Further Balm

[rejectomorph]

This afternoon I finally saw a bee in the yard. The bee saw me, too, and had to inspect me closely, which was a bit distressing, but nothing bad came of it. There were other insects flying about as well, and the daddy long legs spiders have begun spinning their webs to trap them. Still other insects were probably being caught on the wing by the abundant birds who sang all the balmy afternoon, but if so their devouring made no apparent dent in the population of them. By all appearances spring is well underway, and it made the early arrival of daylight saving time seem not so inappropriate this year. It might as well be April.

Having shopped on Friday I had no occasion to leave home all day, but I must admit that despite the free time I accomplished little. I blame the television, which presented me with a string of irresistible movies on which I squandered much of the day. I'll make up for it tonight, as the local PBS affiliates are not displaying any shows in which English people slaughter one another. That will give me a chance to deal with the e-mail I haven't yet gotten around to, but which I now know how to send— as long as I'm willing to let Thudderbird clog up the computer for an hour or two.

To my delight, the frog population has rebounded quite nicely and the gloaming rang with their croaks. The sound of them brings the woods and fields alive, and the music will probably last for hours on this improbably mild evening. Even this late there is barely a hint of chill in the air. I'm no longer wondering why the geese and other waterfowl departed in such large numbers so early this year. They must indeed have known what was coming.

While I surely regret the loss of our winter (and will doubtlessly regret it even more when the water restrictions are put in place, and yet more when I get the bills for what little water I'll be able to use) I must admit to enjoying this mildness. The windows are open most of the day, the house airs out, both day and night smell of growing things, and I don't have to put the thermostat up to avoid a chill when I take a shower. The premature spring could be much improved by an occasional rain storm, and it would be nice if this mildness could last through May, but I fear that summer will arrive early bringing torrid days and sultry nights, and month after month of drought. Well, one can't have everything, and this something is better than what we're apt to get as the year advances. I'll enjoy it while I may.




Sunday Verse

Filling Station

by Elizabeth Bishop


Oh, but it is dirty!
—this little filling station,
oil-soaked, oil-permeated
to a disturbing, over-all
black translucency.
Be careful with that match!

Father wears a dirty,
oil-soaked monkey suit
that cuts him under the arms,
and several quick and saucy
and greasy sons assist him
(it's a family filling station),
all quite thoroughly dirty.

Do they live in the station?
It has a cement porch
behind the pumps, and on it
a set of crushed and grease-
impregnated wickerwork;
on the wicker sofa
a dirty dog, quite comfy.

Some comic books provide
the only note of color—
of certain color. They lie
upon a big dim doily
draping a taboret
(part of the set), beside
a big hirsute begonia.

Why the extraneous plant?
Why the taboret?
Why, oh why, the doily?
(Embroidered in daisy stitch
with marguerites, I think,
and heavy with gray crochet.)

Somebody embroidered the doily.
Somebody waters the plant,
or oils it, maybe. Somebody
arranges the rows of cans
so that they softly say:
ESSO–SO–SO–SO
to high-strung automobiles.
Somebody loves us all.

Comments

[rejectomorph]

I can't remember a single one of the movies I watched, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed them while they were on. That happens more and more of late. My movie-watching personality won't tell the rest of us what it saw.

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

It's funny about movies. For most of my life, I adored them, read reviews (have probably told you I bought compendia of Pauline Kael and read and reread them for the pleasure of her writing, without having seen most of the films), kept up with the news of what was coming out. In the last 15 years or so though, I've almost lost interest. I'll watch oldies online or catch the occasional Marvel cgi-fest at Amazon, but otherwise? Nah.

Not long ago I rewatched that old chestnut, Three Coins in the Fountain, and realized with some startlement that having seen that on Saturday Night at the Movies when I was a kid explains my entire adult love affair with Italian. Weird that I hadn't figured it out before!

[rejectomorph]

I believe I saw that movie in a theater, but I can't remember which one, and I don't really remember anything about the movie itself. I do recall hearing the title song on the radio frequently for a few months.