Category Archives: Uncategorized

the night before the big blue truck comes to swallowthe contents of the green bin, where the compostablesjoin thousands of early sycamore leaves brownedby summer, I think, not for the first time, how could I haveforgotten those peaches I was … Continue reading →

Though I am not a beet person,I admire the color and shape,the just-pulled-from-the-earthinessaroma of the spherical rootswith their curly tails. But when I touch the frilly leaves,I see his hands on them, tuggingthem out of inhospitable dirt. Somehow he got … Continue reading →

The delicate corpserendered in ivoryrather than its familiar green, the mantis’spraying days are over,cradled in the veins of a milkweed leaf,which itself will all toosoon expire and fall. We tend to quicklybury or burn our dead,or, in some cases, strip … Continue reading →

The man who said, Who loves me, loves my dog,would have the name of one—and a saint at that. On the day of Bernard’s death in 1153, we recall thisprolific writer of 530 letters and 300 sermons, the man who … Continue reading →

I envisioned two rows runningalongside my driveway, thoughEarnest, who came to install them, anchored them three abreast,settling the new red bricks intoa long, sandy bed, the smooth border a first step in the front yardresculpture, the beginning of a takingapart … Continue reading →

Said the guy towing a small trailerbehind his bike on a Fridaygarbage morning, after he stopped,opened the blue bin in frontof my house, searching for cans. And I thought—as I installeda new little flag on my front yardwith two fingers … Continue reading →

I insert the key into the venerable doorbehind which home has sat, solidas an old oak, for 103 summers now, though I have spent a mere 38 of themas its owner. I like to think of myselfas the caretaker for … Continue reading →

Some days we have a lot of it—the pre-9 a.m. walk for me with Debby the river, a good 3 1/2 miler, later a haircut with Susan,then a massage with Kat,and later still, a hearing aidappointment for the beloved. And … Continue reading →

Not the same as in the snazzy swim spawith Terri, the iPad set up to watchCoach Stacy put us through ourwater aerobics paces, but I am grateful to those two womenfor teaching this old lifeguard/swim coach/instructor some newtricks for my … Continue reading →

By mid-August, this is getting old, you guys.I mean, I’m glad you’re out here bloomingyour fool heads off, but to make sure youdon’t expire too soon, I come outsideand squirt you every other day,sometimes daily when it’sso ungodly hot we’reall … Continue reading →