NOT A QUANT

Whatever is said about raking leaves is too much. Some actions contain themselves.

While he was flying amongst small purple flowers on our perennial, I asked my friend how a bumble bee chooses. He bumbled into my cheek.

Our male hummingbird, with his dazzling red feathers, is curious about everything. Follows along on trips to the compost, or to the porch, watching as the potted geranium is groomed of dead leaves. And he definitely lets me know when the feeder needs refilling. When I go out with the camera, he zooms right in to examine the lens, quicker than I can make settings. Impossible anyway, since he's too close.

Fleeting wriggles that trace through a scribble of ink, leaving spaces . . . .

An autonomous car materialized out of the fog and parked next to our Toyota. With short beeps they exchanged greetings, two cars without occupants. And then remained silent, as though shy. Next commenced a flirtation of turn signals and parking lights, a flurry of red stop lights, culminating in an impassioned display of blinding white head lamps. A neighbor who had noticed said it was like an elopement as the two drove off together.

Well, no use reporting their disappearance to the police. Clearly, it was a voluntary flight, not a theft. And our insurance company said there was no basis for a claim. I feel terrible. The Toyota was like family.

A few years ago, our neighbor built a low brick and mortar partition between our side yards. He did a great job, very artistic. Your usual walls, chimneys, have neatly troweled mortar joints. His happen to look very much like the half wall by our garage. It takes skill to make squishy mortar, then press the bricks into it just so, and all the oozes coming out pretty much alike. It's a work of art because there's no going back. A happening frozen in time.

Since then some bushy agapanthus have have filled in on his side. Now the beauty of his work is seen only from our side. Naturally, this has led to some further thoughts about how things happen.

An obvious top layer for these considerations begins with just how much water is right for squishy mortar. Next comes a consideration of how much drying time before the mortar sets, leading back to proportions of portland cement/lime mixture versus sand, delving further back to molecules assuming permanent positions. A probably irrelevant recollection about the properties of water as it changes to ice. Then right down into the molecules comprising atoms, down into orbital electrons and their balance with nuclear protons, and then off the edge into the mysterious world of quantum behavior.

Yes! All this happening in a brick and mortar partition.

And now some weeds are springing up out there. Which are from seeds, as everyone knows. Which got there. Somehow. Everything known, but it's something like that elopement of cars without occupants. Just which seeds? Exactly when?

Try to find out and the evidence is elusive.