All posts by Helen C

This is what we live for


The garden is getting lush — peonies, sweet william and foxglove are out. I planted a bunch of stuff on Sunday. Luckily the gray weather stayed one extra day to give everything a chance to get better established.

Yesterday we met my violin teacher and her husband, Ashley and Damir, for a walk at Dewey’s. The idea was to introduce their dog and Cammy so that we could dogsit Pancho next week. It seemed like a good idea, but Cammy was completely uncooperative. I was sad and embarrassed that she snapped at poor little Pancho. He was quite brave.

It was hard to stay mad at Cammy today because she’s quite sick — probably from eating something completely unsavory at Dewey’s last night. She woke us up at 3 AM and made further sleep impossible. I watched her closely all day and finally called the vet at 3 PM. I’m sure he thinks I’m a nut for worrying about my dog so much, but it also keeps him in business. She’s still quite unhappy, but she’s got some meds that seem to be helping with her “Garbage Gut”.

Apart from the dog fiasco, we had a nice evening with Ashley and Damir. They’re a sweet and very talented couple, but I’m afraid they will not want to stay in Vermont too much longer. It’s not an easy place to be young–and the opportunities to play serious music here are somewhat limited. I don’t think I could have lived here when I was in my twenties. It’s exactly what I need now, but I wouldn’t trade any of the other places I’ve been to have gotten here any sooner. If they move on, I will miss them — especially Ashley because she is such a good teacher — but I’m sure they’ll do well wherever life takes them.

Tonight was Dave’s Marshland Farm acoustic evening. I missed last week because I was so sick. It was apparently quite the hootenany (does anyone say that any more?). Tonight was low key but good. Kerry came to sing and play guitar. Geoff and Jed showed up later. Kerry has a fabulous voice. We were outside on the porch. A lovely evening.

Il faut cultiver notre jardin

I haven’t been up to posting much lately — such a busy weekend with the Revels yard sale, a Saturday night cook-out with friends, choir and a Revels troupe appearance at Billings Farm on Sunday. And surprise! We forgot we scheduled a renaissance choral practice on Monday. Oh, and I bought a new old violin — but that’s for another day.

Then Dave’s sister arrived for a short visit and I landed flat on my back with a cold and (oh, the indignity!) conjunctivitis. I’m getting better. I can open my eyes again, but now I have a lingering cough. Woe is me and all that. Dave and Cherie had a great visit. They talked, canoed and kayaked. I slept.

Today was a disappointment. Dave saw his daughters for the first time in over a year. His report of the meeting wasn’t encouraging. I haven’t written about the situation before now because it is heartbreaking. It’s pretty hard to discuss without starting to analyze and explain, and sometimes that just doesn’t help. It all degenerates into “she said, he said” stuff that won’t resolve anything. Right now it feels like all the moves available to us are wrong ones and we can’t ever make it right.

So … that leaves me with the title of this post, a quote from Voltaire’s “Candide”:

We must each cultivate our own garden.

I can’t do anything to fix this situation right now. All I can do is take care of my own little patch, tend to those I love, take care of myself, and look for where I can be of use in the world. As my former yoga teacher, Stephanie, used to say “All you have to do is show up, be yourself, and share your gifts.”

Bark less, wag more

The hardware store in a nearby village uses their signboard to entertain (and instruct) passersby with witty sayings. Today the board reads “Bark less, wag more.”

I’m sure it’s a reference to a popular list of advice that was circulated on the internet years ago:

Eat less, exercise more.
Talk less, think more.
Ride less, walk more.
Worry less, work more.
Waste less, give more.
Preach less, practice more.
Frown less, laugh more.
Scold less, praise more.
Regret less, aspire more.
Hate less, love more.

It’s all good, but “bark less, wag more” really says it all.