Relief, fishing for chickens, the pleasure of warmth and sugar
1. To wake up and find that after all that noise, there is no storm damage to the garden. Or rather, the only damage is both minor and desirable. 2. We drive out to see our chicken man. The views are different but as equally as stunning as they were on the balmy June evening [...]
Reflections, shiny, brilliant
1. Joe watches me via the mirror and when Katherine comes back into the room with the curtain hooks, he shuffles around so we’re both in the frame. 2. The new greenhouse glass is so clear, completely unmarked, that it looks hyperreal. I’m reminded of the glass church in Oscar and Lucinda: my cathedral to [...]
Chickens, titters & giggles, wrong just wrong
1. Noise from the chickens wakes us before 8. It’s not too loud (quieter than the birdsong but more persistent like the sound of distant Canadian geese) but we’ve been listening for it all night. We go down together to let them out. 1b. I sit and wait for the chickens to emerge from their [...]
Six Beautiful Things from the weekend
1. “This wood will keep you warm next winter,” I tell Carla as she watches me pull thick branches from the giant pile and stack them on the dormant flower bed. Further down the garden, John is building a platform where the wood will season while I’m sorting it from the twigs (which will be [...]
3BT – back to brown, shyness is nice, static
1. I have breakfast in the newly re-emerged garden – the first time it’s been snow-free in nearly a month. I count up how many of my garlic bulbs avoided being stolen by squirrels and watch the cats as they refamiliarise themselves with all the smells of the neighbourhood. The pond is still mostly frozen [...]
3BT – I saw it too, turn on/turn off, ice crystals
1. A squirrel appears on the fence just a foot away from Boron. He stares at it without moving and it stares back for a moment before escaping into the tree. Boron turns around to look at me – his eyes are shining with excitement and we share a blink. 2. I hear music and [...]
