Seasonal Almanac

For most of the day, I sat on a folded up futon in the studio, racing against impending deadlines to complete a pile of university adminstrative forms, forms, and more forms! In between battling with Microsoft Word formatting, I distracted myself by reading Wikipedia entries on propositional, quantificational and formal syllogistic fallacies, cognitive distortions, Jackie Chan’s early career and the Yakuza’s perm punch. Meanwhile, Redmond was reading out loud the advice for visitors who consider staying at Antaiji, Temple of Peace in Hamasaka, Japan: ‘Antaiji is a Zen monastery, not a guesthouse. We accept serious practioners of Zen. If you are not, please look for a youth hostel.’

Occassionally, I looked out the window and noticed that the herbs and the citrus have all acquired new growth. The thyme, mint, and majoram are looking paricularly lush. A bower bird with his iridescent blue plumage was perching on the lime tree pot, looking at a collection of objects Redmond had previously placed on the outside window ledge. This collection includes old bottles he found when digging in the garden, and a bird that flew into a window a month ago.