It all started last month when I saw one hummingbird in the backyard, out by the pines. She appeared from nowhere, hovering stock-still in the air across the yard, directly facing my son and me as if to consider what manner of beings we are before she darted away—poof. Perhaps it’s just my overactive imagination, … Continue reading Hummingbird observations
Hummingbirds lead a solitary existence. I saw one hummingbird out back last week, darting about the pines. It turned in my direction, tiny pale-bellied fairy-creature suspended in midair, as if to acknowledge my presence across the yard before zipping away. I wondered if it was making some kind of request. The next day I bought … Continue reading Solitary existence: the hummingbirds
It is deafening, the sound. I turn to my husband: “What’s the matter with the car?” He’s driving. He looks perplexed. “What do you mean?” “That droning sound. It’s so loud.” “Oh, that. It’s just the road.” This is a man who once worked at a major auto parts store. Granted, he took the job … Continue reading Car trouble
I still do not know where your parents are at present. I am just your surrogate human grandmother figure who lives behind the blue door where you lie resting in your beautiful downy nest in the magnolia wreath. Quite alone since your Sunday debut. Three days now. You ought to have had at least couple … Continue reading Dear Little Blue Egg
There’s a curious balance in life. Maybe the same can be said of death. Once upon a time I watched a day-old kitten die in my mother’s hands. I wept that it didn’t have a chance to bloom and grow. I named it Edelweiss (who among you will catch that musical allusion?). Not so many … Continue reading A curious balance
Many years ago I read a series of books about a young 1940s veterinary surgeon beginning his career in Yorkshire, England. The stories are captivating, hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking; the characters—some of them animals—are larger than life, unforgettable. I fell in love with these stories right away. And so I have again, with the Masterpiece … Continue reading For love of all creatures
For years now, I’ve caught glimpses of her when I’m driving down a certain road near my home. Between fields and old farmhouses are patches of woods, and that is where I see her. I might confess that ever since I was a child, whenever I ride by an expanse of woods, I’ve daydreamed about … Continue reading Maiden in the woods
—on the second anniversary of school shutdowns due to COVID-19— Bleak days. A long, rain-spattered, windswept season, gray as ashes, as stones, just as hard, cold, and immovable. Day to day to day the green promise of spring seems like a dream barely remembered; naked tree branches twist skyward as if beseeching the heavens for … Continue reading The feather
I was born in a state named for a queen, by a river named for a king, and in a hospital named for the river. I adore books, words, wind chimes, church bells, birdsong, the crying of gulls at the shore, ocean waves crashing, the utterance of my newest name, Franna, in my granddaughter’s voice, … Continue reading Rambling autobiography
My oldest son spoke this phrase to me, the title of a book he’s reading: You are what you love. That’s like being handed a toy for the mind. Something to turn round and round, to consider from every angle: What does this do? More importantly: What do I do with this? I love my … Continue reading You are what you love
lit bits and pieces 