Away and home and garden bounty . . .

My husband and I have been away for a few days

returning to a place where we'd worked and lived for eight years

and although it was pure joy to be there

and be among so many old friends

I came away feeling dizzy

from such immersion

in a former life.

. . .

As soon as I got home

I went to the garden

to pick the newly-ripened produce

so crisp and green and red and new.

. . .

I needed to do that

I don't know why

but

 it steadied me.

. . .

Hmm.

xx

Step Into My Garden . . .

Step into the garden

of the book

and see what lies within . . .

I really love looking at the beginnings of books (and this is not the first time on this blog), fascinated by the variety of styles and tones that greet you there. Some entice, some frighten, some bore, some beckon, some puzzle . . .

Here are a few beginnings pulled from books at hand, chosen randomly:

"I thought I'd been to Africa. Told all my class I had."

     --Small Island, Andrea Levy

"Our house is old, and noisy, and full."

     --Life Among the Savages, Shirley Jackson

"When the MS Irish Oak sailed from Cork in October 1949, we expected to be in New York City in a week."

     --'Tis, Frank McCourt

"On a time there lived a king and a queen in Erin, and they had an only son."

     --Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland, Jeremiah Curtin

"The candleflame and the image of the candleflame caught in the pierglass twisted and righted when he entered the hall and again when he shut the door."

    --All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy

"The old bus is a city reject. After shaking in it for twelve hours on the potholed highway since early morning, you arrive in this mountain county town in the South."

     --Soul Mountain, Gao Xingjian

Would any of these entice you in? Are you able to choose a favorite and a least-favorite among them?

xx

My Father's Garden

We're coming to the end

of the peas and beans:

they ripened early

in a grand fanfare

so perfectly perfect

crisp and sweet.

My father liked to garden:

our yard was lush with peonies and roses

corn, tomatoes, beans, peas and cucumbers.

He liked to lean down and smell a yellow rose

on his way to weed the rows

He liked to lift a tomato to his nose

and smell its warm ripeness.

My small garden honors him

just as the homemade pasta sauce

I ladle into my mother's bowl honors her.

Is there something you make or do

that owes its origins to your parents?

xx

Bounty!

Following in the tradition of my father

I planted vegetable and flower gardens

and behold the bounty

so early!

Mounds of tender lettuce

sprinkles of fragrant roses

peonies

mint

as with

of course

a great story:

good ingredients

will feed the mind and the soul

ciao, bellas . . .

xx

California Dreamin', part 3

For this last glimpse of Davis, California

I offer you this

from the central park

Overhanging the bench -

artichokes!

I'd never before seen an artichoke growing

and it made me laugh

to see it so boldly there.

The first thing that came to mind

was a descriptive paragraph 

written by one of my 11th grade English students

nearly 30 years ago.

The student described a woman in a blue scarf

standing in an artichoke field.

The image was so vivid that I've carried it in my mind

all these many years -

So intriguing, the words and images

that stay with us,

don't you think?

A woman in a blue scarf

standing in an artichoke field.

xx

California Dreamin', part two

More from Davis, California

We are made of many pieces

We are playful

(See me in the overhead mirror?)

Trees bring peace

The wonder of an apricot tree!

The elegance of redwoods!

Such calm in this park

in Davis, California

such tranquility

xx

California Dreamin' and Being . . .

Book tours have often led me to coastal California

to San Francisco, Los Angeles,

San Diego, San Jose

but this past week I've been in the central valley

flying into Sacramento

and then on to UC-Davis

where I worked with teacher candidates.

Near my charming cottage/inn

was a small park with elegant gardens

and each morning before the workshops

I spent time here.

Amid the roses and lavender and scores of native plants

were intricate mosaics

and sculptures

Even the waste containers were decorative:

More tomorrow from this special park

but first I need to say

that as special as the park is - 

the people I've met at UC Davis

are even more special:

one of the most memorable trips ever -

and I came away with such hope

and a very full heart.

xx

Yellow Pepper

If I could draw and paint better than I do, I would paint this still life:  the first yellow pepper ever grown in our yard, ever, ever, with delicate roses and a pleasing vase. It's simple, but I like it so much, this little vignette.

Do you draw/paint?

Surprises in the Garden

This is the first year I've grown vegetables in addition to flowers, and it's been more fun than I ever expected. Everything surprises me.  Lettuce!  Tomatoes!

Green peppers! Yellow peppers!

Peas, sweet sweet peas!

And, most surprising of all--this (below) is going to be a cucumber. A cucumber!

Be still, my heart.

I apologize for all the !! exclamations !!  I can't help it.

I mean: did you ever grow a cucumber? 

Reaping

This may not look like a bountiful harvest to you (lettuce, a few peas, one green bean and a marigold), but I am so excited by it! Although I've always grown flowers, this is the first year I've planted vegetables, and to be honest, I'm shocked that they actually grew! Into food! That you can eat! And they taste completely YUM.

My dad always planted a big garden, with tomatoes, corn, beans, cucumbers. My garden is a much smaller version, but I think he'd be proud to see it.

When I first began writing, I didn't believe that a page this day and another that day would actually ever grow into anything worthy of the word 'novel,' but I learned that with care and patience and trust, those words could grow into something worthy.

Not unlike gardening, when you think about it.  Do you plant vegetables or words or . . .?