost have a duty to recognize our brilliant everyday. The flowers. The child with the watering can. The smiles that are around us, even in trying times.



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I do. You do too, I know that. And I am delighted and grateful for your comments that tell me so.