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Entry tags:
- death,
- life,
- me,
- spirituality
Observations, Reminisces, and Stati
I left work tonight in twilight at half past 19, GMT-4. The days, they wane, as they are wont to do at this point in the year. Despite this, my nose tells me that it's not Summer, not Fall. There hints of leaf mould in the air, whilst at the same time, my nose finds still the flowers of late Summer. My ears right now hear cicadas and crickets; again, Summer and Fall.
Some trees, mostly redbuds and poplars, are beginning to red and yellow respectively, and drop some of their leaves. They're both early this year due to the dry Summer. We had terrible rain and floods in late June. Aside from a few thunderstorms and a few days of light rain in August, that was it for precipitation here in this part of the Middle Atlantic this season.
I noticed that the mango groves along the Potomac didn't bear much fruit this year, i'm guessing the lack of rain made fruiting expensive for the trees. What fruit that did form was small, and did not ripen very well. The lychee also are bearing less, and softer, fruit this year. The crabapples are smaller, but a bit sweeter than usual. Jam this year should be really delicious. The crabapples should be ripe for harvest in the next couple of weeks.
Trees in my part of the continent won't generally start to change much for another couple of weeks. The leaves usually fall from a week or so before Halloween until about Labor Day. The deciduous trees will be fully bare by Thanksgiving here in the lower Middle-Atlantic States.
This year, i visited my father's grave not on his birthday, nor his deathday, nor his burial day. On each day, i had another social thing to do, and i went to each and enjoyed myself very much.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nadyalec's father died some years later on the the day mine was buried. I was fortunate to be able to have spent some time with Ghassan at his deathbed. I'm glad i did it; it was cathartic, if a bit trying. But then, what is joy without sorrow. I'm also glad to have been there for nadyalec, as sie was for me when my own father was ill. I remember both Thomas (my father) and Ghassan fondly, and i miss both dearly. Despite that, i find i've moved on enough to live well, but have very much not forgotten.
I have two grandparents still alive, both grandfathers. Gandpa (Mom's dad) is now 77 and has Alzheimers. He's moderately advanced. At this point, he's not always clear as to whom he is speaking, nor when it is. Last Thanksgiving, as we were leaving, he was chatting with my sister, but afraid of me. She looks much more like we did in high school than i do. In Grandpa's world, some of the time, it's sometime not before September 1986, but not after June of 1990. He doesn't always remember that Grandma died in January of 1994, 12 years almost to the day of her own mother's passing.
Dad's dad, whom i generally refer to as Dave, but call Granddad to his face, is doing well. He's now 79, and still running his lapidary shop in Cleveland. My sister and i are planning a trip up there in the coming weeks so as to introduce her son Gavin, currently 6.5 months old, to his great-grandfathers.
Oddly, my grandfathers knew each other before my parents met. My mother's father almost prevented her from marrying my father because of his dislike for my father's father. I know have more in common with Grandad than i know. I know Granddad only because Grandpa made me spend an hour a year with him when i was visiting up there. More on that another time.
Samhain approaches. It's my favourite holiday of the year, followed closely by Long Night/Yule. I'll be helping to lead the annual Samhain Service in memory of at my church again this year. I'm looking forward to that, and hope some of you will join us for that service if you're in, or find yourself in, the DC area Sunday 29 Oct. Child care and Sunday School are available for your children, if you have any.
The days are neither as warm, nor as long, as they were, as the steady march of time brings us yet again into the Fall of the year. Migrating birds, leaves of yellow and orange and red, Jack-o-lanterns, candy, tricks, treats, skeletons, and feasts of turkey and lasagna are some of the ways we observe and celebrate life during this part of the year. Sunday, October 29th, please join us as Gaia Circle presents UUCSS' annual Samhain Service, at which we remember, honor, and celebrate our beloved family, friends and ancestors who have gone before us.
Some trees, mostly redbuds and poplars, are beginning to red and yellow respectively, and drop some of their leaves. They're both early this year due to the dry Summer. We had terrible rain and floods in late June. Aside from a few thunderstorms and a few days of light rain in August, that was it for precipitation here in this part of the Middle Atlantic this season.
I noticed that the mango groves along the Potomac didn't bear much fruit this year, i'm guessing the lack of rain made fruiting expensive for the trees. What fruit that did form was small, and did not ripen very well. The lychee also are bearing less, and softer, fruit this year. The crabapples are smaller, but a bit sweeter than usual. Jam this year should be really delicious. The crabapples should be ripe for harvest in the next couple of weeks.
Trees in my part of the continent won't generally start to change much for another couple of weeks. The leaves usually fall from a week or so before Halloween until about Labor Day. The deciduous trees will be fully bare by Thanksgiving here in the lower Middle-Atlantic States.
This year, i visited my father's grave not on his birthday, nor his deathday, nor his burial day. On each day, i had another social thing to do, and i went to each and enjoyed myself very much.
nadyalec's father died some years later on the the day mine was buried. I was fortunate to be able to have spent some time with Ghassan at his deathbed. I'm glad i did it; it was cathartic, if a bit trying. But then, what is joy without sorrow. I'm also glad to have been there for nadyalec, as sie was for me when my own father was ill. I remember both Thomas (my father) and Ghassan fondly, and i miss both dearly. Despite that, i find i've moved on enough to live well, but have very much not forgotten.I have two grandparents still alive, both grandfathers. Gandpa (Mom's dad) is now 77 and has Alzheimers. He's moderately advanced. At this point, he's not always clear as to whom he is speaking, nor when it is. Last Thanksgiving, as we were leaving, he was chatting with my sister, but afraid of me. She looks much more like we did in high school than i do. In Grandpa's world, some of the time, it's sometime not before September 1986, but not after June of 1990. He doesn't always remember that Grandma died in January of 1994, 12 years almost to the day of her own mother's passing.
Dad's dad, whom i generally refer to as Dave, but call Granddad to his face, is doing well. He's now 79, and still running his lapidary shop in Cleveland. My sister and i are planning a trip up there in the coming weeks so as to introduce her son Gavin, currently 6.5 months old, to his great-grandfathers.
Oddly, my grandfathers knew each other before my parents met. My mother's father almost prevented her from marrying my father because of his dislike for my father's father. I know have more in common with Grandad than i know. I know Granddad only because Grandpa made me spend an hour a year with him when i was visiting up there. More on that another time.
Samhain approaches. It's my favourite holiday of the year, followed closely by Long Night/Yule. I'll be helping to lead the annual Samhain Service in memory of at my church again this year. I'm looking forward to that, and hope some of you will join us for that service if you're in, or find yourself in, the DC area Sunday 29 Oct. Child care and Sunday School are available for your children, if you have any.
The days are neither as warm, nor as long, as they were, as the steady march of time brings us yet again into the Fall of the year. Migrating birds, leaves of yellow and orange and red, Jack-o-lanterns, candy, tricks, treats, skeletons, and feasts of turkey and lasagna are some of the ways we observe and celebrate life during this part of the year. Sunday, October 29th, please join us as Gaia Circle presents UUCSS' annual Samhain Service, at which we remember, honor, and celebrate our beloved family, friends and ancestors who have gone before us.