Thursday, September 2, 2004

I must remain in early-riser mode even when sleep has been spotty. The animals used to insist I get up at 5:30 or 6, but now that the nights are cold and the sun takes its sweet time peeking over the hill they don't want to get up, either. Yoda sleeps under the sheets, pressed against my sternum; Apple curls behind my knees; Ruth hunkers on my hip. Animals fly in all directions once I finally throw back the blankets. Last night's dreams were relatively pedestrian by recent standards, and because they revolved around an ex-husband from the remote past, they were a little depressing, as well. Today I finish a little rewrite and then drive to town on errands. My fencebuilder friend and I have been invited to dinner tonight at the home of a family from Mexico {with whom he converses in fluent Spanish}. And that fascinates me. I've studied written German, Latin, and Greek, and had some Spanish and French, on my own and in school. But the dedication it takes to learn a spoken language well and the courage required to use it in conversation with a native speaker evade me. I get panicky just thinking about it. I'm still developing the herb-garden space--manure and compost go down over the next few days, if the afternoons stay cool--and have begun studying Western (European) herbal traditions. I have a good background in uses for Western (U.S.) native plant species, but I find the details I'm learning now about medicines made from plants as homely as rosemary and prickly ash really exciting. 9:52:52 AM    comment []