Joel at Pax Nortona and some others write a regular series based on guidelines set out in A Writer’s Book of Days. I decided to join them for today because I liked the topic: write about your neighborhood at 5 pm.
When I drove through the neighborhood today at five o’clock it was raining even though the sun was shining. There was one small dark cloud passing directly overhead and a few big drops of rain were hitting the windshield. The streets are very quiet at this time of day. Soon they they will get busy with the cars of commuters and shoppers returning home. An hour later the joggers and dog-walkers will make their appearance.
Some people a few streets over from us completely re-landscaped their yard in late August. It seemed foolish to me to do it when it was so hot and dry but the rains came early and their timing turned out to be good. I slow down to give it an appraisal. It’s doing well and looks pleasantly lush and up-scale. But too many evergreen shrubs and not enough flowers for my taste.
This is a neighborhood of homes seemingly in constant need of improvement. During the day the largest demographic group to be observed is workmen. Now they are finishing up their tasks and putting their tools away in trucks and vans. A few houses down from us a plumber’s van is in the driveway of a house being restored after a fire last spring. At Cindy’s place next door some bricklayers have been constructing a new brick sidewalk and now they are putting away a wet saw and hosing down their work.
A light mist has started to fall as I get out of the car in my own driveway. It feels good to walk in it actually and I stroll through the front garden to see how my flowery friends are doing. It’s a purple day - the Salvia greggii along the front foundation have bloomed out following the Labor Day rains and are really looking good. This is a color called grape. This plant is one of my favorites. It is evergreen and has two long blooming seasons in spring and fall. We’ve got several other colors of it around the yard but it is the grape that is blooming the best today. The blue lantana is looking good too. It must have something to do with the light and the rain that makes purple and blue stand out.