As I sit here, beating the heat
in the shade with ‘The Boys’, I realize that it’s been some time since I added
anything.
March was awesome. Berit and I spent a week in Kona, HI to
start the month. Upon return we had to giddy-up with the summer planting. We
pushed the dining table to the corner and set up two shelving units with lights
and heat and began everything from seed. It’s been warm, dry and sunny recently,
so our garden has taken off! We have yet to get the drip irrigation set up.
And we’ve been having fun with our online gardening program,
Veg Club. We added more field trips this year. We’re going to people’s houses
to visit their gardens for ideas and inspiration, and it’s been a hit. Check
out our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@VegClub-vm1jd/playlists
Berit’s mom needed more help, so Berit arranged with her
sister to create a schedule and split the time, half here and half with her
mom. It was working out until her sister got sick. But they figured it out and
have a solution that works for everyone.
I saw the Seattle Kraken play the Winnipeg Jets at Key Area
(Climate Pledge). The Jets are playing in the Stanley Cup Championship as I write.
And I am dismayed that a team from a state with no natural ice is doing so well
against them.
By mid-April I was dealing with nausea, almost daily. And I
had some pretty intense hip pain for two weeks and the nausea continued into
May. I was monitored via monthly bloodwork because the numbers were indicating
that my meds were causing some issues for my liver.
In March things began to improve and continued to do so. The
back pain started after the May 14th Lupron shot. I got sick on May
18th and my back was really sore after. It took two weeks of not getting
better to finally go to the hospital.
We spent 9 hours in Harborview Medical Center’s ER on May
27th. By that time, I was worried that the meds had trashed my kidneys,
or the cancer was in my spine, but the scans revealed good news; no organ damage,
no cancer, just a cracked and compacted L4. I broke my back. I get a brace to wear
for 6 weeks and follow a ton of restrictions to prevent damage. I look quite
fetching in the brace, btw. And my PSA is 0.09!!!!!!!
I’ve read a ton of books, watched a ton of TV, as I was
resting for the first week or two and I’ve written a couple of poems (see
below).
My faves:
Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories by Amanda
Peters (2025) Catapult
Amazing stories of forgotten people and folks in the
margins. The writing is stellar, authentic dialog, real characters, and a true
sense of space & time.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (2024) Vintage:
Historical Fiction. 18th century New England. A
body is found in the frozen Kennebec River. The deceased is a suspect in an
assault and rape. One medical professional says he was beaten and hanged before
being thrown into the river, another says he simply drowned and the ice damaged
the body. Is it a murder or accident?
The Orange and Other Poems by Wendy Cope (2024)
Faber & Faber
Great poetry! Astute observations cleverly constructed into
verses about relationships & life in general, the good and bad, the happy
and sad, all shared with lovely rhythm and whimsy, lots and lots of whimsy. I
got many, many smiles out of this book.
Everyone should read this!
One Evening After Doggie Dinnertime
A crow complains.
Long & loud he leans into his grievance.
None of the other fliers seem to notice.
They have their own issues to discuss,
Not loudly, but just as important.
The corvid is ignored, except for a Doug squirrel,
Who keeps telling the bird to quiet down
Or he’s coming over there.
Undercover of a fading blue afternoon,
The gibbous moon waxes on unnoticed.
Soon it will be full of itself.
A planter’s moon,
Ideal for sowing,
Reminding us to get our stuff together,
Get it in the ground,
And nurture it to harvest.
The fir group sways slightly in light airs,
As if determining the danceability of the wind’s tune.
Their green shimmy makes me move a little,
How could it not?
The sky begins to blush
As the sun nears the Olympic siblings,
It’s as if it knows it’s doing something naughty
By leaving the day without light.
The boys drift across the grass,
Marking plants, tracking game,
And anything that isn’t us.
Occasionally, the little one rolls in flowers,
Gleeful for the sweet scent.
I sit in a lawn chair, inhale gently, but deeply and smile,
Taking it all in.
I am going to dream in color tonight!
5-2025 Marginal Effort
Publishing
Blackberries
When I join ‘The Boys’
For their last whiff & sniff,
Before we say our,
‘Now-I-lay-me’s’,
I can hear
Tendrils stretching,
Across new territory
Near the back fence.
From the corner of my eye,
I catch them creeping
Yet, turn to their stillness.
I thin & trim them,
Not to taunt, tame or tune,
But to slow the onslaught.
And just when I’ve pruned enough
Blossoms appear,
Pollinators pause,
And tiny green orbs
Become small dark orbs,
Beckoning.
By late summer,
I’m braving puppy-teeth-prickles
Every afternoon.
Reaching, stretching, balanced on one foot,
Applying a hybrid of Tai Chi,
Yoga, & Buns-of-Steel moves
I fill the pail,
Spilling very little blood.
So, I grab another pail and
Pick until my purple fingers say, enough.
The dark nuggets
Dribble from my pail
To ramble over a cookie sheet.
A gentle shake levels the mass,
Before a deep sleep
In the freezer.
As I grind through
The cold, dark & wet
Days of winter,
I will ration the taste of August
Into my morning mush.
If I’m lucky, my purple smile
Will last until the blossoms return.
6-2025 Marginal Effort
Publishing
