I apologize for being rather scarce this week. We’ve been running around, and later this weekend we expect company from out of town for a few days. The weather has been gorgeous in the city, and we spent much of today working on our terrace, throwing buckets of water around and sweeping accumulated winter dust back toward the earth. In spite of such a shady location, the flowers are blooming and this little outdoor room feels like a cool oasis, full of ferns and begonias and coleus. I found an old filigreed trolley in the alley, painted it matte black to look like wrought iron, and it now holds our herb garden up high enough that the sun can reach the basil, so to speak.
Inside is a big bouquet of peonies, from Vermont, and a large bunch of yellow roses – I found my old climber, that has never bloomed very well, covered with blossoms the last time we were down there, and cut a big bunch to bring with us. But I am feeling less garden-deprivation than in any of the other years since we’ve been living in the city. We hope to go to the botanical garden later this week, because the roses must be coming into full bloom.
In the early morning, there was very little traffic and the city felt so quiet: only the runners and dog-walkers seem to get up early here on the weekends. After some yoga and some coffee I took my flute out and played near the open door to the terrace, looking up now and then to see the light filtering through the delicate locust leaves, or listen to the sparrows chirping in the branches. It felt like Handel and Bach would have approved.
June 21, 2008 at 4:51 pm
That last paragraph filled me with peace.
June 21, 2008 at 5:11 pm
It would be nice to see a photo of the terrace. When I read your posts I remember living in Montreal and the times we have visited there. It is a lovely city.
June 21, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I would have loved to have heard the flute. When we first moved into this house years ago, we opened all the windows in the front room one evening to hear the teenage boy across the street playing his french horn. The music was entrancing, like our own private concert. Two years ago, this then-teenager was hired to play in the Chicago Symphony.
June 22, 2008 at 12:38 am
:->
June 22, 2008 at 8:14 am
What a lovely image, the flute playing and the dappled light.
The green almonds are beautiful too, and I don’t really mind I was too late to see the video!
June 22, 2008 at 10:43 am
Your coleus is gorgeous. I’d love to see photos, too. I love the feeling that last paragraph gave me, of playing the flute in the peaceful morning. I know that feeling quite well.
June 22, 2008 at 8:07 pm
It’s good that you feel comfortable enough with your neighbors to play music that you know is going to be heard next door. When I first moved to Cleveland I wasn’t comfortable playing my recorder with the windows open; I didn’t want to bother anybody. But after a while, I could hear a proficient violin student practicing down the street one way and a flautist on the porch at the other end, and I realized (though I’d never be that good) that nobody would mind. My daughter, more outgoing than I am, cheerfully practices her trumpet with the windows open and we haven’t gotten any brickbats yet.
June 25, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Your post gives me a feeling of balance: hospitality, work (in a small garden, no less!), travel, and solitude. I hope you are having a beautiful week.
June 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Isn’t Montreal an amazing city of wonderful contradictions? There is peace and nature…hustle and bustle…all in the same place. I am often astounded by the sights and sounds that I experience on our terrace….all with the cityscape as a backdrop. We are so fortunate.
June 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Isn’t Montreal an amazing city of wonderful contradictions? There is peace and nature…hustle and bustle…all in the same place. I am often astounded by the sights and sounds that I experience on our terrace….all with the cityscape as a backdrop. We are so fortunate.
June 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Isn’t Montreal an amazing city of wonderful contradictions? There is peace and nature…hustle and bustle…all in the same place. I am often astounded by the sights and sounds that I experience on our terrace….all with the cityscape as a backdrop. We are so fortunate.