It’s Sunday…

…and my back yard is just gorgeous today. Everything is lush and green.  Purple clematis climbs over the arbor by the gardens, vibrant red lilies peek around the pampas grass, which is already taller than me.  Basil and rosemary and lavender fill the air with their pungent scents. Husband just finished the mowing and the trimming, I’ve weeded the gardens, and now we’re sitting on the patio under the umbrella watching a rabbit nibbling in the grass and feeling quite satisfied with ourselves.

Later, the neighbors will walk over for our weekly glass of wine and catch-up session. We’ll light the wine-bottle oil lamps, put out chips and salsa, chocolate,  and probably a bowl of the plump luscious strawberries I found at the market on Friday. We’ll pour rich red zinfandel or maybe a California Cab or Petit Syrah, toast each other and our friendship, and then chat and sip as the sun goes down.

I’m not particularly into yard work or gardening, actually I kinda hate it. But as I sit here, the breeze lifts my hair, brushing it against my cheek, and the sweet smell of newly mown grass wafts on the air.  I have to admit that all the itchy skin and dirty fingernails and sweaty brows are worth it because today, my back yard is gorgeous—a little slice of heaven.