Yesterday, I was sitting on the sofa for a few moments, reading a chapter in a new and, so far, excellent book, when something caught my eye outside in the yard. At first I thought it was a dog, but it was a hare, a gigantic rabbit, much bigger than a cat, that went lolloping by, its ears perched forward and its impossibly long feet flashing white. We’ve seen him before; he uses our yards, both front and back, as regular shortcuts on his daily bunny commute.<\/p>\n
Later, driving to Mats’ and Annelott’s home for the yearly Walpurgis Eve bonfire celebration, we came over the crest of a hill and started a descent into a gentle, sloping valley. Ahead of us, off to the right, was an obviously artificial forest, the trees tall and all exactly of the same height, set in a large square. The trunks rose straight and pale through a squared-off glowing, diaphanous cloud of neon-green baby beech leaves. It looked like something out of Middle-Earth. Or one of Eyvind Earle’s paintings. I couldn’t get over the unearthly, glowing leaf-mist.<\/p>\n
I missed the bonfire last year because my choir always sings in outdoor concerts around Malm\u00f6 on Walpurgis Eve. It’s a spring tradition, to sing in the greening. It was the first time I had missed the bonfire at Mats’ and Annelott’s since we moved to Sweden. Last night, it was a wind-still chilly evening. Perfect, with the proper clothes,* for sitting around a freshly-dug firepit heaped with dry logs, crackling merrily. There is something so soothing about sitting and staring into a fire. It’s so easy to get lost in the melting, shifting shadow-embers. Grilling hotdogs to eat along with potato salad, deviled eggs and potato chips rounded out the experience to a nicety. The kids disappeared within seconds of our arrival, let loose on several acres including groves, a creek, a dog, an overturned boat, and a humongous trampoline. We saw them only fleetingly until it was time to pack up in the starry-cold late night and drive home.<\/p>\n
Really Great Writing Out There Right Now:<\/b> Mosaic Minds Relativity Issue<\/a>, especially a knock-me-down-wow feature story titled My Glamorous Mother<\/a>…and introducing our new Forum<\/a>!<\/p>\n