May 16, 2013
May 16, 2013
Dear Friends,
A couple of quail have taken up residence outside my window. There are few things cuter than quail.
Our Iris season is almost gone. Great gratitude to the hybridizers. Think of it: huge white ones with orange beards; yellow with white falls edged with more yellow; velvety, deep wine; pale blue; very dark purple; multi-colored stripes —and when they stand there in all their majesty with the sun inside, what more could you ask.
If you go by the tulip tree when it is in bloom, you might pass by the bloom. The flowers are green—yes green, with yellow and orange at the base. These also are at their best with the sun inside.
We are preparing for Cathy’s Solemn Profession. Her mother, her eldest sister and her brother-in-law are coming from Korea. Her mother is in her eighties, but she really, really, REALLY wanted to come. The day before, Vicki is going to take Cathy in to a Korean store so they can purchase food that will be familiar to the guests.
We had a fine Holy Week and Easter with Fr Matthew. Our friend Julie came briefly for the traditional Easter picnic. The weather has been strange this year. Dry as usual, but colder than usual in the winter, and just nice right now.
A few inconveniences when the water pipes get tangled with tree roots. Mesquite roots run deep and wide. It’s not that we have so many mesquite—because of these habits, the trees do not stand close to one another. It’s the habits themselves; the roots go gallivanting underground, and there you are. Call the plumber.
I am reading an absorbing book on the closing year of the War for Independence. Each battle is being described, and the horrid weather is being described and you wonder at the fortitude of the men who won our independence. It seems the French naval presence came through eventually, and we were delivered into the slightly less bloody battles for a form of government.
Jacqui saw a hare the other day. A genuine hare.
And the SWALLOWS HAVE COME BACK. It’s amazing they remember where they were born. I love what happens when we have a very unusual snow, or a monsoon rain when the birds have never experienced rain in their whole brief lives. They huddle on the windowsills, and look anxious.
It will be interesting to see what comes of the Pope’s Kitchen Cabinet getting together in October. Our contribution is Cardinal O’Malley of Boston. He will probably be forced to wear his cardinalatial garments. He said he had never, never in his life worn them so long as he had to before the Conclave. When someone asked him if he would continue to wear his brown Habit if he were elected Pope, he said he “had worn this uniform for 40 years and I will wear it till I die because I will not be elected Pope.”
Cardinal Schoenborn said he has had supernatural indications that Cardinal Bergoglio was the man. So I’m glad he was right. It seems the Vatican is being flooded with Argentinian pilgrims. And the nice thing is that they don’t just come to see the Pope at the General Audiences: they truly listen to what he has to say and take it with them. ALSO, Bergoglio Tours are being given in Buenos Aires: the place where he was born, the places he lived, the cathedral, and so forth. Tour guides are provided. His barber shop, the kiosk where he bought his morning paper…