in the yard

The House of Things You’ve Known

Rae Spencer12 Comments

You must enter the dream
Like a rose petal unfolding
At midnight
Making no sound
And appearing not to move

The journey that is not a journey
Begins and ends on a rose petal
Unfolding

The rose has grown wild
Against a broken trellis
And an abandoned house
That sags with absence
This dream place would be barren

But for the rose
Petal unfolding
Grown wild against silence

Which you cannot break
Even if you could be heard
And what you will not say
Is all that remains of this house
The house of things you’ve known

The rose petal
Unfolding at midnight
Is why you have come

Not the broken window
Which allows time to seep
In and out of absence
Curling over and through
And past

You must exit the dream
You have seen enough
Been enough alone

Unable to start or end
The journey that is not a journey
While you were dreaming
The rose petal unfolded
Though neither of you moved

Another Summer Video

Rae SpencerLeave a comment

I completely missed a beautiful morning, and now the sky is growling and gray. It’s a perfect afternoon for a new book and an old video. Here’s a luna moth caterpillar getting ready for winter:

Reposting a Summer Video

Rae Spencer5 Comments

Today was all thunder and rain in the yard, complete with torn petals and ankle-deep mud and drenched birds. Tomorrow threatens to bring more of the same. In protest, I’m reposting one of my favorite summer videos:

New Flowers in the Yard

Rae Spencer5 Comments

Buy two, get one free at the garden store! I’m delighted with our new speedwell, coneflower, and phlox.

Last week’s daisies are thriving, drawing new pollinators into the yard. I would love some help identifying this fly. Or is it a bee? Maybe some kind of wasp? Any ideas?

Doves

Rae Spencer6 Comments

There’s a family of doves in our front flower bed. Two fledglings, with two tired parents, spent yesterday and today following patches of sun through the irises. I’ve enjoyed watching them, and so have the cats.