Category Archives: Uncategorized

I imagine the man whose name hasfiltered through the centuries—notthe master printer with his innovative press, but that of Henricus Cremer,the rubricator who inked red capitalletters onto delicate paper, whose hands bound and inscribedthat Bible in August 1456. He couldnot … Continue reading →

Scorching is what it is, 105 this afternoon—no biggie to desert dwellers baskingin 118—but most humans were not made for such stupid hot temperatures.And we’re getting hotter, thanks tohotheads boiling over, which makes my internal thermometer rise. To cooldown, I … Continue reading →

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 →