a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Month: June 2016

  • A Summer Office

    BuddingTomatoes

    The sun is out, tomatoes are swelling, it’s a good time to move the office into the garden. A huge straw hat is indispensable, providing plenty of shade. The hat is one I’ve had for nearly forty years. When I was a student in Tokyo, my eccentric landlady gave it to me. The hat does an excellent job shading me, but I have to hold onto something when a stiff breeze kicks up. The hat is so large, a gust of wind could carry me up above the trees.

    OutsideOfficeA
    OutsideOfficeB
    EnaSleepingInGarden

    I’m busy watching the vegetables grow. Watching them grow is really time consuming. A whole afternoon can drift by quickly watching them. Ena 枝那 and Takuma 拓真 are busy being dogs. Funny how being yourself takes up 100% of your time.

    TakumaInGarden

  • Worms Over Flowers

    MorningRainDrops

    It was a wet morning. The blades of grass were balancing big drops of rain from the night’s steady rains. Beardtongue are in bloom in the woods.

    Beardtongue
    BeardedClematis

    A flower that is far more bearded than beardtongue is the clematis that finished blooming. The white flowers have morphed into a Dr. Seuss creation. Their white flowers were pretty, but their seed pods are intriguing. What are they eventually going to look like?

    JackInThePulpit

    A variety of Arisaema is sending up a purple fringed flower spike. Svenda doesn’t care. For her, it’s all about the worms she’s finding as I weed around the Arisaema. Maybe when it’s done blooming and develops seeds, she’ll think about pecking at it.

    Svenda

  • Green Flash

    20160601-ARedwoodGreen

    Redwood Green, it’s not a color you hear much about, but new redwood leaves are a florescent green that deserves its own name.

    20160601-BRunningDogs

    This is what running dogs look like as they dash across the grass in the morning. Takuma 拓真 and Ena 枝那 are just blurs.

    20160601-CFernGreen

    Ferns have their own delicate green. At first glance, they look perfect, but if you look closely, you see little imperfections in their intricate design.

    20160601-DThimbleBerryBlush

    Thimbleberries are blushing. In a few weeks, their blushing pink will turn bright red, a perfect compliment to vanilla ice cream.

    20160601-EDogwoodA

    The dogwood flowers flow like tumbling cascades, from high up in the canopy all the way to the ground.

    20160601-FDogwoodB