The Farewell Tour… For Now
Everything is quiet this morning as I sit with a cup of tea watching it get light outside. The Weather app on my phone tells me sunrise is not for another twenty-five minutes but the hydroponic garden glows bright enough that I do not need to flip a switch. No obtrusive sounds, no glaring, overhead lights… just me, a humming refrigerator, and basil that is out thriving its herbal siblings.
The first sky I see is pale blue, so faint it almost matches the white water birds that cruise the pond. It has been rainy and humid this summer, allowing the grass to boast a healthy hue. From where I lounge, I notice the perfectly shaped palm on the other side of the fence that stands proudly ruling all that is green.
🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴
Awake an hour now, I am surprised I have not heard the growl of a lawn mower, someone else up early hoping to beat the heat. Likely, time will introduce another sweltering afternoon broken by sudden showers on their way through southern neighborhoods. Pellets beating the roof and pavement are reassuring, whether heard from inside or from the lanai.
By my second cup, baby blue skies have colored the landscape, and the sun has painted the pond water with ranch house reflections. A mini forest of trees in a tract of ground behind the homes are generations older than their manufactured counterparts. They stand defiantly in a wooded swampland, echoing their smug survival as they, too, display mirror images in the artificial waterhole.
Alas, these are the Dog Days of Summer when dogs and humans alike are driven mad by extreme heat. In the low country, there are Southerners who have been bitten by those dogs because they believe in folklore claiming that during this part of summer, Haints (or ghosts) become more active. Noting my still, sleepy community, I am inclined to think my neighbors are less spirited.
During the waning dog days three summers ago, eager to fight mental lethargy, I began a website journey. I invited you to stroll in my variegated garden where I promised to reveal the colors of my soul. Sharing joy and spreading sparkle became a means to inspire all who toured my garden to do the same for others.
Occasionally, someone asked me why I chose to call my blog Variegated Views. According to the English dictionary, “variegated” means exhibiting assorted colors or displaying distinctive parts or types. Something variegated is marked by variety and I sought to express my views in various forms, often using vivid and evocative language.
Since that first post, I have indulged my creative side with a patchwork of ideals and insights, some spiritual, some silly, some simple, and some sentimental. They may not have been words that changed the world or narratives that invoked wisdom but if my ramblings have cheered you in any way, I am humbly grateful that you have joined me on this course. It has been full of blessings and adventures, but the tour is over, and this is my final posting.
Next month, I will turn another year older. I am moved when I think that the years remaining in my life will be comparably fewer than those I have already survived. Yet, I am determined not to lose a fleeting moment in which I can show gratitude to God, who has blessed me abundantly with days and hours of life.
The times I spent variegating have been a blessing and I thank everyone who joined me on the trail. Though the tour is over, and I am not sure what comes next, I know I will carry your words of encouragement wherever I choose to lavish my creative energies. For now, as always, I wish you unlimited serendipitous moments — those wonderful, spontaneous occasions when you accidentally find something wonderful!
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem,
see a fine picture, and, if it were possible,
to speak a few reasonable words.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe