rolling along

(sorry the image is so tiny...i used my phone camera)

Today I drove over the Allegheny River, and the Miami River too, past patchworks of farm fields, some plowed, some planted. Rock and roll oldies on the radio...Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Earth Wind and Fire. So many "wide loads" had me guessing about their mysterious cargo. But check out this towing situation...an old blue Cadillac, that looked like it had just seen the light of day after sitting in a barn for decades! What a beauty. I wonder where she's headed.

As I watched two lanes of heavy truck traffic stream along on the other side of I-40, I wondered about the folks who drive for a living...day after day. And I wondered about a nation so dependent on shipping our goods from one end of the country to another. I find there's plenty of time to ponder, while those miles tick along on the odometer. 

Thanks for your comments yesterday. They were fun to read.

I'm safely in Richmond, IN, home of my beloved Earlham College, with good work to do tomorrow. 

on the road again

Over the beautiful Hudson River in the Batmobile (OK, so it's really just a black pick up truck...) and over the Susquehanna, through the deep canyons of blasted rock on I-80, and on into the "Pennsylvania Wilds" I've been. I didn't listen to much on the radio except a few bits of Doc Watson, may he rest in peace. Mostly just the quiet shoosh of the wheels on the highway, and a head full of thoughts and ideas.

As the sun set it gave my hotel room a magical glow, and I've climbed into bed with more reading to do.

How remarkable it is, this network of interstate highways. Really. If I came to pick you up in the Batmobile, where would you want to go? Tell me here in the comments.

in one door and out the other...

dawn, after a very stormy night

at our "bit of earth".

I will not be back to our bit of earth for a few weeks and these are the things I will miss while I am away.

• the false indigo and lupine are fully budded, and will likely be past blooming when I return.
• the beautiful barn swallows, who swoop and chatter and dive at us.
• the goldfinches, their blazing yellow dotting the balsams with color.
• the four groundhog babies, nesting under the shed (and nibbling on the garden) and tumbling in the sunshine. 
• the ritual of drinking tea and soaking in the view every morning
• the welcome chill of evening air as it tumbles across the road and down into our open windows.
• the good work of each day, the holding of hands around the dinner table and the comfort of sleep.
• the whinny of the neighbor's horses deep in the night and the whistle of the train down in the valley.

Just safely back in CT, I'm reading, doing laundry and packing again. The next week or so will be a jigsaw puzzle of travel, work and fun. I'll post from the road... 

gathered

our bit of earth has hosted

 extended family this weekend.

the hours have been filled with

corn hole, visiting, eating, laughing,

reminiscing, resting.

as the different generations sat together,
the blue chairs added to the sentimental mood.

are you finding time to catch your breath
sometime during this long weekend?

thank you!

oh, dearest friends.

i am so grateful for all of your recent, encouraging comments.

batman and i have been burning the candle at both ends here in CT...

with a new power washer,

a broom,

trash cans,

paint brushes,

screw drivers,

squeegees,

hoses,

aching muscles

and a grateful partnership.

it is good, hard work,

and it needs to be done,

and it is so purposeful and intentional.

and transformational.

i just stumbled upon this irish proverb

and i love it...

You'll never plough a field by 

turning it over in your mind.

hard work

 dogwood, green grass and a green chair.

the trilogy of calm after a sweat equity filled weekend

here in CT.

whew!

i hope this all pays off.

citrus dreams

someday i will have a greenhouse.

it will have a gravel floor, and ferns will drink up its humidity.

there will be room to tuck a wicker chair in the corner.

i will drink steaming cups of darjeeling tea there.

it will have a view of the green mountains.

jasmine will bloom from hanging baskets.

seeds will be started in the latest days of winter, 

and salad greens will grow when there is snow on the ground.

i will read the secret garden to our grandchildren in its shelter.

until then, i am intoxicated by our blooming

meyer lemon here in CT.

you can be sure it will find a place of honor

 in our greenhouse some day.