Monday, August 8, 2011

Bluish Skies






Last night a thunderstorm passed through just as the sun was setting. For about five minutes, the light was somewhere between purple and green and the sky above my neighborhood looked like a patchwork of about seven different kinds of weather. It faded so fast I almost couldn't believe it happened except I managed to snap one good picture before the clouds blew over and the light was gone. There is nothing like the sky to make you feel small and unknowing and grateful for it.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Transformation




I opened the compost bin today to spread some compost around a new tomato plant and there in the midst of it was a tiny frog. Not an inch long and perfect, it had probably caught a ride in on the squash plants I took out of the garden last week.


I took them out because I had guessed these mighty plants were the reason my dog was hiding under the bed, refusing to go outside. They covered everything and looked as if they were going to reach their whiskered face-like limbs right through the bedroom door. Or on a more practical note, maybe their spiny stems and leaves hurt her soft pink belly. At any rate, she would not go outside and that was a problem.

I think that is how it got there in the bin. But now in one week, the big fleshy leaves and juicy stems had changed to brown slippery sludge and the frog looked out of place. I am happy to say that this little tiny frog managed to jump a foot to the top of the barrel and out to find another shady leaf in the garden and the dog is out from under the bed, so order is restored, but those miles of squash vines are quickly melting, changing transforming into good earth.