a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: Reflections

  • What Mother Spent the Summer Here?

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    With the leaves falling off the bushes, it’s easier to see the nests the birds made this season. So what kind of bird made this nest? A goldfinch perhaps? There are many who spend the summer here. A thrush? It doesn’t look woven tight enough to be a robin’s nest.

    Did the eggs hatch and was the mother able to raise her young? Did the chicks leave this place full of fond memories, with plans to return to this little paradise next summer? Did they laugh at the chickens? Fly away when our dogs ran through the woods? Did they watch me working in the vegetable patches? It’s a mystery, and I’ll never know. Life is like that. We go through life not knowing much of anything at all. Until today, I didn’t even know a bird family spent a summer, using this bush, so close to our house, as a home.

  • Falling on Water

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    Autumn leaves are pretty wherever they fall. Sometimes they fall on the water and float among the duckweed. It makes you wonder if they would prefer to decompose on dry land, or float about aimlessly until they sink to the bottom of the pond. If you were a leaf, where you would like to fall?

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  • First Day of Winter

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    According to the old Japanese calendar, this year, November 7, is the first day of winter. The year is divided into 24 solar terms, with each term having a name. This year, November 7 through 21 is considered the beginning of winter. The next solar term from November 22 through December 6, Light Snow, is the period when snow starts falling.

    For marking the season, I like the old Japanese calendar. Using the equinoxes and solstices makes the beginning of the seasons to late. The winter solstice falls on December 21 this year. By then, it seems winter has been with us for sometime. It makes more sense to use the equinoxes and solstices as the middle of the seasons, not the beginning.

    It’s a beautiful start to winter here. After a furious wind and rain storm yesterday, the day started out clear and cool. A perfect way to begin winter.

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  • Waterland

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    The fall rains have brought back water land. The ditches are flowing again after a long, dry summer. From now until next summer, the sound of rushing water will fill the air. Like many, I find the sound of flowing water comforting. Now, as I bike around, running errands, everywhere I go, I can hear the soothing sounds of water cascading over the rocks.

    This isn’t a gushing, mountain stream. This is a ditch alongside a busy, country road.

    The next thing to look forward to is the arrival of the swans. They should appear out of the northern sky any day now.

  • Green and Gold

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    This is why Washington is called the Evergreen state. Green and blue are the predominate colors here. “Shades of Green” would make a fitting title for a novel which takes place here.

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    Though this time of year, especially when there is a setting sun, gold fills the forest. Nature goes crazy with its paint brushes this time of year. In dying, the leaves remind us that they are spun out of spring and summer sunlight. Many of these beautiful, golden leaves, will end up in the vegetable fields and become the vegetables we enjoy. The leaves will also feed a host of bugs and worms the chickens crave.

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