~the short version~

~my new back (rental) yard~

~~~~~

this is a bit like the end first

the backyard...  tall oaks, a crepe myrtle, azaleas, redbuds, camellias

all covered in vines

now enclosed by a 6' fence to keep the Pointer Sisters in

(black farm/mesh fencing - it disappears nicely)

(still not confident that it will keep THE DAN in)

the place is on about .8 acres (inside the beltway!)

heard foxes last night

hunting out back

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

so, the move

packed up the Airstream, most everything

(I'll be returning frequently though)

packed up (and emptied out) the storage unit

packed up the falling-down house

(mostly large furniture, weird stuff in there)

(image taken through a fogged-up lens... oops)

 ~~~~~

 ~~~~~

the u-haul, backed into the drive

the furniture from the falling-down house was added first

after everything was packed in, two just-delivered mattresses were stufffed in

(and when I say 'everything was packed in', that includes the ~500 board feet of longleaf pine which, during transport, jammed against the door making it difficult to open the back of the u-haul)

(yes, it's stored safely in the basement of the rental house)

thank god for friends

and friends who bring water and gatorade (it was hot) and delicious snacks

(it takes a village)

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

hated saying goodbye, for now, to my garden

especially the side garden, where shaded out perennials had been divided and moved over the past year into the sun

they're just getting started

thankfully there has been more rain in August than we had most of the rest of the summer

weeds are probably taking over

but hopefully, it will manage

anyway... only the strong survive

right?

~~~~~

 ~~~~~

katherine

the lab's poet-laureate in-exile

scientist and humanitarian

was more than gracious and drove the u-haul up to virginia

(she kindly dealt with my cranky and exhausted self)

there are no sufficient words of thanks

(i think, secretly, that she now wants to be a trucker and i think she'd be a good one)

~~~~~

~front of the new place, the morning after the move~

~~~~~

the house was built in 1949

it was the house that belonged to a farm that used to be

the original 'farmhouse' on a large track of land that is now developed

not in great shape

but dog friendly

the grass is now mowed

and my generous and hard-working aunt and uncle from Richmond

have visited several times already

and my aunt attacked the vines covering the holly in the front

(yes, there is a holly under there)

there's now a cinnamon ginger in a large pot on the front porch

(one of the few plants that i brought with me)

and I purchased a few flowers for a narrow bed

(a bed that is along a brick wall alongside the drive)

and yes, they are planted and happy

~~~~~

 

~view from the shuttle bus to the Narita Airport, Tokyo~

~~~~~

and then, a few days after the u-haul was unloaded

i flew to japan

for three days

(pics to come)

it was a work trip

there were two small tremors while i was there

hardly noticeable

that occurred during our meetings

and then i came back to northern virginia

and experienced the 5.9 quake in my new home

(thought it was the washer out of balance in the basement, then thought it was a gas pipeline explosion in my neighborhood, then I thought... until I realized it was an earthquake, as my little home seemed to want to rock off it's foundation and walk away)

when it was over, i walked outside

and the neighbor across the street had his hands up in the air

and he shouted 'WTF'

a few days later Irene strolled by the south carolina coast

(keeping her distance)

and i felt relieved that the airstream and the lab and my friends were safe

and then tropical storm warnings popped up for my new place

and there was rain and wind and the electricity went off

and my neighbor across the street turned on a crazy-loud generator

but, thankfully, only for a few hours

(i was okay with the electricity being off, but the generator noise was driving me crazy)

~~~~~

my new job starts tomorrow

~~~~~

Comments

[John B.]

Wow, Pam. I thought I've been busy, what with meetings and the first week of classes, but compared to you, I've just been lying around on the couch for the past two weeks.

Good to hear from you, though. Here's hoping that work will allow you a bit of time to collect yourself.

[katherine]

Good luck today!!!

[katherine]

Lynn Emanuel
One Summer Hurricane Lynn Spawns Tornados as Far West as Ely

The storm with my name dragged one
heavy foot over the roads of the county.
It was a bulge in a black raincoat, pointed
and hard as the spike in a railroad tie;
it dipped like a dowser's rod and screamed
like the express at the bend at Elko.
It made the night feverish and the sky
burn with the cold blue fire of a motel sign.
Oh that small hell of mine nipped at the town,
turned the roads to mud, lingered at the horizon,
a long clog, a sump. All sigh and lamentation,
the whole city of grief rose up to face that black
boot that waited to kick us open like a clay pot.

The Dig and Hotel Fiesta, University of Illinois Press, 1995

[katherine]

"Chincoteague ponies safe after Hurricane Irene tears past"

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e8e791c0e5df4f1198ad8c47178e67eb/VA--Irene-Chincoteague-Ponies/

[Les]

Two questions:

What is that blue critter on the side of the U-Haul?

Who will tend your garden while you are gone?

[Sheran]

Good to hear from you, Pam. Enjoy your new beginning. I love new beginnings.

[compostinmyshoe]

Your life continues move about in interesting ways. Interesting juxtaposition between here and Japan.

[Jess]

Just checking in to see how you are doing. Glad all is safe and sound and that you are still blogging away. I started a new job 2 days ago and I'm exhausted! :)

[Janet, The Queen of Seaford]

Ch-ch-changes.... :-) The earthquake and the hurricane and tropical storm were really messing things up. Glad you are getting settled in with help from your aunt and uncle...really nice.

[Pam]

John B., it's been a bit nuts. And then I started a new job... and we had flooding rains. Lovely! Hope all is good in your world (a new semester has begun!).

As always Katherine, a wonderful poem. Thank you.

Les, I think it is a incorrectly colored loggerhead... but I'm not sure. As for my SC garden - it is mostly left to it's own desires. A friend is stopping by some, watering a few things in pots - but recently photos have the grass much too high, and things looking a big neglected (mostly since nothing is being watered otherwise). It all makes me a bit sad.

Thanks Sheran. I think I'm one of those who could live out there entire life on one piece of land in the same job (that is, if it's one I enjoyed) - so I don't move all that well. But things are finally settling down, and I think it'll all be good - Virginia is so beautiful, and there's so much exciting stuff going on there.

Hi Jim - yes, rice fields in both Japan and SC - such different histories though.

Jess, congrats on the new job! I hope it is going well (I just finished week two of mine, and I'm still exhausted every night!). Best of luck.

Janet, no kidding - changes indeed! So...now an earthquake, tropical storm, flooding (eight inches in my basement) and now a terror alert. Woo hoooo! Yes, I'm getting settled, slowly - the flooding basement did push me back a bit.