Eight years later.
Leaving the California wildfires behind (the house was OK), I flew back to Boston last Friday, was picked up by my daughter and spent the next couple of days with her in Brookline. After a grueling semester at Boston University working full time and attending classes towards her Scorpio Master's in forensics, she's still my little girl, but different. Right now she seems to have the world by the tail, but she's had to work hard for it. The next couple of days was spent with Dad in Framingham. Yesterday he got his head and back scratched, a pedicure, and his shins, forearms and face massaged with olive oil. It's great for the skin. When I left for western Massachusetts in the afternoon he was looking pretty shiny. I will be returning this evening. On the way out I tried to connect Andy while driving down the pike, stopping at his place in Chicopee, checking his favorite local hang-out and even driving by his Mom's, calling him at each step of the way trying to find that boy. I finally took a chance and called his Mom's directly, and he answered. Score. He and his girlfriend Michelle were on their way out the door for a five day vacation in New Hampshire. He stopped by the office for a few minutes and I had him stick his index finger out. I touched it and said, "There, we connected," and after a short visit, off they went. I'll still be here when they get back. Yours truly has Venus in Cancer, love of family. Can you tell? One of the main orders of business in returning this summer is to turn over Dad's rental in western Mass. He's 83 and an hour and a half away. It turns out that I'm closer to western Mass in Santa Cruz than he is in Framingham, just not as the crow flies. It's part of the coast to coast shuttle. We will be returning to Santa Cruz on August 17th, so for those who are interested, I am currently back and will be for the next month or so. The 'to-do' for the property is a long one, and I do plan to be working on charts but before setting shoulder to the wheel, I generally like to go visit Gail and check up on her.
Everything was planted eight years ago this July when she passed. The echinacea (seen just below the stone in the photo) was one of our special bonds. The buds are just starting to form since we're still early in the season. It seems to be taking over much of the head of the grave. The red flowers were brought by someone last year and, although artificial, have held up well. I did some weeding on the grave while there. In the herbal tradition, weeding means getting rid of the grass. The rest are welcome. If you know how, these little green Gaias help you get better in various ways.
Our friend Martha (of Bob and Martha fame. They are affectionately know as 'The' Bob and Martha) obtained and planted the Blazing Star which we placed around the sundial in the middle. It's doing well, which is great because it's really a woodland plant and doesn't like being disturbed or out in the open. You can see in the picture below how all the plants lean toward the left, which is south, and the direction the Sun is in during the height of the afternoon. Her grave lies at the northern end of the cemetery.
In the year after Gail passed, the same plants you see here were mowed down the first time the scheduled service came through. It was raining when I first discovered it and naturally, given the tenderness of the situation, it cut deeply. At my friend's Bob suggestion (well, it was sort of a suggestion. When he and Martha came up to visit, his Leo energy just took over and started doing it...) we later buried stones at the four corners of the grave so that they stood up and formed a protective perimeter. As you can see, problem solved. Everything came back and has done very well indeed. When I first discovered that they had been leveled I was naturally ripped up (why, why, why???), but as I returned home that afternoon I stopped on the only spot in Ashfield I had ever found where my cell phone was able to receive a signal. It's on the top of this little hill, and, somewhere out there in the distance, there's a tower that had a clear shot through to this spot. As I often did, I stopped to make some calls. As I crowned the top of the hill, this beautiful rainbow filled the sky, across the the vast vista laid out before me. Not down there, Donnie. I'm up here. I got the message. Still, I return whenever I am back, to help tend a little of Gailie's earthly garden. For those of you who are into it, you can see the faces of the tree spirits watching over her resting place behind the grave. Gailie, as always, is wearing one of her flower dresses, supplying beauty, herbal wisdom and sustenance for any who might be in need. I would just like to thank all of the many people who have helped me get from there to here. We live in interesting times. Love and Blessings to all- ~Don | ||||
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