Tag: saraband
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Egret in the Spillway
Along the edge of Fair Oaks Park runs a spillway that has become a stream with its own habitat: a snowy egret wades hip-deep seeking fish or amphibians, its curved neck like a hunter’s arm poised with a spear at the ready.
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Catch and Release
It started with a black widow who crawled out of a rolled-up rug when we moved in with each other. We both felt sad that I killed it. Though we agreed it posed a threat, we shared remorse at its demise. No more vanquishing arachnids. Each who scampers across the floor, scrambles up from wall…
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Thistle
Soft down, spikes that blister fingers – I did not expect thistle sprigs in a vase with vintage roses, yet it does make a kind of sense: horticulture mixed with wildness to remind us about the thorn bred from the stem centuries ago. This floral contrast intrigues me, between variegated petals – delicate swirls of…
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Hand Mixer Cookies
My ex-wife took our KitchenAid mixer when she moved out, a gift for our wedding from long-time friends. Of all the things that were a shock to see gone from our apartment when I came home from work one night – a bookshelf, artwork, her dresser – nine years later, about two times the duration…
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Nail and Sock
How does a nail rise from the floor over the course of many days until it becomes a peril, the head no longer flush with wood able to tear holes in your socks when you shuffle along the hall between bedrooms in stocking feet? Perhaps the plank recalls itself a whole tree, before it was…
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C.P.E. Bach
“J.S. Bach’s most successful son”, the classical radio host introduced him with confidence, and I wondered: by what standard does he merit this distinction above three musician brothers whose extant works also bring joy? They all survived to be adults, more than can be said for many – including some of their siblings. And what…
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Everyday Saraband
Latkes for Hanukkah Dollops of grated potato ladled into a hot skillet slick with a sheen of cooking oil. No one can find the menorah, but it doesn’t seem to matter – my wife’s father lights a candle and recites a Hebrew prayer. Aunt Vi’s Cocoons A votive honoring Aunt Vi flickers on the kitchen…
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Little Messengers
Jasper toddles quickly down the hall in our second-floor apartment. He stops and listens to a sound: our neighbors’ kid below us, who also runs with stomping feet that send vibrations up the wall from how their steps pound the floorboards. He smiles before continuing his indoor sprint from room to room – a reply…
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Zinfandel Trail
Family Hike at a Preserve Grand vistas from Zinfandel Trail. J’s babble morphs into a coo that could be an expression of awe. Shifting his weight in the carrier, he eats a midmorning snack and looks behind him at his mom. He seems to like our family hikes. Back under the cover of woods, a…
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Keep a 6′ Distance
Shelter-in-Place Quarantine be damned, skateboarders are doing stunts at the park surrounded by a chain-link fence. Riding the rain-slicked, concrete basin on low-friction wheels, their new skill is to keep a six-foot distance from one another at all times. Vultures Cylinders of warm air lift off the reservoir, invisible but for a vulture colony riding…
From the Firefly Galaxy 