moderate

Is there anything in this world that isn't better served with a healthy dose of moderation? Yes, of course, Yo-Yo Ma should not moderate his playing, because he is a prodigy and the more he plays the finer his music and the happier we all are as a result. But us common folk, even with skills and talents, aren't we better off if we let go of an obsessive impulse to do more, to be better, and allow ourselves the pleasure of doing just a moderate amount of anything?

This is what I told myself as I dug into the weeds and spent lilies of our flower fields. I am not going to clean it all up. I wont shoot for making up the 36 hours of needed work. I'll tidy, I'll snip, I'll pull up clumps of weeds here and there, but then I will get on with the pleasures of a fine summer day! 

I'm up way too early. In part, I want to track the progress of the young family's slow return from Paris ( a second necessitated airport hotel overnight, this one in Detroit!), but, too, I'm finding that knee replacement and jet lag are not a fabulous pairing. Sleep is elusive with one, impossible with the both of them. So I'm up. 

I do a lot of cat petting downstairs. Dance and Unfriendly-Snowflake have an attachment to me that verges on being ridiculous, so when I come back from a trip, they like to clamor all over me until things settle down again.

And then I head out to do general animal care. And right away, I start sniping and pulling and filling  buckets with spent flowers and weeds. 

I would say that Bastille Day (today!) is when the blooms start their most fabulous blooming period. So be prepared! You are going to get garden photos! (I mean, if not now, then when??)

I pause after about an hour to fix breakfast. Ed is up and I am hungry!

And then I go back at it.

But after a couple of more hours, I call it quits. Good enough!

I want to go for a walk with Ed1 I don't just want to work in the flower fields!

We ride his motorcycle out to our favorite park trail and everything about the hour we devote to it is sublime. The breeze, the sunshine, the soft verdant trail, the prairie!

Oh, the prairie!

An hour well spent!

In the afternoon, I meet up with my daughter and Snowdrop at my mom's place.

I have some papers for her to sign and my girls take this opportunity to say hello.

And then I bring Snowdrop to the farmette. We have a little more time than usual, so we dont immediately plunge into farmhouse books and stories. Snowdrop picks some fraises des bois and also the raspberries that are quickly ripening on some scattered canes.

We inspect the tomatoes, watermelon, and lavender. They're all lookin' good!

Once inside, before we hit the books, she glances over to see what Ed is watching on his computer screen. I use this opportunity to shift loads of laundry. When I come back, I hear her asking questions about the content -- it has to do with the war in the Ukraine. Ed gives detailed and truthful answers. It's one of those moments when you wonder how early is too early to learn about the less gentle side of human nature.

After a while, I give a little nudge toward a redirect and they happily lose themselves in some computer game they like.

And eventually I return her to her parents and turn my attention toward dinner. 

I dont usually pick up on country birthdays, but today's Bastille Day (in France) coincides with my desire to make French green lentils -- much like the ones we ate at Cafe Varenne on our last day in Paris. Sautee some veggies, add the lentils, broth and seasoning and then serve while they're still a bit firm. With bits of goat cheese and a freshly poached egg.

So I didn't totally catch up with my flower beds. Does it matter? No, it does not. 

with love...