summer's passing by

Heady times this last couple of weeks.

Family from Hong Kong has returned home

after a delightful three weeks.

My heart is full of lovely memories, tucked away

like squirrels' acorns for the long winter ahead.

This last week marked the 11th anniversary of 

my husband's first brain hemorrhage.

My conscious self was not even aware of it.

My heart "knew" days before, however. Amazing what the heart knows. 

Wednesday was a difficult day,

bolstered by the love of friends and family.

11 years is a long time for uncertainty about the next 'event',

 the ongoing awareness of a slow decline--

 a kind of death by a thousand cuts.

Mid-August also delights.

Crickets rasping amidst Queen Anne's Lace in the tall grass.

Sumac rich in green fronds, and wild bamboo leaves showing red.

Searches through the milkweed for Monarch caterpillars

to take home and witness new life emerging.

New life is always emerging.  The trick is to notice it.