“To this day, color is an enormous delight to me. It means experience, adventure of all kinds.”
I apologize for being missing. Tuesday was medical day. I now have the cleanest teeth. From there I went to a drop in medical center to have my leg checked. It was a fiasco. I left after an hour having seen no one. I don’t want to go into it, but the woman at the counter is lucky. I wanted to unleash a firestorm of sarcasm when she asked me what I wanted. My first instinct was to say to check the comfort of the stairs and what is on TV but I bit my tongue instead. It bled profusely. I left to go down cape to Fontaine in Harwich. It was perfect. My leg has nothing broken, but it will take weeks to heal. I’m relieved. It was late afternoon by the time I got home.
Today is an ugly day. It is chilly, and it will rain. I have been so busy of late my poor sloth is muttering to herself. My dogs wonder who I am. Jack ignores me except when I give him his treats. My only free day is Saturday.
The cardinal couple is still around. They are building a nest. I saw the male with a tiny stick in his mouth. This morning I noticed two mourning doves lying in the front garden. A blue jay flew by. What a lovely way to start the day.
One of my first memories is an Easter Sunday when I was 3. We lived in an apartment complex in South Boston. I was wearing my Easter clothes and was outside when one of our neighbors wanted to take a picture. I remember being a bit shy about it, not usual for me, and I can see the shyness in the tilt of my head, and the way I am standing. The picture is black and white, but I remember my coat was blue. It had white buttons. I am also wearing patent leather shoes with a strap, white ankle socks, a round hat and white gloves. I don’t think I have ever been fancier.
When I was in high school, I had a teacher who alternated between two suits. We made fun of her and decided one was her summer-spring outfit while the other was fall-winter. I have become that teacher. I have two dresses, one for winter and another for spring. They are both flowered. If I added clunky, laced black shoes, I could be my grandmother.
I have a concert this afternoon at a new place. It is still Beach Boys’ music month. I will wear a Hawaiian shirt, a straw hat I bought in Marrakech and some colorful leis. I figure this gloomy day needs a touch of color.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
May 14, 2026 at 12:03 pm
We have a rare visitor to our bird feeders. It is a great spotted woodpecker. We have seen it on two successive mornings, so I hope it will continue to feed here.
May 14, 2026 at 8:05 pm
Peter,
I get downy woodpeckers. They are enormous birds and can eat my feeders clean. I ove the golf finches and the chickadees.
May 14, 2026 at 8:32 pm
The Earth breathes…. Sometimes it has a runny nose
The birds live in the cut
I wrote this poem decades ago for the boys down the road who were out with a BB gun. They never shot at a bird again.
***
The Little House That Sways In The Wind
I know you don’t know me but I am your friend
I live behind your house,
In the little house that sways in the wind.
I remember the day when you first came to stay
At the house on the corner of fifteenth and main.
I sang you my song and fluffed up my fluff
To show you I’m little but I’m very tough.
I know you don’t know me but I am your friend
I live in the little house that sways in the wind.
I watched as you played when the weather was nice
And as the snow covered the ground once or twice.
I laughed as you ran like a cat from the rain
And was sad when you fell, crying in pain.
I know you don’t know me but I am your friend
I live in the little house that sways in the wind.
I see you each day that you set off to school
And welcome you back in the mid-afternoon.
I look for you putting the seed out to share
And sing my song clearly so you’ll know I’m there.
I know you don’t know me but I am your friend
I live behind your house,
In the little house that sways in the wind.
May 14, 2026 at 9:35 pm
Beto,
I used to have several branches I could reach from my deck. I had some bird houses on those trees and several feeders on the branches. I used different seeds to attack different birds. Over time many of the branches have fallen off. I still have feeders but only a few of them, and they hang on parts of the same branch. I love to sit on the deck and watch the birds zoom into the feeders. I love your poem. I love the idea that the birds watch me too!!