at the nature center for grandie v’s 6th birthday celebration
the scientist helps us to measure our wingspans
before we take a stroll outside to find this beautiful bird
rescued and healing a broken wing
whose wingspan we hope will return one day
and we are grateful to have our wings.
“happiness makes up for height for what it lacks in length.”
-robert frost
two of my favorites together.
—
credit: mentalfloss
yeti, in the wild.
—
just before i left for my trip
one daughter and her family
were moving from one house to another
waiting for a closing date
so
i turned over my tiny cottage to
one daughter
one son in law
two grandies
two in-laws
two cats
and
two hives of bees.
—
i
then
moved
into
another
daughter’s apartment
with
one daughter
two grandies
and
glen frey the cat not the rock star
as he was afraid of
other cats and people and bees.
and
besides
there was
no way
my cottage could hold
any more people or other creatures.
—
my third daughter
stayed put
in her usual home
with
one son-in-law
two grandies
and
one giant cat.
—
while staying at my daughter’s
glen frey jumped through her screen one day
and took off into the woods
we tried and tried to get him to return
but he just ran deeper into the trees
we called him, looked for him
we left out food and water
and finally one day
he began to emerge
for breakfast and dinner
and
quickly left again
without as much as a nod
before speeding off
into the wild once more.
—
upon my return
it was time to try to capture
the elusive woodland cat
who’d been living as a yeti
camouflaged
elusive
wild
deep in the trees
and my mission was to
bring him home once more.
we staked him out
during his most popular
evening feeding time
and sure enough
he showed up
but
as i approached him
he seemed to recognize me
yet
he ran back into the woods
always staying just beyond my reach
then
i saw him peeking out at me
and
he slowly returned
he must have remembered
and as i
offered him my hand
he began to purr
turned his back
i grabbed him
he yelled
it took two of us to wrestle him
we wrapped him in a blanket
put him in the giant cat/yeti carrier
and
i carried him off for home
with him yelling all the way
it felt like i had kidnapped
a reluctant member of bigfoot’s cult
and
he was not happy to say the least.
he stayed up all night yelling
yet
in the morning
he was resting
and
he’d found his spot at home once more.
—
i’ll never know
about his yeti days
and his time on the lam
spent with woodland creatures
and
wild adventures
of all kinds.
he’ll probably never tell.
glen frey, in his home again.
—
(along with the rest of the family, the other cats,
and the bees, all in their homes again)
—
“there is precious little in civilization to appeal to a yeti.”
– sir edmund hillary
local rush hour traffic in yellowstone national park
–
“they say the universe is expanding.
that should help with the traffic.”
-steven wright
—
credits: distinctlymontana.com, cameron patrick
kinders offer their presentations
to
the other kinders
and to us
their teachers.
they are very excited
as
they tell us
all about
the animals
they have studied.
one teaches us about
the colorful parrot.
another one asks
‘why do they fly?’
kinder answers
‘so they can see the world.’
in this moment
of clarity and understanding
she has
traded places with us
and has
become the teacher
and
we learn so much from her.
—
“feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
-frida kahlo
—
image credit: boredpanda.com
the little bee whisperer
of last summer
is back.
at age 6
grandson f
tends to the hive
happily
watching and wondering and learning.
—
the happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist.
for man it is to know that and to wonder at it.
– jacques yves cousteau
rescue joey makes mischief.
—
“when a child is locked in the bathroom with water running
and he says he’s doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911. ”
― erma bombeck
—
image credit: the kangaroo sanctuary alice springs, australia
we met the bats
learned about
all the good they do
micro bats
mega bats
brown bats
fruit bats
how important they are
to our world
and
we will try
to do our part
to help
save the bats.
—
—
“the baby bat screamed out in fright,
‘turn on the dark, i’m afraid of the light.”
― shel silverstein
—
recently
i’ve found myself
in an
ongoing battle of the wits
with the squirrels
who come to play in my yard
and who
have recently
kicked
their games of
mischief
and
merry-making
up a notch
rearranging the candles
messing up the table
eating buds from
the bright green gardenia plant
just as it’s about to bloom
tearing down and making off
with the tiny flags
and
leaving nothing but
a trail of snacks behind
i picture them holding secret meetings
inside the knothole
of the big tree out front
assigning jobs
creating new strategies
giggling
chattering
in their native squirrel language
discussing
how to
step up their game
and
i am
losing the battle
but
next
i’m
going to
try to make friends with them
or
go undercover.
—
‘right now, we’re just trying to
beat the squirrels to the pine nuts.’
– arlene ward
—-
image credits: squirrelpicnic.com, rabbitwhiskers.com, littlenummies.net, those darn squirrels
f visits the garden
by the lake
kneels down
to talk to the bumblebees
to see them up close
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.
the garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.
Michael Pollan
I didn't have my glasses on.... 