Playing Fair and Being Kind

“SOME DAYS CHICKEN, SOME DAYS FEATHERS”

So says the older fox who has learned that ‘this too shall pass’ is quite accurate. Whether you’re having a good day or a bad day or an intermediate day you can bet your bottom dollar that it will pass and one or the other will show up. Yesterday I posted on this blog that I was feeling a rare episode of loneliness and it felt good to express that. I usually hang on to the negative waiting for the situation to get better or change or whatever. I continued through my day with what was going on and felt a little bit of regret that I’d written what I did only because the message seemed to be a demand more than an observation. I meant it as an observation. I finished my day by watching “The Fall of the House of Usher” starring Vincent Price. Can you imagine? I had a great time! It is just corny enough to be totally entertaining. Before I retired for the evening the phone rang it was old friend Lynne calling from Minnesota to let me know she was responding to the blog entry. That was such a nice gesture and we had a great time jawing away on all kinds of topics. Thanks to Lynne for the late night entertaining chat. Vincent Price and Lynne. One can’t do better than that!

I’ve been letting a number of Goldenrod plants grow in the perennial garden. Perhaps from laziness and sloth; not sure. I’ve justified their presence by accepting them as living beings and then I discovered by reading about them that Goldenrod are the new fave of gardeners across the globe. Yay! We all win. There are nearly one hundred and twenty different kinds of goldenrod and I can see that I have two kinds all ready.

Actually, I’ve thought about the presence of the Goldenrod. Since becoming a Vegan person I have been avoiding killing insects that used to irritate me. I let mosquitoes go by shooing them away or by moving my delicious blood filled body to a different location. I have been helping house flies escape out windows by removing those pesky screens temporarily. Moths get second chances from me as do wasps and bees who have gotten lost. I have become the insect whisperer. “Allow me to show you out” is my mantra now. More precisely I’ve adopted a more accepting attitude of inclusion; part of my effort to model “live and let live”.

I inspected the goldenrod this morning and it has begun to flower. Unfortunately for the kids of this region when the goldenrod does this it is a sure sign that school starts soon. Luckily for me, of course, now that I have a strong stand of this plant I will have no fear of toothache, sore throat, or kidney stones. Our Native American friends used it often; flowers, leaves, and roots.

While I was out I examined a group of Forsythia cuttings I’m encouraging to become full blown plantings. Three of them have begun to show signs of rooting. The other five are still green so I’m sure they will be along soon. I noticed also that a struggling rose bush has a wonderful, beautiful blossom. It is the “Jacqueline du Pre” named for the late and great cellist. What a passionate person she was and what a loss for the world.

By the way I have a secret mission for the forsythia. I will reveal everything next summer. Bwahahaha!

I need to get cleaned up, shaved, showered, shampooed, and a few other activities before I go to my lunch with Marilynn. I’ll leave you with this.

CROW BALLET

Charging forward in mirrored patterns,

Two darts swing and leap, ascribing invisible

Roads,

Black as ink and intensely outlined two guardians of

Nest and turf rush together and apart to ward off

An invader.

The trespasser lumbers along seeming to be

Of two minds; initial task and now an interference of

Insulting crows,

A bald eagle has wandered across a delineation,

Across a well established boundary in violation of

Natural law.

Its weighty form struggles to gain altitude and speed

While attackers work in tandem to harass and

Worry,

The duo of obsidian darts fluttering and stabbing

Keeps the intruder from escaping cleanly.

The raptor is stumbling and dodging,

With every few beats of wing

The larger shape looks to alter course to avoid the

Thrusts and jabs delivered in random but

Well timed patterns,

The crows work as one.

Ali and

Liston dancing in Lewiston,

Fly like a butterfly,

Sting like a bee,

The big ugly bear is played by the

Eagle while the crows are Ali

The eagle has begun to tire of

The exercise wrought by the

Crows,

It is time to move on and return to

More productive endeavors,

The eagle in preponderance shrugs along.

G. M. Goodwin

25 July 2016