The Caregiver’s Tales

Tiny essays on life, nature, grief and other things that catch my fancy in the Texas Hill Country. Here’s how it all got started.

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John W Wilson 9/30/21 John W Wilson 9/30/21

Mist Flowers

This past spring, I added a Gregg’s Mist flower to my plant collection. It’s done well. So, has the garden spider.

John W Wilson 9/29/21 John W Wilson 9/29/21

Storms

A midnight storm woke me up. Lightning crashed and thunder rolled. But like a passing goodbye kiss or a quick hug, it was gone before I knew it.

John W Wilson 9/28/21 John W Wilson 9/28/21

Decorating

I have a small quandary, about the size of a bread box.

John W Wilson 9/27/21 John W Wilson 9/27/21

New Plants

It’s always interesting to put new plants in the ground and see how they do.

John W Wilson 9/26/21 John W Wilson 9/26/21

Navigation

I spent most of the day yesterday in a state of anticipation.

John W Wilson 9/25/21 John W Wilson 9/25/21

The Visitors

We’ve had swallows since the first year the stone walls of our house went up;

John W Wilson 9/24/21 John W Wilson 9/24/21

Charming

John W Wilson 9/23/21 John W Wilson 9/23/21

Energized

Yard work is nearly bearable when the weather is cool, and it was cool yesterday.

John W Wilson 9/22/21 John W Wilson 9/22/21

Fall

Well, this feels nice. It’s 63 outside this morning. I actually discovered this around 3 a.m. when my internal clock kicked me awake.

John W Wilson 9/21/21 John W Wilson 9/21/21

Today’s Question

They patched the potholes on my street yesterday. A big front-end loader waddled up from city hall, which is just down the road a bit, its bucket full of asphalt.

John W Wilson 9/20/21 John W Wilson 9/20/21

Nothing Really

Dad joke time.

John W Wilson 9/19/21 John W Wilson 9/19/21

Pink

Pretty and pink pretty much describes the current state of my gardens.

John W Wilson 9/18/21 John W Wilson 9/18/21

Pytor’s Tune

Once upon a time I bought an alarm for my front gate. I was monitoring the comings and goings of my late wife whose dementia made it dangerous for her to be out and about unattended.

John W Wilson 9/17/21 John W Wilson 9/17/21

Cherry Blossoms

The nice thing about tile floors is they allow you quickly to stomp a scorpion when one makes it into the house.

John W Wilson 9/16/21 John W Wilson 9/16/21

Soft Summer

It’s been a good summer for our pink turks caps. Actually, it’s been a good summer for everything.

John W Wilson 9/15/21 John W Wilson 9/15/21

Tree Time

And I wonder, if I only had one job to do in this life, that maybe planting one tree was a good thing to have accomplished. No one will write a story about me, but the world will know, or at least this part of it.

John W Wilson 9/14/21 John W Wilson 9/14/21

Getting Better

Whatever I did to my poor old back muscles seems to have eased a bit. Yesterday, as I sat here and typed, I could barely sit here and type.

John W Wilson 9/13/21 John W Wilson 9/13/21

The Flow

My body has decided enough is enough. My left gluteous medius, and I’ll leave it to you to look it up, has decided to spasm.

John W Wilson 9/12/21 John W Wilson 9/12/21

Soft Dirt

I use a turning fork when I work in the garden and the lawns. It’s better than a shovel or a spade.

John W Wilson 9/11/21 John W Wilson 9/11/21

Memories

I had no idea, when I decided to take my week-long sabbatical, that the return date was the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. But it is, and here I am.