I’m locked out of my feelings (side effect: emotional blunting), and I still have woods-taming feelings. The connections are buried. It also takes 15 muscles to smile and that often feels effortful; other times my face muscles spring up of their own accord like a plant greeting the sun.
Fruit mystery
My awesome housemate in Dublin used to make stewed fruit every morning on her 50’s stove. I finally get it. Parfaits.
Ingredients:
Frozen fruit (e.g., blueberries, pitted cherries)
Fresh fruit (e.g., strawberries, apples, pears, bananas)
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Preheat the oven/toaster oven to 400 degrees F. (204 degrees C.)
Halve or dice any larger fruits, and lay cut-side-down on the foil.
Bake for 25-30min. The steam from the frozen fruit prevents it from burning.
The blueberries will produce a purple syrup which is great in yogurt or for mixing a drink (e.g., lime seltzer and blueberry syrup mocktail).
Poem corner
Ebullient leaps Two behemoth bushes gnaw at the periphery. Crowns of leggy limbs. I love their wild truculence with reverence and pruning shears. A cloud of pollen shakes free, rushes up my nose, obscures all. When found, you're conjuring worlds in the woods. With the jubilant abandon of one who will also throw their favorite stuffed animal against the ceiling (whump), which will crash onto a shelf of fragile things (tinkle, heavy roll, heavy roll). –And who did I think I was to trust a shelf of fragile things? That's on me. My stuffed alligator leapt aloft under a gazebo at your age –on a damp, turbulent day like today, one that douses and alights possibilities. He tuned out rebukes from a nearby teacher. (10, “okay, 20 times.”), landed higher around 12 —suspended from an exposed nail— and fell at the feet of a friendly audience. He acquired a hole, which I deserved. He flew many other times; I liked the snow- crunch of beans midair and the idea of something you love coming back to you.
Music corner
Songs I’ve been into:
And here’s a fun one, with magical realism themes (which I’m a sucker for) and lovable earnestness.
Maybe you know The Strokes. They came out with a 2020 album.
You may know that Eddie Vedder is the lead singer in Pearl Jam. He made a sad album of all ukulele songs. It’s haunting and lovely.
Share this post