Waiting

Slumbering in summer

For the last few weeks I’ve been removing dead insects from the window sills every day. Our sills are the old-fashioned sort, wide enough to sit a pot plant on and painted white, so every corpse shows up as a black mark. I’ve no idea why they’ve chosen our house as their final resting place, but each morning there is, at least one fly or wasp, to be swept up and put in the bin. I found a little brown moth today, in the spare bedroom, which was especially sad.

I hope death isn’t going be prominent this week, but the copper beech was finally felled. I did worry that the way into the woods would be less mysterious, but fortunately, the magnificent oak that it was hiding is now revealed. The treehouse looks a little exposed, but we’ll just allow the hawthorn hedge to grow a little taller, so you only get a glimpse of it.

David has been in the woods a lot during the heatwave, not only to allow Ruby the Beagle to have a run around, but to clear the paths of weeds and debris, now the wild garlic has died back. He decided to cut down some dead saplings himself and ordered a chainsaw sharpening kit, which works for both large and small chainsaws, because his blades were blunt. But having spent some time trying to get a decent edge on the largest blade, he ordered a new one instead. I like using the mini-chainsaw, because it zips through branches quickly and easily, which is more than can be said of my pruning saw, although I expect its blade is a bit blunt since I’ve never had it sharpened.

Ruby was in disgrace for a while. She sneaked off with one of David’s gardening gloves the other morning and hid it somewhere. Then refused to fetch it back. During the same afternoon, David was at the vegetable patch, watering the tomatoes and lettuces in the polytunnel, when Ruby bounded up with his ‘lost’ gardening glove in her mouth. She dropped it at his feet, as if to say “I’m a well-trained puppy”! There is still enough unchewed velcro left to enable the glove to be fastened adequately. She can be a very clever dog and was duly rewarded with a treat.

It was our silver wedding anniversary and Bastille Day yesterday - it might not have been a good day for the French aristocracy, but it’s been a good date for us - so I’m interested in what the stars are doing. Apparently, the biggest event is the Cancer New Moon, which enables the resetting of things related to the home and financial security. Mercury is still retrograde, so it’s a time for planning and making intentions. We’re halfway through the year and still waiting for some action!

David and I have spent much of this year feeling as though things are waiting for a green light. In particular, planning approval for our vehicle cross-over after ten months, which is still stuck at red with the local authority. Still, one thing has moved forward. “Slumbering Earth”, my latest collection of poems has been published. I’m pleased that after months of work, especially taking a fresh look with a minimalist eye, my poems have now be released to begin their own journeys in the world.

Nevertheless, I will be happy to greet 24^th July, which is a pivotal day, marked by Mercury direct, so all star signs should see forward momentum and communication breakthroughs. Specifically for relationships, it’s a good day for romance with the Sun in Leo, while Mars is moving into a sextile with Saturn (my Sun sign), which is excellent for building solid foundations. I wonder if we are still building the solid foundations of our marriage at this stage...

It seems that we are in a place where things are poised between what has finished and what is about to begin, so for this week’s poem I have chosen “Waiting”, which reminds us that things unfold at their own pace:

WAITING
The dormant earth lies resting
patiently beneath chilly skies.
But what is the signal 
that will fully awaken
her from her repose?

The Winter Solstice is past
days will be lighter
for longer now.
Perhaps it is illumination
that brings her awake.

The chilly frosts of Epiphany
and St Valentine are gone,
days will be warmer now.
Perhaps it is warmer weather
that bring her awake.

People are patiently waiting
for the earth to fully awaken.
They look for green shoots,
migrating birds to return
and a softness in the wind.