Regina in Summer
It was back up to Farmington on Thursday, but it was bearable because I treated myself to two nights a day in Regina. The summer heat has arrived and it was a bit breathless in the late afternoon in the small cabin, but I wrote a great deal on my Wild Cards story, and took several long walks. The wild iris are gone. Only the spears remain like green knives at the edges of the now sluggishly flowing water. But in their place have come the wild roses. They cluster near the water, low rambling bushes covered with riotious small pale pink blossoms. Their scent is intoxicating. There is something lovely about the perfectly furled petals of a tea rose, but the wild roses seem to be screaming for the bees to notice them as they fill the air with their scent.
Because of the wet winter and spring the cactus are all blooming. The prickly pear sport pale yellow flowers with touches of orange. There was one tiny barrel cactus with two star shaped purple flowers. The mosquitos were every where, but my body chemistry doesn’t seem to attract them. They swarmed, but only one landed and tried to bite.
I watered the plants in the green house and harvested a bumper crop of snow peas and the lettuce. Fortunately I caught the lettuce before it went to seed heads so it may produce a bit longer. It may be the days are now too warm.
I need to win the lottery or create a television show that actually makes it onto the air and runs a few seasons so I can buy this magical place. I would keep it as my retreat and upon my death I’d leave it in trust as a writer’s retreat and workshop site. I would never want to see the sweep of the valley dotted with dozens of cabins as people seek the rural life and therefore ruin it.
Melinda