On warm days, Zip is heat-sensitive; he sleeps under a chair.
White Rose
The Imperious hens on our chairs
We have a small import just down the road. We walked together and watched the planes take off and land. I’d love to take a ride one day.
It’s a gorgeous day, and I’ve already been out sniffing around with my camera. I’m sharing some mid-day photos because they are unique and should be seen in honor of Spring, which is finally here. You’ll recognize the African Violets and the white roses.
Otherwise, you’re on your own; I love the flowers and don’t care how they are spelled or what they are called.
I took many photos this morning, and I like many of them, so I want to put some up before they get lost in the mirror.
You might also recognize the plant once called The Wandering Jew, a name sometimes applied to me before it was deemed anti-Semitic. I can’t pronounce or spell the socially and politically correct name, and no, I’m not really looking to learn it.
Sorry, Correction Squad. You have to hunt elsewhere for your snacks.
Color and light will be up as usual at the end of my workday.
Sarah’s choice for Tuesday’s Food Pantry Request is Pampers Aqua Pure Sensitive Baby Wipes, 99 % Flip=Top Packs (336 Wipes Total), $17.07.
Some goods are a choice, but if you are a mother or father down on their luck, baby wipes are not an option. There has to be some, even if it means foregoing some food. The Cambridge Pantry is trying to keep them in stock, which can be challenging.
Knowing that babies and children will get the food and care they need is a tremendous and unique pleasure. It’s a gift to those who give, at least to me.
This week, I’ve been reading about St. Therese, also known as “The Little Flower.” I’m not a Catholic or a Christian, but I see the pantry work as spiritual, open for anyone with a heart. This is the kind of work she did.
“We have only this life to live by faith,” wrote St. Terese, “it is true I am not always faithful, but I never lose courage.” Every time I get discouraged, I read that line. None of us are always faithful to our best ambitions, but the real heroes never quit or lose courage.
I won’t quit, either.
(Food Pantry Volunteer
I’m learning that the white rose was central to Terese’s missionary work and work for the needy: ” The beautiful white rose should blossom in the soul of each one of us. The fragrance of its snow-white petals should ever be wafted heavenwards.”
I went to the Cambridge Flower Shop this morning and asked Sue if she had any white roses. She sold me three, and I understood what Terese meant as I looked at them. They are pure and beautiful, and they blossom in my soul. They lift me up.
St. Therese died of tuberculosis on September 20, 1897. Her last words were, “My God, I love you.” She was 24. I am reading her autobiography, “Story Of A Soul.” The Army of Good is doing the work for which she became famous. Her writing is food for my soul.
This morning, I bought three packages of baby wipes. I’m impressed by the 336 wipes. I do this for the mothers, fathers, and babies, but I also do it for myself. You can see them and buy them here.
The Cambridge Pantry Wish List includes ten items. All of them are for things not donated or given to them by different sources, in addition to the Regional Food Bank.
These are badly needed and much-wanted items. You can browse the Wish List, which is updated daily, here and choose other items if you wish.
If you send food or supplies from other sources, the correct address is Sarah Harrington, 24 E. Main Street, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
The food pantry’s new website is here.
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Bud has been hovering over a newly discovered mouse hold all morning. Some mouse is about to have a bad experience; perhaps it’s the last. I can’t say I have evolved to feel bad for the mice; they can be a plague on and in a farmhouse. Still, they are cute and mean no harm. Being on a farm does bring out a fatalism in me.
Barn cats and mice have a glorious, if one-way, history.
Nature designated mice as food for a lot of animals, from owls to hawks to coyotes, cats, crows, and even bears. For all of his curiosity and affection, Zip is a serious barn cat. He does his job, just like I do.
Zip has been hovering over two different mouse holes for hours. He doesn’t quit.
I’m discovering the beauty of succulent plants. I’m just beginning to realize the photo possibilities in the dozens of succulent plants Maria has placed around the windowsills. I took this photo this morning; it is beautiful in a new way, a new step in my photography.
Zip found a mouse held by the back porch and camped there for hours.
Maria took a lovely photo of Zinnia and Bud sleeping by the wood stove last night.
Their friendship is a beautiful thing. Maria also found my most cherished possession, a silver money clip with a Mary Oliver poem. I’ve carried it daily since we married ten years ago. I thought I lost it yesterday, and it was devastating for me.
She found it this morning in the garbage, thrown out with a pharmacy bag for insulin. And yes, she sold all of the five Bedlam Farm Books offered yesterday.
It’s a good day already.
Zip has been patiently waiting for the mouse living in this hole to emerge. He’s been sitting there for hours, and I’m betting on Zip.
The friendship between Zinnia and Bud is beautiful, and I am never tired of seeing them together. Last night, they slept back to back before the wood stove fire. When he first arrived, Zinnia was excellent to Bud, a sick and battered wreck. She taught him how to live on the farm.
