Mark Zuckerberg

Every time I hear the name Mark Zuckerberg I don’t think of Facebook. I think of a pig.

Not “pig” as in very-young-guy-who-is-filthy-rich-and-I’m-crazy-jealous kind of pig.  No, I mean “pig” as in Wilbur the pig.

You remember Wilbur the pig who came to life via Charlotte’s Web.  Charlotte is the spider who discovers that, “There can be no mistake about it. A miracle has happened and a sign has occurred here on earth, right on our farm, and we have no ordinary pig.”  Because Wilbur is special and amazing, at least to his friend Charlotte.

And the point of this is that Wilbur lives on a farm owned by Mr. Zuckerman.

Zuckerman.  Zuckerberg. It’s all the same to me.

Yard Work.

After a few hard hours of work in the yard there’s nothing better than finding a comfortable place to rest one’s weary bones.  A walk to the house, or even to a chair on the patio, is just too far.  No, you just need to rest right here and right now. So why not a cozy spot in the weeds in the wheelbarrow?

Ah!  This is the life.

Chickens. And Summer Eves

It’s the end of a beautiful August Saturday. The shadows are getting long and the air is cooling.  It’s the perfect time to find a friend and sit outside on a bench, mull over the day, recollect some other perfect evenings, and create a tall tale or two.

Happy summer’s eve!

August Evening

It’s the end of a fabulous Sunday in early August.   8:44 and twilight is setting in.  A clear, cloudless sky.  Not a breath of wind.  True to our area, even though it was well into the 80’s today, as soon as the sun began it’s descent, the temperature started doing the same. And it’s cooling faster than it’s darkening.

The farmer next door apparently decided today was the day to wean his calves because there are a lot of sad, mournful cow sounds floating across the field and through the trees.  I don’t know why he does this.  These aren’t milk cows so there’s no hurry to put the ladies to work for him.  And last year, after separating the family for a week, the young’uns were back with their mamas, happily nursing for another several months.  But then I know nothing about raising cattle.

My owl has begun calling out his nightly plans to his friends. A crane just flew across the sky, late getting home.  The first star has showed up.

Too bad for me, my patio heater is out of propane so it won’t be long before I’ll give up and head inside. But I’ll stay a minute longer and take in the sky, and listen for my owl, and soak up this summer’s eve.

Small Happinesses

Small happinesses. That’s my theme.  Appreciating even the little things, because those little things are important, too.  But sometimes it is hard to find even the small happinesses. Like when there’s illness in your family, and crises in your family, and loss in your family, and confrontation in your family. And when all these things happen at the same time, it can be hard to find even the small happinesses.

So this week, finding a happiness, even a small one, has been like a high school homework assignment–a  task that needs to be done but won’t be easy, quick, or enjoyable.  And then I realized I held the happiness, small indeed, right in my hand.  My cell phone.  It has allowed me to stay in contact with the people I need to contact to get information and give information and support each other.  How did people get through these kinds of things in the olden days, like last century which was 13 years ago, when we didn’t have cell phones?  Not able to have instant, constant, anywhere contact with the people you need to contact? Those olden days were so hard.

Yes, I am very grateful for my cell phone.  It’s today’s small happiness.

Time. And Fences.

When our kids were little and nearing a birthday, I’d ask the birthday question.  No, not, “What do you want for your birthday?” (they’d made that known ages before).  My question was about finishing the task at hand and being ready to move on.  As in, as the child was nearing her 9th birthday, “Have you done all of your 8 year old things? ‘Cuz you only have two more days to be 8.” Being kids, they were ready.

I only have one more week of summer break and I’m nowhere near ready for it to end. I’ve still got lazy summer mornings to sleep in, and long summer days to soak up the sun, and warm summer evenings to sit out on the deck and stare at the sunset.  I’m not ready for it to end, I”m not, I’m not, I’m not.

But, as the wise sage Sara Evans says, “You can’t fence time.”

Dang it anyway