Driving

Don't Do That
Stephen Dunn
Published in the New Yorker Jun 8 2009

It was bring-your-own if you wanted anything
hard, so I brought Johnnie Walker Red
along with some resentment I’d held in
for a few weeks, which was not helped
by the sight of little nameless things
pierced with toothpicks on the tables,
or by talk that promised to be nothing
if not small. But I’d consented to come,
and I knew what part of the house
their animals would be sequestered,
whose company I loved. What else can I say,

except that old retainer of slights and wrongs,
that bad boy I hadn’t quite outgrown—
I’d brought him along, too. I was out
to cultivate a mood. My hosts greeted me,
but did not ask about my soul, which was when
I was invited by Johnnie Walker Red
to find the right kind of glass, and pour.
I toasted the air. I said hello to the wall,
then walked past a group of women
dressed to be seen, undressing them
one by one, and went up the stairs to where

the Rottweilers were, Rosie and Tom,
and got down with them on all fours.
They licked the face I offered them,
and I proceeded to slick back my hair
with their saliva, and before long
I felt like a wild thing, ready to mess up
the party, scarf the hors d’oeuvres.
But the dogs said, No, don’t do that,
calm down, after a while they open the door
and let you out, they pet your head, and everything
you might have held against them is gone,
and you’re good friends again. Stay, they said.




Sherman Alexie
Survivorman
New Yorker June 8 2009

Here’s a fact: Some people want to live more
Than others do. Some can withstand any horror

While others will easily surrender
To thirst, hunger, and extremes of weather.

In Utah, one man carried another
Man on his back like a conjoined brother

And crossed twenty-five miles of desert
To safety. Can you imagine the hurt?

Do you think you could be that good and strong?
Yes, yes, you think, but you’re probably wrong.

The bikes in our garage. You can't seen the 8 bikes that are still in boxes. Is it just me, or does this seem excessive?

June

Summer is here, with asperagus, rhubarb and the annuals in the garden fighting the eternal battle with the slugs. Goldfinches are at the feeder and the canoe is in the lake. It's all good.

Spring

Finally, Spring appears to have arrived.






This asperagus is like 3 feet tall

March pictures

Um. March is supposed to be springtime here.

Moving in

I know, but really, I've been crazy busy. Here's pictures of the new house, if you're interested.


Front of the house from the street


Garden from the front door



Living room from the front door



Kitchen from front foyer




Dining room from the living room and kitchen from the dining room



Master bedroom. There's two more bedrooms, but they aren't much to look at, especially since they're full of boxes, mainly


Backyard from dining room. This feeder brings TONS of birds



Lake out the back door on a foggy morning.

There's more, but it's too clutter with boxes to show off.