Theme and Variations in Everyday Ramblings

Your reactions to the blossom covered public stairway in my last post were wonderful. For years I have been taking pictures during spring from the bottom of the stairway looking up into the bower of flowering trees above so it was cool to be rewarded for shifting the perspective and taking a shot looking down.

This white iris, in the unruly grass is from right next to the stairway last night after class.

Of course there is trash on the landing of the stairway now, including a half bag of tortilla chips and two women’s foam rollers. The whole hillside has been planted and maintained by a couple in their 80’s (at least) in the condo that looks over it but this year the maintenance is not happening.

You may be getting a theme here lately in my posts about the changes, many of them hard to accept, that the passage of time brings.

This seems to be the major cord in my life right now.

The day after tomorrow is the 8th anniversary of Mr. Finch’s death. Last year as I was walking down those above steps to my office on that day I remember saying to myself, this is the anniversary of something, or there is something I need to remember about today and it was like oh wow, a jolt, how could I space this anniversary!

And is that okay? Am I ready to return to regularly scheduled programing and have it be a day, a work day like any other?

Two years ago Kes and I went out to Powell Butte, which is a park, watershed, public space to bird. It is easy to get around in and just a few blocks away from the cemetery where Mr. Finch is buried. And it is a great place in Portland proper to go birding.

I am not ready to let the attrition of the mundane subsume my marking of this pivotal transition in my life and besides; honestly, I need all the days off of work I can get.

So I am taking this Thursday off and Kes and Most Honorable or one or the other of them are coming up to spend the middle part of the day out in quest of lazuli buntings and evening grosbeaks. It is supposed to be a showery day but so was Sunday and it turned out to be a beautiful warm morning to go for a long walk.

Poor Frida though had an upset stomach, we are not sure why, and she was compulsively eating grass along the way as we walked along the east side of the river and threw up once. It was annoying us both and worrying so we cut our walk short by about a mile and came back.

Mr. Sherlock did finish his radiation treatment on Friday. Mrs. Sherlock bought the radiation techs bagels and flowers and was extremely happy to say goodbye to them. Just imagine having radioactive poop! That is what they have been dealing with the last week. (I know a couple of you can imagine something similar quite well). They left the pic line in because he needs to get fluids three times a week for a few more weeks but they are done with aggressive treatment.

Now it is all about healing. Frida got a head start and is fine now.

I am beginning to wonder if that isn’t the theme of the rest of my time embodied as I am now?

Healing, until one doesn’t.

Kes is feeling a bit better and managed to get a short walk in yesterday so things are on the upswing across the board for her too.

I need to start making arrangements to attend Miss E’s high school graduation. Now that…that is…something to look forward to!

Last updated May 09, 2018