Category Animals in Ordinary

Autumn

December 3, 2010 · by · in Animals in Ordinary, Cheyenne, Merilee, Music in Ordinary, Tracey, Wild animals · 8 Comments

I watch the fast-changing light, play with the pigments on my palette, mixing a little more ivory with the yellow, trying to get the tint just right to record this moment

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May 18, 2010 · by · in Animals in Ordinary, Birds, compost, Edible plants, Education in Ordinary, Farming/Gardening in Ordinary, Jimmy, Lionel, Mandy, Nell, Nigel, Plants in Ordinary, Ruby, Sarah · 3 Comments

“Can anyone tell me why we compost yard trimmings?” Hand high in the air, fingers splayed, Nell mouths, “Pick me, pick me!” “Yes, Nell.” She sits taller, chin up, shoulders back, eyes sparkling. “So all the good stuff in the leaves and branches can turn into dirt.” She fairly spits the last word, clearly enjoying […]

Glow

February 17, 2010 · by · in Breads, Cheyenne, Edible plants, food, Janine, Murgatroid, Native plants, Plants in Ordinary, Preserves, Soups · 4 Comments

Charcoal clouds hover, too high to drop their load just yet, but they darken and grow heavier with every step I take. Soon. The clouds barely move, and the air here, on the ground, is still. There’s something about the light on an overcast day. Every leaf, twig and flower is vibrant with texture and […]

Hush

October 21, 2007 · by · in Cheyenne, Merilee, Murgatroid, Ralph, Tracey · 8 Comments

Murgatroid the Cat and I slip from the bed, careful not to wake Cheyenne. It is dark, still, and even the birds are silent, though dawn can’t be long in coming. Murg pads silently through the open door to the screened porch. I follow, wrapping my sweatshirt-soft kimono tightly to keep in the bed-warmth. The […]

Dance

September 15, 2006 · by · in Birds, Celebrations, Cheyenne, Insects/Crawlers/Creepers, Jacob, Janine, Jonathon, Music in Ordinary, Ordinary reptiles and amphibians, Ordinary textiles, Portable structures, Wild animals · 7 Comments

Dusk is settling to dark on this cool September eve, and the first star hangs low and bright in the sky, twinkling with the cheery strands we’ve stretched high above the perimeter of the dance floor.

Tadpole

June 16, 2006 · by · in Ariadne, Birds, Ordinary landscape features/design, Ordinary reptiles and amphibians, Ordinary water features, The Villagers · 6 Comments

The sandy path feels good, cool on my soles. I round the bend and there, under the thorny tendrils of a wild rose bush, lie the bottoms of two bare feet, tiny and black with dirt.

Moon

May 17, 2006 · by · in Betty, Breads, Cheyenne, Decorative plants, Janine, Merilee, Ruby, Sena, Soups, The land, Trees, Wild animals · 3 Comments

We are miles from the Village–Janine, Sena, Cheyenne, Ruby, Merilee, Betty, and I–on our first campout of the season. Minimalists, we sleep on bare ground, our bags zippered close for warmth, thick trampled grasses beneath for cushion.

Red

January 16, 2006 · by · in Animals in Ordinary, Aunt Rind, Birds, Field crops, Jacob, Jonathon, June, Kami, Marita, Mary, Native plants, Orchards/fruit trees, The land, The twins, Trees, Wild animals · 1 Comment

Momentarily lucid, I smell scat–fox. Where? I raise my head, but the tears come all the more. Alone here on the open hills, I wail, and on the in-breath, that scat again.

Snow

December 13, 2005 · by · in Annie, Birds, Cheyenne, food, Hothouse gardening, Jefferson, Merilee, The land · 3 Comments

I taste the snow, each individual crystal bursting as it melts on my tongue. My mitten smells of wet wool and cold.

Morn

October 14, 2005 · by · in Companion animals, Healing-medicine, Murgatroid, Native plants, Plants in Ordinary, Rose and Cheyenne's home, Rose's grandmother · 6 Comments

On my back, I give myself a Reiki treatment. Heat flows under my hands, spreading through skin, muscles, bones, organs–warmer and warmer, now hot. If I saw my body from above, would my abdomen glow like hot coals?

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