Life soup


What you see there is a patch of our backyard where an amoeba shaped patch of little purple flowers (yes, I'm sure they have a name, but nomenclature is not my strong suit) appeared today. I thought it was such a lovely splash of color added to the scene. "Honey look at the purple flowers here." He glanced in my direction from the porch and said "Better enjoy them now because they're going to get mowed." So they were granted blog immortalization (and I hope they didn't hear Serge).

The yard is a bowl of life soup right now. The pine tree is squirting out baby pinecones and the dozens of grasses, plants and yes, weeds are growing out inches per day it seems. The tomato plants in the garden are flowering and the dandelions have already done their thing shooting up, flowering and releasing their cottony seed pods into the wind. I must admit that last week I murdered many of them. (This did not bring me pleasure, except when I discovered that their blood is milky.) Bright orange beaked (for the spring) starlings toddle around the yard plucking earthworms out of the grassy area; they appear to have some kind of worm radar. Ladybugs, bumblebees, and spiders are setting up shop and clouds of gnats hover in random locations. Robins, sparrows, jays and hummingbirds appear and disappear, my yard but one stop on the infinite buffet. I keep the bird book (thanks, em) next to the backdoor and have identified over 20 species in the last month. I find it fascinating the way beak color and plumage changes for the spring. Also, in the spring it's usually easier to discern the sex of the bird you are seeing by noting color patterns and wing/feather shape. Where a few months ago, a veritable glacier covered the terrain, life has taken back the land and is now exploding. We hit 80 degrees yesterday for the first time this year.

Later today, I will be at the restaurant sweating. I will go up and down the stairs hundreds of times (the kitchen is in the basement) and at the end of my shift, I will stink. (this unappealing effect will be mitigated by the wad of cash in my pocket) In addition, tonight I will give my notice. I have anguished for two days about it - my sense of duty conflicting with my true feelings which are simply "I don't want to work there every weekend of the summer." So that's what I'm going to say, that I'm sorry I accepted the job, I shouldn't have but I need to take care of my needs. Secretly, I hope they do that thing where they don't let you stay for two weeks, they just say fine, you're done. I know they won't though because I'm so respected around there. They will probably just be a little sad to see me go. (and beg me to stay, which I really don't want to go through) If all goes well, in two weeks Serge and I will be going to the 1000 islands national park camping.

In the fight over money and sanity, I choose sanity. Peace.