Greedy Nester

We were sitting on the front porch and my husband quietly said, "Go get your camera." I gently opened the door and grabbed my Nikon then quickly snapped a picture of this robin with all kinds of nest-making supplies.  He flew away with his load right after.

37

We went outside for Nature Journaling again and their assignment was to compare the nice day to themselves.

I wrote a Cleave Poem

that contains two sides.  Each side can be read separately or they can cleave and be read together.

Today + Me

                                               A blue sky       A pretty sun

                                     and white clouds      a few frustrations

                                   through the limbs       through the filter

                                           of bare trees       of rose colored glasses

                                   A brook schussing       rap beat

                                  down the mountain       students in the hall

                             providing a symphony       background noises

                                     a fly on my paper       well-behaved kids

                                                   sunning       in the library

                                            green things       happy thoughts of retirement

                                   poking their noses       spiking in my mind

                                 through dead leaves       through ordinary moments

A Ride to Camp

We took a ride down to camp last Friday.  It was too early to open up but we took the braces down and opened the widows and aired it out.

I also got to take a walk on my favorite beach.

And take some pictures of pretty flowers next to the beach.

I took some pictures of my husband's 1979 Ford Ranchero.  It went in for a new paint job this week.

On the way home I got a kick out of the name of this deli.

All in all it was a really nice day and not "mediocre" at all!



Memory Lane

We were a bunch of teenage girls living together

for the summer, working as chambermaids

at a resort called Baker Brook.

We lived in what had once been a restaurant

underneath the motel.

We had a bedroom with 3 bunk beds,

a huge living room, and a kitchen with commercial stove and fridge.

The ladies' room held our sink and toilet.

The mens' room had our shower.

I was responsible for five cottages.

They were cozy with fireplaces

and the same people came back year after year.

In the evenings I worked in the office giving the manager a break.

It was great being on our own.

I worked there for four summers and loved it.

The other night I drove by for old times sake

and things had changed.

First I saw one of my cottages called Maple.

Then I saw Elm and Oak cottages.

Then I saw the sign and office.

By this time I had a lump in my throat.

I glanced across the street at the motel.

I couldn't believe the mess.

The recreation room is on the right.  I remember showing movies in there at night and playing ping pong.  And it's where the owners would throw a lobster feed for us at the end of the season.

I parked here in front of this door which led down to our apartment.

I reminisced about the past and the good times

then drove away from the sad present.

Some Random Pics

A wild weather day.

Here's my ivy peeking out at the mess:



And here are little icicles hanging from the telephone wires:

And from the branches of the maple tree:

Notice all the buds.  Not!

This guy was out in the horrible weather working across the street.

I liked the sparks coming from the saw he was using.

But, I am on vacation so it isn't a total loss of a day.

Break My Heart

Anne and I became friends in high school because we both loved skiing.

She was great at it while I struggled but it was fun anyway.

I can still see her swishing down the mountain so gracefully.

And we stayed friends through both our graduations, she the year after me, and through separation while I was at college, and through boyfriends, and engagements, and weddings, and her miscarriage. 

Her daughter was born the year after my son.

Then she moved to Florida.

We wrote occasionally and visited once in a while.

Twenty years ago my husband and I and the kids spent a winter in the same town in Florida as Anne and her family and our friendship took off right where we'd left it.

After that, we started writing letters to each other almost every day.

It became a hobby and we'd try to outdo each other with cool sticker designs and the newest postage stamps.  I saved all her letters.

Until this week.

We're moving and have no room for the bags and bags of correspondence.

It breaks my heart to have to throw this whole part of her life away.

But, luckily, we still have our friendship!  Can't throw that away!

My Mom

I spent the morning with my mom.

It was hard not to think about her as I cleaned out a storage cabinet she had in the cellar.

She saved everything!

• bank statements
• paid bills
• empty champagne bottles
• golf tees
• plastic bags
• thank you notes
• sympathy cards
• golf balls

I found these egg boxes filled with, yes, golf balls!

And then this is what undid me.

I found the well-worn dictionary she used to do her crossword puzzles.

And inside, were pieces and pieces of paper with unusual definitions

My mom did not go to college and she never even graduated from high school.  This bothered her so much and she always wished she hadn't had to quit.

Looking at these lists and lists of definitions written in her beautiful penmanship straight across the pages brought tears to my eyes.

She was the smartest woman I ever knew and I miss her so much.

39

Just some random pictures from school today.

Becca's cute little outfit

Amanda's checkered pig and bacon

My sunny windowsill

At their lockers.  Check out Joe's platform boots!

Nicole's orange sneakers.  Love them!

And, now, I'm officially on VACATION!

40

Today I took my Nature Journaling girls outside to write tiny poems, collect rocks, then make Poetry Stones.

42

We went out into the woods

behind the school

for Nature Journaling class today.

First we stopped near a patch

of wintergreen

and I encouraged them

to munch on it to taste

the mintiness. After meandering

through the trees

we settled in a fairly dry spot

and started writing about green.

I saw green spikes of grass-like

weeds, green moss, green pine needles,

green leaves with a red berry,

a pink hoodie,

 polka-dotted boots,

bare legs,

jeans and sneakers,

and students sitting in the lemony

sun creating.

Look!

Took my camera for a walk through the Smith Hydro Park.

It took a picture of these leftover red berries.

Then it got excited to see these pussy willows.

It started snapping away like crazy when these crocuses came into view.

I swear, if my camera had a tail it would have been wagging!

It was drooling over the new purple and green.

It smiled at these lilac buds.

But, it frowned a little at the snow still hanging around here and on Mt. Washington in the distance.

It clicked happily at these hints of spring.

It even made the lowly pickpick look beautiful.