Sunday Salon with an assist from Emily Dickinson's poems

 

Our whole family gathered for the Hoot-n-Howl event at the local wildlife park this past weekend. I grabbed the photos from my daughter's Facebook page. I didn't take very good photos. Ian is Spiderman; Jamie is Mickey Mouse.

There's a certain Slant of light, 

Winter Afternoons–

The light this time of year is golden, invading the backyard with its glow as it filters through the leaves which are changing color but still clinging to the trees. Emily Dickinson's poem about the certain slant of light is more about the oppression that can descend on some people this time of year as the days shorten, but I can't help thinking of her poem as I step outside each time, bathed in a golden, slanted light.

We picked all the tomatoes we thought had a chance of ripening inside.

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw. 

Don and I spent a frantic few hours in the garden this past Thursday afternoon harvesting the last of the tomatoes and pulling up the plants. We were assured that a big rain storm on was its way and wanted to finish the task before it would have to be accomplished in the mud. I made several batches of a pico de gallo/salsa hybrid with the ripe tomatoes. Yum. Emily Dickinson's poems were not titled but the quote comes from one that most people call "In the garden." (BTW-The rain did arrive but wasn't a storm and made no mud in our garden.)

Fans and family!

One Sister have I in our house,
And one, a hedge away.
There's only one recorded,
But both belong to me.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poet/emily-dickinson/

One Sister have I in our house,
And one, a hedge away.
There's only one recorded,
But both belong to me.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poet/emily-dickinson/

One Sister have I in our house -	
And one a hedge away.	
There's only one recorded,	
But both belong to me.	

Emily Dickinson had one brother, one sister, and one beloved sister-in-law. I have a brother and two sisters. This week I get to see both sisters. My eldest sister was with us for a fun time in Eugene at a UO v UCLA football game, seen in the photo taken by my cousin and his wife. We are dining tonight with my younger sister, who lives in Idaho but is visiting her daughter in Seattle. We don't get as many chances to be together. Near or far, often or rare, we cherish family and visiting when we can. 

There is no Frigate like a Book

To take us Lands away

 

As I talked about in my last Sunday Salon, I am currently acting as a first round judge for the Cybils Awards, poetry category. To date 60 books have been nominated and I've managed to read 20. Each book accomplishes the goal of putting me inside the head of characters so I can walk "in their land" for a while. That is one thing I love about my role as judge, reading books I wouldn't normally pick, about people and places that aren't me or those who live elsewhere in the world.

In addition to reading these Cybils nominated books (see my Goodreads list here), I've also completed these book in the past two weeks:

• Red Scare: A Graphic Novel by Liam Francis Walsh -- I expected the anti-communism message but was surprised to find there were also aliens. Lots of fun.
• Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok -- a book club selection about family secrets. We had a decent discussion. Watch for my review this coming week.
• A Swim in the Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders. -- Don and I listened to the audiobook together and both of us were very impressed. I highly recommend it.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

 

Politics and the upcoming election is zapping a lot of my spare energy and attention these days. I had intended to do my normal read this and that advice, highlighting what I found during the week that interested me. But I decided to share only one article with you because I remain hopeful that the election will have a good outcome, protecting our democracy. Emily Dickinson's most famous poem here indeed reminds me to keep up my faith and remain hopeful.

 

Read this article: "'I'm Deadly Serious.' Why filmmaker Michael Moore is confident of a Democratic win in November." The Guardian, Oct. 23, 2022. 

 

Read the whole thing but here is just a little teaser:

Moore’s call-to-arms then is to reach the non-believers. “Everyone of who does care, and feels like our democracy could be hanging on by a thread” now “has to do something in these last three weeks”. In his case, he says, it could be as simple as calling a cousin who doesn’t vote to give them reasons why, this time, it’s important and that “she can go back to non-voting after this.” What would he say to them? “Aren’t you tired of nothing getting done? All this deadlock bullshit. One way to undo this logjam is to give Democrats a chance to pass legislation and let’s see how it works out.

Emily Dickinson didn't write anything about alligators and crocodiles so I will. 

Read it out loud if it doesn't come to you right away.

 

Have a good week!

-Anne