Anticipating guests, Gil goes into superhero mode. Building a spa in the swamp.

Or maybe it’ll be a time machine. I don’t know.

Making handcrafted marshmallows.

Hanging hammocks.

While I rake leaves, water johnny-jump-ups, inspect sprouting radishes.

Bake a carrot cake. Write a haiku.

Magnolia petals

Fall from the blossoming tree

Even as I sweep

Gil can write a mean haiku, too.

Admit it, we have
Life down pat at the moment
The hummingbird feeds

Oliver stays on the lookout for rascally animals.

Or a stinky place to roll around. One or the other.

Finally I wind up drinking strong coffee with my old friend Barbara.

This place roasts its own beans and welcomes dogs — not mine though, he’d menace the others.

Sundown, the most beautiful day of the spring, a little cool with warmth threaded through it. Inspiring enough for a haiku. You try.