“A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.”
― May Sarton
I can feel fall in the air. The nights are getting shorter and there is a chill in the house come morning, that requires a cozy sweater or my flannel shirt. The garden always shifts a bit come August, and I feel myself letting go of some of my normal hovering, allowing it to head off to rest without much fuss.
***
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
what's for dinner
Instead of worrying about dinner today, I made a blackberry peach crisp with a cornmeal crumble. It smells delicious.
Here it is all pretty. The process wore me out, or rather the clean up did. But there is leftover soup in the fridge if he wants something else.
***
“Less than a month ago, all of August still stretched before us – long and golden and reassuring, like an endless period of delicious sleep.” ― Lauren Oliver
It is the tiny things that I want to take note of.
“It starts with catching ourselves when we spin off in the same old ways. Usually we feel that there’s a large problem and we have to fix it. The instruction is to stop. Do something unfamiliar. Do anything besides rushing off in the same old direction, up to the same old tricks.”
― Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
hops along the fence line
The whole idea is to change the patterns and the routines and allow myself to gently slip into something with more meaning, something that might set off a spark in a new direction.
“Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life.”
― Brian Andreas
I dive into a new project.
One day at a time.
"The walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious."
— Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach)
peach season
I am of the mind that peaches should not be bought at grocery stores. One must seek out fresh picked ones from a farm stand, or better yet, pick it fresh off the tree yourself. They are scarce this year, a late frost hitting the orchards on the east side of our state so my local farm stand is hit and miss. This one was worth the wait.
***
“Life only unfolds in moments. The healing power of mindfulness lies in living each of those moments as fully as we can,
accepting it as it is as we open to what comes next—in the next moment of now.”
― Jon Kabat-Zinn
harvest
He comes to spend the night. He helps with the daily harvest, slays bubbles, and fills my heart with so much joy. At bedtime he convinces me to read just one more book, (please Gramma), over and over, until I finally put my foot down because I am so exhausted. But come morning, I can hardly wait until he wakes up.
I wake this morning, on my 70th birthday, with no plans, no expectations, and no regrets. Each event, every bump in the road, every disappointment and celebration, has shaped me into who I am today, and fighting that has not worked out well for me. I decide instead to do my best to live in the moment, all the moments, trying not to fight, but rather take note.
***