Day 224
I was lying on my patio chaise tonight inaugurating my fire pit. It was the perfect night to do so … a tad chilly, no breeze, acorns dropping around me … and as I was lying there the fragrance of the woodsmoke blended in with the gardenia bush and it was just so lovely. After a long summer of non-stop doing something … it was nice to just relax and do nothing. Do nothing but lie there, watch the dancing flames, relax and … think.
And I thought that some 224 days ago, I had vowed not to let this blog turn into a daily diary of my so-uninteresting life. I mean, at the end of the day I don’t want to read what I did all day … why would anyone else?
And yet … that is what it has become, more or less, a laundry list of my daily to-do’s or did’s and whatever strikes my fancy … all which can be so horrendously boring … and yet I continue to do so.
And why should today be any different?!
So, here are more musings from the Rose Cottage …
It was a beautiful day here … one of those combo summer/fall days … high 70’s/low 80’s … the sun was out, birds were happy, you know … the typical Disney day. Well, without the cartoon birds or animals talking. Although, that would have been fun.
The plantings are almost completed and the Rose Cottage transformation is nearly complete. I finished digging in the hostas, grasses and the lilac this afternoon … and then dug the hole for the most perfect little crab apple on the planet – my darling $4.50 tree from Walmart! It’s perfectly shaped and will look beautiful outside my front family room windows. It will be planted tomorrow. Tulip bulbs still need to go in as do a few mums that are currently in planters but I’m pretty much finished until next spring. I’m sure my whoops and hollers were heard from coast to coast when the shovel was put into the garage!
Tonight as I lay on the chaise watching the sparks fly up (acorns burn nicely!) against the sky I realized it doesn’t really get completely dark here. I could see the outlines of the trees against the sky long after the sun set. The sky never gets black as it does in CO … it’s more of a deep blue. It’s all the orange street lights in Chicago that make the night so light. I don’t know if I like it or not.
I was counting stars … and could only make out a faint 13. You could stay up all night counting stars in a CO night sky. It’s funny what you miss about a place – and it’s funny you don’t realize you miss something until you do … like a starry night.
In any case … I’m a sucker for firelight. I had the candles lit around the yard, the fire pit was snapping and popping the old oak branches that had fallen during the last storm, the air was nippy and fresh. It was a good night. It was just so pretty. I sat out, under the faux fur throw I made for Ted’s bed (back when he was in middle school) and cuddled with the dogs until I was chilled and the fire had almost gone out.
Just wish I had someone to share it with … other than the critters and those 13 stars.