So I walked into our bathroom, an hour or so ago, in order to, well you know.
I started to sit down and saw this …
“Wait, what’s going on?” I thought, as I leisurely, then worriedly gazed at the curtained window. “Is this my bathroom?! Where AM I?”
“Is that an alien just outside my bathroom window? Look at his/her TALL hair!”
Terrified, I was ready to squeal, to yell for HR (Husband Robert- you know that!) to come help me, when I decided that, “No, let’s pull back the curtain. Kind of like with the Wizard of Oz.”
And then I realized.
HR had just put the pineapple in the bathroom window to catch some sun and ripen a bit more.
So today, HR and I traversed twenty minutes to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge across the Savannah River from us over in South Carolina.
The purpose: For Robert to complete his homework for a course we are taking on Georgia’s Ossabaw Island and the concept of Wildness. We had to go to a Place, sit for a While, and observe the Wild, in whatever way we describe the word.
(I had already completed my assignment earlier this morning, meditating by the Savannah River itself, a couple of blocks from where we live in Savannah’s historic district …
… but more about that in a later post.)
(Now you have something to look forward to.)
Anyhoo, HR suggested we have a little picnic there, before his meditation, even though the temperature was supposed to be in the LOW 90s. Ever the accommodating spouse, after fussing a little bit, I agreed. Why? Curry chicken gyros – spicy! From Savannah’s iconic little Mediterranean Al Salaam Deli.
Oh my goodness! If I could, I would teleport a bite over to you.
It never takes a lot to grab my attention. But if you put a pine tree in the mix, I am FASCINATED. Years ago, after reading nature writer Janisse Ray’s Ecology of a Cracker Childhood (read it if you haven’t!), Robert and I fell in love with the Longleaf Pine.
So, before I even started to eat my curry gyro, I spotted some tall, majestic pine trees all around us.
And what did I do?
I looked up, of course, wondering if they were Longleaf. Wouldn’t you?
Curry Gyro in foil, wondering why I am not opening him.
(I will never forgive Robert for taking that ridiculous picture of me, without me knowing he was doing so, but since it works for this blog post, I’m going to use it. Don’t tell him.)
Alas, the pine trees were not Longleaf. I suspected as much. The pine cones were too small and the trees, majestic as they were, did not have Longleaf’s candelabra-like upward branches. (TMI?)
Later on a solo hike (HR was “meditating.” remember), I saw this:
Loblolly somehow intuited that I preferred the Longleaf. He asked me why. Having no real answer, I did the only thing I thought to do. I looked up. Up into his Heights.
And he said …
Loblolly is now a close second in my favorite pine tree cataloging.
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
One of my Father’s Day gifts this year was a beautiful box of nuts and dried fruit.
I made a yummy trail mix out of the nuts and some of the chopped-up dried fruit. (OK, maybe with one bag of plain M&Ms thrown in for good measure.)
And then, this morning for breakfast, Robert had bought some fresh cantaloupe. When I saw it on my saucer, I realized it was frowning at me, but his face was sadly incomplete.
Dried fruit to the rescue. Two dried plums and a beautiful, sweet green kiwi for the nose.
1. Getting all cultured, attending the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 Season Finale with incredible first-year-in-Atlanta conductor Nathalie Stutzmann.
“Bolero” was stunningly, movingly beautiful.
2. Fresh farm peaches from Ellijay, GA. Sweet and juicy (sorta like “Bolero”)!
3. Being thankful for my eyesight.
4. Seeing the world premiere of circus-based musical “Water for Elephants” at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. I loved the novel and was uber excited to hear that it was coming out as a play.
5. Celebrating Robert’s birthday (the young upstart) at Truva, a terrific little Turkish restaurant in the hip Virginia Highland neighborhood near Midtown Atlanta.
Yum!
We chose the Mixed Kebabs for two: Chargrilled Adana | Chicken Kebab | Beef Kebab | Shaved Doner | Turkish Style Rice | Grilled Tomatoes.
NealEnJoy 