There Is Always So Much To Do - Josie

Anticipation

All Night by Lisel Mueller

All night the knot in the shoelace 
waits for its liberation, 
and the match on the table packs its head 
with anticipation of light.
 
The faucet sweats out a bead of water, 
which gathers strength for the free fall, 
while the lettuce in the refrigerator 
succumbs to its brown killer.

And in the novel I put 
down 
before I fall asleep, 
the paneled walls of a room 
are condemned to stand and wait 
for tomorrow, when I'll get to the page 
where the prisoner finds the secret door 
and steps into air and the scent of lilacs.

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Morning Glories

Sunrisesunrisesunrisesunrsesunrisesunrise . . .

The show begins a little after seven . . .

I took forty-two pictures but have restrained myself from posting them all.

Some are a little scary.

One has a spider.

Some make me think of Japan's Inland Sea.

Some look like they were taken on another planet.

Cue the Emperor Ming . . .

Technically we're past sunrise now but I can't stop . . .

Oh, joy unbounded!

Josie and the Bunny Ears

Worth Every Penny

We awoke to a partially restored view, eager to see the last of that big elm that the sun is hiding behind. 

I'd almost forgotten how beautiful the rising mist is.

The elm proved recalcitrant -- it's a huge tree and will provide a lot of firewood. It required almost three hours of trimming branches and clearing a place for it to fall. And when it finally gave way, I missed it because I was changing Josie's diaper.

Once the elm was down, there were a few smaller trees still blocking the view. And, at last, they were down!

And it's back! -- the view that we fell in love with in 1973, the view that convinced us this was where we wanted to spend our lives.

The great thing is, that though there have been more houses built out there, the trees have been growing out there too, and we actually are seeing fewer buildings that we did ten years ago.

After supper, we took a bottle of  bubbly out to the porch to enjoy the night time view. And we saw fewer lights than we remembered, thanks again to those growing trees out there.

We were very pleased with Cruz Tree Services --  Salvador Cruz at 828- 266-0416. This is not a big company and I can't find a website for him. But they are hard, careful workers and they do what they say they'll do. We'll be using Cruz Tree Services again. He's on Facebook HERE and he responded to a message in a timely manner. They do work all over western NC and are nice folks. 

Expect more sunrise pictures!

Cuttus Interruptus

The two tree guys (Cruz Tree Service) showed up around nine and worked hard till six and about half of our view is restored!!!

It looked like this before they started . . .

And when the first trees fell and I could see the familiar outline of the Blue Ridge in the distance, I felt like crying and, at the same time, whooping for joy. 

I swear, my very eyes were glad to be able to stretch out and rest against those far mountains.

The boss's second grader son came up to the porch and hung out with us off and on during the day -- a really nice boy.

I celebrated the returning of the view by washing the front windows -- quite suitable, I thought. I had to do something while those guys were working so hard down there.

They called it quits around 6:30. The big elm to the left will have to wait. They should be back today. 

Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!

Getting Ready . . .

The cows have to eat year round so hay in the barn is a good feeling. So are a full freezer and a good woodpile.  

I've been so busy cleaning up the garden and now helping John get the Gran House ready for our new tenant that I haven't managed much in the way of blog posts. By the end of the day, I just want to stretch out and read or watch another installment of some British mystery.

 We just finished up the Inspector Lynley series. I'd read almost all of them and it took a while to adjust to the television characters. I found Lynley rather annoying and John really hated Helen -- the first one. When a new actress came in mid series, he liked her better. (I didn't. Too perky.) 

We probably wouldn't have finished the series if it hadn't been for Havers. We both liked her  a lot-- she was a nice antidote to Helen and Lynley's vaporings and angst.

September Blooms (and One Bud)

Another Blast from the Past

Tampa, Florida, 1972. Awaiting the arrival of the firstborn. . .