September Song

Yesterday rain whispered around the house all day long.
What was left of Hurricane Gustav came with grey tenacious clouds, and when the rain began it was quiet and steady. We had rain all through the night and all through the day and into the evening again, rain that brought up the creek, greened up the grass, and sang in the windows.
No lightning, no thunder, nothing but rain. Relentless rain.

********

This time of year I start gathering up light against the dark winter. We have a hosta in the back yard with a generous bouquet of bloom. It reminds me of the first lines of Jane Kenyon's poem Peonies at Dusk, where she says “White peonies blooming along the porch/send out light/while the rest of the yard grows dim.”
The white blooms of our hosta light up the backyard, especially at dusk, when shadows gather.

********

I got Trisha Yearwood's newest CD, Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love, a few weeks ago at Coldwater Creek; the first time or two I listened to it I wasn't impressed. Then I listened to it while I was baking one Saturday afternoon -- probably my favorite way to listen to music -- loud, while I'm working.
It's a great CD! There's not a bad cut on the album -- The Dreaming Fields is beautiful and poignant, while Nothing About You Is Good For Me sizzles with sass. Cowboys Are My Weakness slyly tips the hat to all those guys with “down-home rugged sweetness.” Let The Wind Chase You will speak to anyone who's ever yearned for someone who didn't yearn back, and Sing You Back To Me is a tender end to the album.
If you're looking for something with a little country kick, this album is it!