
… holiness is made of dailiness, of living life as it comes to me, not as I insist it be.
~ Joan Chittister, The Gift of Years

Clearing
Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself to this world
so worthy of rescue.— Martha Postlethwaite

12 May: Time has been doing what time always does, some days flying past and other days dragging on. To be honest, the only time it truly did any dragging was after I received the second dose of the vaccine. I didn’t feel well, especially the first 36-48 hours after. I had some rare but not unheard of symptoms. There was nothing life-threatening about them and I have no regrets. I’d do it again. I wish more people would do it the first time. It’s up there with wearing masks in terms of doing something to help others.

Our stay here has almost come to an end. I’ve started packing for the trip home. We leave early on Friday, hoping to arrive before dark on Friday evening. It depends on when we leave here, of course, and there are plans to stop to visit briefly with a friend on the way home. We haven’t seen her since sometime before the pandemic started. Now that we’re all fully vaccinated (or, in my case, almost considered fully vaccinated), we can get together in what we hope is relative safety.

There is the usual bittersweet feeling about leaving. I want to be in my home again, spending time with Izzy and Bella (cats). I’ve missed them. However, I will miss everyone here once we are back on the island.

I am not sure I will miss NE Ohio as I once did. So much has changed. It’s noisier than I remember, more crowded. There are more houses, more people, more livestock sitting on small parcels of land. That’s a pandemic thing, I am told. People suddenly wanting to grow their own food, be it vegetable or animal. There was a new house going up when we arrived in the Bogs, almost finished as we get ready to leave. It looks more like a hotel than a house to me. To each his/her own. There are more T***p signs in yards, too. That was a little surprising, especially the horrifying “T***p 2024 Take Back America” sign. My thoughts on that are not particularly nice so I will keep them to myself.

15 May: We’re home. The trip back was long (as usual) and uneventful (as hoped). We did stop to briefly visit with our friend who had just arrived home from her own excursion. We weren’t able to stay long. It was a Friday in May and the traffic going east over the scary bridge (the Chesapeake Bay Bridge) can get pretty backed up this time of year. Traffic was heavy, but not bad. Everyone and everything was moving as they/it should. People like to head towards the ocean when the weather warms up although that seems to be the case year-round since the pandemic began.

We arrived home to a wonderful welcome from the cats, the house/pet-sitter, and the land. The cats were thrilled to see us again. The house/pet-sitter had made a delicious and full-of-veggies (much needed! after a day on the road) dinner for us. Flowers I thought I might miss (peonies and irises) are in full bloom right now. It was a little like moving from spring into early summer. It’s not yet hot here, but will be soon (if the weather prognosticators are accurate).

The small patch of wildflowers we planted a couple of years ago was the biggest surprise. We pulled up to the end of the lane (driveway) to find the happy faces of daisies smiling up at the setting sun. Daisies are one of my favorite flowers. There is something so cheerful about them.

There is much to be done around here. We did have someone come to mow the lawn, but much of it was left to grow in order to save a little money and to avoid having flowers and trees cut down. Sometimes the guys that come in to do the mowing get a little too enthusiastic and mow over or weed-whack plants we want to let grow. That happened when we were in Ohio last year. They mowed down the rain garden and the vegetable garden. It was no great loss. Everything in the rain garden has made a comeback, and the veggie garden was so overrun with weeds by the time we returned last September that we would have mowed it down, too.

I have a lot of work to do in the flower garden. Getting to it will be the first challenge. M will be working on that today. The area around the greenhouse and flower garden were off limits to the mowers and it now looks more like a meadow. It’s rather pretty, but we can’t leave it that way or we won’t be able to easily get to the greenhouse, the flower garden, or the shed where the mower is kept. That kind of growth would encourage the weeds and snakes and other critters to take over, and eventually it would become more jungle than meadow.

I have a lot more I’d like to ramble on about, including some plans for the coming weeks. All of that will have to wait for another day and post. I hope to establish a more consistent/regular blogging schedule, but we’ll see how that goes. No commitments. Just some ideas, for now.
Thank you so much for visiting with me here at the ranch again. Let’s go out to the Point this evening and watch the sunset. Sunset is scheduled for 8:07 PM. It’s been clear all day — not a cloud in the sky — and warm. You will probably need some insect repellent as the flies are out and I’m pretty sure the mosquitoes will be making an appearance very soon (if they haven’t already). Normally a good breeze will keep them away when we’re near the water, but it’s been quite calm today.
Please be safe, be well, and be kind. ♥♥♥

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy: 1.766) Peonies, irises, roses, and sage blooming like crazy right now. 1,767) Safe travels, to and from. 1,768) M, always and forever. 1,769) Great Blue Herons, Laughing Gulls, and Ospreys greeting us on our return home. 1,770) The daisy surprise in the front meadow.

As the old says goes, there is no place like home. Welcome home, Robin – and cheers to safe travels. If the Bogs wasn’t as tranquil as you recall, just another reason to appreciate your current location. Cheers to the budding photographer and I’ve got the feeling you are anxiously awaiting your mentoring role. Thanks for the beautiful pics!
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Thank you, Frank. 🙂 It’s noisy here, too, but in a different way. Nature sounds are much appreciated and certainly better than listening to people firing their guns or riding their loud pick-up trucks (with flags flying) at 2 AM.
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Oh … that type of noise. 😦
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Seems like that month flew right by! Glad you are back safe and sound. Your meadow full of daisies sounds lovely. It has been a cool spring here, but I think that is behind us as the temps climb into the 70s. Amazing how the grass responds! And I am trying to maintain a NO-MOW-MAY, we’ll see if I can make it.
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Thank you, Eliza. 🙂 Good luck with your NO-MOW-MAY. I used to try to get through March without mowing. Now it’s February. lol!
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For me, the best part of going away is often coming home.
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Sometimes it is, Carol. I just need to settle in a bit, get used to the change in scenery, the bugs, and the warmer temps. 🙂
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I was pulling grass out of my iris bed today. It looks like there will be several blossoms this year. And the peonies have lots of buds too. I’m glad you didn’t miss yours! I’m sure you will miss the kids, but you’ll also enjoy seeing summer come to the shore. I’m going camping in a week or two up north where it is colder, I’m hoping it gets warmer in a hurry! It’s still in the low 40s at night here. Not so much comfy camping weather.
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Sounds like spring is still coming on up your way, Dawn. That’s about how we left it in NE Ohio. I’d be okay if spring stayed around for months and months, and summer never really arrived. The heat of summer here is too much for me. However, I do appreciate the growing season and the fruits and veggies of summer so I do look forward to that. 🙂
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I had to laugh when I read Eliza’s comment. We, too, are trying to have a no-mow May, and I am wondering if I can make it. Anyway, welcome home. The best place to be even when there is lots to do.
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Thank you, Laurie. 🙂 I hope that you can get through May without mowing. Once the mowing season starts, it feels (to me) as if it stretches on forever. We do have a long mowing season here so that might be why it feels that way.
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So glad you enjoyed your trip and that your way home went well also. There is no place like home, though. Even if it means you have to get busy getting control over things. As always, gorgeous pictures. I love daisies, too!
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Thank you so much, Dale. 🙂 The daisies were such a delightful surprise. I’m wondering what else might pop up as the summer goes on.
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Those are the best kind! I’m sure you’ll keep us posted as things pop up!
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Love the photos and the felt sense of all you describe. I will have a no-mowe myself in my very small garden – it mostly is daisies and long shiny straws, very very much like a white cloud. The bees love it!
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Thank you, Leelah. 🙂 Your garden sounds wonderful.
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Glad you enjoyed your trip, Robin, but I know you’re happy to be back home! And what a pretty time of year for your return — those wildflowers, peonies, and irises promise to make coming back a celebration!
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Thank you, Debbie. 🙂 You’re right — the flowers do seem to be welcoming us back in a celebration of color.
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I’m playing catch-up and read your more recent post before this one. So, welcome home! Those Tr–p signs are horrifying! I think the ones around here are all finally down. Beautiful photos.😀
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Thank you so much, Merril. 🙂 I hope the signs come down eventually. It feels like sore losing to me, but maybe it’s just wishful thinking on the part of the people still flying the flags and signs.
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Yes, it’s hard to know or understand what they’re thinking.
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OK, I think I was confused after reading your most recent blog. I was thinking “home” meant the bogs. But you are back in your current home with the wild ponies nearby. Got it. Glad you didn’t have any awful lasting symptoms with your vaccine. The second one I had a fever for 12 hours and awful sore arm and couldn’t get off the couch. But it felt good to be having some symptoms and know that the immune system was kicking in.
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Thank you, Kathy. 🙂 I thought the same thing about having side effects. It was good to know my immune system is working.
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