This little fella pauses to say Hello. Ribbit. Hello.
The frog–we think it’s a frog and not a toad–pauses to say hello to all of you. Ribbit–it says. But actually I am telling a fib. The frog did not speak a word. It hopped out of the garden from in between the tomato and lettuce plants and jumped wildly in the air just as my shoe threatened to squash it.
I lay on my belly on the sidewalk and photographed the beauty. Don’t you love its copper eye? Isn’t it a wise and beautiful creature? What do you imagine that it might be saying?
Beautiful moth on the school steps at dawn.
This moth settled on the newly painted red school steps the other morning. I reached out to touch its wings, to see if it lived or died. It wriggled and showed its orange under-body.
Things are not always what they seem at first glance.
Clusters of orange berries on a summer day
These orange berries appeared on the day of my birthday. Tuesday. I walked along the Falls River with Nancy, a friend from long ago. She lives in LA, CA these days. (That is Los Angeles, California.) The Falls River is in L’Anse, Michigan, where she grew up. From LA to L’A. A big leap indeed.
We picnicked along Lake Superior and then she took me hiking along the Falls River. In the thirty-plus years we’ve lived here, I’ve never hiked this particular section. What a birthday present! What an amazement! To walk where we’ve never walked before… could we ask for anything more?
The Falls River. Isn't it pretty?
Yesterday was a Big Day. Remember my reservations about Facebook?
Well, forget everything I ever said. Maybe 50–maybe 60–maybe 70–who knows?–came forth to wish me a Happy Birthday. Plus all you guys who so thoughtfully sent your birthday comments…I have never felt so blessed in my Entire Life.
However, since I feel an Extreme Desire to always respond to each and every person–and to feel their beautiful beings–it has taken some time to connect with Every Single Person. Thank you, thank you, thank you again. I am so blessed by each and every one of you. More than you can ever know. Thank you for taking the time to send your good wishes, your love, your presence…
Anywho, it seemed I spent FOREVER the last couple of days saying Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you all!
I do belive I am–almost finished. If I’ve missed anyone, please tell me.
Sailboat on the horizon
Backing up slightly. My beloved daughter arrived on the 9 p.m. plane last night. Picked her up at the Marquette airport and listened to her admiring the trees and fresh air and plants and stars. Stars! You think she had never seen stars before. She rolled down the windows as we drove through the wilderness toward home, feeling the night air blow into the car.
We have been experiencing the most lovely of times since then. She just made me a delightful birthday dinner–and I opened cards and presents–maybe, just maybe you’ll see pics tomorrow. If not…something more exciting!
Father Marquette's statue overlooks Marquette and dreams of the past.
While waiting for her, I hopped out of the car and took photos of the Father Marquette statue. This fella was a Jesuit missionary who established missions in the Great Lakes area in the seventeenth century. The city of Marquette (near the airport) is named after this explorer.
Sailboats waved their white sails in the wind on Lake Superior behind the statue. It was the most mild of evenings. The kind of evening where the air feels like bath water. Where you want the temperature to stay like this all year long.
Beneath the Father Marquette statue...
I had to smile at the above photo. The Indians (probably Odawa–Ottawa–or Ojibway) are greeting Father Marquette. He is missing his head in the depiction.
I wonder if someone removed his head or if it fell off in a natural way.
And that’s all the ponderances for this birthday dinner eve! (Two days after the actual birthday, in honor of Kiah’s arrival.) Barry and Kiah are washing dishes, thank all the stars in the heavens. They sent me over to write a blog, bless ‘em.
It was a good birthday…it was indeed.
