I just kept moving from one thing to another and I hung the clothes on the line and gathered them in, the towels rough and sweet. I folded them and put them in the basket and brought them in and put them away. I took the trash and the recycle and I went by the post office. I trimmed the sago palms and the Canary Island date palms and I noticed something today that I have never noticed before which is what the sago's new fronds look like as they unfurl.
I do not know. But now that I have, I hope to remember it every spring, to note it, to admire it, to enjoy it.
I went next door to the abandoned house and dug up a ginger lily and purloined hydrangea blooms.
I didn't get the breakfast dishes washed until just a few minutes ago. So what? So what?
And now my husband is home and he is happy after spending a day with Vergil and Jessie and helping them with their house. And look what he brought me.
"I stole them," he said and I laughed.
Stolen flowers are making my house beautiful. And no one in this world will suffer for their loss but oh, how I am loving their presence here.
I have enough leftovers from last night to make another shrimp salad for us and there will be sweet yellow cherry tomatoes and the still-warm-from-the-sun cucumber in it. There will be bread.
That's it. That has been my perfect day.
Dirt and light and chickens and cat and plants, and rosemary oil and Dr. Bronner's soap sprayed on bean plants. The coolness of water through a hose, sprayed upon thirsty plants. Laundry hung on a line. A body that did not grow weary or overheated. Not once.
Very few words were involved. Not spoken ones, at least. I have kept constant quiet counsel with myself and this little bit of land I get to tend.
Peace. Contentment. Sweetness.
A day so ordinary that it could easily slip by unnoticed and un-noted. But so representative of the things I love that I can not let it do so.
And there it is- this small story of this small day.
Thank you for sharing it with me.
Love...Ms. Moon
What a lovely day, mine has been almost as glorious too, ordinary but wonderful, with all the laundry done too! I would steal a magnolia from anywhere, there is no more heavenly scent as far as I know. In Savannah the air was thick with magnolia blossoms, and I was in heaven. I've been bringing in iris, lilac and rose and it has been very fragrant and relaxing here. Almost lush. We are soaking it in, aren't we? Xo
ReplyDeleteSounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't get much better.
ReplyDeleteMel- Yes! And how righteous it is to do so!
ReplyDeleteAllison- It is. I swear.
Ellen Abbott- You know exactly what I'm talking about, Sister Woman. You artist you. You know.
The smell of all the blossoms in my yard is so very wonderful right now, with a high note of lilacs supported by the violets and dandelions and forget-me-nots and million other tiny wildflowers...I am a privileged person, a fairy in disguise, a most blessed woman... and the thunderstorm came at the end of the day and has cooled everyone off and watered all the beautiful young hopeful plantlings...good night!
ReplyDeleteHow wise you are to note it while it is happening, the goodness of it. It is a day infused with the love that was expressed in your home last evening. Simple tasks. Wholesome. Beautiful.
ReplyDeletecurrently my favorite flowers are the ditch irises we dug from the tony's mom's neighbor's house, which was abandoned at the time.
ReplyDeletexxalainaxx
The way you describe your 'ordinary' days are just freakin' beautiful! Here we had unrelenting rain and thunder and all I wanted to do was sleep. But hearing about your day gives me hope that we just may see some sun tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteAnd the best thing is that you have written about your beautiful day so that not only do we get to share it, but you will NEVER forget it because you can read about it again ...
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound like a perfect day. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am going to bed now and am grateful that this is what I'll go to sleep to --
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for sharing your perfect day with us! I feel like I'm there, I really do. I love the flower thievery. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd aren't sago palms supposed to be prehistoric survivors? You can almost imagine a dinosaur peeking out from behind those curled fronds.
And those are the best days of all...
ReplyDeleteBig Mamabird- I like to think I could name the season simply by the smell of the yard. We just got a beautiful little rain today and I am so happy.
ReplyDeleteAngella- It was, for me, a very holy good day.
Mrs. A- I love bringing home plants from the wild and abandoned places. They make me so happy.
Catrina- And today it has rained here and oh, how sleepy I got!
jenny_o- I almost NEVER go back and read my old posts but I could!
Mwa- And you are welcome!
Elizabeth- Aw. That is such a nice thought. Thank you!
Steve Reed- Yes! I think they are and they are not palms at all, really. Very old, very primitive. I love the old plants. Ferns too. And I always imagine dinosaurs peeking from behind them.
t- Amen!
"The magnolias smell like Jessie's birth"...that is one of the most beautiful thoughts I've ever read.
ReplyDeleteYou don't read old blog posts??? Damn, woman, you are missing out on some mighty fine writing!