This And That, Here And There

Oh dear god, I am exhausted.
I'd say that I've spent all day working outside but that is not quite true. I did sit and write a bit. The man who owns the beautiful place on the Sebastian River where I stay when I visit Roseland asked me if I would write a letter about the community center in Roseland which is in need of county funding for repair from the perspective of a former resident who remembers it from long, long ago. And so I did. Here's a picture of the building itself that I took on one of my visits.

He probably won't even use the letter. I got way too nostalgic and sappy and used a lot of words like inspiration, heart, magical, enchanted, etc. I also included what can only be called a condensed history of Roseland from the sixties. I stopped just short of talking about Chester, the feral man who lived in Roseland and who looked like Jesus but only because I couldn't tie him to the building in any way.
Oh well. I surely did enjoy writing it and it brought back so many memories for me and it reminded me that I need to go back soon to visit because I miss Roseland and have learned that you CAN go home again and it's wonderful.

But besides the time it took me to do that, I've mostly been outside and I'm all broken out and itchy because I trimmed sagos and Canary Island date palms and got down on my belly and cleared out the horrible cherry laural seedlings from under the fig tree along with a bunch of sticky, itchy weeds, and I trimmed the bottom branches off of the fig tree itself and also the mulberry and some camellias and hauled all that to the burn pile, one load at a time. I also did a little leaf raking and mulching and was going to plant another row or so of cream peas but I burned out and came in and took a shower and took grapes to the baby chickens and got the laundry in and folded it and put it away and tomorrow's another day and I'll try to get to the garden then.

So. Yes. I am tired but I am trying to gird these ancient loins and get in the kitchen and make some eggplant parmesan for our supper. That should be good and I am glad I got all of that work done in the yard but the hotel in Cozumel where we stay just posted this on Facebook

and suddenly I want to weep and am now homesick for two places.
That is El Cielo, which translates to The Heaven and it is.

Oh well. Lloyd is not so bad and Mick is calling in the ladies and the sun is doing that magical thing with light as it goes below the trees and I noticed a blooming blossom on the highest limb of my huge old magnolia tree, it's white face turned towards the blue sky, and little birds are chittering in the trees and I can't complain.

There are many heavens to be found on this earth and I am grateful to be able to call a few of them my own, in some way or another.

I am lucky. So lucky and good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I will be able to visit those heavenly places again, meanwhile living right here in my own tiny plot of paradise which I am still strong enough to work on which brings me a sure and certain joy of its own.

Sleep well, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon