The Apostrophe Blog
This past Monday marked the passage from summer into autumn—a day of balance between light and dark—even though most of these late September days are still cloudless and warm. Tomatoes continue to ripen on the vine. Assorted flowers are in riotous late-season bloom. In spite of the growing menace—and very real harms—flowing 24/7 from the unhinged actions of too many in the executive branch of our government, our Pacific Northwest corner of the (increasingly undemocratic) United States continues (for now) on its merry way day in and out.
I water assorted herbs and potted plants. I run the irrigation every few days to keep the ferns and hostas and vine maples and huckleberry and witch hazels luxuriant in their varying shades of green. And I carry watering cans to fill/re-fill the assorted water features we have on this property to properly hydrate the many bees, insects, and birds who now make our backyard habitat one of their stomping grounds. It is good to cling to humble rituals, homely routines. It is good to hole up, to store up reservoirs of fortitude and peace. It is necessary to take the longer view, to try to remember that what? That this too shall pass? That we can and weather this, can and will recover? Truth to tell, it is a challenge for me to be anything but an eye-rolling pessimist of late. Take your pick of the many adjectives that are applicable to the vagaries of the current moment: stupid, ugly, cruel, brutal, lunatic, wrong. Another reason it is good to tend to the needs of the pollinators these days of lengthening shadows, longer nights. Perspective is all.
Interests: Reading, writing, not arithmetic. The art and craft of poetry. Photography. Vegetable and flower gardening especially heirloom bulbs and dahlias. Movies in real theatres. Theatre on real stages. Art in real galleries. Crossword puzzles and, of course, Wordle. Singer-songwriters like Aimee Mann and Patti Griffin. All kinds of music especially 1930s jazz. Venice, Italy! The Dude abides.
- Publication News: Burn It Down! - October 20, 2025
- We Are All Frog… - October 19, 2025
- Greetings from War-Ravaged Portland! - October 5, 2025
