This and That

It has been a busy week, so this post will be a little of this and that to bring you up to date.

A few days ago, I received a call at 5 AM telling me the hotel I manage was filling with water on the first floor. A 6 inch-water line had burst, and by the time I got there, there were waves in the lobby! The water shorted out several key systems.  Imagine the fun I had with a hotel full of guests who couldn't shower, flush a toilet, make coffee, watch TV, or access the internet. We are dry now, and systems are working, but things are not back to normal.

My daughter and four of my grandchildren spent the last week with me. They went to the beach a couple of times, the pool several times, and I accompanied them to the zoo. It was hot! They slept on the bed that makes into a couch, made tents and hiding places with blankets and quilts, blew bubbles in their chocolate milk, and watched Curious George and the Electric Company. We played Guess the Animal and ate ice cream cones. The youngest is crawling everywhere (and every minute) so there was very little still time. It's quiet now. I miss them.

I live next to a wooded area, and we saw a snake with red diamonds on its back in my yard. I went to Home Depot and bought snake repellent, but before I arrived home,  I could smell the unopened product in my car. It is awful. It has an upleasant odor of strong mothballs. According to the instructions,  I have to be careful when applying it to make sure the snakes stay out and that I don't barrier them in. I haven't even stepped outside yet. This will not be fun.

But this was! Friday afternoon, a friend asked if I had a poem about a garden for her to share in a Power Point presentation. So yesterday, I wrote the one that follows. As writers, sometimes we just need the assignment, and the inspiration will come.

I hope you can all spend some time in your own garden, real or imagined. Let the kids blow bubbles in their chocolate milk. And be sure to make some time for at least one ice cream cone!


No Wonder It All Started Here
   by Carol Drummond

No wonder
it all started here.
Or not here exactly,
but in a garden.

For what could be better
than greens of moss
or bay
or cypress
to foster contemplation?

Marvel how
lime and loden
and sage and beryl
pair with rose
and iris
and lavender.

Did He stroll
with hands in soft pockets
and look from side to side,
satisfied with a job well done?

Dew drops glisten
on black-eyed Susans.
Morning glory whispers
to Queen Anne's lace.

A breeze.
A canopy of trees.
The ideal spot
for sitting with le plume,
waiting
for just the right word,
for just the right poem.
And then
There goes a butterfly.