Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Respite



Roese blooming under the window.
I have come home to my cottage after a very busy ten days. Thursday last, after three days of babysitting, I left my daughter's house and drove the highway through summer traffic to my son's home north of Boston. I left there on Saturday with my eldest granddaughter in tow. We came to the cottage for two overnights, then left again on Monday for Easthampton. S was collected and I stayed on to watch the younger grands until this morning. Now I've been sitting in the rocker (it's quite warm and muggy outside. All the windows are open, though, and a breeze, augmented by fans, is wafting the scent of roses in through the open windows).

I found myself constantly putting my book down just to look around and sigh contentedly. The cottage is clean and neat, the white walls reflecting the sunlight. At the kitchen window a small vase of roses provides a sprightly bit of color. Sunbeams glance through the colored glass bottles that sit on the sill. The vase of wild flowers and grasses S and I picked on Monday looks lovely in the center of the table.



Outside, the male house wren chitters at the cats who are lounging on the patio stones. Behind the patio fence the cucumbers are growing, and on the other side the phlox and lilies are standing tall, though not in blossom just yet. Great white clouds with blue undersides are piling up over the horizon. Thunderstorms are promised for late tonight. I will water the gardens regardless, in case the storms miss us as they occasionally do.

Neighbor's cat lounging near the wren house.
The garden, for all my spring effort, is doing poorly. First it was too cold, then too wet, and now too dry. The potatoes and peas are happy but only two of the four hills of squash have produced plants. The radishes are all leaf and no bulb, the beans had to be replanted en masse, and not a single carrot poked through the earth. I can count the number of beet plants on one hand and the chard is up but looking anemic. There's still plenty of rhubarb to pick and the blueberry bushes are alive with berries.   As well, there are great sweeps of black raspberries growing wild along the borders of the garden. I must count my blessings.

Black raspberries ripening.
Blueberries galore.
Peas in flower.
Flourishing potato plants.
Tonight after supper I will take a walk. I will watch the sun set over the pond. When it's dark, I will climb into my bed, rest myself on sun-dried sheets and drift off to sleep, knowing that tomorrow and tomorrow after that, the days will be my own.





13 comments:

Brian Miller said...

enjoy that sunset...

we have a bird nest in our grape arbor...and my cat goes down to wash himself occassionally just to stir them up....ha...all fun til they snipe him a bit....lol...

i love sitting out back...its not good for my reading because i do the same....get caught up in the drama of life...

Out on the prairie said...

Eating sugar baby peas for dinner tonight

Reya Mellicker said...

When you retired, I wondered what you would do with yourself. My goodness, I didn't need to worry or wonder! You're busier now than ever.

Your life is wonderful, your family and friends: wonderful. So glad you have the retreat of your clean, quiet little house. L'chaim, friend.

Unknown said...

I like the Cat photo!

Hilary said...

Even if you hadn't provided photos, I would see every scene as vividly. You speak so beautifully of the season. You always do.

The Purple Assassin. said...

Cat sitting outside and resting, that picture is so relaxing.

Lovely blog you have in here.

The Purple Assassin. said...

Cat sitting outside and resting, that picture is so relaxing.

Lovely blog you have in here.

Stella Jones said...

Being a grandma is wonderful, isn't it. Just so long as you are not over-loaded. Your life sounds like mine and we treasure every minute. Lovely thought patterns today :)

Judith said...

My response to this post (like to so many others) is a contented sigh.
This is how life is supposed to be lived, I'm sure of that. And this is how I'm so happy to read about it.
Then again, I have always regarded your writing as just what meditative writing should be. Not another Thoreau, rather he was another P. Clarke ahead of his time.

Pauline said...

Brian - caught up in life - exactly!

OOTP - Since I've written this I've made three meals of peas from my vines. The best taste of summer!

Reya - no, no worries. I can always find something to interest and engage me!

Thanks, Michael. I have 3 adoptive cats - not my own but they live on the premises and visit me often :)

Hilary - you are the eyes, I am the pen?

Thanks for coming to read, TPA

Star - yes, I love my life as grandmother, mother, gardener, writer - it's all good :)

J - you always manage to make me feel so good about myself! Thank you!

Wisewebwoman said...

"tomorrow and tomorrow after that" those words had a lovely ring for me. I feel my life is taken over in chunks by others, I want to say NO, well holler it but needs must.

I love your photos and the flowers both indoor and out. A lovely spot Pauline.

XO
WWW

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Anonymous said...

Thinking of those blueberries straight out of a garden makes my mouth water! Thanks for this quiet moment with you, a nice deep breath before I start a busy day. Wishing you a wonderful day!