“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, Which illuminates all creatures…”
– Henry David Thoreau
September brings yellow buses, cool misty mornings draped in spider lace sparkles, apples ripening on bending tree branches, a sense of nature’s turning.
Old timer’s disease appears to be my middle name lately. One morning, I loaded my car with lunch, purse, sculpture, clay works to be fired in the Tryon Painters and Sculptors (TPS) kiln, and stuck a small painting on the roof while struggling to get heavier pieces packed. Arriving in Tryon, it dawned on me that the painting had not come along. What was that suspicious thud I heard leaving Saluda? Visions of matchsticks under car wheels arose.
Returning home that evening, there was a message from neighbors Margaret and Bill Holbert. Bill found the painting in the ditch near his paperbox and saved it.
Years ago, when I adopted Pooh from Shar-Pei rescue, he was a curious pup, forever sticking his snout in the wrong things. One day he got loose, and headed over to the Holberts’ pasture: where bee hives line the edge. Pooh headed out to pasture, the cows giving him funny looks and wondering if he was a pig or bear cub. Anything that silly looking couldn’t be a threat!
Down the hill toward the bees Pooh joyfully trotted, just as his namesake did in the Hundred Acre Wood. My heart stopped: we cajoled and pleaded, treats in hand, leash ready to collar the escapee. To this day, I still don’t know how Pooh escaped a bee attack, other than they sensed his innocence and overlooked the intrusion.
I think the Holberts still remember that day!
Good neighbors range from next door to a pasture over that way, to across town, or out in the bushes, down the mountain, etc.
Many times I’ve thought the blessings of living in a wonderful area where folks care about each other. If something bad happens, there they are. It’s been one of my jokes that everyone knows what car you drive, your dog’s name and what you’re having for supper before you do.
Yet, there’s a degree of respect and kindness in that notion. If a white van parks outside the house, my neighbor checks to make sure it’s not Jack the Ripper. I keep an eye out for others, too. Performing house and plant checks, snake removal, you name it, or being a listening ear for those who show up on the front porch, brushing along fragrant boxwoods.
Just this week, one neighbor was caulking my bathroom on his birthday; others offering rides to medical appointments and hugs. Flowers, veggies, newspapers appear at the door. Neighbors down the mountain took me to dinner at the Tea House, a real treat. What a reminder that we’re connected in this world, and small things are greatest. They really are. Love your neighbor!
Watch for Joni Rauschenbach’s wine/beer shop opening beside Wildflour Bakery with fresh coffee, antiques and internet. Wine and delicious bread sound like a picnic treat!
Saluda’s annual Charlie Ward Memorial Pig Out at McCreery Park is September 10, 2011 from 4 to 7. Contact Judy Ward at 828-749-1349 if you want to help or need info.
Saluda Community Land Trust meets at 3 p.m. first and third Wednesday at the Pavilion at McCreery Park.
The Saluda Tailgate Market continues on Fridays from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Happy September Birthday to Dale McEntire, Joni Rauschenbach, Peggy Moffat, Sonya Monts, Linda Kaye Haynes, Carol Kenfield, Debbie Fisher, Leslie Jespersen, Linda Mintz, Betty Thompson, Sheila Billeter, Cary Pace, Ross Arrington and Hop Foster.

Thank you, dear readers for reading this column! Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com; or 749-1153. You may also visit my website at bonniebardos.com for more writing and art, or find me on facebook.