short stories 14

“Crap!”

“What?”, Marc calls from his office.

I'm standing in the hall, “I can't remember why I even came in here.”

Obviously I haven't even made it to my destination since there's nothing in the hall except entrances into other rooms.

I never did remember what it was that propelled me into the hall.

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The wrens are giving the cat what for. She's stretching her claws on the trunk of the oak. I think they have a nest in the birdhouse hanging under the eave of the little porch by the front door. There is nesting material in it and they are hanging around and in the large yew tree next to it.

I haven't looked into it, it being the bird house, because I have to climb up on something to be able to peer in and I don't want to discourage them and have them abandon the nest.

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I watch Once Upon A Time. It's a show on TV. And what they say is that all magic comes with a price. I think that's right. Good or bad magic, it still comes with a price. The Harry Potter books were wrong. You don't lightly bend the universe to your will.

That said, perhaps my injured wrist is the payment for my little act of magic. And that's what it was, have no doubt.

Saturday, I wrote my little spell. Tuesday the man backs out (and it was the need for flood insurance for the loan that did him in which, when I heard that it was required, I hoped would be the deal breaker) and we are in the office signing papers. Thursday, I slipped and fell.

I've walked back and forth on those mats plenty on rainy and wet days. Maybe not a terrible price to pay. An injured not dominate side wrist and a close call.

It feels pretty good today.

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I watered a small seedling in a pot that I had nestled into the stump of the little maple that had to be cut down because it was dying and these ants came swarming out. I don't think these are the fire ants which infested the small tree and, I think, caused it's demise. They were all large and more orangey, almost like tree ants. Maybe tree ants.

I thought the pictures would be better but they were moving pretty fast.

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The yard is looking pretty good. The early day lilies are putting up scapes. Three of the four plants that I thought I had lost because of the long cold winter are finally coming out...the hummingbird bush, the morning glory bush, and the angel trumpet. Still waiting on the star of india which still shows green when I nick it at ground level.

And the plumerias. The bridal veil plumerias are definitely dead. They didn't make it but I think most of the hardier pink ones will come out.

Since teeny tiny sprouts and dead looking stems don't make that great of a picture, I used the one of the rocket larkspur along the driveway instead.