i have no doubt

this is one i wrote sometime last year.  thought it was a good one for a rainy day.


i have no doubt

it's dark and i lie awake
listening to rain falling gently on the roof
some things are taken for granted
their splendor unrecognized
like the magnificence and wonder of a raindrop
i'm as guilty as anyone
but i cannot comprehend such things as raindrops
they're far too vast for my feeble consciousness to grasp
like love
you lie quietly beside me
i hear your breath and feel your warmth
and i have no doubt
no doubt
it radiates from the core of your being
i see it in your eyes, your smile, every line on your face
i hear it in your voice
and feel it in your touch
but still i cannot understand the how or the why of your love for me
it's like the rain
beautiful and miraculous and utterly beyond me
but i have no doubt

some rain

started raining sometime in the night---always so lovely to wake to the sound of rain falling on the roof.  still raining this morning.  we went out and enjoyed it for a while.

just over an inch at about 10:00 am and still coming down.

keep it coming

 

some digging

another lovely day here.  spent most of it out in the garden.  zane and i made the rounds this morning---walked our 6 acres a little and then checked all the plants.

 happy pac choi

did some digging in the kitchen garden.  it was summer when we moved in here and i was in a hurry to get some kind of garden in the ground so i didn't take the time to line the beds with aviary wire to keep gophers out like i usually do.  fortunately no gophers yet but it's only matter of time so...

digging makes me hungry so i took a little break for breakfast.

breakfast of champions

yes

then back to the garden.  still some roots in the ground left behind by a large walnut tree that was removed some time before we bought the place.  makes the digging a bit more difficult and time consuming.

but i had a helper so it wasn't so bad.

zane holding down the dirt pile

and i saw some interesting things.

nitrogen fixing nodules on clover roots

i'm ready for bed.

a week (or two) in pictures...

the weather has been beautiful (maybe a little too beautiful for january)---low 70's during the day and 30's-40's at night.  finally see the possibility for some rain at the end of the month---we'll be dancing for it.

some happy plants in one of the cold frames

quince blossoms

billy hanging out with the kumquat tree

staal and i built a wall so the kitties could have a new room with direct access to their cat door and the outdoors.  i framed the wall and staal hung the door and screwed up some old pieces of sheetrock he found.

fred drove up with a load of horse manure for the garden and i gave him a haircut for his efforts.

 

 we ate some pretty good food.

pork loin and veggies topped with garlic ginger lime sauce

beef and veggies cooked in homemade bone broth and steamed acorn squash

today i put some paint on a pen-and-ink drawing of a succulent i did last year (or was it the year before last?)

 

 

oh...and i got a new niece and nephew on the 15th.

kinsley (left) and liam (right)

saturday afternoon

a tree squirrel shakes his bushy tail as he ascends a pine tree,
scolding the dog and chattering to himself as he climbs,
woodpeckers knock on oaks near and distant,
and a scrub jay announces himself with bold shrieks,
on the porch the chime sounds softly in the breeze,
and we two sit silently,
side by side,
in the sun

dear liam,

dear liam, my new nephew, we haven't yet met. i'm melina, your aunt, but you don't have to call me aunt. melina will do well enough---i've never been much for titles. your father, my brother, informs me you've been a bit under the weather---jaundice, he says, and a bit underweight, but getting stronger and soon you'll be back with twin sister, kinsley, at home where your mama will take good care of you both.
i'm looking forward to making your acquaintance---and your sister's as well. i'll be the one in the ragged shirt and dirty cap who smells like garden soil and garlic and seems a bit uncomfortable holding you, but don't take it personally---it's only because you're so small and delicate and i'm more used to handling tough, furred and feathered critters with enough teeth and claws to fend for themselves. 
when you're older i'll show you and kinsley the chickens and let you collect the eggs and show you how to pick beans and plant seeds and hold a toad and other things that are fun to do outside---if you want.  but that's for later...
for now be well, dear liam, and i'll be seeing you soon.
love you,
melina

doing the math

in line at the grocery store,
i catch the gaze of a woman in the next line over,
she pretends she wasn't looking at us,
but i could see her doing the math,
then she seems to think to herself...
maybe he's her father,
and i put my arms around you and give you a kiss,
she politely tries to mask a cringe,
and i just smile at you,
people need a challenge

happy news

got a call from caleb last night---happy news.  the twins (a boy, liam, and a girl, kinsley) were born yesterday afternoon.  amber and the babies are doing well and should be able to come home soon.  looking forward to meeting my new niece and nephew---or at least seeing some pictures.
congratulations!

happy anniversary to us

we had a great day today---lots of fun...

breakfast at the sugar pine with nick and ben

thank you, nick

after breakfast, nick drove us up chowchilla mountain road and he and ben led us on a nice hike down to the river.

ben's a great sherpa

these holes are about 4' in diameter

nick, scouting ahead

saw some neat fungi and lichens

zane had a great time

we had fun too

the drive back down the mountain offered some beautiful views

beautiful view number 1

 

beautiful view number 2

 happy anniversary, staal.  i love you.

bird-lightness

i watch the birds,
the sparrows and the towhees and the woodpeckers and the jays,
high above in the oaks and pines and cedars,
flitting, effortlessly, from branch to branch,
on paper wings and wire legs.
flight is more than hollow bones,
more than feathers and wings.
it is a joyous lightness of being,
an openness,
a willingness.
it is in the green of the budding leaf,
the first, violent breath of the newborn fawn,
and in every fiery beat of the heart longing for the nearness of its love,
a joyous bird-lightness soaring within on a thousand, feathery wings.

lunch at the ranch

a great visit and a great meal with the friedlands yesterday.  

the chef at work

roasted veggies

tasty

thank you, fred and kerstin.