roads filled with cars
topped with kayaks, canoes, rafts
seeking water
going upstream
on a streak of hot summer days
looking like soldiers off to do battle
armed with water toys and sunscreen.
—
“as one goes through life,
one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe,
you don’t move.”
-katherine hepburn
“that beautiful season the summer!
filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”
– henry wadsworth longfellow
—
image credit: the firefly dance, pinterest
on the cusp of summer
walking by the river
three hours
before the season’s return.
—
‘just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
-hans christian andersen
—
hunron river, ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2020
while visiting my niece’s school
in the beautiful woods of northern michigan
i realized that it wouldn’t be
a real end of their school year goodbye
without a bear to see them off.
—
“but of course, it isn’t really good-bye, because the forest will always be there…
and anybody who is friendly with bears can find it.”
-a.a. milne
—
pathfinder school, traverse city, michigan, usa
closing out the day on glen lake
—
“in extraordinary times, the ordinary takes on a glow and wonder all its own.”
-mike a. lancaster
—
glen lake, empire, michigan, usa
summer 2020
(not my actual class, but what they might look like
if they weren’t preschool students
if it was back in the day
and
if they were leaving an actual school building)
HAPPY LAST DAY TO ONE AND ALL, LOVE YOUR TEACHER – WE MADE IT, AND I SALUTE YOU!
—
“today is the first and last day of forever.”
-stephenie meyer
—
image credit: ann arbor district library archives
way back in the day (1964)
I was six and 3/4, not yet seven
my sister and best friend and i
spent much of our entire summer
‘working’ for free for our friend’s teenage sister
who had plans to go to see the beatles
at olympia arena
when they landed in detroit.
we were recruited by her
to spend our time creating
‘the world’s longest gum wrapper chain’
that she planned to present with her fan club
to the beatles at the concert.
she funded our gum and provided us each with a cigar box
and we sat in the yard for hours upon hours
just talking and laughing
and listening to music on her transistor radio
and creating the chain
until we’d get called home.
we never questioned the project
as were we caught up
in the whirlwind of her excitement
when the time came
she went to the show and presented the chain
later regaling us with the stories and craziness of the concert
and suddenly it was over
our summer of working for free had ended
and I looked forward to my own concerts ahead
wondering who I could recruit to make my paper chains.
—
Take a single wrapper and fold it longways, or hot-dog style. Do this three times. Try to fold the jagged edge inside because it can get in the way when making the chains.
Fold the wrapper in half the other way, right through the middle. It should make a “V” shape. Next, fold the sides into the middle, making a little “v.” This little guy will be one link on your chain.
Before you proceed, you’ll have to repeat these steps to make another chain link. Once you have two, you’re ready to connect them!
Just take the two ends of one and push it through the two holes in the other. This is why you’ll want your gum wrappers to be folded neatly—if the jagged ends stick out, it can get difficult to see what you’re doing or where to push the wrappers through and connect them. Keep it neat!
Keep on going forever and ever this same way. Eventually, you’ll have a long and fairly sturdy chain!
credits: ‘The Beatles’ Patrick Julian – Beyond Olympia Stadium, Pinterest, felt magnet
on a
quick stop
to say hi
to the grandies and friends
I was lucky enough to enjoy
their indoor flying and blow-up forts created with fans.
life is good at the end of summer. 
“the end-of-summer winds make people restless.”
-sebastian faulks
morning has broken on the great bay.
—
“for whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It’s always our self we find in the sea.”
―
—
great bay, portsmouth, new hampshire
august 2019
you know that feeling
when you fall down
on the trampoline
and keep trying to get up
but everyone keeps jumping
and you keep bouncing
and then all of you
start belly-laughing
and keep belly-laughing
and cannot stop?
—
“life has its ups and downs, but you can only look forward.”
-frank lowy
The Beatles
“It was like hearing the future.”
–Tom Hanks
“They blew the walls down for everybody else.”
–Barack Obama
“We’ve never seen anything like this before, ever. Never. Not even for kings and queens.”
–Unnamed airport official