I was disappointed I couldn’t make my annual pilgimage to Galax, Virginia to pick sour cherries at Levering Orchard yesterday (work!). But my friends Rose and Steve were able to go today, the trees still had fruit, they brought me 16 pounds, and I can prepare pie filling tonight.
Almost to my anniversary as a blogger, I came to a realization that for as much as I’ve written over 20 years, I’ve been silent on racism—and I must do more to advocate for justice and equity. Here’s my post.
On the front patio with coffee, researching how to deal with a brooding hen, listening to the wind in the poplar leaves, and reading more of McCann’s Apeirogon. 📖
There’s a juvenile great horned owl out in the woods tonight begging for food with its piercing scream.
Out for an afternoon drive to see a house being built by a contractor we might engage on our next project.
Green dragon in the flower garden this week after rain.
Family walk down gravel road. Encountered dead copperhead snake.
Family movie night was Hugo. Great cast, sweet story, homage to early cinema.
On the back porch with the NYTimes, McCann’s Apeirogon, coffee. A mourning dove cooing behind me, hawks screeching far above, crows and blue jays talking, too. Power saws and nail guns and lawn mowers.
Saturday, May 23, 2020
After dinner, I walked out to the back woods to listen to the birds as they prepared for the night.
Yes, The English Game made me cry. I am proud to be a lifelong football player and fan.
It’s that time of year that I start calling the Levering Orchard hotline to find out when opening (and only) day for sour cherry picking will be. Looks to be mid-June this year.
I’ve had this Peace Corps patch for 20 years. It fits perfectly in the new Field Notes Vignette notebook.
Feels like I may be halfway through this work-from-home experience, so I’ve moved my desk back into the library, put the Olympia SM2 next to the MacBook Pro, and set up the podcast recording equipment next to the Cleveland photos on the back wall.
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Saturday. Slept in. Went to Carrboro Farmers Market, returned home to put plants into garden—cantaloupe, habanero, Thai basil, nasturtium, roselle. Inside, moved my desk from the bedroom back into library.
Cherries are ripening on the old tree in the front yard. Blue jays and red-headed woodpecker have visited and snacked. New cherry trees in back yard will need a few years to catch up.
Pull tab.
Just out of the oven. #dutchovenbread per Michael Ruhlman recipe.
Cleaned chicken coop. We’re down to 5 hens. Had to kill one yesterday after neighbor dogs attacked. Was distressing incident that punctured weekend tranquility. Another hen is injured and we’re watching her. Feathers litter yard. Birdnests will be downy this summer.
Hot sunny day in Chapel Hill. Out in the garden and yard planting and tending. Fragrant, ripe meyer lemon fell from tree as I moved it outside for summer. Peonies & irises & jasmine, bluebirds & dragon flies.
