A Day Rare In Form and Beauty

Today has been so beautiful that I did not need to remind myself to look up. That bright sky drew my gaze over and over again. It's like yesterday's weather both washed and swept everything clean. We have a little break from the pollen and on top of everything else, it has been cooler and dryer as if the storm took all of the humidity with it to feed and nurture itself. 

Good riddance. Although my weather app says there's a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. That is fine. It can rain all it wants. I always think of the water filtering down to the aquifer below us and it makes me happy. But it is also a pure blue miracle to have a day like today. The birds have been so busy calling and singing today that I can't help but feel that they are celebrating the day as well although they are probably defining their territories as it is that time of year. I saw two bright scarlet male cardinals on the ground, darting towards each other and they had menace in their eyes. The finches have been crowding the feeder, the cardinals and doves too. 
Everything has felt so alive. 

I read about yesterday's storm in the paper and realized that we were really lucky. I don't think the tornado actually touched down anywhere but there was a tornado and I'm sure that caused the wind that was so strong for a few minutes. A tree fell onto a car a few miles from here and killed the passenger and injured the driver. Roads and even part of the interstate (the part nearest Lloyd, in fact) were blocked by fallen trees. We had surprisingly little tree damage in our yard. I picked up a garden cart full of limbs and branches that fell and hauled them to the burn pile but honestly, I would not have been surprised to see entire trees down. 

I kicked bamboo and this is what the wisteria growing on the bamboo jungle looks like. 

I would apologize for the constant wisteria photos but I will not. I do apologize that they are not as good as I wish they were. Right now I am looking at one of those male cardinals perched on a wisteria vine between two bunches of blossoms and that is just a party for the eyes. 
I am not fast enough to get a photo of that but I give you this.

The mulberries are still green and hard but are starting to turn color. I think it will be a good year and hopefully, I'll be making preserves with them and a pie or two. They are so good, so purple and luscious, and each one I eat is a trip back in time for me to the mulberry tree in Roseland where all the kids in the community gorged ourselves on the sweet fruit every spring, coming home with stained lips, tongues, and fingers. 

It has been a quiet day for me. Mr. Moon went over to Tom's house to finally and actually plane some boards. He figured out how to get the planer working properly with the help of real-life people on the phone. He highly recommends the Grizzly Woodworking Equipment Company. In case you're in the market for such products. 

That's a black walnut board from a tree that got cut down in our yard over a year ago and which has been aged all that time in the old barn. There will also be cherry boards from the tree that was by the kitchen that needed to be cut. And then he will start using them to make things. He has been looking forward to doing this for most of his life. 

This all reminds me of my grandfather who earned a good living working for the Cavalier Cabinet Corporation, going all over the United States and sometimes Europe, buying wood. He wanted to be a cabinet maker himself but cut off all the fingers on his left hand in a saw that did not have the guard attached. That never seemed to slow him down much when it came to making things in his shop. He loved woodwork so very much and I can see him in that shop in his garage, whistling tunelessly as he did, sanding and planing, creating tables and chairs and lazy-susans to put a Scrabble board on. 

I've babbled long enough. I just slid a dutch oven full of leftover mashed potato/sourdough bread into the oven. 

The mighty yeast of Lloyd is still powerfully lifting its burden of flour and water and salt and whatever else the hell I put into my bread. 

Just one more example of everyday miracles. 

Don't forget to set your clocks up. 

Ugh. 

Love...Ms. Moon