September's Letter
A stone cabin, wild grapes, and two books I'm adding to my library
Monday - The grackles swooped in at the bird feeder for the first time in early summer, their black bodies, iridescent heads, and beady yellow eyes scaring away the little birds, leaving the seed just for them. Thieves! I flapped my hands at the window to scare them away, worried at the injustice of it all. But now, as summer tips toward fall, the birds have come to an understanding. There they are, the little birds and big birds, eating at the feeder, side by side.
Tuesday - In the snarl of weeds that’s tangled the flowerbed around the vegetable garden is a tiny shock of cobalt blue - a bachelor’s button blooming for all the world. A hundred seeds didn’t make it against the stack of the season’s odds, but this one did, and is living its heart right out.
Wednesday - The swimming hole awaits at the base of the hill that we run every week. Maggie Mae gets there first, already paddling by the time I run by. She hops out, shakes off, and trots a drippy trail after me until the turn around, then swooshes in for another dip on our way back by.
Thursday - I walk through the garden gate and into the square patch of earth enclosed by a pickety fence. I peek under giant leaves, looking for zucchini hiding (you know how zucchini hide). I pick tomatoes, check on the carrots, the peppers, and the cauliflower (that’s not cauliflowering), and I realize with sudden delight that not one thing has been nibbled by a deer! All the hallelujahs! My 4’ fence is working!
Friday - A stone cabin in the mountains, a dormered house on a lake, a private lot with towering trees and open grassy places. These are the listings I notice, imagining, seeing with dreamy eyes.
Saturday - A friend is soon on her way to stay for the very first time and I’m browsing all the gluten free dessert recipes. It’s a whole new world for me that I’m excited to prepare for her. I decide on almond cake spread with strawberry-rhubarb jam and a dollop of whipped fresh cream sweetened with honey.
Sunday - It’s late evening, and I send her directions for tomorrow along with a note, “Can’t wait! There are weeds in the flowerbeds, the garden is wild, and places around the house need paint and such. I’m so happy to welcome you into our unedited life here on the creek bank.” To which she replied, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Loves? Let’s do this, let’s aspire to that soul-filling, wholesome place where imperfection and beauty meet, where we feel our most authentic and alive. Where what we live and what we share is both inspiring and real.
Moments Lately
Reading Lately
It’s a rare occasion when a book unexpectedly finds you and it turns out to be nothing short of delightful, leaving you wondering how on earth you’d never heard of this title or author before, especially given that it was published in 1911. Then, after you’ve read the last page and are basking in the afterglow of such a warm-hearted, well-written, multi-layered gem, written in a favorite espistolary style (hello, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society), you find yet another surprise - there is a sequel - and life just feels too good to be true. I read them both on Kindle, but will be sleuthing for used hardbacks to add to my forever book collection.
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster - It’s about an orphan girl who is just aging out, at eighteen, of the asylum she’s known her entire life. She’s surprised one day to discover that an anonymous benefactor has offered to pay for her college education, and his only requirement is that she writes a monthly letter to him, sent through his personal secretary. She is to include updates on her life and studies, as if she were writing letters home to the family she’s never had. She was informed that he would never reply and never planned to meet her. Aside from the first chapter, which sets the stage, the entire book is made up of her letters to him. I laughed, I cried, I read it in two days.
Dear Enemy by Jean Webster - the sequel is equally as engaging and delightful. I’m not sure I could pick a favorite between the two.
Eating Lately
This recipe came printed on the tag that wrapped a bundle of chard in a CSA I was a member of many years and many states ago. It’s incredibly good. When it’s late summer, you’ve got a bumper crop of chard in the garden, and an evening where a quick meal is needed, this is the one you make and serve thirty minutes later.
Swiss Chard & Creamy Pasta
1 lb Swiss chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, chredded
8 oz fettuccine, cooked al dente
Salt & pepper to taste
Cook the fettuccine in salted boiling water until al dente. Strain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Wash the Swiss chard and rough chop it. Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Swiss chard, garlic and onion, cooking until the chard is wilted, 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes. Simmer until tomatoes have relaxed and everything is looking bubbly, 5-10 minutes. Add the milk and simmer another 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the burner off under the skillet and stir in the sour cream and parmesan cheese. Add pasta and a splash of pasta water and gently stir to combine. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Favorites Lately
For filling with salsa and sending home with a friend
For spinning, full of freshly washed greens (step out on the porch, first)
For burning in August & September
For keeping cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, or biscuits (set it out on the counter, or on an open shelf in the kitchen, with the goodies inside)
For perusing again. Revisit the ones you have
Thank you for this lovely post. And thank you for making your posts free to read. I have been following you for years and now that I’m on a fixed income it’s especially lovely to still be able to read your cozy missives that feel like newsy letters. ❤️
I really like these posts which find something of interest to briefly describe for each day of the week. I've tried to copy it, but then I get involved in the day's activities, and forget about it - it takes attention!