A Welcome Sight and Sound

I Was Toad to Wait Here

When I came home last night from my class, it was dark and our little solar outdoor lights were all aglow.  And one clever toad had found a warm spot to sit and wait for bugs that would be drawn to the light.

Just look at that gorgeous golden eye!

Yesterday in the Garden

Early morning sun catches the new-leaved vines, making the tree's branches look furred... 

Time to do some planting in the box beds . . .

In goes some Italian parsley . . .

Digging a hole, I disturb a sleeping toad who blinks in the sunlight . . .

Two beds weeded, planted and mulched . . . six to go . . .

And there are collards and kale and broccoli to plant . . .
and butterflies to watch . . . 

Blogger wouldn't let me post this last night ...
Mysterious are the ways of Blogger. 

 

Pleasures and Treasures

A perfect day -- sunny, clear, and cool. The white irises are illuminated and even the trees sparkle in the sun.

On the edge of the woods, a native flame azalea reaches for the light.

A glistening galaxy of dandelion seed trembles just before going nova.

And in the box beds I was weeding, I met a tiny toad.

How tiny? This tiny.

The size of a large netsuke.

He looks so wise for one so small.

This shitake, on the other hand, was HUGE -- larger than my open hand.

Pleasures and treasures of a perfect day.

 

  THIS JUST IN! Kathryn Stripling Byer has included Miss Birdie and me over at her Poet of the Day blog!

Breaking News!!

Miss Susie Hutchins finally brought the car back. Neither she nor Maggie would say where they'd been.

With my book turned in and my writerly obligations over with for the moment, I'm taking time to smell the roses . . .

. . .  and work in the garden . . . where I met a charming young toad.

It's a pretty hectic schedule.

I actually watched TV last night for the first time in  . . . well, a very long time. Episode 1 of Foyle's War -- I loved it -- the settings, the clothes, the pace.

Ahhhh! Time to smell some more roses.  In a burst of wild dissipation, I may even watch episode 2 tonight

Weeding

Yesterday morning I worked to restore some kind of order to my box garden. (Beds in boxes, not, alas, bordered by boxwood -- the uber-traditional box garden. Someday, in another life, maybe I'll have one of those. And a dour Scots gardener with a staff to maintain it.)

It's been a fine summer with adequate rain for once and the weeds have prospered. No matter. I like weeding by hand -- it puts you down and close up with nature. It's a quiet, contemplative way to spend a morning -- and a good time to take a camera along.

Follow this link for pictures from my morning. And, for those of you who were reading my blog a year ago, no, there weren't any copperheads this time.