The last couple of weeks have landed heavy. After such a long stretch of amazing gardening weather, the cold-wet-dark season approaches. We still get some very sunny afternoons, but the soil’s too cold for everything except brassicas and some root veggies, and we’re losing daylight quickly. My wife and I are discussing tropical distractions to break up the drizzle.
Summer was warm and productive, long days with most of it spent
outside. Lots of time with The Boys, either walking them or letting them hang
while we tended veggies. They had to be watched around green beans and broccoli;
they’d eat it right off the plant.
My brother
arrived for a few days. Then he headed east to see family. Later, we joined everyone
back east, for a week. We were there to sort out the remainder of our father’s estate
and things got a little bumpy, partially to my emotional state. Of course I
had:
· A broken back, healing but sore,
· A case of shingles (4th time, yes, I have received the vax, both shots),
· A little lymphedema, probably from having my swimsuit area zapped with radiation repeatedly, over several weeks,
· The hormone deprivation meds I’ve taken for a year (and still have another year to go), making me a bit emotional.
· And the daily nausea and fatigue, the weekly GI issues I deal with, luckily the headache is gone after 7 months.
After ME, we had planned another week with family in a place on the Cape. I was in some pain and returned to the island to rest, hang out with my brother, son, and The Boys. My wife would return to the island after hanging with sibs on the Cape. Win-Win :) Between doctors visits, we worked in the garden, walked the Boys, ate like royalty and played a lot of guitar and sang with my brother.
Regarding my back, I got a fit for duty in Sept and have
been through Physical Therapy. We spread 10 yds of topsoil over our drain field
(second time) and planted white clover. The little leaves are poking up,
reaching for the sun as I type. And we’re preparing the beds for winter while
dodging raindrops and hanging in the capital city helping family.
Four guys from my book group did a Deepak Chopra meditation series and I felt I got some useful stuff out of it. I may do it again. Trying to get back in the habit or 20-30 minutes of yoga every evening before bed, after all, for me it's private lessons with the best yoga teacher I know.
I’ve been reading a lot and watching the streamers. “Nobody Wants This” on Netflix is definitely worth a look.
The circle continues and I am blessed to be part of it.
More to follow…
Fire
Crumble paper
Crib kindling
Set damper & intake
Strike match.
A light inhale,
Like an affirmation,
A finger snap,
Another, another,
A chorus of snapping digits.
Inhalation builds to a roar.
Snapping slows, never stopping.
No exhale to be seen,
But it’s there.
Hiding at the house top.
The glow flutters
Like a butterfly,
Brighter here,
Darker there,
Moving, always.
With newly banked logs,
The furious cadence slows,
Finding its rhythm.
Heat arrives.
A summer day
In my living room,
Locking out winter.
© 2025 Marginal Effort Publishing
