Hope

I looked out onto our re-snowed backyard this morning when I opened the curtain... and saw HOPE.  The feeders, etc. were casting shadows, not big dark ones but light, pale ones, so light that if I used the "autocorrect" function on the photo fixer program they disappeared, but there were, no, ARE definitely shadows.  I know that if it gets half a chance the April sun will destroy the nasty snow that fell pretty much all day yesterday and hadn't totally stopped by the time I came home from knitting at 9 o'clock.  (I really like "o'clock" I don't know why, it just pleases the daylights outta me, maybe it's the apostrophe).  (it's an hour later; the shadows are strong and dark now, yay!)

This morning I'm going to Aldi for a pineapple and 2 boxes of fresh strawberries so I can have yummy fruit with my lunch this next week and fruit on my granola & Fage (fah-yeh) Greek yogurt breakfasts too.  I think fruit might be my favorite food, I could be happy eating fruit... and cheese... and bread... but I like veggies too... and butter on the bread, but just a little, not globs or slabs... salads are good, the leafy kind with just a bit of dressing not the smothered in mayo kind... a little meat's good too...  Evidently I am the personification of an omnivore (burp), that explains a lot.  I think Durwood wants to come along and I suspect that he has various other stops he'd like to make, he's been housebound most of this week because of the cold, damp wind and freezing rain and snow.  I don't know how he manages to stay semi-cheerful being stuck in here; I'd be going mad.  Talking about lunch-fruit reminds me that I need to make lunch-soup too.  What kind of soup should I make?  Chicken most likely but with what veggies?  I'll see what Aldi has on sale, onions and celery of course, maybe cabbage and carrots with a can of diced tomatoes, maybe the kind with mild peppers in it for a bit of heat.  Sounds good to me.

April 13--Cypriot, Statue of a Young Man.

He looks draped in cloth
wrapped, twisted, folded
prey for the first zephyr
passing by,
but he is stone,
limestone,
the compressed corpses
of ancient reefs.

His springy curls
frame a stone brow,
his boyish beard reveals
tender lips as yet unkissed.

How long did he pose,
one hand outstretched
to offer bread, 
or was he the sculptor's
imaginary ideal?
~~~~~

That wasn't where I thought I was headed last night but evidently I'm not the boss of my pencil... or my brain for that matter.  What are your plans for the day?  Do you get to play outside without snowboots on?  Lucky.  I put mine away--for one day.  Tsk.  We'll get there, it can't snow forever.  It can't, can it?  And 5 weeks from today I get to drive away to The Clearing for a week of walking the trails in the woods and staring at the bay and the sunset and wildflowers and and probably blank notebook pages.  5 WEEKS!!!!  I can't wait.
--Barbara