Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Monday, February 22, 2010

Coffee in the Garden


Bonjour! Hope you're having a good day. I thought to take these pictures after my morning cup was almost empty. It was then, when my brain was sharpened by the caffeine, that I went out onto the porch and decided to let this charming cup, that my daughter
in-law gave me years ago, be the center of attention.

We are having a beautiful Spring. One day we have rain, the next day the sun comes out. It's as if nature is in perfect sync with itself right now.
I took a walk, in the rain, yesterday. I was getting that house bound feeling that tells me to get outside no matter what the weather. I'm a person who needs a lot of space. When I feel confined I start to shut down. I get fidgety and cranky.
Someone once told me that I didn't focus very well. I disagreed with them. I do focus..., only everything comes at me at the same time and it has taken years to distinguish one thing from another. I still find a bird singing outside the window at the same level of mindfulness as someone talking to me in the house. It all feeds in at the same intensity and I'm use to dividing my attention into parts and then having to choose what to listen to and what to ignore.
...so I went for a walk in the rain. For someone who hears the grass moving, this can be an experience of overwhelming passion. The sound of the rain, the color of Manzanita trees darkened by the wetness, the green grass covering the hills and glistening with water, and the wind moving the oak trees slowing as if they were dancing..., and then a bee, a bumblebee I think, flying overhead, following me. How odd, how wonderful, from the top of the hill all the way down to the house..., buzzing.., flying above me, as if he had some purpose with me. A fellow creature looking for answers?..., or a flower?.., or, I'm pretty sure, my red raincoat.

Today the sun shines and everything in the garden is all glitter and sparkle. I sit and watch Carl running around like the crazy little puppy that he is. I hear the chickens discussing the weather. A red-tailed hawk flies over head.
I keep my shadow from intruding into the photos as I obsessively take pictures of a coffee cup and I drink the rest of the ,now, lukewarm coffee with a tiny bug floating in it, being careful not to sip the bug into my mouth. The rest is thrown to the dirt below the stepping stones and I return to the house to write this post in the silence of my guest room without the distraction of this intensely beautiful day.


"Coffee. Garden. Coffee.
Does a good morning need anything else?" ~Betsy CaƱas Garmon~
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13 comments:

  1. What a beautiful, evocative post.. *sighs*
    I enlarged the last picture, and with the cup as the focus, it's just gorgeous!
    Is that Alyssum I see? Ahhh, the fragrance!
    And a hummingbord feeder? I miss the hummingbirds, so I'll have to remind my son to re-fill his feeder before we arrive!

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  2. So good to see your post today when we have oodles and oodles of snow on the ground, more headed our way! It gives such hope of spring....

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  3. Gorgeous photos. You gave a perfect description of ADD. It's not the inability to focus but where to focus. From the outside it looks like a person who can't pay attention but for those who live with this; it's a matter of deciding where to focus when there is so much going on.
    Love the cup, the garden and the intense blue sky. Beautiful.

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  4. I am so very sure that the Bee that joined you on your walk was also focusing while he waits for Mother Nature to finish spreading out the pollen buffet.

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  5. I love this post, and your eloquent descriptions! Especially hearing "the chickens discuss the weather". Beautiful!

    :)

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  6. There is nothing like a fat coffee cup and the sounds of the world around you farmlady!! I've been busy with my world but have your blog up on my computer a lot...even tho I don't always comment I'm feeling your spirit! Enjoy this spring...you are living the life!!!

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  7. This was a very inspirational post. I really like the description of the manzanita bushes, brought back memories as a child mushroom hunting and getting on my knees to get through the manzainta bushes. After 3 spring like days we had rain last night and it is turning colder. I love all your photos. Have a great evening. Madeline

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  8. beautiful post today...I feel like I was right there with you! Enjoy.

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  9. AAHH..The fresh smell of Spring in the air. Is there anything better....

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  10. A beautiful day, very different from mine! My coffee would be cold in seconds outside at one degree!
    I love a big coffee cup but then you have to drink it fast before it cools off.

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  11. I so enjoyed sipping coffee with you (vicariously) and looking at your cerulean skies. Lovely. I could close my eyes and picture and hear everything, from the wind through the grasses to the discussions of the busy hens.

    All joys to you (and your grandson is one of the biggest),

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  12. Your photos make me crave a warm morning cup by the garden. I know how you feel being in tune to ALL going on around you. Sometimes I stop and try to see how many birds I can hear singing at once...we had lovely sun for a week and today its back to the drizzle but I know its on its way!

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