the longest days

There's a bird who seems to sing when it's getting dark. He's the only one singing, and it's nice and loud, very melodious. Tonight, it made me turn to the window and there I saw a peach sky! I knew I wouldn't be able to capture it, so I just sat there, enjoying.

I think I saw our little patient in the garden this morning - at least, it was a small rabbit; there's no way I'll ever get close enough to tell if it's him.

 It's very much like summer now. We are going to have days in the nineties for the next five days; they're warning us to be careful. I made dinner early in the day, and that was the smartest thing I did. It didn't heat up the house much, and I had that work behind me.

Somebody just set off something quite loud out my window. It's nine o'clock, and dark. My brother said it sounded like a cherry bomb. It sounded to me right out my window! Well, as long as they don't do it all night. 

I am putting the green dress aside - in this weather, it seems heavy. I can't stand the thought of it! I've got some pretty deep blue lawn and I'll choose a skirt pattern for it. Something nice and floaty, I hope. 

I discovered a new bread cookbook, and the method is quicker and with a much wetter dough. The loaves are small but I don't care about that. This is something I won't mind doing in summer, if bread is needed.

direct us into the way of justice

 Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and show us the light of thy mercies. And send thy fear upon the nations that have not sought after thee, that they may know that there is no God besides thee, and that they may show forth thy wonders. Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power. For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou shalt be magnified among them in our presence, that they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God besides thee, O Lord.

Renew thy signs, and work new miracles. Glorify thy hand, and thy right arm. Hasten the time, and remember the end, that they may declare thy wonderful works. 

Gather together all the tribes of Jacob, that they may know that there is no God besides thee, and may declare thy great works, and thou shalt inherit them as from the beginning. Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked; and upon Israel, whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn. Have mercy on Jerusalem, the city which thou hast sanctified, the city of thy rest.

Fill Sion with thy unspeakable words, and thy people with thy glory. Give testimony to them that are thy creatures from the beginning, and raise up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke in thy name.

Reward them that patiently wait for thee, that thy prophets may be found faithful, and hear the prayers of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, and direct us into the way of justice; and let all know that dwell upon the earth, that thou art God the beholder of all ages.

                                                -   Sirach 36:1-7, 10, 13-19

a rabbit tale

 Yesterday evening I heard my brother say that the gray cat who wanders around our property (but who I assume must belong somewhere) had caught a small animal. I looked out the window and thought it was too bad, but what can you do when they're running fast and you'd never catch up with them? This is what one thinks, isn't it? But my brother ran out.

I saw the cat turn this way with its prey dangling - I could see that it was too big for a mouse. The cat ran off and my brother was searching the grounds for something; I assumed he looked for the little creature. He walked back to the house, and laid a small rabbit on a beam of wood on the driveway. I assumed it was dead, but he said it wasn't - I didn't know how he knew, but he was rubbing it, perhaps trying to revive it - ? Anyway, he told me to call the emergency animal clinic a couple of towns over, to see if they would take it. He said, "I suppose they'd put it to sleep", and I said, "not if we insist we'll pay - why would they?" * I called; they said they don't take wildlife, but she gave me a website address with all sorts of contact information, so I picked one and began to call, but then he remembered something: he has a client who lives in town and does wildlife rehab, and she even hand feeds rabbits in her yard! She feeds them bananas, in fact! Yes, I guess it's well-known among rabbit enthusiasts that they love bananas. So I held the little one while he drove down to his business to get her phone number and call her.

For a good ten minutes I held a baby rabbit. I saw his little ears, felt his soft fur, held tight while he periodically struggled to get free. He had two areas where the fur had come off, and the bare, raw-ish skin was exposed. There was very little blood. So, I petted him, talked to him, told him I was sorry for the whole business, and tried to avoid touching those bare places, but that was hard - he was little. But he never cried, or made the slightest sound. Then my brother returned.

The lady said to put Vaseline on the skin and try to put the fur back over the areas. Yes, in one of them the fur was still there, just loose; the other part was gone. She said, "Put him in the garden where he may have been born (because they do go in and out of that place), and give him some banana and carrot, and some water, because they tend to get dehydrated. We brought him out, and set him down with the food. He didn't move, of course. We went off, but my brother went back there just a few minutes later and he was nowhere to be seen; he didn't eat the food. 

She happened to have a hair appointment today, and she told him that rabbits have fur which will peel off in that way to enable an escape. So, we are hoping this little one will heal over and be all right. Because his family won't help him. He is on his own. She said a grown rabbit will fight a young one over food, so there is no real family feeling. 

big rabbit relaxing - not our little friend

 But this is their life, and what they're used to, what they expect. But anyway, back to the beginning of the story, when my brother chased the cat, it dropped the rabbit and it darted to and fro. My brother was searching for two sticks, to pick it up with. But that didn't work well, and when he brought it over near the house, it must have fainted for a while. So, that's how he knew it was still alive. 

*A few years back, one of Diane's cats somehow got a baby bird on the ground in our front yard. He brought it to this veterinary hospital, and they euthanized it. So this is what he was afraid of, but they must have misunderstood him when he brought it in. 

summer approaches

 The birds are quieter, the fireflies are increasing and a mockingbird sang a brief concert on the power line. The air gets more humid, but nights are still pleasant; the rabbits are more used to our human noises - there was one out my window yesterday afternoon while my neighbor was mowing nearby! 

My little garden crops are getting bigger and there aren't any weeds due to the grass clippings all around.

My dress needs the side seams sewn and then it will look like something. I wake up with the sun in the mornings, but am too tired at the other end of the day.

I want to plan a menu for the longest day of the year, which is next week. It's supposed to be hot. I'll have to take that into consideration.

I suppose I could start the day with pancakes.
  

growing

 I was just watching an adult rabbit and a young one grazing in the lawn. Then the baby hopped right through the fence around the garden, and disappeared inside. Maybe he was born in there, as happened a few years ago. Anyway, we'll see.  

I have four squares in that area, and plants in only one (weeds in the other four). There are curly parsley, red onions, Italian beans, cabbage and a butternut squash plant. There were two of those but one disappeared shortly after I planted the two. It's quite overgrown in here, especially around the perimeter, where tall grasses are growing. But I saw a rabbit reaching up and eating those, so now I'm almost glad they're there. 

Tried starting some watermelon, but even after a week nothing happened. I'm doing it again in a wet paper towel, and have got some zinnia seeds in the little pot, and borage seedlings outside, getting bigger.

"This is the singing month. Rambler roses everywhere, over white picket fences, over grey stone walls, climbing old well-houses, blooming on lattices in old-fashioned gardens. The whole green countryside is laced with shell pink, ivory white and rose red. The sky sings, too, such a deep tranquil blue. I think I can hear the horns of elf-land faintly blowing as I go out to the Quiet Garden to shell peas."

 

                                                    -   Gladys Taber

To live a contemplative life is to live at depth;
to live below the surface in the world of faith, 
the world of reality and not appearances. 

- Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D.

cats in the world

 In between reading more weighty books, I picked up Pat of Silver Bush for a more soothing experience of beautiful scenery, etc.. And I came upon a quote:

"No matter what dreadful things happened at least there were still cats in the world." 

But when I re-read something, it's the same passages which pop out at me every time, so I checked my previous posts, and yes, I posted this ten years ago. And there was this picture, too.

Forever in our memories.

in season and out of season

 

Yes. This is an amaryllis growing on our property. I am as surprised as you are; we're in zone six.

My brother got one in a pot at Christmas, and couldn't just toss it afterward. He stuck it in the ground, in front, right against the foundation. He just stuck it there, sticking up, in the winter. Obviously there was no snow, and last winter wasn't terribly cold. 

And here we are - it bloomed. I can't say I like amaryllis. But it is rather fantastical looking, here in New England. I feel like we should move it to a spot where it will "fit in". But it's a southwest exposure, and near to the house - it wouldn't do better anywhere else.