I  keep my  suitcase packed these days, for it seems that I always need to be somewhere.I was in Raleigh for a while with those delightful grandsons.  I came home briefly and  then left for the lake.  Sister Connie and her family went on a vacation together, so I stayed at her home with her beloved dogs-d chickens. 

The lake is in a secluded area.. . and thirty minutes from anywhere.  Connie keeps her home well stocked and  both she and her husband are highly resourceful people whom do not shy away  from hard work-so she is content on ” the lake of shining waters” .Is it the crystal clear water that ebbs and flows on a bed of white sand or the abundance of woodlands and the life  that fills them?  Faith can only  increase in such a place and despair just cannot abide in this  wild  and  yet , tender territory. 

I thrived in my time there, insulated from uninteresting  worldly affairs.  Nature does not deceive nor embellish.  There was no sense of rush which allowed my thoughts to wander deeply and  go further- when undisturbed. . . .and there was time not to think at all.  One can  learn so much  through mere observation.. .lessons without words,  still  seem to “speak” , and quite loudly- to the heart. ‘ 

I came home on a Sunday, back to Bonnet Street, on a dreadfully hot day. After a sweet reunion with Kyle,   Christian and the gray cat,  I went to the garden.  I had planted in June, which is a bit late for this area.  I tended it with love and devotion until it had become a sanctuary for me.  As I worked on the small patch of earth, I thought of my ancestors.  They all had gardens. I couldn’t remember a single one who didn’t.  My summers were filled with gardens and hence . . .kitchens .  Children helped with picking beans, squash and  strawberries.   In ..the ladder  part of summer, fruit was made into jam.    

 In my garden a circle of peppers surround a watering station for pollinators.  The entrance to the garden, is by a raised planter of summer squash and basil grows on either side. I also have tomatoes and cucumbers-and potatoes.  Herbs and marigolds are scattered about . . . and a footpath ” runs through it”.  Grass grows where it ought to, for I forbid it do  otherwise.  I spend so much time there that the birds  visit in my presence!     

My garden has given me much joy. . . but not too much squash nor too much yield in general.  At the start  of the season there was unusual heat and not a drop of rain.  When at last, the rain did come . . it fell “in buckets”!  It was a record breaking  event for our area. but,  most of the plants survived that .   Currently heat has settled in  -and with malice, it seems.  This year has not been the best for growing  tomatoes and okra, but when I think of the folks in dire straits from severe weather circumstances, it seems absurd to complain. 

 I was home for several days, when it was time to leave  again.   . . for a very special journey awaited  . . . Tres and Sarah were having their wedding! 

The whole family was going to just north of Ashville, NC to celebrate!  The ceremony was just lovely.  I love Sarah and feel blessed that she and my dear son found one another.  They are well suited and also make a very handsome couple.  Twenty souls slept under the same roof for several days.  All of us were filled with joy and so the air itself, seemed happy.

I have been home for a bit   and have no plans to leave again. . . until, the weekend.  

I remain in a reflective mood- though not quite as much as before.   I am always  busy and have accomplished several small projects, besides  my routine tasks .  I converted  a very old pie safe into an apothecary recently. For the next few days, I am trimming bushes.   (This  is slow and dreaded work for me.)   

  I  have needed  to organize my thoughts, for they are a jumbled mess at times.   I am growing , and understanding more,  but it is a slow effort. I realized that I wasn’t  yet, above childish behavior-and at my age!   No matter how many improvements I made to the old cottage nor how many concoctions that I made in the kitchen, nor the hours spent creating beauty-well it just didn’t console  me.  I  eliminated anything that did not inspire me, as best I could,   

A peaceful heart is what I desired – and to claim that, meant I would need to stop all the distraction  and accept  the conditions of this season.  I prayed a lot-sometimes desperately, sometimes earnestly- and sometimes fearfully, for honestly, all of the gloom scared me.  It seemed to cling to me-and no wonder, for I clung to it.  …   A part of me was determined to remember meticulously, the beautiful era past. lest I would forget.  At first, this seemed like a harmless tribute-until it didn’t.  I wasn’t just reminiscing, I was dwelling  in that sweet, safe time.  . . a time that seemed to have slipped through my hands, like water. 

I remember the day that things changed.  It was right about the time that the ginger lilies bloomed. . .but that is another story.