January 27, 2013

Watched the moon rise last night. I was lying on the couch, where Sunset Mountain fills my whole window. The moon’s ivory rim appeared behind the trees. It rose two circumferences before it broke free of the trees, rising behind a translucent hill after clearing the opaque one, then sailing clear and round into the sky. It happened that  I was watching a DVD at the same time, which included the rising of the moon. Until I turned the light on to write, my study was slashed by contrasts of moon and shadow.

A spider died on my bathroom floor. When I saw it, it was already being visited by tiny dark ants. I decided to let it lie and let the ants have their way, for they were doing the job nature gave them. Ants surrounded the body, carrying–I suppose--bits of it up the wall to the top of the bathtub, then along the rim of the bathtub to a crack or egress which must be there but which I never found. It must be a tremendous meal, for this has been going on, now for two days and a third night, now ending. A bigger ant would simply have hoisted it up and carried it away. The ant palace must be close to my wall, to keep active through the recent deep cold.

Reading Lord Dunsany’s wonderful book, My Ireland.

Went to the café yesterday intending to write a certain kind of story, and wrote exactly that story. It seldom happens that way. It was little boys out with dad for breakfast, or little boys out with mom for breakfast Saturday, and very beautiful, and my envy was very much mixed with blessing.

My Facebook page shows me a person I don’t entirely recognize. My “friends” are a liberal and anti-Republican lot, which I recognize, and also quite arty, as I am. But they are also bitterly anti-religious, which I suppose on one level I am, but on very many other levels vehemently am not.

Signed out of church today, but there were broad hints that I was going to get some sort of prize– I forget what prizes are given during the Annual Meeting, since I seldom go– and so to gratify both them and me, that’s where I’m off to in four hours.

The spider was alone when I first went into the bathroom and turned on the light. Almost immediately the first ant came, as though they too were waiting for the light.