The April Porch Vacation
The menu consisted of basmati rice, steamed greens, and venison sautéed with onions. The conversation mostly revolved around garden plans. “We’ll have to risk being woken up by Jasmine’s barking,” Joe was saying, “because she needs to stay outside and chase away the deer that have been coming around.” An image of a family of deer devouring our garden popped into my mind as he spoke.
Since Joe has been coaching high school soccer, he’s been more interested in the sports section of the newspaper. I read the Floyd County soccer scores (that he had called in to the Roanoke Times the day before) out loud before I handed him the page and moved on to commentary and letters to the editor.
The silence that followed was broken with the song of birds. We took a break from reading to watch the resident woodpecker at the birdfeeder. A mother phoebe nesting in the porch rafters sat oblivious as a male cardinal aggressively and repeatedly confronted his own reflection in the living room window pane.
“Do we have any sandpaper?” I asked Joe as I pointed out the spot on the porch where hot oil spilled the last time I burned a skillet on the stove and had to run out of the house and toss it in the grass. “I’m going to try and sand down that stain,” I told him.
Sipping my tea, I glanced at my hands and noticed my fingernails were still outlined with dirt from weeding the asparagus bed before lunch. I was picking at my fingernails when Jasmine returned from one of her dog adventures. She ran up, stuck her nose in the grass near the birdfeeder, and immediately found the venison bone I had thrown there 15 minutes before.
There was too much to hear, see, and feel to continue with my reading. “Don’t forget to take some time to enjoy the forsythia blossoms,” I said to Joe who was absorbed in the newspaper, “because by next weekend they’ll be gone.”
And that’s no April fooling.
April 1st, 2007 10:15 pm
I too am trying to enjoy or Forsynthia…wishing it would hang around longer. All summer would be nice!
I like that picture a lot…it sounds like a very nice morning between you guys. And I so get the fingernails thing. I am constantly trying to get the gardening dirt out. I’ll get to the store and be embarrased by dirt I didn’t notice before I left home! I keep my hands in it more than I realize and often forget my gloves!
April 1st, 2007 10:42 pm
the forsythia are beautiful here….my son and i harvested some branches on our nature walk the other day and have them in a vase on the kitchen windowsill/nature shelf…..
i love walking into my kitchen in the morning and seeing the blooms and color….
April 1st, 2007 11:03 pm
We moved here a year ago (NC coast), and when I read this, it hit me that I haven’t seen forsythia since!
Your blog “feels” so peaceful.
April 2nd, 2007 12:44 am
Joe is a fortunate man, to have all that, and you to share it with.
you are both blessed.
April 2nd, 2007 9:05 am
Alright….call me a wimp! I have three pairs of gardening gloves and always wear them. Hmmm, maybe that’s taking the fun out of gardening?
I was out there doing container gardening yesterday, so can relate to your porch vacation. SO peaceful!
April 2nd, 2007 9:13 am
Our Forsythia’s haven’t even bloomed yet.
As a matter of fact we haven’t had the warmest weather either. I mean to sit on the porch and eat. It is suppose to rain all week too. I guess April showers brings May flowers.
April 2nd, 2007 9:13 am
Joe has bought me some gloves but I never wear them. It’s just not the same. I can think of a sex analogy right here.
April 2nd, 2007 12:50 pm
~~ I used to be a pushover for the Ladies Gardening Gloves when we lived on our 5 acres…always would buy the $4.00 kind, ’cause they just looked so cute with their little flowers or whatever on them. And every time without fail, by the 3rd time I’d wear them, they’d fall apart at the seams, flop in the dirt an’ leave me with just as much dirt under my nails as without gloves on at all. 3rd time’s the charm tho, an’ I haven’t bought any since. When somebody asks about the dirt, I say with a big smile, “Been out in the Garden!!”
April 2nd, 2007 1:57 pm
Sounds just lovely. You’d like it here in Charleston because it was like that a few weeks ago and today it’s 80 degrees. Tres beautiful.
April 2nd, 2007 4:35 pm
Beautiful. Ain’t spring just grand?
I confess I wear gloves when I garden. But it’s because I like the smell of leather and earth.
April 2nd, 2007 5:17 pm
What a lovely peaceful exchange and it all sounds so very relaxed—even the work part! You have such a great variety of wonderful birds that visit, Colleen…I would just love that!
April 2nd, 2007 7:35 pm
Thanks for the slice of your life moment from your porch! And to think we don’t even have but a faint sign of buds on our forsythia!
April 3rd, 2007 7:13 am
Love your porch vacations! The forsythia here is almost gone, but we are enjoying the dogwoods, and later in the week (according to the weatherman) we will be enjoying ‘dogwood winter’ as it gets down to freezing just in time for Easter.
Your post has a peaceful attitude, you can almost hear the birds singing and see the flowers. Thanks for taking us on vacation with you.
April 3rd, 2007 3:05 pm
Yes the blooms of early spring are so fleeting. The crocus are gone and the daffodil dwindling. The forsythia around our neighborhood seemed to get a late start but have caught up and I saw dogwood blooming yesterday.
April 3rd, 2007 4:38 pm
You had me at “The menu…” Nice.