138/365 Memories

Laughter shared by friends

Refreshes the heart, losing

No sweetness through time.

137/365 Evening

How sweetly sunshine

And birdsong follow rain as

Day melts into dusk.

136/365

Dreary skies threaten

Rain while thunder mumbles and

Loiters overhead.

135/365 Focus

Chattering voices

Recede as thought takes form to

Demand attention.

Is there anything that compares to that

first shower when you return from a road trip?

 

 

I want to give Naphtali

the chance to show off the new place

so there won't be any more pictures

and I will only say that they

have a charming house in what seems

like a friendly neighborhood.

 

I arrived on 2nd Street Friday morning

 and found things well in hand.

 

Thanks to the help of Mr. Rogers

and his family

(dear friends from way back)

soooo much was already done,

and the work that was left

was finished with good-humored camaraderie.

Hard to believe, but by suppertime,

she was done with 2nd Street.

 

We enjoyed the perfect window

of perfect weather

in a week characterized by rain

 and more rain.

 

Everyone worked

and worked well together.

 

When I left, this afternoon,

all the boxes had been

 emptied,

distributed to friends who are moving,

or

broken down and recycled.

 

Sure, there will be some fine-tuning

but they live there.

It doesn't have the feeling of a new place.

It feels like their home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

134/365 Homeward

The day lengthens as

The soft call of home echoes

From the leaden road.

133/365 Travel

Familiar pleasures

Beckon the road-weary to

Turn again homeward.

132/365 Friendship

No time nor distance

Can separate those hearts bound

By truth and in deed.

131/365 Classic Spring Day

The cool, cloudy skies

Of morning give way to the

Warmth of afternoon sun.

Thursday evening

We are enjoying a true spring for the first time

in several years.

 

The weather has been unpredictable.

Last night I pulled out an extra blanket.

Started today with a jacket and ended in shorts.

 

The chorus tonight has been songbirds and

lawn mowers.

 

Blossoming trees have been vibrant.

Gardens are beginning to show promise.

 

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Minneapolis

for Naphtali's move.

Tim will come up on Saturday.

She has plans for us!

 

It's been a busy week

with painting and shuttling small loads to

the new place.

Tomorrow it's a truck and a crew

and we'll be sleeping at the new house.

Can't wait!!

130/365 The River

Fast-flowing water,

High within its banks, shimmers

Brightly in the sun.

129/365 Making Plans

Ideas tumble

Creating energy and

Anticipation

128/365 Evening Stroll

Night air, laden with

The scent of impending rain,

Holds no refreshment.

127/365 Syncopation

Thunder amidst the

Patter of raindrops creates

 Fresh springtime rhythms.



Sunday Recap

It was an interesting day.

 

I'll admit that my Sundays start on the late side.

If I can get away with it.

Yesterday saw me up bright and early to help

 Tim with the fence.

 

That's what it looked like as of 11:00

when it was time to get ready to go to work.

Home again at 4:00.

Dogs, yard work, laundry,

helped build 2 more garden boxes,

then it was time to grill and switch gears

for the evening.

 

Storm warnings had been posted so Tim moved the

rest of the fencing around to make room

for both vehicles in the garage.

 

He grilled.

I made salads.

We had just finished when the skies opened.

There were no warning sprinkles.

It simply started to pour rain.

A few minutes of small hail stones.

And wind.

 

We laughed at the close timing.

Our power went out a few minutes later for maybe

a 1/2 hour.

It wasn't too much longer that it went out again

until this morning.

Close to 12 hours.

 

Here are some pictures taken along our

nearby walking trail.

 

There were a lot of branches

- of all sizes -

throughout the neighborhood.

Not all belonged to old trees

- like the one above -

as evidenced by the following picture:

 

This one made me especially sad.

It looks like it exploded:

 

This is the view to the right

- one picture just couldn't catch it all-

There is probably more than one tree here

though it was hard to tell where they

started and stopped.

 

This morning my favorite birdsongs

were replaced by the whine of chainsaws.

 

We lost a few small branches.

Everyone's yard was full of debris.

The houses were peppered with debris as well.

 

 like I said,

an interesting day. 



126/365 Ominous

Storm clouds build, boiling

And bumping across the sky

All through the long day.

Saturday evening

It's been a long day.

 

I had wondered recently

how Proton would do with the new fence?

Not to worry -

he simply ignores it when the need arises.

 

To be fair, it has taken him almost a week,

but he did jump it today - twice.
Sailed right over it.
Apparently the dogs on the other side were too appealing
and he had to chase up and down
barking with them.

So we added what seemed like
a substantial barricade
using a trellis and the grilling table.

 

(Sorry about the fuzziness)

And he went over that about a 1/2 hour later.
We heard the grill rattle so we know he went over it.
Tim is already formulating plan B.

We put in several hours when I came home from work
building a privacy fence at the back of the yard
so the dogs didn't have our full attention.
Charlie waited in the shade watching us.
Proton watched us, waiting for his opportunity.

My wisteria is blooming.
 

 

I have a few things to finish before I can call it a wrap...

 

125/365 Dusk

Shadows deepen then

Lose their form, blending into

Approaching night.

124/365 Siesta

Soft shadows and cool

Breezes invite the weary

To linger at rest.

Thursday

My computer time has become

 less-than-predictably-reliable.

Walking the dog (dogs for another week)

and watering flowers

-activities to be finished before the day's heat settles-

 now claim the first blush of  morning.

 

google images

 

Evenings are simply too lovely to

spend at a keyboard...

 

 



123/365 Evening in May

The hammock’s rhythm

Stirs fragrant air while fading

Light signals day’s end.

122/365 Afternoon Nap

Sprawling lazily

Across the floor, yawning dogs

Rest contentedly.

Tuesday Morning

This is such a heady time of year.

 

A treat for the senses.

 

A day like this makes you forget

 the long months of snow,

 reminds you that this is a good place to be. 

 

 

Colors

 - seemingly absent yesterday -

surround me today.

The back yard is scented with

lilac and lily of the valley.

Pear and crab apple trees

 are in full blossom.

The wisteria

is ready to join them.

And the birds! 

 

Such a day!

 

 



121/365 Spring Morning

Sweet scents and sweet songs

Fill the air as blossoms join

Birds to welcome Spring.



120/365 Windy Day

Whence come the wild winds?

 Both grass and tree bow before

Such relentless strength.

I'm listening to the birds singing.

I can't tell you how entrancing the songbirds

 around our neighborhood have been.

 

With apologies to Mr. Wilson, I could burst into song like

Marion-the-librarian

wondering why they've never before

made such an impression -

but we'll skip that...

 

I do have to wonder, though, how such

tiny creatures produce such volume.

 

Naphtali and Aidan left for home earlier this afternoon.

Tomorrow is a big day for them.

Papers will be signed,

keys exchanged,

and the opportunity to craft their life anew

begins.

 

It's been one year. 

This same weekend last year

a different set of papers were signed

and we helped them move.

Amazing.

 

We'll go up at the end of the month

to help as we can

- and return Proton to his rightful place-

but most of it should be done.

The next couple weeks Naphtali will be 

painting,

planning,

and making small hauls

from where they are

to where they will be.

 

Can't wait!

 

 

 

 

 

119/365 A Good Day

Dirt-smudged faces beam

With pride and laughter as shared

Work becomes pleasure.

Saturday Morning

Naphtali, Aidan and Proton arrived

last night.  They made good time.

Tradition says they sleep in on Saturday morning.

But I'm not sure how/why they ended up on the couch together.

 

Tim had Proton out for a walk earlier.

 

We'll head out shortly for graduation festivities.

We have plenty of sunshine but

a very cool wind is blowing.

 



118/365 This Morning

Is anything so

Lovely as the face of a

Child immersed in sleep?

117/365 Friday

Warm sunlight slowly

Succeeds the morn’s grey mists to

Ripen with the day

116/365 Wee Hours

Thunder and lightning

Jolt dreams beyond reach as rain

Croons softly of sleep.

115/365 Slipping Away

Time eludes our grasp

Like water flowing to meet

The wild, endless sea.

114/365 Flowers

Bright blooms entice the

Senses shifting and winking

In dappled sunlight.

Gated Community



 

Busy days ahead with

company

family events and

major projects on-going

in the house and yard.

 

 We've added some fencing

to make a section of the yard

 

dog-free.

 

Any plants that fail to thrive will fail

for reasons unrelated to dogs being dogs.

 

It's worked well for Charlie

but Proton will be here next week

and that will be the real test.

 

Naphtali and Aidan will come down Friday.

A graduation reception

and Mother's Day visits will fill the weekend.

They'll head home, Sunday, 

- with Tim's pick-up -

leaving Proton with us until Memorial Day.

 

Why?

Because they'll be moving!

 

Papers will be signed on Monday!

Painting

packing

hauling

will take up the next couple weeks

and Proton can skip that part of the process.

 

 

We're all excited to see this transitional

period end.

For so many reasons it will be good to see them

in their own home.

 

 

 

 

 

113/365 The Cardinal

Swift scarlet flight and

Ringing treetop arias

Proclaim “Tis my realm!”

112/365 Relief

Soft breezes hint at

Change as thinning clouds skim past

Ending their grey siege.

111/365 Wellness

Chicken soup reminds

The weary heart to savor

Kind ministrations.

110/365 Nightfall

Tonight, no sunset;

Grey skies simply deepen to

Black, marking day’s end.

Peer Pressure

We have always

always

always

waited until Mother's Day

to do anything with bedding plants.

 

This past weekend our neighbor and her adorable

preschool daughter

had filled their big, red wagon

with all sorts of flowers

and made their way around the yard

planting and

laughing and

oohing and ahhing

and having so much fun together

that I went and bought

some plants on Monday.

And Tuesday.

And they looked great.

On Wednesday.

 

Last night when I came home from work

I noticed those same neighbors had been busy

covering their handiwork with sheets

so I tromped around in the dark spreading

 a few sheets of my own.

 

It has been snowing all day.

 

All day.

 

All day!

 



 

 



109/365 May Snow

Plump robin redbreast

Bright against fresh snow shares my

Cold befuddlement.

108/365 Progress

Planning comes in waves

As options solidify

And excitement grows.