Monday, June 24, 2013

Day and night


There are poppies in bunches at Pick 'n Pay. Our Limpopo avocados have not ripened yet (R20 - $2 - for eight. In Brooklyn they are $1.50 each). In the greenbelt when I walked the dogs between rain showers this afternoon, a duck sat on the racing brown stream and was swept around a bend. A tree crashed in the pine woods across the way. The rain sweeps over the roof again. It is dark outside at 6pm. I watch Grand Hotel and marvel at how good Joan Crawford is, and how bad Greta Garbo.

Yet she got the best lines.

"The music has stopped."

I had to smile. I felt that way when the Frenchman left. How such a quiet man can leave such silence behind him.


He writes and says: The terrace and roof farm look great [no one has seen the farm for weeks, as neither Amy nor Dinah could manage the heavy hatch]. He says: Blueberries as big as cherries.

My worlds pull apart.

He will take pictures of pots and I will send instructions. Pull this. Leave that. I wonder if the Cape gooseberries survived. They were pinpricks when we left. The cat's grass must be sawgrass by now. How about tomatoes?

Outside, in the wet, frogs click in the reeds.

9 comments:

  1. You write so beautifully! Enjoy the poppies, the avos, your family and the beautiful Cape.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My thoughts exactly, you are a lovely writer

    ReplyDelete
  3. How is the kitty? Enjoying your travels via facebook.
    Your blueberries are HUGE!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. The best people leave the loudest silences. I love Grand Hotel. There is a long scene with Garbo and Barrymore gazing at each other, their profiles battling for attention. Beautiful profiles. I love the melancholy of the comings and goings of hotel life. Thank you for sharing your adventures. It's always a pleasure to read your words and see the photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah, sweet sorrow. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder so prepare for an epic reunion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. And, you have flowers in the house. Jane will be so pleased. The Frenchman is extra special and cuts a wide swath. You'll be home soon enough. Enjoy your family time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I thought you were home too when I saw your ginormous berries on facebook.

    But you are home aren't you?

    xo Jane

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those poppies are absolutely precious! I always admire your table displays.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "How such a quiet man can leave such silence behind him."
    It makes my eyes prick.
    x

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.