Thursday, December 31, 2009

Honoring the Urge

No, not that urge, I mean the urge to make sense out of tempus fugiting. Here we are on the last day of the year and of the decade, so naturally there's that urge to recap and reassess the most important events, deaths, accomplishments, weather and meals. I am not so foolish that I would make a stab at any of that stuff as it's far beyond my power to approach.


An old painting of the Four Elements, when the world was younger and more symmetrically ordered.


Yes, I did think about it and what got me started on this was, of course, all the stories on TV, online and in the newspapers. Particularly, an item in today's New York Times was pretty fascinating. Called "Documenting the Decade", it's a series of photos sent in by Times readers and arranged by year during the '00s. They are beautiful, horrific and moving photos that are well worth a look.

The '00s was plainly a really bad decade. Some people are calling it the Decade From Hell. First off, it should be obvious that any decade that begins with the Supremes having to decide who won the 2000 presidential election does not look to have a good conclusion. I remember how dazed and numb I felt when waiting for the outcome to finally be settled, as in: this bad movie can't be happening in our country. But when they awarded the presidency to Georgie Boy, I had no idea of the horrendous developments and excruciating emotions to follow.

So here's where the list of events, deaths, etc. should appear. Instead, I'm going to post some pictures of my garden taken this past June when all was just lovely, not too overgrown, not bug eaten, not too wet or too dry and I thought it would stay that way forever - just like I thought all was well as we hit the new millenium before the world fell apart.



A new blue birdbath and a stone path toward an overgrown fish pond.




Clematis blooming among the peonies and meadow rue - a happier time of year.



A planting at its peak this early summer by the garden path.



The boys looking very serious and wondering what comes next.



As you contemplate the garden, I hope you will breathe deeply, contemplate the eternal, and feel the power of a wonderful new year enveloping you under the light of the blue moon as Elvis croons that tune in your mind's ear.

Happy New Year one and all!

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