The First Sunday in Lent

Another glorious day. I think it got up to about 72F today. Started out cloudy and gradually cleared through the day, with the breeze intensifying every hour. The weather people — none of whom are fit to touch the hem of my maternal grandmother’s apron when it comes to weather forecasting — are saying it’ll be snowing by this Friday night.

Mrs. Orr and I had a lovely, leisurely, reading morning, settled in chair and sofa with dogs all around, our new used treasures piled before us, and we dipped into them like a all you can eat dim sum restaurant.

I spent part of the day outside planting bulbs and flowers for my wife, then removed the pine cones from the front garden; there are many, many more along the side of the house which I’ll tackle this week. I hope. It’s clinically interesting how tired this little bit of activity made me. I find myself more and more using an expression my mother used to employ: “I cain’t do like I used to.” Of course, my mother said this when she was in her early nineties. We walked over to the peach trees and noticed that they weren’t just budding out; there were a few actual blossoms, so I took a photo of one (see above). Before we know it, the bees will be singing over our heads as they move across the farm in search of the various sources of that which they seek.

We took a brief outing to get a few things we needed, and yes, we swung back by the library book sale and went in, and we came out with another seven books. One of mine looks particularly good. I don’t have it at hand, but it was written by a Trappist monk who lives at the monastery in Utah, on the topic of suffering and the desert experience. I also got a lovely coffee table book on Ireland with hundreds of beautiful photos, taken by Leon Uris’s wife. Uris, who wrote Trinity, wrote the text for the book.

We returned home and spent the rest of the day on the back porch with the hounds, reading and watching the birds and watching Bluebelle chase the squirrels and Jinx chase the cows along the fenceline. Leftovers and salad for supper, and I’ll have a piece of fresh homemade cornbread and buttermilk for my evening snack.

This is the last Sunday it will get dark this soon, because the government-mandated Daylight Savings Time returns next Sunday at 0200. And we all know how beneficial government mandates are. I will enjoy the extra daylight in the evenings to do chores after I finish my work for the day. And this weekend’s balmy weather has been a balm for my joints. Look, ma, no pain!

The day has almost passed us by, and it’s time to prepare for tomorrow, and for the week. May each of you enjoy a blessed and peaceful evening.

I’m getting closer to my home.

~ S.K. Orr