Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Sun Came Up This Morning

and I was here to see it. 
 By definition, it is a good day. 

 I was up and on the road as the sun was rising.
I had an appointment at Prince Elementary School.
The student council was waiting to hear how they can help promote the Stroll and Roll.
Telling elementary schoolers about Christina-Taylor at the Safeway is always a tricky business.
These were good listeners, sympathetic to the loss of a child near their own age.
They were delighted to be able to assuage my pain and do their part to stay fit and healthy.
Posters will be made, emails will be sent, conversations will be had.

They all agreed that the sparkling grape juice was tasty, the pomegranate juice was sweeter, and the green apple sparkling soda was just this side of disgusting.
My brownies, of course, received rave reviews.

The manager in the bagel store was happy to see me again.
She moved from our local outlet to one on the way to everywhere.
I'm not a regular in her new home, but you'd never have known it from her greeting.
I love feeling connected to the world around me.

I came home to Ernie and his crew tending my yard.
Yard care in December may be oxymoronic to those of you living with snow,
but here in the desert it's prime time.
Cool enough for a stocking cap at 8am, but shorts by noon.

He cut down the stalks of the hesperaloe parviflora, but we left the bougainvilla alone.
Pruning will happen when the blossoms freeze or die.
For now, it's full of color and making me happy.

That's Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina) in front of the bigger bougies.
It turns deep red at this time of year, celebrating the season with the rest of us.
It's an invasive plant, but, for now, I'm happy having it invade the courtyard.
Things grow so slowly here; anything that sprouts with reckless abandon is welcomed with open arms.

Ernie rakes the detritus into neat piles, blowing the bigger and further items into his stash.
 Sometimes we find volunteers which must be removed.
No one wants a jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida) near a pathway.
It comes by its name because the slightest touch will make one of the pieces of the hanging chain (another name) attach itself to your clothes, your shoes, your arm, your hair.... you get the picture.
Some people call it a Teddy Bear Cactus, but I think that's too adorable for such a nasty, sharp pest.
Just as the groundskeepers at baseball fields make patterns in the turf,
our gardeners rake neat lines in the stones which pass for a lawn here.
They make me as happy as vacuum cleaner paths in shag carpet.

My reindeer are protecting my front door,
in all different incarnations
as the amaryllis bulbs delude me into thinking that they will be blossoms by Christmas.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
The sun came up.
I was here to see it.
By definition, it's a good day!

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