Whistling Winds

This has been the driest and hottest July on record for our state, and now that August is here, the feel of a cold breeze this morning felt like a delightful and welcome change. It felt like an early September this morning, the kind that makes you reach for that sweater you put away last autumn.
Last night I was enjoying a stroll through our backyard when I heard our neighbour Mark calling across the fence to our dog Yara and me. It turned out he wanted to hand me a bag of golden plums a friend of his had extras of in his orchard.The hot, dry summer has made all fruit and vegetables here grow abundantly, as Mark and I both commented on our own gardens. Mark and his wife of 43 years have lived next door from us since we moved to this house 26 years ago. They raised 4 children, we all saw grow up and get married, and they now have 13 grandchildren and another one on the way. Mark's wife, Karen, who is 62, was diagnosed with bone cancer 5 years ago, and has been battling this devastating disease ever since. Mark is out early every morning getting his bicycle ready to ride the 3 miles to work. I believe it really helps with the stress of his wife's illness, which is progressively getting more debilitating. She is now in a wheelchair. I asked how she was doing, and he said the doctors were getting ready to update her medicines, since the current generation had run its course in stalling the cancer. It sounded like the pain medicines too needed an upgrade. I am so glad Karen and Mark have such great children, and that their children live close enough that they can visit on a regular basis, so that the grandchildren too can bring a welcome boost of hope and energy. Talking to him over the fence so casually about such grave matters made me grateful we live in such a friendly neighbourhood where people feel comfortable enough to check each other's mail and water each others plants when out of town, and to stop by to borrow a cup of milk , sugar or flour when out of these while making a recipe or dinner. I thought of my friend Catherine, whose long time and former boyfriend bravely battled bone cancer for 10 years, until he finally succumbed to the disease at age 50 a couple of years ago, leaving behind a young wife and 5 year old daughter. At least Karen has the satisfaction of having lived a full life, having celebrated a long marriage, having raised and see marry all four of her children, and now enjoying a large troupe of grand kids. Life seems so random at times. Some people live to be a hundred, others never make it to adulthood, or die as children. You have to enjoy every sunrise. That is one of the things I really enjoy about living in a country setting. I love the feel of being close to nature, to its rhythm and wisdom, and  its acceptance of life as it unfolds on good and bad days. As humans we tend to think we are the only creatures on this planet, and we forget we are surrounded by animals, plant, sky, wind. We get so absorbed in our own importance that we forget we are part of a larger system, a larger mystery. Nature has a way of reminding us of that, as we experience here with the enormous wild fires in California right now, and the terrible drought in Texas, the very strange heat here this summer, and that is just in our own backyard. Being close to nature keeps me calm, realizing this planet is billions of years old, and that whatever is coming its way, no matter how dire things may get, it and humanity will probably get through the upheaval one way or another. I do have to admit the climate globally is a bit oppressive, also politically, and that too, I hope will pass and leave hope for our children and their children.
My husband and son believe the universe is a random sequence of events, and that there is no such thing as destiny, human or otherwise. I am not so convinced all matters human or otherwise are just an accident that evolved over time into what we now see or perceive as reality. I am thinking of the pictures I took this morning of a very dedicated bee that fearlessly dove into a large Morning Glory's narrow heart and it was a tight fit, but like an expert spelunker she manged to get in there without tearing up her wings or legs. That confidence and determination is what life is all about, whether you are a bee or whether you are me taking the picture. I heard Mark's footsteps echo away as he walked back to his house, and I walked past our greenhouse back to our house, where my husband and son were eagerly awaiting me finishing the BBQ. pepper jack burgers I had started to cook for dinner.
Joni Mitchell has a song called " Both Sides , Now", where she has a line that says " Well something
's lost, but something's gained in living every day". It felt that way tonight, in a very real and concrete way.
.Maybe that is one good thing coming out of this global climate change we have going on. Whether we are next door neighbours or live half a planet away, the weather makes us relate, at least on that level, as if we were we all living next door.