Garden as art

It's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. Christmas in Ely, England. New Year's out in Fayetteville. Both trips went unnoticed in this blog but not by me. Time to start posting again. It has been really lovely weather lately in Houston - many sunny days, nice rains, cool evenings. Soon enough it will be like the surface of Venus, but it is nice for now. Enjoy it. Planted a spring garden recently - tomatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas, herbs, cucumbers and lettuces. Cross your fingers. After we finished planting, I looked around the community garden and found this divine allotment. It is art itself.

Thanksgiving

It's the first day of the Thanksgiving holiday week. I really love Thanksgiving. So no whining in this post. First, I just love the food - you don't get a turkey like that any other time of the year it seems. (sorry vegetarians.) As a journalist, I usually had to make the choice of going home to New Mexico at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I usually chose Christmas, so I was often a Thanksgiving orphan. But I always found a great home for the holiday, thanks to knowing some truly terrific people. Work no longer keeps me from traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. But this year, I am staying in Houston and we will celebrate at the home of some treasured friends. So I am truly thankful for my place in this world right now. I am. This week, I am thinking of all of the good things. Today, it's morning glorys. I planted morning glory seeds earlier this year along a fence and they have been blooming like crazy this month. Every morning, I walk out and see them in their full glory. It makes me smile. I've included a couple of shots of them. Tonight I go shopping for Thanksgiving groceries!

Lost in place ...

I wanted to add a comment to this blog that my friend Jenny sent to me via FB but couldn't post.)
Before the (insert life change here), I would have told my child that place doesn't matter. That you are you and the place you stand is just a changing backdrop, irrelevant to what you become. But now, every time, I run through downtown Cedar Rapids, drive over the river (so tame this year because of the drought), I know that is not true. I know that place leaves an imprint. Being from somewhere gives you a place to stand on, and run from or back to as 

Off to Waco

Joe and I are headed to Waco where he is having a signing for his new book, "Slingin Sam: The Life and Times of the Greatest Quarterback to Ever Play the Game."  Joe is from Waco and I suspect a lot of his old friends from school will be at the signing. He stays in touch with many people from his past, I think he likes maintaining that connection to his youth. I do as well, but I'm not quite as drawn to it as him. He connects more through the retelling of old stories, talking about sports, etc. Maybe it was easier to form those bonds then and so those are the bonds he keeps. I admire Joe for keeping up with these folks and it makes me smile to hear about them, well for the most part anyway. But it's also sort of surreal, even difficult, to deal with this whole world of his that I played no part in. When you love someone, when you want them as your partner, you regret missing the major events of their life. Or at least I do. And at our ages, Joe and I have missed significant chunks. How do oldsters like us make up for those missing memories, those shared experiences that make couples stronger? It's a question I struggle with.

So tomorrow I will venture back to Joe's hometown. Perhaps I will get a glimpse of that old life of his. I hope so. Wish me luck.

Here is a link to his book:

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/holsli.html

Waiting for fall

I think a lot about renewal and about my place in this world.

I was in the garden this Sunday trying to plant my first fall garden. I took this photo below of a fellow gardener's glorious sunflower. I thought about fall and new beginnings. I thought about the excitement I felt returning to school each year after a long summer, wondering who and what I was going to encounter in the new semester.

Now, I search for new beginnings in the dirt of my garden, in the hearts and minds of those I love and in my own soul.

Simply Stunning

We traveled back to New Mexico last week on a last-minute summer trip. We just packed our bags, got in the car and took off. We had no specific plans, no formal reservations, nada. Schedules are for cowards I say. I know New Mexico well so we had a general idea of what was head, but it was fun to take to the road and see what unfolded. We visited and/or stayed in Santa Fe, Taos, Abiquiu and  Albuquerque. I fell in love with the Abiquiu area, especially the Chama River. I'd never spent much time here until now. Many call it O'Keeffe Country for this is where the artist, Georgia O'Keeffe lived and worked. As a high schooler and a college student in New Mexico, I was introduced to (and quickly became a fan of) O'Keeffe through a series of posters her artwork adorned for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Not exactly a formal education in the high arts, I know. She was ours, New Mexico claimed her. So it was interesting to see what she claimed for herself. I am reminded of a quote of hers about the distinctive mesa called the Pedernal; "It's my private mountain, It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it." Abiquiu isn't that far from Santa Fe in terms of miles, but it feels so remote, so different. The area is stunning, secretive, serene. We stayed at the Abiquiu Inn, site of tall cottonwoods and cool adobe casitas. We explored the village of Abiquiu, Chama, Ghost Ranch, the White Place and other magnificent spots. It's a unique place for your soul. You will feel bliss here.

Cottonwoods protect The Abiquiu Inn 

This is simply called The White Place

Rancho de Taos

Trees shroud Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu home 

summer pear in a peaceful Abiquiu backyard on the hill.

El Farolito in El Rito. Great green chile at this total dive.

A murmuration ...

This tiny film is pure magic. I've watched it many times. These two darling young women stumbled upon this "starling murmuration" on a simple outdoor outing. You never know what's going to happen to you on any day ... but you have to get out there for something to happen! (The link to their site is on my Links I like.)  http://www.islandsandrivers.com/our-films/#murmuration