Saturday, August 23, 2008

Gardener's Blues...and Other Colors

Just checking in so you don't worry, but I'm not sure I have so much to say. Actually, I think the opposite is closer to the truth, but I don't trust I'll find the right words just yet. For now, a few random notes:

* I've gotten lots accomplished in the last day or so, not all of it at work or in the garden. I feel kind of good about that.

* The Olympics are winding down and due to work schedule, I'll only catch the late night stuff now 'til the end. Ah, well, only two years 'til the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

* 2010. That sounds a little weird, huh? Where are those flying cars and rocket jet packs, anyway? I'd happily settle for a few more windfarms.

* It turns out that two weeks of somewhat immersive coverage of the Olympic Games, enhanced by substantial sleep deficit was just the right combination for me to have committed to memory the entire NBC Fall Schedule of programming. Well, at least I've made note of when HEROES is starting up again. I really like that show.

* Thirty-five days since my last filthy cigarette. I know I've probably made it sound easy this time around. Nobody's more surprised than me. I attribute this both to my blasted optimism, which annoys even me sometimes, but also to no small sense of determination. I don't want to be a smoker anymore. (All of your encouragement and cheerleading hasn't hurt, either...so thanks for that.)

* Now that it's been a while since I took the smoke, I am noticing some improvements in me. I'm breathing easier, and I find that singing's a little easier, too. Well, the act is. I'm not feeling lately like I have a lot to sing about...but that's also possibly the reason I've been doing so much of it.

* Unexpected Carnage! A moldy and long-forlorn mousetrap in the cabinet beneath the sink here in the computer room sent a good-sized mouse off to his reward just moments ago. (We bow our heads and wish him well.) I'm blogging about it now, but it will be less creepy to address the larger issue of actually removing the body by morning light.

* I don't find that I like the wintergreen Altoids as much as I do the spearmint.

* As always, I find the garden awfully good for what ails me. Lately, there is almost always an undersong of crickets, but especially in the evening. There's quite a buzz at noontime as pollinators of all shapes and sizes ply their way from one flower to the next.

The goldfinches have been visiting the sunflowers regularly. I saw the hummingbird again this morning. And the bunnies are never far away, it seems.

Each day there are new colors, or fresh combinations of different flowers grown together. As I explore, I slow down and breathe a little easier, as a piece of my stress burns away in the golden sunshine. I can think of no better things than these tiny wonders and it's nearly impossible to be glum in their company.






"And that evening, while he was playing, a brown leaf, the first leaf of the fall, blew into the station and landed right next to the cricket cage. Now this leaf had come from New Jersey. A playful gust of wind danced it over the Hudson River, and up Forty-second Street, and whisked it down the subway entrance."


"Chester was in the middle of a song when the leaf came down. It was such a shock to see this little reminder of all that was happening in the country that for a moment he couldn't continue. But then he realized where he was and forced himself to go on."


- The Cricket in Times Square, George Selden, 1960.

12 comments:

TigerYogiji said...

I loved that book (and the cartoon special!) as a child! Glorious photos as always! :)

P.S. Congrats on keeping off of the nicotine! :)

MartininBroda said...

There is a phrase in German „eating books” if someone reads a lot. And as a child I’ve "eat" a lot of SF. And yes my expectation of the future was completely different from that what happened. “Where are those flying cars…”, yes indeed. But our expectations are often deceive us. Your announcement about what you do not want to say sounds very exciting, but it gets the attention. Have a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

And peace of mind for me - always loved the cricket - and it was the first insect I introduced to my sweet niece when she was but two. Think of the $ you have saved lately. All will come together as it should - wintergreen is good for the digestive process - don't overthink - a board down is a board done - peace is good for flowers and all other living things

The Hunky Gardener said...

Way to go for making it 35 days guy! The yellow cosmos, is it from the cosmic series? I have grown it in orange but I have never seen it in yellow?

Java said...

I have never liked crickets much. I like the cricket song in the garden, but not in my bedroom. Thankfully that hasn't happened in a while. I haven't read Cricket in Times Square, either. Perhaps I should. :)

Mom is wise.

I'm glad you have your garden to soothe your soul when it is troubled.

Congratulations on the smokelessness! You have done great! Are you craving smokes less now? I hope so.

Greg said...

Tiger, it IS a great story! I'll have to look for that cartoon and see if I can find it somewhere this fall...

Hi Martin! Looking forward to the future here, flying cars or not!

Mom, thanks. There is plenty to sing about, just sometimes hard to remember at individual moments. Always think of you and Jenny when I hear those "kickets"...

HunkyG, I'll have to see if I can find the seed packet from those sulphur cosmos...they are certainly coming into their own in the past week.

Java, perhaps you and Sproing could sit down and read The Cricket together! It's a great story...and it might make you a little more accepting of the occasional good luck cricket who finds his way into your bedroom!

Mostly, these days, I've got myself convinced that its Altoids that I'm craving! ; )

Gill said...

Some jerks decided it would be okay to tear down my virginia creeper.
I'm more than pissed.

It's unfathomable to me how people operate sometimes. Now I know how Paul felt when his bike was stolen. :(

Happy weekend Greg, hope you enjoy! Please enjoy.
An aside; I just love how Joe's and my name is side by side in the sidebar, we are like Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, tap dancing our way through link lists.

Okay, I KNOW it's all strictly alphabetical. A girl can daydream can't she?

xoxo
Gillian

Curt Rogers said...

What an utterly lovely post, just the thing I needed to wind down my evening and send me off to bed. I'm thinking good thoughts for you, my friend, and hoping your dreams are as bright as the morning garden that greets you when next you step outside.

Joie Mayfield said...

2010. That does seem like such an unreal time. Five more years, and we're dealing with the future from Back to the Future Part II!!

Heroes is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Great characterization!

THIRTY-FIVE DAYS!!!!! Congrats!! Keep going! You can do it.

I like the Cinnamon Altoids.

Great Pictures as always. :)

Greg said...

Gilly...and the thing is, you and Joe make it look so effortless, like the two of you were born to do this link list dance together!

Those bastards! I love Virginia creeper, tho I do find around here it likes the same habitat as poison ivy, so I'm cautious when I first spot some. It's about to be its best time of year, too, as it turns all orange and red! I hope they weren't very efficient at their task, and that yours grows back doubly for their effort!

Hey Curt! Thanks for your good wishes--I always have a few good dreams about the garden!

Joie, I know--it once sounded like it was so far away! HEROES is a terrific show: great characters, interesting twists on the traditional super-hero tropes, beautiful images! Last year's short season was little more than a tease!

I'm not enough of a fan of the cinnamon Altoids to audition them as my substitute for cigs. The mints are safer choices for me. The new chocolate flavor sounds intriguing, but perhaps a little too decadent for all the time.

Greg said...

A minor point of clarification: there are both dreams about the garden, and dreams of the future lying about the garden. I meant that both ways but I guess wasn't quite clever enough to make that more clear.

Til now. Maybe.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on 5 weeks off the white sticks. The Morning Glories continue to bask in their "glory." You have to try the Cinnamon Altoids. To this day they freshen my office drawres with their spicy smell. I actually haven't used them much since discovering the Listerine pocketstrips. ;-)

I love the shadow of the leaves and vine in that first photo.