Three boxes came this week: one has some hundred plus bulbs, plants and some bare-roots to put into the ground. I had the presence of mind to open it and take out the few plants that had to go in RIGHT NOW, but the rest – the bulbs – sit in the mudroom, waiting. The second box has a winter coat. I never bothered getting a winter coat when I lived in Madison – a versatile sports jacket served well for everything, from skiing to taking the bus to work. But I’m in the country. I want to ride Rosie when it’s cold. I need a coat. The box sits unopened. I haven’t the minute it would take to hang it up.
The third box has a flannel shirt for Ed – in commemoration of the around the corner anniversary/birthday (I met him on his birthday), but really because he needs one. He’ll sit in his Farm and Fleet all season jacket when he’s cold. The one shirt he has (that one, too, from Farm and Fleet where he tells me “normal people buy their clothing”) is made of scratchy wool and it is mighty uncomfortable to sit next to him when he puts it on. (It is only slightly better than the stiff jacket. Of course, he wont accept the shirt, because it is a gift and Ed does not deal well with gifts and so I anticipate that that box will remain in the mudroom for a long long time.
I leave campus today when it is still very very warm. Dry, too.
Rosie and I scoot past the lakes, taking a somewhat different route home.
There, the shadows are long, the colors are mellow. Autumnal gold, yes, that, and lemon yellow – see it?
