So Robert and I were walking around in Pet Smart today, minding our own business, when we came upon this …
Seriously? Gay trappings for your pet?
My first reaction was “Oh, how cute!”
My second was “Big business, marketing whatever can sale.“
Then my gay husband put it all into perspective …
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?
(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.
For some reason, we are having a bit of a “cold spell” here in Savannah, which is quite unusual for this late in May.
TIB (Truth in Blogging): Frigid for us is anything under 60 degrees. Right now …
It has also been raining all day.
Sidebar: I’ve kept a gratitude journal for eons now. This morning’s additions …
So, when trying to decide what to have for supper, it hit me …
GRATITUDE-INSPIRED THANKSGIVING SIDES!
Thus, using whatever ingredients I had on hand, I decided on Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole. Two classics, right?
I got to work.
Oh my goodness. The deliciousness of fall in spring.
A Joyful May of Thanksgiving to You!
So HR and I went to a new little cafe near us for lunch today.
It was raining, so we went inside.
Delicious sandwiches
But what warmed my heart the most was the little sign as we entered …
I’M SPECIAL!
YOU ARE TOO!
A blog category of pics I’ve taken of HR (Hubby Robert) and … well, just about anything.
Robert and … Spring Wisteria in Savannah.
I love the truth of this quotation I saw on a fellow blogger’s post recently …
Because sometimes I think breathing may be the most significant thing I do during the day.
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
A little while ago, Robert and I were leaving our favorite little Atlanta breakfast place, Homegrown.
Walking toward the car, I heard them before I saw them. Detective-like, I quickly turned around.
They were casually (and somewhat seductively) leaning against the back shed of the little hole-in-the- wall jewel of a restaurant, singing, belting their hearts and souls out.
The Seven Sisters singing their way through The Great American Songbook.
I could’ve stayed there all day, reveling in the joy, the pathos, the excitement, the disappointment, the yearning fullness of their song.
They were us all—EveryWoman, EveryMan—leaning back and leaning into life. Our days, months, and years filled with living the truth of their diverse songs.
But HR finally made me get in the car.
“Neal, other people need to park.”
“And hear,” I thought.
So we made our way back to our midtown Airbnb, but not without the Sisters’ melodies still ringing in my ears and heart.
As we pulled up to our Airbnb, the most amazing thing REALLY HAPPENED, raising goosebumps on my skin. A young lady in a pick-up parked near us. When she opened her door, Robert and I heard her before we saw her—-singing joyfully. She made her way into the other half of the duplex that makes up our Airbnb. She continued to sing as she turned on the vacuum cleaner. Vocal joy. It actually felt a little quietly empty when she got in her truck and drove away.
As I have said, probably far too many times on this blog, I love living in downtown Historic District Savannah.
And one of the reasons? The beautifully unique twenty-two extant squares (two were lost to “progress”).
[Did I punctuate the above properly?]
This evening I am hanging out in Warren Square, the square closest to my own, Washington Square.
But the sidewalk is.
Yes.
And that magic is free.
NealEnJoy 