Postcards from Ragnarok (part 4) − 7 May, 2008
Continued from yesterday's post.
My wife spends a lot of time doing landscaping. I help out by drinking a lot of coffee and staying out of the way (at least the coffee grounds go in the compost bin, hey).
She has spent a lot of time finding native Florida plants, especially those which can survive under dry conditions. This time of year in Florida is generally a nightmare: there's almost always a drought, and that leads to wildfires.
Last year, it was so smoky in the last few weeks of school that I remember driving to work with the visibility reduced to just a few dozen yards.
Anyway, here are some of the highlights -- the ones in bloom right now. Some are native, some are not. Many of the native Florida plants have already finished blooming (Spring really begins here in late February).
c08 = Salvinia
c11 = Amaryllis
c13 = (Unknown)
c14 = Coral Vine
c16 = Columbine
c26 = Duranta
I have to hurry up with this post. The past two evenings, realtors have come by to show the house. That, I do not mind, even though we have to "evacuate" with the dogs. I love this place, but I know it's time to move on. I just hope whoever ends up with it takes care of it and treats it well.
In the real Ragnarok, the world didn't actually end. The fire giant Surtr burned the world, all except for one area -- Hoddmimir's Forest. The world rises again, green and cured of all afflictions. The sons of Odin and Thor lead the world into what you might call a silver age.
Looks like my golden age is over.
And silver? I see more of it, every day:
in my hair.
Comments:
peahayes (May 7, 2008. 11:10pm)
You have a few things in common with my husband. He "stays out of the way", too, but he appreciates my gardening work, as you appreciate your wife's. And at the tender age of 37, my husband's seeing some silver too. But the two of you part ways at the coffee boundary. Don't say your golden age is over. It is too sad, and I bet it is not true.
intrepideddie (May 8, 2008. 01:35am)
There you go, Bruce. Your Ragnarok analogy could be spot on: you're leaving behind (burning) your world, but moving on to something better -- a fresh start that can go in any direction you want it to. Yeah, this is why my wife and I suffer from wanderlust -- and we've been here 3 years now, so we're starting to itch.
bmccosar (May 8, 2008. 08:31pm)
Maybe I used to be that way, and more flexible. Gainesville is a shadow version of the Hotel California -- "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." I came here for graduate school in 1992. Flash forward 16 years, and here I am, still. I think in Valhalla they fight the same battle every day, party hard that night, then wake up and repeat the exact same battle the next day. You're right -- there's nowhere to go but the horizon.