A Favorite Relative - A Summer Gift

June 30, 2011


       I've been trying to remember events in summers while growing up because I just read some ideas that suggested writing about specific seasons in order to connect the moments more readily.  I'm also interested in prose poems, that directly hone in on one small topic.  Here is my prose poem about a favorite uncle:


                                                        Summer Gift

       When I was a young teen, my Uncle Caryl, whose family lived across the street from mine, took the time early in the morning before he went to work to play tennis with me.  It was a chance I would not miss.  I was quite willing to rise before the sun to beat the heat, grab toast and juice, and tiptoe out my door by five am.   The last year we played, my uncle’s own children, my cousins, were getting older and taking more of his time, so we played less frequently.  It made me sad to miss that time with him, but I too was growing up, and spending more time with friends.  I still remember the cool of the mornings, the drive to the courts with few on the streets, and the thwack of the ball against the rackets.  My uncle gave me a gift those years; I love him for it.

Our Little Place In The Woods

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

the meadow in front of the cabin, looking toward the creek

the cabin-entrances are at either end

     We have a small cabin in the Rocky Mountains.  We went there many times in the summer when our kids were little, and have memories of such fun times there with family and another family that went with us often.  The kids built (or tried to build) dams in the creek, we played softball in the meadow, and went bouldering at nearby rock formations.   We don't go as often anymore.  Life seems to get so busy, so my husband and I only go when we have a day or two, to clean a little bit, hike some of the trails around the cabin, and relax.  Yesterday was no different.  We raked needles from the cabin's perimeter because of fire danger, and swept the cabin of evidence of the mice who use it as their own home when we're not around.  One time we found the home of a packrat in the outhouse, who had filled much of it with his 'discoveries', but that's another story.  This time I walked around and about taking pictures of some of the wildflowers growing near.  They are so lovely, seem tough even with little moisture, offering up their blooms with pride.  Here are some of the pics, with one of the cabin and my husband waving hello and of our meadow.

Trip Snapshots

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Snapshots of Our Trip’s Tradition

      When we’ve taken trips with our grandson, we have often developed a routine, usually according to a place we’re visiting, and what’s available nearby for the evening activities.  For example, last year, on the Oregon beach, we were near only one small town, so ended up visiting a variety of small towns in the area, eating the catch of the day for lunch, and spending quite a bit of time watching boats at the docks.  It was a prime interest for an eight year old to see what the sailors were up to.  There were other daily things, like finding each town’s best ice cream cone, and building a fire in the cabin fireplace each night, & having s-mores.  (It’s cold in Oregon, even in July!)

            This year of course, we flew the other way, to the Gulf in Florida, and shared different experiences, always close to our place on Sanibel Island.  As I wrote in the two previous posts, most of this time was spent watching animals and playing in or by the ocean.  We chose outdoor activities like visiting a nearby refuge, learning about an animal rehab hospital, and taking a sunset cruise on a bay – hoping to see dolphins and manatees, and we did!  This trip’s tradition ended as a simple, but grand one, one we looked forward to every day after the first evening.  We ended each day down on the beach to swim one more time, to play a little more in the sand, to look for one last good shell, and to watch and photograph the sunset.  This was the time of day we saw more people than any other time.  There were never many people, but more were there in the evenings to see this spectacular vision of the sun.  It was like being at a fireworks display on Independence Day, lots of ohs and ahs.   Each night the sky offered a particular different look to the sun, and we began to try to describe what was happening, as in ‘the clouds above are shading it enough that it looks hazy’ or ‘the wind earlier cleared the air, so it’s pure sun tonight’.  It became like little poems and I now wish I had written them down.  However, I did manage a good photo each night.

          One definition of the word ‘serendipity’ is “The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”   I love how our trips seem to fall around us, delighting us with the usual because we are really noticing this time; and holding us in the particular place, a little group of three experiencing a small part of our world.

New Adventures - Poetically

Sunday, June 26, 2011


         In a Friday Poetry post, April Halprin Wayland showed a new poetry form called a trimeric.  Click on trimeric to see the post.  I thought it might be fun to capture parts of our trip with our grandson in a different way.  

                         I Watched My Grandson


      “We’re off to new adventures”, I shouted, and

     my husband and my grandson said,

     ‘We’re in!”

     So we flew to Florida, depositing ourselves on an island.

     My husband and my grandson said,

     “Let’s try out those new boogie boards.”

     Then, well-covered with sunscreen, we splashed and laughed ourselves silly.

     “We’re in!”  came the words for cruising Tarpon Bay.

     Amazing birds flew around us at sunset, while within our view

     swam dolphins and manatees.  It’s for precious moments

     that we flew to Florida, depositing ourselves on an island.

     I watched my grandson, already growing

     tall enough to meet my eye.

Some Great Learning On Our Trip

Saturday, June 25, 2011

An osprey on one of our walks in a refuge.

I’m not going to tell about every single place we visited on Sanibel Island, but one really interesting place that was special was CROW (The Center for The Rehabilitation of Wildlife).  The visitor’s center seemed new, and the displays of the different animals’ stories of rescue and rehab were well-done & sometimes so poignant.  One common tragedy for animals on the coast is to be caught up in fishing line that’s been abandoned in the ocean.  There were several cases shown, like a raccoon whose paw was almost lost because of a line wrapped around it.  If people on the island find any kind of animal that is in need, they are to call CROW, & one of the many volunteers come to pick it up, to transport it to the hospital for treatment.  One of the presenters (see below) was one of those transporter volunteers, and she showed photos of a raccoon rescue she did.  They have special equipment to capture the wild (and scared) animals, including safe boxes that hold the animal in a confined space so it won’t move around uncontrollably and further hurt itself.

Because the plan is to rehabilitate the animals back into their natural habitat as quickly as possible, they have little human contact, so in the displays, they had webcams of various parts of the hospital so we could observe without disturbing the animal.  For instance, one showed a small water area with several birds, including pelicans, hopping about, trying out mended wings, etc.  It was heartwarming to see the progress they were making.  We also learned that the veterinarians and workers there used both eastern and western medical techniques in the healing process.  Acupuncture was used often to alleviate pain, and various kinds of herbal diets were used for differing needs. 

We happened to visit on the day of a presentation from two of their volunteers about armadillos and raccoons, which was good.  One of the presenters was also an author of two picture books.  Her name is Kyle L. Miller, and the books were science/animal based and about a baby armadillo and shore bird life on the Florida beaches.  It was fun to talk with her, to have Carter experience this too, and we bought the shore bird book, Snowy Pea and The Ghost Crab, a nice souvenir of this adventure.  It’s a beautiful chapter book, with journal-like illustrations.

It was terrific to see this place, to connect the animals we were enjoying so much on our trip to what others were doing to help the animals on the island.   It took us all deeper into what the habitat really meant, not just to vacationers but to those who are having to adapt to the people’s ways, the animals. 

Here are two quotes that were posted on the walls:

“Lots of people talk to animals…  Not very many listen, however.  That’s the problem.”  Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

“Only if we understand can we care.  Only if we care will we help.  Only if we help shall they be saved.”  Jane Goodall