1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5
☆ April 26, 2016
1) I was out saying hello to the horses and by the time I got to Kota, he was lying down. So I tentatively lowered myself onto his back, not knowing if he’d let me sit on him like the cows do, and he was happy to have me there. I braided his mane and rubbed his neck, and then – then! – he lay all the way down – head flung back with his cheek in the dirt – and fell asleep. With me sitting on top of him for the first time. Why are animals able to trust us so much more completely than we trust eachother?
2) Latest obsession: peppermint honey. This does not taste like peppermint candy – it’s almost savory. It is rich and deep and very hard to describe, but the difference between this honey and wildflower honey is like the difference between caramel and granulated sugar. It is divine.
3) Latest reefer fantasy: a VW bus-truck with a reefer box in the back. There are many reasons why this can never happen, primarily a) not enough room, b) even if there were enough room, the rear axle couldn’t handle the weight, c) even if the rear axle could handle the weight, vintage VW buses are way outside my budget. But wouldn’t it be the cutest?
4) Without fail, every time I garden, I draw blood. I do not understand this. Vespa-ing cross country? Cuddling a coyote? Riding a bull? Chopping wood drunk? Nary a scratch. But gardening leaves me bleeding on a daily basis.
5) Hibiscus sun tea: one scant handful of dried hibiscus flowers + one gallon jar of H2O + one sunny day. Store this hot pink elixir in the fridge and guzzle after sweaty, bloody gardening sessions. Sweeten with simple syrup if the tea is too tart for your taste. So much better than Monsanto juice (aka pop, aka soda).
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22 Responses to “1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5”
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April 26th, 2016 @ 8:41 am
#5: YUM! Love it
#4: I kill all plants – maybe they want my blood to grow.
#3: I just want a VW BUS – period. I have a beetle already.
#2: Hum – where can I find it
#1: Aw…..
Happy day Shreve!!!!
April 26th, 2016 @ 8:51 am
This is exactly how I write catch-up emails to my bestie who lives two states away. 1. short story, 2. short story, 3. short story……. just like the list I pack around in my head. Very efficient way to communicate. Oh – and I guess I talk that way too. All this to say – I love this post, Shreve.
April 26th, 2016 @ 8:59 am
VW……your meat would smell like gasoline but you would look good lol.
Blood…..Mother Nature gives you food you give her your blood fair trade isn’t it.
Kota….Love to hear that trust has finally come.
Honey…..I will be looking for that one !!
April 26th, 2016 @ 9:22 am
oooh, “chopping wood drunk” THAT’S so funny!
April 26th, 2016 @ 9:28 am
Where in Wyoming do you find 1) Dried Hibiscus Flowers and, 2) Peppermint Honey? I want some!!
April 26th, 2016 @ 10:29 am
M- Azure Standard! It’s a co-op with deliveries once a month. They have routes all over the US, check em out! Pretty much all the food I buy comes from them!
April 26th, 2016 @ 10:46 am
Will you be sharing Eli’s story one day? I have followed you since the beginning, Eli was my love. He was special beyond words, and led the life every cat dreams of.
Many newer readers may not know about him, and his unique relationship with Charlie. Maybe you could do a blog about him and how extraordinary he was.
April 26th, 2016 @ 10:57 am
I would sure have loved to see a photo of you lounging on the back of that resting horse! Amazing!
April 26th, 2016 @ 2:11 pm
1. When you said ‘Kota was lying down’ my heart stopped.
2. By the time you got to the braids i was good again.
3. “First time” i went….wait…Kota? Do i know Kota?
Who is Kota? The living, Breathing, Fine as F@##k Kota?
Seriously.
April 26th, 2016 @ 2:13 pm
Oh…never mind. I googled ‘Honeyrockdawn + Kota’ and found him. I remember him now.
just file this under ‘commenting while drunk’.
sort of.
April 26th, 2016 @ 2:13 pm
Oh…never mind. I googled ‘Honeyrockdawn + Kota’ and found him. I remember him now.
just file this under ‘commenting while drunk’.
sort of.
April 26th, 2016 @ 4:42 pm
That tea sounds divine!
April 26th, 2016 @ 5:45 pm
Grew up with vw buses (I,m old) and they don’t like mountains much…
April 26th, 2016 @ 7:05 pm
“Chopping wood drunk” ….. omg, you slay me
April 26th, 2016 @ 8:10 pm
I learned to drive in a stick-shift VW bus. Those were 4 joyfully interesting years of skills development for 2-lane highway passing manouvers – think measured, deliberate, Clint-Eastwood gimlet-eyed assessment, floor-board throttle and NASCAR-drafting before you step out over the line at the last second, and leave somebody (hopefully) impressed with all the skill, guts, daring, and initiative that took. Then my dad bought a GMC van with 350 4-barrel. It was good to go through 4 years of Vdub-vanning to find out how deleriously LOL funny it is to do all that uphill, instead of waiting for a downhill.
Peppermints are cool. It’s amazing what a crushed Altoid does to a cup of hot chocolate.
Animals are way friggin smarter than their non-verbal constraints will show. My 11 year old cat had more emotional maturity and a trickier sense of humor than most 11 year old humans. I used to go with him for walks at night, because he wanted me as his tag team buddy if we ran into the Maine coon cat in the park. People would ask me incredulously if I was taking a loose cat for a walk and he’d go “Yeah” to them.
April 26th, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
Monsanto juice. Pew, what a low blow. Thanks for sharing.
April 26th, 2016 @ 9:20 pm
I see the wisdom of not identifying third parties or products. It starts conflict posting. Sorry bout that.
April 27th, 2016 @ 9:42 pm
Would Peppermint Honey be akin to Clover Honey or Sage Honey where the bees sipped on peppermint plants when they made their honey?
#1 How wonderful. My triumph is being able to crawl up on the bed around the dog without him jumping off. If I succeed, I can crawl under the covers and scoot next to him to give him some belly rubs. Maybe that’s why he’s learned to stay put?
#2 My current obsession is Acacia Honey.
#3 Not to mention the fact that you never know when a vintage VW Bus is just going to just die on you. You could do something like this with a small RV. Wouldn’t it be cute with something that looks like an Airstream? An Airstream RV Reefer.
#4. Today in watercolor class the person at my table and I were talking and she said she is amazed at people who can paint and get nothing on them. Then pointed at my clean shirt. This is more than amazing since when I eat, no matter how careful I am, I manage to get at least one spot on my front. When it comes to gardening, I am bloodless, but not necessarily bruiseless. I can’t remember how I get half of my black and blue marks.
#5. I made some awesome Hibiscus Rhubarb iced tea for my retirement party. No one touched it so my Mom and I ended up drinking it all. We liked it. I recently made some Lime Clove Hibiscus Marmalade. My own recipe based on a natural soda I like. Hibiscus is underrated in this country, as is using flowers for flavoring. Lately I’ve been obsessed with Rose Geraniums in my jams.
April 29th, 2016 @ 10:19 am
M ~ yes, exactly!
April 29th, 2016 @ 1:12 pm
Gardening, especially pruning roses, requires a blood donation. I’m sure that’s why my mom’s roses still look so lush
May 4th, 2016 @ 4:23 pm
WE DID IT!!!! 20,005 w 147 Backers w 50 hours to go.
#ibackedstarbeef #details!!!
May 4th, 2016 @ 4:28 pm
That would Wed, 4 May 2016 @ 5:20 (earlier actually, because i fumbled the post.)