my grandmother was almost 98 when she died. and there is a flowering bush that grows at the back of our yard, that always makes me think of the last summer that she was alive. and one particular day is strong with memories of my last real day with my grandmother. just the two of us having the sort of breezy and ephemeral moments we did best. i lived with her all my life practically. i was 7 when she moved to canada to live with us. there was no mystery between us. she was always tiny, but in the last few years of her life, she was practically fetal. she weighed between 50 and 60 pounds and osteoporosis had bent her in half. my parents brought her to spend the afternoon with me that day. she sat in her wheelchair on the porch. i wheeled her out in the garden under the trees with flowers and birds surrounding her. i covered her hat with peonies and she laughed and just enjoyed the perfection of a summer day. she spent hours going through the bunches of flowers i brought her, picking out all the blossoms that were past their prime. we watched the cats play in the sun. gala romped around the yard and delighted her. we just spend the afternoon together. and after a lifetime with her, this is one of my strongest and sweetest and dearest memories of us alone together. just an afternoon enjoying each other.

tom is on the porch playing guitar and singing ryan adams songs. i'm wandering barefoot through the yard taking photos. it's a beautiful morning. this afternoon we'll have dinner with my sweet daddy. and bring some wood home for projects i've been planning. but right now in this moment, the morning is supremely still and lovely.

edgar got me up at 2.30 this morning. barking at the sounds of night in the backyard through the open window. i didn't fall asleep again until 4.30, and then he was up again at 5.15. he was just restless and wanted to go outside. so i came out with him and slept for 4 delightful hours swaying under quilts on the porch swing. it was wonderful. he woke me up a few times barking, but the birds and the squirrels and the twitter of the leaves with the scent of peonies and climbing roses and honey locust trees all lulled me right back to sleep. and when i was finally awake for the day i lay on the swing watching wave after wave of mist float into the garden. at first i was worried the studio was on fire. and then maybe our very own house, because it was as dense as smoke. but it was a soft pale mist blowing past in waves. what a lovely way to wake up. and although i imagine it will be a groggy day, i loved the way it started.
oh yes, writing this made me forget that 1/2 an hour ago, stella and floyd brought a snake into the living room that is now in our cold air return vent. the drama of the day has begun!!!!