Remembering Summer

Flipping back through old pictures from August,
I was shocked at how GREEN everything was.
Today we were just so excited to be outside
with temperatures almost to fifty degrees
and the snow melting on the brown grass.

Only a matter of time before the world
turns green once again.

Living in Plan B

Perhaps the meaning of wisdom
is reaching that stage in life
where you can stay calm
when the first plan goes out the window
replaced by some unexpected catastrophe or crisis.

Priorities turn on a dime.
Being able to let go of the first set of plans
and to pick up the new reins
and to move forward
into the unexpected future...
ultimately the challenge we all face.

The second part of wisdom
is finding community
who likewise change gears
pick up loose ends
brainstorm and watch your back
while engaging the shifting realities.

There is nothing more powerful
than being part of a team,
be it family, coworkers, church or friends,
who rally together
work together
and offer mutual support
while moving on through
the alphabet of plans.

The Third Place

http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/roldenburg

Last night I watched the director's commentary
to "You've Got Mail."
Throughout the commentary
and the special additions on the DVD
Nora Ephron demonstrated her love
of the "small town" nature of New York City
and of the importance of third places.

The idea of the third place
comes from the work of Ray Oldenburg,
who states that we have our first and second places
of home and work,
but that cultures thrive best when people
have a third place to go and to claim.

Nora Ephron shared her belief that coffee shops
had become important third places for city people.

Traditionally, third places have been pubs, cafes, churches,
anywhere that people can relax and interact and
form real social connections.
I believe at one point she identified third places
as places "where people can fall in love."

I've been thinking about my third places
and their importance in my life.

My church, particularly my Sunday School class.
My neighborhood Mexican restaurant,
where they know my name
and my drink order.

People need third places
to keep us engaged with the outside world,
to provide us with interaction with people
outside our work and outside our family.

I like the idea.

The link at the top of this blog leads to further information on Ray Oldenburg and his ideas.

Christmas Peace

Snow Chickens

The chicken coop was just a lump in the snow this morning.

But inside was a tropical paradise with happy chickens and green grass.

Food and water in abundance.

But we still want out.

Snow Day...and it is still snowing!

That lump in the foreground, above and below, is the chicken coop, complete with two chickens.

Today in Plumbing

It turns out that the sewer connections in Asheville
have a dirty little secret.
The pipes connecting to the house are metal.
The pipes between those metal pipes
and the sewer
are made of some sort of laminated tar paper.
It is really a miracle they lasted 60 years or so.
But now the time has come
to pay the big bucks
and dig the big holes
and replace the pipes
so that water will continue to leave the house
and not pool in the basement.

2012

I have been thinking about the short and long of the Mayan calendar.
The calendar ends in December of 2012,
so people are cashing in with books and movies
about the end of the world
at that time.

Working with hospice patients,
I'm familiar with the energy
that comes with this way of thinking.

If I have two years (or less) to live
what do I need to get done?
What do I need to say to people?
What do I need to learn, to forgive, to resolve?

It is a good and healthy thing
to live with short term deadlines.

Motivates us to get moving,
to do the things that we keep putting off
for uncounted tomorrows.

But I'm also intrigued with the LONG
of the Mayan calendar.

In our culture it is unheard of
to plan ten years ahead,
much less 5000 years.

If I make a new calendar
not for this month or this year
or this decade or this hundred years...
but for the next 5000 years,
what sort of planning does THAT entail?

The Mayans were truly remarkable
with their calendars short
and their calendars long.
They were people comfortable with
both the short view from harvest to harvest
and the long reach into the vast unknown.

Biltmore's Flower Quilt

Some pics of the great flowers at the Biltmore House last Sunday evening. Very pretty.

Below, the view on the other side of the wall from the flower quilt. I basically took the above picture, pivoted, and took the one below.

The Backyard in August

Butterflies and Godchildren

Butterflies

The butterflies started hatching out yesterday.
So far there are three.
No clear pictures as of yet,
but they are sitting quietly
in their butterfly habitat,
with sugar water in a feeder
at the bottom.

Chrysalides

It turns out that plastic cup photography
is not my best, but still...
Over the last couple days the catapillars
all made their way to the top of the cup
and each changed into a chrysalis.
In a week or so, they will be butterflies!

Hiking John Rock

Hiked up John Rock yesterday.
John Rock is the rock face behind the flags. Here we are at the top.
That's me behind the camera.
You can see the parking lot
in the lower left hand corner
of the picture.
There was a lot of "up" in the hike.

As unenthused as I was about portions
of the "up" in the hike...
those portions where I was sure my
out of shape heart would explode
in my chest...it was worth it.
The picnic at the top
was simply lovely.

The hike down was also lovely.
The mountain laurel were in bloom.
Down is easy on the heart
(and hard on the knees)
but you can enjoy the views more.

Bigger

The future butterflies are making great progress.
I think they double in size daily.

The Painted Ladies are Coming

My brother and sister-in-law
started sending word this week
that a package would arrive
that required "immediate attention."
When asked if the package had air holes,
they replied in the affirmative.

Open mouthed children not included.

The cats were interested in our new bugs,

thinking the cups would roll nicely

along on the floor,

like all good cat toys....

so for the time being,

catapiggles live in the china cabinet.

They apparently live their little cattapiggle lives in their cup,

then turn into crysalides under the lid,

at which point we move them to the butterfly habitat.

How Green is my Grapevine

The Budding of the Grapevine

Was it six summers ago

that I planted a twig in the ground

and declared it a grapevine?

This summer promises plentiful grapes...

the vine is established and rooted,

and is breaking out in little pink leaves

with vigor and enthusiasm.

Likewise, the asparagus patch

is sending up huge, tender stalks

left and right.

Had a fist full for supper last night,

fresh from the garden.

The blueberries are younger,

only planted last year.

I look forward to year six

and seven and eight with them.

I need to start thinking of apple trees.

Home on the Range

Easter Potato

Local wisdom says to plant your potatoes on Good Friday,
but it was raining, and I was working,
so Easter afternoon
instead of hiding eggs
we tucked potatoes in the ground.



We planted a mix from Burpee of red, blue and yellow potatoes.
One of my favorite things is to watch the potatoes grow
(they grow fast into sturdy plants with purple blossoms)
and then to dig the treasure out of the ground,
pounds and pounds of good eating.



I also planted some shallots and Egyptian walking onions left
abandoned from last year...they are probably all completely kaput,
but if even one grows, I'll be a happy camper.



Spring always brings wild onions (wild chives?)
in wild proliferation...they stand tall and proud amongst
the raised beds of the garden.
They smell nice when you mow,
and are good for picking and chewing
as you walk around the yard.



It won't be long before the garden is green with veggies and weeds.
The green in the far end
of one of those middle beds, above,
is STRAWBERRIES,
which come back stronger every year.
One of my younger friends (I think she's five)
was most disappointed when she came
to visit mid-winter
and was told there were no strawberries to pick.
Gathering eggs from the chickens
was considered a mediocre consolation prize.