The Nursery

daily haiku

plants spawn their seedlings
a little nurturing touch
then leave to nature

I had a place in the garden where not much was growing. It was a place where our underground fuel tank was once located. We had to have it removed because of Government rules and regs. It is fairly dry and weedy but it has found a niche, as a nursery of sorts, for growing new plants. Each fall I cut the dead heads from the few flowers that survive here despite the heat and drought, and throw them on the ground in the nursery. This year with plentiful rain I have a nice selection of Meadow Sage, Yarrows and Gaillardias to transplant into the flower beds

I identify with the nursery in many ways. A year ago I lost Peter; although I knew I would survive, I had no idea that I would have to face so many crises and need to learn so many skills to survive living in this beautiful place. When I was widowed at thirty years, I was able to adapt a lot faster. The house was relatively new having been moved here in 1955, so all the equipment functioned and the cost of furnace fuel was somewhere around 40c a gallon! Close to the end of my sixtieth decade I am not as fast or as fit neither is the house! I was thrown into the nursery of life and left to grow. I am grateful that I have been given so much nurture by friends and family, I would not have made it this far without them, but in the end you face the grief and regrowth alone.

As I triumph over each crisis, a flower bud grows in me, and now I feel like I am almost a new plant. The same stock that brought me to this place is there, but my roots and stem have had to change and adapt to survive the storms. With each new task I undertake comes a new awareness of myself and appreciation of each little accomplishment.

I do not know whether I will stay in our little town, but I plan to stay another winter, go dormant as it were, and see whether I can flower again next spring.

Nothing I could write can describe these clouds

June Lilacs

haiku

lilacs scent my world
june goes to my head like love
overwhelms senses

This is one blog to which I would like to add one of those "scratch and sniff" cards!

What a wonderful time of year this is, there are lilacs in full bloom everywhere. As I walk through our little town the aroma pervades the air - sometimes lightly sometimes when near the trees they take over my smell entirely. The Post Office has two bushes by the door, a white and a purple planted in the same hole - sight and smell together. The old teacherage is abloom in purple, Clara has a hedge of purples in her back yard; her grandson Elliot next door has some that abut the street and the new teacherage has them in front.

My white lilac is outside the bedroom window and to open it at night scents me into dreamland. This morning I remembered a poem that I wrote a few years ago, "Pruning the Lilac" - and it brought back wonderful memories of Peter and me working together in the early spring.

Pruning The Lilac
Together we prune the lilac,
Dead branches from last summer’s drought
As I trim
Brown twigs
Fall down inside my shirt,
Into cleavage
Stick in me as I move.
He takes the more strenuous role
With the saw, and manages to scratch
Hand and arm
And him
On Coumadin,
So he bleeds all over shirt
Pants and deck.
We take a break
Bind wounds,
Then go at it again,
Finish the cutting.
The lilac bleeds in silence.

© C. Valentine

The Big Rain

daily haiku

rains came for a week
heavy flooding mayhem roads closed
hidden treasure green

It's been quite a week - I am happy that I live in Birney and on a hill. Last weekend heavy rains started and continued for almost the whole week. The leaks resulting from last July's storm were active but not too bad (as yet). On Monday all roads were closed - a good time not to have a medical emergency; the road to Sheridan opened on Tuesday and by Thursday all roads were passable once more.

All around SE Montana flooding hurt people and homes, the Crow Tribe was badly hit and there are now National Guard helping there. National Guards are also in Roundup where the Busy Bee cafe is under water and most of the town as well. The Busy Bee is a community hub. Neighbors meet there to have a cup of Joe and exchange news - Bill Clinton held court there when he was running for 2nd term presidency, so without it there is no place to commiserate with each other over all that has occurred in the floods.

Here in Birney the river is very high and water is now pouring over the old spillway at the Tongue River reservoir. There is a second spillway that will take extra water for a one-hundred-year flood - hope it does not come into use! However with temps forecast to go to 80's this week, there may be snow melt pounding down Goose Creek and into the Tongue River causing more difficulties.

Life is never dull here on the hill and a lot of my thinking and writing often revolves around the weather. I suppose it'll be mosquito season by the end of the week!

Birds life

daily haiku

thunderstorms and rain
unfamiliar bird appears
a gift from the storm?

Spring is slow, cool, and rainy here on the hill. Over the weekend the sun was out and we had lovely days. "Sitting outside weather," I thought - but no such luck; the wind battered the hill for 2 days at 20-40 mph. Everything that was not tied down rattled and clanked, but amazingly, I did not find any damage. This has been followed by thunderstorms and rain. The roads are sloppy and the days are dismal.

However the bird life is entertaining me. The bluebird in the photos above is nesting under the eaves. Mrs Bluebird gets out to stretch her legs and wings now and then, but since I don't hear any little cheeps as yet, she is still keeping the eggs warm most of the time. Their nest is above the ceiling to the left of my computer, and as the chicks get larger they create quite a racket upon the arrival of grubs and insects - delightful to hear.

Goldfinches and purple finches are around, along with lark sparrows, robins, and chickadees. This morning I had a special treat. As I drew open the bedroom curtains I saw a small black bird with orange/red chest and bars on wing and tail. A first. It took a while but I finally found it at http://www.whatbird.com/ a great site for finding unkown birds. It was an American Redstart - I have not seen it here before - what a treat. So spring may not be cooperating with me, but the birds are holding down the fort!

Sprouting

daily haiku

trees sprout baby leaves
blossoms are not far behind
spring pulls at my heart

In between storms we are having warm days, and trees and perennials are beginning to open. Even the honeysuckle tree that Ben and I severely pruned last fall, that I thought might be dead, is putting out new sprouts. The next task I have to do for it is one that I hate - treating it with systemic insecticide. Necessary because the ladybirds took off and didn't complete the job of cleaning up the aphids.

I am sprouting too. Torn between holding onto the sharp clear memories of Peter along with its pain, or moving forward into a newer less painful life. Actually I don't think I have much choice. Life is giving me my own spring purging.

Lilac in bud

Gregii tulips showing

daily haiku

a quiet morning
peaceful along the valley
mist enshrouds new buds

Despite the grey days there are signs of spring creeping in. Crested wheat is showing in front of the porch and around the house. The tree buds are swelling, and tulip bulbs have burst through the soil with moisture from snow and rain.

Years ago I planted some red tulip bulbs in a flower bed. The bulbs faded out over several years. But among them was a lone yellow tulip - an ugly duckling so to speak. It survived and blooms every year. Today I saw the leaves once again showing up for yet another spring. It's survival instinct is strong.

I too have shown up for another year. In January and February I really didn't care if I was here or not - I just survived each day. However like the yellow tulip - I think I am ready to show up each day and blossom. I am, as I recently told a friend, "getting comfortable in my skin." I am not sure where that phrase originated but it seems to fit the way I feel of late. Maybe I'll wear my yellow Lands End sweater tomorrow!