Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. – barbara johnson

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four swings

divided by

six cousins

equals

one each

with

a

remainder of two

and 

many

 seems like forever

wait times.

 

i rate enthusiasm even above professional skill. – edward appleton

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some of the grandies

upstairs

near the bunk-bed room

pajamas on

unwinding

 problem-solving

 still full of energy

after a long day

spent enjoying and exploring

the water and sand and gardens and lawn

way up north

on a warm and breezy

michigan night.

how sweet the corn.

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four generations in one place at one time with one common purpose.

dinner.

—
a family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, 

an occasional animal, and the common cold 

– ogden nash

we can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness. ~ author unknown

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the view out of my window

this morning in glen arbor,  michigan

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one hour after we left

the storms began

every kind of bad weather

rolled in

and

left this beautiful little town

by the lakes

isolated

and

damaged

my family members

who are still there

 are all okay

hoping that all the others are too

tomorrow

the sun will rise once again

and the cleanup

will begin

with gratitude.

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Staff report from the Glen Arbor Sun:
Glen Arbor was hit by a very severe storm on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 2. Winds of 93 miles per hour reportedly pummeled the town next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at the height of the summer tourism season. As of Sunday night, the Glen Lake Fire Department was reporting that all roads into Glen Arbor, and around the Glen Lakes, are impassible.

the bee whisperer.

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f visits the garden

by the lake

kneels down

to talk to the bumblebees

 to see them up close

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then befriends them

as they

learn more about each other

full of calm and peace

without fear

and after they make

a short visit to his place

gently

puts them back

where he found them

and says

goodbye for now.

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the garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.

Michael Pollan

climbing up high, right into the sky.

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look at your feet. you are standing in the sky. 

when we think of the sky, we tend to look up,

but the sky actually begins at the earth.

~diane ackerman

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family climb at the sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore –  empire, michigan

whole lotta’ love.

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and with the return of the aussies

my band of grandies are back together

all on one continent

in one time and one place

sharing some mischief and one tiny space.

—

Jake: We’re putting the band back together.
Mr. Fabulous: Forget it. No way.
Elwood: We’re on a mission from God.

(The Blues Brothers)

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last summer’s tiny space

the first time 

they were ever all together 

meeting in one big box.

—

hopscotch.

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came upon

what seemed to be

the world’s longest hopscotch

must have been

‘cuz it just kept on going

even when the one who drew it

counted as high as they could

and they

had no more numbers

so it ended at 82

but the boxes just kept on going.

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irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom. – anatole france

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and with this

quietly brilliant sign,

i accept your apology

with a smile.