The Apostrophe Blog
After several days of Pacific Northwest November weather last week—downpour, high winds, dramatic clouds, more rain, more wind, more rain, more wind—it was a relief to have a weekend of sun. As our Portland universe dried out the past two days, we were finally able to sweep up more of the bajillion fallen Douglas fir needles that had become a uniform carpet on the sidewalks, flagstones, patios, and driveway. This is addition to raking, raking, raking the maple leaves from the three giant trees in our backyard. We are very close to having all of the foliage shaken from every branch. The return of the rains on Monday may just do the trick.
Something else I did in between the sun and the shadows today. I picked the last of the dahlias blooming in the front yard. I scurried to get them arranged into a lovely glass vase and to find a note tag I could then attached to the vase itself. Then I headed over to NE Buffalo Street to leave them on the front porch of a friend (and fellow volunteer member of the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association Board) who entered into hospice on Friday morning. Because I know that I, for starters, would want to be surrounded by the beauty of flowers in that situation. We spoke that morning and she told me how she had gone to the hospital with a wicked case of pneumonia only to learn that she is also in congestive heart failure and, as such, does not have much longer to live. Another board member has since learned that she was “given two to five days.” Hence the floral urgency. I was lucky enough to be able to pass the dahlia-and-lavender bouquet to family members at the front door who said she would love their beauty so very much. They said she had just spent the sunny Sunday morning outdoors in her lovely backyard and was now heading to bed to rest. Sun and shadows, shadows and sun on what might be someone’s final day on this earth.
The photo above is of a beaded Haitian vodou flag we purchased in Jacmel, Haiti when on a trip there several years back. It features La Sirenne—The Siren. In Greek mythology, the sirens are female humanlike with beguiling voices. These are the creatures who lured Odysseus in The Odyssey with their enchanting songs. Sometimes The Sirens are depicted as birds with womanly heads; other cultures characterize them as mermaids.
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.
- A Day of Shadows and Sun - November 10, 2025
- For the love of a watery landscape… - November 9, 2025
- Publication News: Buyers’ Remorse Issue of American Writers Review - November 1, 2025
