Author Archives: janishaag

As the first wildflowers fade,as early grasses yellow,as summer’s beginning approaches, the morning offers a near-perfect breezeas I meet an out-of-town friend for breakfast,as he has just delivered another friend to my city for outpatient surgery to help her see.He … Continue reading →

We call this Heebie-Jeebie Day,the day before we leave on a trip.He likes to say, “It’s easy—justthrow things into the car. Not likewe’re getting on a plane,” whichrequires more compression of stuff,of the too-much gear I tend to bring. But … Continue reading →

This breath, the rise and fall of belly and chest,this eyeblink, the refocus, then another,this swallow, the contraction of throat, then release, a wandering in, a presence warming the backof my neck, wondering which of you is flying inthis moment, … Continue reading →

Years of historic drought thatleft the lake I think of as minelike a great sandbox with ariver running through it mean that I’m surprised,though I’ve been keeping aneye on it since January,to see Folsom nearly filled to the brim, water … Continue reading →

for Mom Chonk cat, this dude, ginormous paws,looks like our first kitty, Fluffy, alsoblack & white but a hulk of a cat,my mother’s trusty companion. Monster fluff, the Maine coons, andMaxi is getting used to my weeklyappearances in the house … Continue reading →

In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.—Norman Maclean, “A River Runs Through It” Let him bestanding just like that,legs apart in the stream,one hand on the rod,the other pulling the fly linetoward him, red … Continue reading →

So much right now, on every corner, the blocksin between, so much you’d think that it’s chased awaythe sad, the blues, that no one can possibly die whenrock star flowers show off on their spring stage. But no, we look … Continue reading →

we live in the midst of astonishing mystery,and in the everydayness, we must remember to celebrate the miracle of where we find ourselves,in the most ordinary places—at the car wash, perhaps—on a hot spring afternoon watchingpeople vacuum up and wipe … Continue reading →

the red bush roses that Inez, the saintof Santa Ynez Way, planted years agoin the space between the apartmentbuilding next door and my front yard— luxuriant roses that unthinkingyard guys working next door hackedto bits, far from the proper pruningInez … Continue reading →

for the Poeppel cats… and their people I rise and dress, shunning the showerfor now, aware that today is the first dayof cat feeding a friend’s felines downthe block, maybe a quarter mile walk,including the stairs up to her old … Continue reading →