Friday, March 10, 2006

the opening of all things

this evening i pulled a bunch of vines down from a tree and bunched them into a ball. i wrapped it with christmas lights, plugged it in, and hung it from a tree. it's very festive and got me to thinking about all the things i might do with the abundance of vines in my yard.

as i was playing with vines, dan lit a big blaze in the firepit and burned off some of the fallen branches and sticks we've gathered up from the yard. we've been trying to clean our yard up a bit and make it more user friendly. it's a good size for a city plot and has lots of huge trees in it. we basically have a mini forest. this has its downside -- ivy, scrub brush, grapevines, fallen branches and a large population of bugs -- but mostly it's a blessing.

as dan played with fire and i played with vines, tashi played under the green skirt of a beautiful big pine tree. this seems to be her special spot, a club-house to be perhaps. i've also built her a lean-to, or fairy hut as we like to call it, in the back of the yard. this is sure to be the scene of many far flung adventures.

it was a gorgeous day today, well into the 70's. earlier we took a drive up into the blue ridge and then down to crabtree falls, a beautiful steep cascade in the tye river. we had a picnic of turkey sandwiches on sourdough, a salad of walnuts, raisins and mixed greens, and delicious homemade guacamole with chips. for desert there were grapes and homemade peanutbutter oatmeal cookies. at 8:00 pm we are still too full to eat dinner.

i noticed the cherry trees blossoming today for the first time. and when we got home, folks all over our neighborhood were out on the their stoops, in their yards, hanging out at the foot of their driveways. dozens of outdoor conversations drifted about on the breeze, along with the scent of nag champa and the thump of rap music. how i love the openings that spring brings: the opening of blossoms, of doorways and windows, of hearts and passions, the opening of vision and the opening of the sleepy mind.

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