looking out and ahead

Down to 46F (7C) this morning. We definitely pushed summer aside. On schedule, I'd say. The sunshine, too, is becoming a thing of the past. Showers this week -- welcome, to be sure, though I'm hoping they'll come in moderation. I worry about my roses -- as with children and puppies, the first months are crucial in their development.

No, Millie. No breakfast on the porch. Not today. Though while we have a few minutes of sunlight, let me fix a breakfast in the reading corner, by the windows.

Millie, dont act so surprised! This may well be the new normal!

Of course, when I am that close to the windows, I see the filter of dust. There has been a lot of construction on this road and it shows. I consider calling window washers, but then I remember how much I have spent on plants this year and I reach for the Windex instead. There's no need to do all the windows -- just the front facing ones in the reading corner and some of the ones that are easy to manipulate in the dining nook. A half hour of work and I'm done.

 

I thought yesterday that I was finished with digging out turf, but no! I redrew my plan for the roses that haven't arrived yet and I see that I can plant them out further in the side yard. So, Millie goes in her crate and I take out the shovel again. Maybe for the last time this year? With me, you never know, though I would find it obscene to continue planting past the official start of Fall (September 22nd). 

Two hours later, I'm done. Heavy work! The sod removal given the dry clay was bad, but digging out holes was the worst. That I haven't broken the shovel yet is one pure miracle. 

Before releasing Millie, I go over to the farmette to dump my bucket of compostable scraps . 

(the porch that once was my slice of heaven)

(remember the writer's shed?)

I stay a while to fill Ed in on weekend happenings. I haven't written much about my ill friend, but it is in fact an ongoing saga. I try not to get moody about it even as there's much to make you feel moody. I learned a lot about the need for joy even when drama strikes close to home, from my Michigan friend Deb. I suppose it helps that I've been on a hunt for good distractions from the more somber aspects of a day pretty much all my life. Seek and you shall find. (Me? Quoting the Bible? That has to be a first!) Digging into hard dirt may be hard work, but it is in fact very very satisfying! Getting that large rock out, pushing the shovel with your foot -- there's pleasure in that! And when I'm done for the day and sit down on the couch -- well now, that's real bliss! So, today I had a heck of a wonderful feeling of bliss.

 

Since my pup was crated for a good three hours, I take her for a longer walk in the afternoon. Along the bike path that looks out on the wetlands and on the distant side -- the farmette lands.

 

 

 

She is not a fan of longer walks along unfamiliar paths.  Tail down, a sharp pull to return. But I persevere. It's so lovely by the prairie fields now, in the very last breath of summer.

Millie, I hope you do learn to love the new, the adventures, the discovery. It's remarkable how much you can get out of life by just opening that gate to the outside world. Right, my pup? We'll keep on working at it!

with so much love...