backyard transformation

i was feeling pretty off today until i went into the backyard to take photos of this pillowcase i had gotten my mom to buy me while she was in sweden this summer. (i sent desperate emails to her with maps of the locations of a particular chain store over there where she might find the coveted fabric. more on that in another post.)

while the pillowcase dancing a little on the line brightened my mood, even more transformative was my visit to the backyard. the yard always surprises me, both in its ability to make me happy, and in what i find there. francisco, our downstairs neighbor, has been adding little treasures to the yard (cacti, rose bushes, statues), watering, trimming and weeding. but i like how he also seems to surrender to our yard's wildness. he leaves the hose anywhere, leaves stacks of empty pots on their sides and lets the stray footballs and whiffle balls rest where they land. and then of course all the yards in the area are growing into each other at this time of the season. plants are climbing up over fences like crazy, taking over the yards next door.

it's such a little peaceful spot under our tree. the slight breeze, the dappled ground. the leaf canopy. all the colors. the neighbors make noises in their yards, hold gossip conferences on back steps, but it seems quiet under the tree. it reminds me of summers as a kid where you hear all these sounds in the background, but you and your friends are in your own world of play.

the tree is dripping with its sadly inedible fruit right now (though francisco says he's going to try to make jam out of it). there is something about fruit trees in the summer, so bursting and filled with the activity of bees, butterflies, birds and critters. thick with life. abundant for sure. i think i might need to live on an orchard soon.

as i walked around the yard i saw a honey bee rolling around in the coraly rose above and a monarch fluttering around. a piece of fallen cactus was catching water like a bowl.

i'm excited that soon our backyard community garden project will take hold for real as jen and bob will be back from their summer travels, and mati and heather and i are ready!