Tulips and Kitty Cats

Today was peaceful. As peaceful as it gets around here anyway.  We began with looking at the tulips that graced our table, picking them apart (they were starting to drop their petals anyway), looking at them with our magnifying glasses, seeing what they looked like in water as Ani made a little magical potion with her handful.

We were in no hurry for anything today, which felt like such a blessing after our last few days.  Tulips melted into facepainting and a play put on by the girls for my benefit, called "The Pussycat Sisters", Pusspuss and Percy.

Then slippy-slidey, which meant the kitchen floor got clean, some library time, a dash to the local health food store, while admiring the amazing poppies and irises aglow in all the yards on that side of town.  Home again to have a snack and watch Annie while I folded laundry and puttered around, cleaning and chatting with a good friend - ahhhh, I needed that. A lazy but productive day.  Made applesauce and spinach lasagne for dinner, and prepped some apple empanadas for breakfast.  All this, and I got to walk down to the garden plot for a workshop on gardening in small spaces and a "zone leader" meeting.  Yes, I am a Yellow Zone leader. I love the community garden, and in a funny way I think it is going to keep me sane during this farming fiasco (I promise to have a more positive outlook once I have this weekend under my belt!).  It is so beautiful there, especially in the evening when the workshops are held, and even though I am feeling behind in our planting, our plot looks so lovely, there is so much to learn every time I go there, and I love that things are planted willy-nilly, not in long straight beds.  I mean, we have long straight beds in our plot, but there are strawberries and spinach and more strawberries and marigolds and carrots and everything is mingling with everything else, and it feels more like the way I live.  

And the extra bonus for attending the meeting? Well, it is two-fold.  On my way there I followed - literally followed, my friends! At a close distance! - a pileated woodpecker! I had long minutes to gaze upon his incredible huge beauty and pinch myself and gaze some more! He flitted his wild self from telephone pole to telephone pole, to tree, all down West State Street. And then on my way home I was walking through the thickest fog I think I have ever seen.  No cat feet here, it unfolded like a thick wool blanket, making for a surreal walk home to my people who were up an hour later than usual, reading in bed, and waiting for all to come home and roost before closing their eyes.