Mrs. Orr
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Last Sunday of the Summer
We spent yesterday down in North Carolina, starting out at an apple orchard we’ve visited a couple of years back. At that time, we took some of the grandkids with us and had quite the tiring day, hiking the orchards and picking our own apples. Just the two of us this year, and we opted for a less strenuous agenda. When we arrived, we got in line for the bakery. Priorities, dontchaknow. The line was long, but from the time we joined the queue until we paid for our purchases, we spent only 30 minutes. The day was warm but pleasant, and it was an enjoyable half-hour. We were mindful…
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The Cold Rolling Towards Me
I began this post in longhand, sitting at my desk this morning, allegedly working, watching tufts of cool mist hanging in the air outside the glass door. This is the time of year when the nearest neighbor is separating his cows from the calves, in preparation for market. The worried mamas have been bawling all day, as they have been for the two days before. The air over the farm is anxious, fretful, which is a shame, because we’ve just gotten our first dose of fall-like weather, about 50F at night and in the mid-70s today, air as clear as an infant’s eyes, same deep blue, same lack of omens…
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At the Curtain of Dusk
During a recent trip to the county dump, I tossed all of our garbage into dumpsters, then took a baggie of dry dog food from the front seat and poured the cup or so of food onto the gravel. I didn’t see the little cat that has greeted me for a while now, and I called to her, but she didn’t show. Driving out of the parking lot, I noticed for the first time a sign that warned against feeding feral cats, and indicating that anyone caught doing so would be considered the cat’s owner and would be responsible for damages and any fees incurred. I shrugged it off, but…
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Woden’s Day
This morning, I had just settled in at my desk to begin work when the power went out. Mrs. Orr received a text notification from the power company that they were working to fix the problem and provided an estimated time for service restoration. I sat and listened to the silence of the house — one forgets how much noise even passive appliances make, like the hum of the refrigerator, etc. — and then went outside on the back porch to sit with the dogs. The hummingbirds are busier than ever, loading up the precious nectar to strengthen their taut little bodies in preparation for the upcoming journey down to…
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Almost Dog Days
The heat of August seems to be steady and unmoderated all over the United States. I’ve talked to people from all over the country lately, and I can’t recall a single exception to the “It’s very hot, and even worse, it’s very humid” remark when I ask about the weather in someone’s locale. Mrs. Orr was talking to the kids and grandkids in Texas last night, and I spoke briefly to Numbah One Grandson. I asked him, “Is it hot there?” And he replied, with eyes cast up at the ceiling fan, propellering above his head, “Oh, it’s real hot.” This from a Texan. ‘Nuff said. Yesterday was a two-shower…
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Update On Mrs. Orr
I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to leave comments and email me about my wife’s health issues. I am especially grateful for those of you who have been praying for her. Just a small point of clarification, because I realize that in my haste to get the post up, I inaccurately described one of Mrs. Orr’s symptoms. In fact, her throat has not been swelling. She describes it as a sort of spasming. And she believes it may be psychological, a sort of panicked reaction. Any time she swallows wrong and, for example, aspirates water, the terrors just wash over her and it’s difficult for…
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Covordidities
Guess I shouldn’t have shot my mouth off about people reveling in their various diagnoses. Looks like Mrs. Orr has the ‘rona. She wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and we thought it was a sinus infecton/allergy thing. She laid low most of the day except for a brief errand excursion, and when we retired, she seemed fine. Around 0300 this morning, my wife began coughing uncontrollably. She’s done this on and off for years, and it’s a very frightening thing. She says that she can literally feel her throat closing up, and this induces a panicky state, which makes her breathe faster, which turns the whole thing into a debilitating cycle.…
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Home In High Summer
We went down into town this morning for an outing, but we almost didn’t go. Mrs. Orr has been battling a sinus thing that has migrated down into her chest and she’s been very weak from all the coughing. But she wanted to get out of the house and so we did. We ended up forgetting to buy the one thing we really went for, but that was all right. There’s an oriental market (yes, I’m aware that I’m supposed to say “Asian,” but that’s just too bad, innit?) where we sometimes shop for staples like Japanese matcha green tea, soba noodles, miso paste, and the odd vegetable like immaculate…
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Animals and Other Creatures
A good rainstorm sluiced through the area yesterday, and when I looked out on the front porch, I saw what appeared to be a very small, very intense Benedictine monk praying at the makeshift altar at the edge of the boards. He stayed there for quite a while, and stared at Mrs. Orr when she came to the window as if to say, “Private time. Vespers. Don’t intrude. Do you mind?” And then I went to the landfill today to drop off some trash. The place usually does a pretty good job of controlling feral cats, rats, and other critters, but the last two times I’ve been at the landfill,…
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Almost A Lot of Things
The other morning I bent to get a watering can so I could give some of my wife’s porch flowers a drink. When I looked down at the can, I saw movement inside. A butterfly was marooned inside, flapping its wings with less-than-vigorous motion. I reached in and scooped the little fellow up, then held him before my face. I have no way to prove this, but I could tell that the butterfly was exhausted. I held him on my hand for a minute, then called to Mrs. Orr and asked her to hold him on her palm so I could have some perspective for a photo. She whispered to…