Sunday, August 14, 2011

TAKING MY TIME

Silver-spotted Skipper on Ironweed.
It's a cloudy day here along the riverbank. The weather forecast calls for a 50-percent chance of showers this morning and 20-percent during the afternoon. Which is fine by me, even though it is a Sunday; we can use the rain. 

Earlier, when I went out to refill  the big seed feeder near the front deck, I realized that while I was making my early-morning rounds nearly two hours later than usual, the night was nevertheless just then giving way to dawn. Time moves on. The seasons turn. Autumn will be here a scant six weeks hence and we've already lost more than an hour-and-a-half of total daylight since summer's beginning back on June's solstice. Before you know it, we'll have carved our jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween, celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, and suddenly find ourselves ringing in a brand new year.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it an ironic paradox that as our bodies slow down, time speeds up?

But enough of such depressive ruminations! There's still plenty of this year ahead to enjoy, still a wealth of days and adventures to savor—from the delicious table fare of homegrown garden vegetables that actually taste like real food, to the visual delight of fields rich with goldenrod's bright dazzle and spattered with jeweled clumps of purple asters.

While the great wheel may turn inexorably, I intend to take my time.
———————

16 comments:

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

You express what I often feel - so beautifully. My DH often says, perhaps if you slow down, time will too.

Think I will join you in 'taking my time', but right now I'm late to go out shopping for a new washer and dryer ... DH is waiting by the car ... Just have to turn on the dishwasher ... Oh and I have to write a note in my agenda ... :)

Ho hum ... will (can) I ever learn?

ellen abbott said...

Not just you. Though I'm happy for August to get a move on. This has been such a hot dry brutal summer.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Oh yes, Grizz, the nights are drawing in as they say here. And I would also agree that the older one gets the faster time goes.

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ and happy Sunday! We are getting much needed rain - 2 to 4 inches expected between today and tomorrow.
And yes, time does speed up as we elders slow down. Here's to a slow, relaxing day.
Love Gail
peace.....

p.s. please say a prayer for our Gracie-Blue -we are taking her to the emergency Vet -she is not well. :-(

KGMom said...

The sense of the year speeding up is mirrored in one's life pattern.
I always attributed it to the force of gravity--you know, you pick up speed when you are over the hump, and heading downhill.
I do not rue the shortening days--fall and winter are my favorite seasons.

Grizz………… said...

Bonnie…

Don't know whether your DH is right or not about time slowing down is you do—but I do know that in trying to do it all, take everything in and grab the whole pie, you miss almost everything that matters. Better to do fewer things well than a lot halfway…that's the art in ambling and savoring.

Grizz………… said...

Ellen…

Good to hear. It's cooled off here, so I'm currently okay with August meandering along…but I'd had more than enough of July when it disappeared in the rearview mirror.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

I like that phrase, "the nights are drawing in." That's exactly how they feel as the sun wanes and days shorten, and darkness comes creeping in earlier and earlier.

I was afraid you'd second my observation that time speeds up as we grow older…

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Who ya calling an elder! Not me or youurself, surely! (Just because you had a BIRTHDAY!) Elderhood is for OLD people. We are not OLD people! Why, I'm way too young to qualify for even Apprentice-Geezership. And you're merely a well-seasoned maiden.

Seriously…let me know about your dog. I hope all turns out well.

Grizz………… said...

KGMom…

You might have something in a gravity theory. After all, when you can no longer win the battle against gravity you become horizontal—which is like the launch position for the Big Sleep. Kinda makes you wonder who builds all those tempting recliners…some furniture company or the forces of darkness?

I like fall and winter, too—though spring is my favorite season. But I like late-summer for all the good eats.

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ - our young neighbor refers to me and Skipp as "the elders" because comparatively, we actually are!! :-) And yes, my/our birthday is fast approaching - August 29th!!

Our Gracie is coming along. She has a bacteria and whip worm. SHeis on medicine for the bacteria and needs a different heart worm medicine for the whip worm which we ordered. She is slowly healing. Fingers crossed.
Love to you
Gail
peace.....

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

Glad to hear Gracie-Blue got diagnosed at the vet's, has her meds, and is on the road to recovery. That's one worry taken care of—yea!

Huh, didn't realize your birthday is just two days before my daughter's. And I'll bet you wrote the date in your recent post, didn't you? Which just goes to show you that my reading retention is not always switched on…though it could be that elder thing you keep insisting on calling us. ;-D

Carolyn H said...

Griz: I love silver-spotted skippers. i really don't know why.

And yes, boy, does time speed up when we get older. When I was a kid summers lasted forEVer! Now, it's almost fall and I never got my bathing suit out of storage. (Probably just as well)

Grizz………… said...

Carolyn…

Thanks to the silver-spots which I see regularly in the yard and elsewhere, I'm becoming something of a fan of skippers—though my identification skills need work. But they're just neat, pretty, and tough sometimes to photograph.

Hey, I remember those endless summers of youth, too—days that were soooo long, weeks that crawled along, months that almost endured forever. How can simply growing up and growing older change time's passage?

Wanda..... said...

I know my husband would agree that trash/recycling day and the Sunday morning paper time come around awfully quick these days! Long walks in the woods slow time down a bit for me!

Grizz………… said...

Wanda…

Heading for the hills and woods has always been my curative, too…the place where I found doctor, church, school, entertainment, friend, home—a one-stop retreat for whatever ailed me. The problem is that unlike such visits I once made during the days of my youth, now I can't leave the other world entirely behind. I bring my own reality, my own reminders and limitations—my own awareness—along. Perhaps this means I've somewhere along the line traded the earth rhythm of light and season for the manmade constraints of calendar and clock. If so, it is my own fault.