the next day

Well, we’re getting there. The day surely had bright spots today. Good friends lurking in the background sold me on life, you could say.

Ah life. I’m at the farmhouse again, though the construction group has left for the day. There’s varnish on some of the floors and so moving around the place is tricky.

We zero in on the vestibule. Or foyer. Or mudroom. Call it what you like, it’s a mess there. I want to reign in my desire to merely replace. Surely we should aim to make do. Yellowing doors, dank and dusty shelves – they all need a facelift. I settle in to paint.

I’m going to pause for the day with photos from the inside. Progress. Take my word -- we’re making progress.


But for what?

Well, you might say for this – for the sight of whooping cranes descending on the fields just due east of us.





And for the deer. I will not tire of taking out the camera when I see something like this at the side of the road.





And the farmers. Bearing witness to their work, maybe. Today they cleared, plowed and burned spent stems and branches. And the younger ones romped and played and chased one another with sticks.





So that I don’t lose sight of the details. The larger canvas. And, too, the small petals around the throat of a crocus.