Dancing Leaves
No doubt the trees have been more relieved than usual to release their leafy burdens this year, and the leaves even moreso to relinquish their duties on behalf of their woody parental stems and trunks. As the truck moved along the road in front of me this morning, keeping to the 20-mile-per-hour speed limit, the leaves covering the road it crossed were ecstatic in the dance that they danced for my eyes only.
May Musings
The birth of my daughter meant that I got to celebrate Mother’s Day, also in May, but then May got really and truly crowded when my son was born on May 10th. So now we had mom and dad’s anniversary on May 8th, Robbie’s birthday on May 10th, my and my ex’s anniversary on May 12, and Mother’s Day tended to get lost in the shuffle, even falling some years on the same day as Robbie’s birthday and so I often had to swallow my chops and take a back seat while my ex would smile and say, “Every day is Mother’s Day!” and I didn’t slap him.
Merry Citrusmas and Happy New Year
You haven’t truly had good lemonade until you’ve had lemonade made from Meyer lemons. One of the great good fortunes of living in South Louisiana is that I get to have Meyer lemonade all year long.
Ode to Feathers
Each one has its place, position and job to fill while still attached to the body that grows them. Each one has at least one partner, of a very different shape, structure and position, that helps it to feel what’s needed by the body in this moment, and the next, and the next. They come in Every. Single. Color of the rainbow, but all colors are not made equal, nor is any color perceived equally.
Frolicking with Feathers – Part 2
I’m one of those lucky people who occasionally get to fly in their dreams. Such dreams are infrequent, they are vivid and thrilling, and I am inevitably sad to wake up. My dream flights – – whether they are happening inside an airplane or merely my own skin – – are always effortless and utterly…
Frolicking with Feathers – Part 1
Frolicking will come, but first a bit of history. The year is 1912, the Edwardian Era, after the death of Queen Victoria and before the First World War. William Howard Taft is the President of the U.S.; the Girl Scouts of America has just been founded; Clara Barton was born a couple of days ago…
Let’s Get Serious about Cereus
With some fully-opened blossoms reaching up to a foot in diameter, the flowers of all night-blooming cereus species bloom only at night (this should not surprise you!), some species only once per year, with blooms that are wilted and drooping by dawn.
Eight-Legged Architects
More than 30 species of spiders are found in Louisiana but just four of them account for the majority that are easily visible on our property as summer turns to autumn. None of these are threatening to humans, unless you get right up in their webs (so to speak).
A Local Treasure
The home and surrounding property that I share with my partner Tom is not only several miles from the nearest large city (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), it is also somewhat isolated from the other homes around us. Our driveway opens onto the single road that traverses the neighborhood, and we can see passers-by from our front…
Porches, Part 3: Life on the Big Screen
Marvelous creatures make their way to both sides of our screened porch in a never ending parade of beauty and variety. Our outdoor porch is made entirely of screen except for the wall where it meets the house, the roof, and the wooden framing that holds everything together. A total of 66,156 square inches of…
A Reliable Frog
For most of July a small frog has been holding vigil over the front door every day and under the porch light every night. We have come to know each other’s habits and routines, getting more comfortable together with each passing day. The boards of the board-and-batten siding around the front door reach from ground…
Porches, Part 2: A Porch for Dogs
When we had two dogs instead of one, our American foxhound Kaffir and Golden retriever Utah spent many of their days in a large kennel at one end of the porch, where they could watch traffic on the road – – whether it be foot, bicycle, car, truck, motorcycle, horse or ATV. They kept each…
Porches, Part 1: Porches Come in Many Forms
I am a firm believer in the power of intention. I believe that when I firmly commit myself to something, the forces of the Universe can line up with that commitment and support my intentions in powerful and mysterious ways. Other folks might call it “dumb luck,” but such support has come to me too…
Who Doesn’t Love an Iris?
I live with my partner Tom in our own secluded paradise that often seems like a place that emerged from of a fairy tale, as do many of the plants and animals that allow us to share their space. April is an especially magical month, when the irises bloom and our back yard pond is…