The Never-ending Song

Halloween--a special event night this year with a full moon and an extra hour.  Sadly there probably won't be many trick-or-treaters out to enjoy the moon slipping through the black clouds, the dry leaves skating along the sidewalk, the eerie sounds of a loose shutter somewhere banging against the wall of an empty house.  Covid is here--the eeriest fear of all this year.  My jack-o-lantern will grin his candle-lit smile through my front window.  My cat will sit behind it on her window seat, tail lashing, jaws chattering, as she watches those tantalizing crisp, dry leaves flash by.    But I do not expect any giggling little ghosts to appear at the door, alarming my watchful dog. I have some fruit bars just in case.  I did not buy any candy this year.  Afraid no kids would come to the door and then I would have to eat it all myself! I had a wonderful birthday yesterday.  My older daughter came and made my favorite meal of sea scallops, mac ...

Today is my birthday.  The grand old age of 86.  I don't feel 86, or even 68.  When I went to wash my face this morning I looked in the mirror-something I seldom do.  In fact it is a standing joke with my friends when I tell them "let me know if my hair is a mess".  But this morning I thought I would sneak a peek.  Hmm- does that face looking back at me really look like it is 86 years old?  I do see  traces of the pretty girl I once was so very many years ago.  I have out-lived three husbands.  Don't suppose that is anything to brag about.  And NO, I had nothing to do with any of their demises. What do I have to show for my 86 years?  Four terrific kids, grown to wonderful, responsible, caring adults.  Four grown grandchildren- one missing from the family right now, but loved as much anyway.  And two handsome great grandsons.   I have one published book to my credit, small, but a token to leave behind to the chil...

  My daughter Terry is an avid gardener.  She is also very observant, seeing so many wee creatures many of us often miss.  Recently she sent me pictures of a newcomer to her Gladiola.  He/she is a caterpillar and not a familiar one.  I have always picked up caterpillars-usually those fuzzy black and brown ones called Wooly Bears who are purported to be able to predict the upcoming winter.  They are soft with black faces and shiny bright eyes.  One that used to be a very familiar sight was the green hairless Monarch butterfly caterpillar. There used to be many of them nibbling away on Milkweed.  Now we seldom see those tall, pink, flowering stalks along the roadside or in the meadows.  I loved the fragrance.  As children my sister and I spent hours removing the drying pods in the Fall, opening them to release the silky parachutes, each  with it's small brown seedman dangling beneath.  These are the mainstay of the Monarch butter...

  The tiny tomato plant never grew to be more than 8 inches tall.  Rather amusing that it would be considered "legal" here under the 10 inch plant regulation except for one thing--it is edible.  Well not the plant itself, but rather the fruit it produced.  I had rescued it, fed and watered it through the summer.  It was hidden between a large Geranium and the overgrown Lavender.  It never got much sun and being beneath the porch overhang, would not have received much rain either.  So I carried out jugs of water daily to keep it moist.  It began to produce wee red tomatoes, 2 at first, then miniature yellow blooms which became green, then orange, then red cherry tomatoes.  They were sweet and juicy. Perhaps I enjoyed them even more as they arrived in pairs spaced days apart. Now as Autumn approaches, the leaves of the tiny tomato plant are turning yellow.  The spindly branches bend low bearing the last of it's luscious treats---5 more wee...

  For some time now I have been debating whether or not to write about these strange events which are connected to recently departed people. Today it is rainy, humid, a gloomy day, so what better time to put on paper my recollections of two similar and unexplainable  happenings?  Make of them what you will. Recently my close friend Sylvia passed away from a stroke.  She lived in the apartment next to mine.  She did not die there--made it to the hospital; however, she did not make it back home.  Her apartment is still vacant.  The maintenance man has replaced the carpet, painted the walls, and done minor repairs.  Two people had signed up to rent it.  Apartments here never stay vacant more than the few days it takes to make them ready.  The first one, a man, came to check it out before moving in.  After being inside briefly he told the manager he changed his mind.  No reason given that I am aware of.  I don't know what happ...

It was hot---very, very hot and muggy.  So humid that when you stepped from your air-conditioned apartment you thought "Who the heck just threw that soggy blanket over me?" At noon on the dot, eight residents , sweltering behind their masks, clustered on the small porch of the community room.   Two cars had arrived earlier, one bearing a lady with some bags who went right into the community room, and the other with two men in shirt, tie & jackets (UGH)  carrying clipboards and pamphlets.   Small foam bowls with a dab of vanilla ice cream (no toppings) were handed from the community room door  to the waiting eight, who pulled their masks down to beneath their chins.  (how else could they eat?)  Now there were no masks and no social distancing.  A   car pulled up.  A very obese young man oozed out and going to the back of his vehicle he withdrew a guitar and lawn chair.  He set the chair back from the group,onto the parkin...

Last night Hannah and I went out later than usual -around 10:30. The moon was very bright, even though only about half it's potential size. Someone was at the dumpster making a lot of noise.  Hannah peed first, then noticing the racket, she began sniffing the air.  We have a lot of  street lights out now including those on the office building.  Dark by the mail boxes and the dumpster.  I thought it was strange that Hannah was not barking as she always does at people she doesn't know (or recognize) and dogs.  So I rolled the wheelchair down the sidewalk a way to see who was making the noises.  A really big black bear was shaking the dumpster., his gleaming white claws hooked into the door frame,  Standing taller than any man here, he opened the door , which is high up on the side of the large dumpster,  and hauled out bulging white plastic bags. He batted them around like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn,  until they tor...