Pausing..

Did I mention I work a lot? Grown up work, meaning of life stuff.. or at least it affects many lives with decisions about treatment and parameters of care, and when to go home. Somedays I flow though it mindfully, other days each case is sticky and stubborn. I was stuck in traffic for 1 ½ hours today, music from Pandora streaming through, howling to the Pixies and wishing I had an Irish lilt so I could lose myself in the minute syllables. Just read “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and now I wish I could dissapear from all my responsibilities and and hike for 3 months  in gorgeous awful wilderness. The husband and boys were settled in by the time I got home (late dinner with the boys half falling out of their chairs), wet chickens holed up on their roost (even the two broody bantams). I’ll work through the weekend, and the expected rain will pass me by as I go from room to room, but the shift in the season is somehow palpable. Nature abhors a vacuum. 

The in-betweenness... Smother grass with mulch. Grow something new later..

Stop light entertainment. House Park, with Travis High School and Southside High waiting for the rain to stop. Friday Night Lights and all.. The grey feels gloomy, but it also evokes feelings of harvest time, promising that odd Texas mixture of orange everything (leaves, pumpkins, flowers) with green (grass, plants, finally free of the oppressive summer heat).

Chicken haiku text messages from a friend that brightened up my evening- these are her new chicks (3 weeks old) in the old pink coop I gave her. Soft, fuzzy and sassy. Not bad role models..

Hungry birds

My bird feeder was empty in 5 hours.. The (Caroline vs house) wrens are small but voracious- especially when they line up 15 at a time! At one point a trio of blue jays tumbled through the air, wrestling each other for a treat, then a cardinal swooped in to eat. The doves are a bit big so they hang on the railing and peck at the other birds..

Volunteer flower in the making- one long stately stem.. I'm curious to see what it turns into..

Ironic comment from my husband- "what a great art piece".. It's a found (presumed bovine) hip bone in a chicken cage that is not meant to be artistic- it was just an efficient way to block the chickens from digging into the pot of lettuce seeds I'm trying to grow!

After working far too many days in a row I took to the garden for hours this weekend, raking up sycamore leaves, mowing, and planting new drought tolerant plants like an agave marginata "Opal", diamatina, multiple flame acanthuses (acanthae?!), a black dalea as well as tossing wildflower seeds out there. It's too bad the mosquitoes are everywhere because it's finally tolerable to sit on the porch at dusk and listen to the world outside. I did it anyways, smelling like lemongrass (the "natural" bug spray I use that is only marginally effective). It's luxurious to have a yard, and dirt to dig, and time to do it :)