This Fresh New Year

This year, I will plant potatoes
when oak leaves are the size of mouse ears
as my grandfather did long ago

I will still plant pea pods on the first of April
as there is something ironic about planting peas
that make no little round peas
which I detest. April Fools!

I will read the garden catalogs
with great care
they come earlier now - as if climate change
somehow has altered all of life.

I will circle my choices for this coming year 
praying they can bear heat and drought
or maybe torrential rain to fill rivers and lakes.

I will watch for magnolia's buds to swell
the ones that almost bloomed this belated fall
and watch apricot blossoms  float downward
frustrated squirrels wait to plunder
the small green apricots before they are ripe.

I will write more
for it grows my soul
never knowing what words
will emerge upon the page.

I will read more, other writers
teaching me their skills
so I can discover more rules to break

And I shan't make
a single New Year's resolution
for all these are promises
as I kiss this new year awake.

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa

"When the right hand doth not know what the left hand doeth" . . . has a nice scriptural  sound to it, doesn't it.

My grandfather was a faithful reader of his Bible. and he was fond of quoting scripture. But the catch was that often his quotes were not found in the Bible - though I think he sincerely believed his treasured sayings were.

My right hand and my left. Yesterday, Clem and I both had been dealing with cranky computers. The coup d'etate for him was when he wanted to post something on this blog. His computer informed him he could not post. It was 5 pm and we were both hot and tired. Rather than try to solve the problem, I told him to email his piece to me and that I would post it for him. He did and I posted.

But what did I post? This morning, he asked me when I was going to post what he had written. I said I had - but when I looked, it was not there. Grrrr  . . . more cranky computer?

Tired of the whole computer-thing, I had managed to post "Check It Out" - an email blitz to people inviting them to check out our blogs . . . His lovely reflection still sat in my email.

 Guess it just reaffirms that I am human and humans err. And that posting anything when so "done for the day" is not a good idea!

I will try again - and this time watch what both the left and right hands are doing!