Sunday, June 11, 2023

Rain, Finally

These lovely, almost-summer days have gone on and on, and I have been outside whenever I can be, reading on a wooden glider draped with an ivy-patterned comforter. Meanwhile, the ground was parched and the creek has twice gone dry. Until today! Sprinkle, then steady light rain, episodic, but enough to make all the plants stand up happy and straight, with some of them appearing to grow an inch in a day. The first day lilies have opened, making it seem to be true summer! 

Swimming started this week--oh, how wonderful! That, too, makes summer seem here to stay...though it doesn't stay, and already I am aware how swiftly it will go by. I lap swim early, wash the chlorine out of my hair, and walk to work. Sometimes at work, during our 15-minute breaks, we take walks around town. Friday, we walked to the university library and saw a ceramics display, 100 pieces based on poems. I love my life.

In it, this lucky life, I am balancing my sorrow. And some ongoing stress. I am grateful I can do so. And glad that these clematis blooms opened on the fence, despite the weeks of drought. Some vines did not even produce buds. But seeds I planted at the re-mounted little free library did come up. More to be glad of and grateful for!


3 comments:

Rajani said...

Hi got here from Via Negativa..Glad to read your post. The ceramics exhibition based on poems sounds very interesting. Do you have a link to more information about it- would love to know how they were connected and displayed. Thanks so much!

Kathleen said...

Here is the link, Rajani, and I will try to edit my post to add it there, too!

https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/niiyama-pottery/

Rajani said...

Oh Wow! I have had Joshua Mostow's translation of Hyakunin isshu for a few years now and absolutely love it. Wish this exhibit would travel to India sometime. Brilliant idea. Thanks so much, Kathleen.