In the morning, we went to Clark Reservation. I love this place. Iris calls it “The Place With the Rocks.”
When I was not too much older than Iris, we went here with Pop.
He said to me, “Jessi, do you know how these rocks got all broken up like this?”
I thought about it for a while, trying to remember if anyone had told me. No one had.
“Well, at one time, it was all just one big rock,” said Pop,
directing my gaze across the broad expanse of fissured rock with a sweep of his arm,
“then your mother came by with a sledge hammer and broke it all up.”
I was impressed.
* * *
Later in the day, we explored the gardens surrounding my mother’s house.
They are impressive, billowing over with blooms,
framed by stone patios and walls she built herself from rocks gathered at Clark Reservation.
Turns out, the reason she broke all those rocks up with her sledge hammer
was because she wanted to take a few pieces home.
But that’s not what these pictures are about.
These pictures are about Mom, in her gardens. They are also about photography.
Pop was a photographer.
Photography gives one the ability to capture and hold a quadrangle of light
without allowing in any distracting interference that the surroundings might provide—
leaving the viewer unaware that, just 30 degrees to the right, chaos abounds.
* * *
In the vegetable garden, there are always extra vegetables. You might not hear about them, because usually the woodchucks and the rabbits get around to hearing about them first. But they’re extra, so it’s okay. Sometimes, we get to play with the extras. Usually it’s just things like onions. Bunnies don’t like to eat the onions because they don’t like to have bad breath. So they leave the onions alone.
Akiva uses them to make some onion soup.
On the far side of the fence, Mom (a.k.a. Grandma) gathers berries while eager mouths await.
As she waits, Iris finds some berries on her own side of the fence.
Photo-op with adorable children:
* * *
We had a wonderful day.
