It has become my habit to spend part of Sunday afternoons sitting on our bench in the flower garden, usually with a book and my phone. The sun is in the west by the time I’m out there, giving a warm embrace to the left side of my face. As I read, I’m hearing the nearly constant drone of bees. I lift my eyes frequently to see them visiting the flowers in front of me. Oh, how busy they are while I sit idly on my bench, reading a book as they are doing the most urgent work of their lives. Bravo to the bees! Lots of butterflies are going to and fro as well – mostly white ones, but occasionally a monarch shows up with class and dignity. The hummingbirds, too, are doing their best to drink up everything they can as fast as they can. They all know these days are coming to an end.

Continue reading “Monday, September 23, 2024 The Profundity of a Flower Garden” →

We continue to listen to the audiobook version The Lord of the Rings, wonderfully read by Andy Serkis (the actor who played Gollum). We are nearing the end of The Two Towers and I am still taking notes and make sketches as we go along. It helps me to concentrate and keep my mind from drifting, as it is wont to do. LOTR fans will perhaps enjoy the following photos of my notes. The rest of you will scratch your heads in great puzzlement over it all. Bless you, either way.

Continue reading “Wednesday, September 18, 2024 Notes and Sketches” →

It all started in Mrs. Budge’s class in first grade. Behind Mrs. B’s back, we called her Mrs. “Fudge” and thought we were the cleverest, most witty people around. One day I helpfully pointed out to Mrs. Budge that her slip was showing and she made me go sit by myself with my head down on my arms on the desk top as penance. Doesn’t that seem like an odd thing for a teacher of first graders to do? Anyway, Mrs. Budge put up large cards with words on them all around the room and taught us to read using the see-say method, rather than phonics. It’s a terrible way to teach a child to read, but there’s no denying that I did, in fact, learn how to read. Those mysterious black marks in books started to become letters and words and I grabbed hold of this new knowledge with gusto.

My parents gave me the book Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss and I was so enthralled with it that I brought it to school to show off. During recess I set it down and forgot about it. When I tried to find it later, it was gone, which grieved my little heart. Months later it turned up in a window well – happy ending!

As I progressed as a reader, Mom had me practice at home by reading aloud to her. The first book was The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Craik. It was slow going because I was still at the “sounding-words-out” stage, but the sheer love of story propelled me along. I remember reading that to her as she was driving in her little “slug bug,” the Volkswagen. It starts as a rather melancholy story, but wonderful and fantastic things eventually happen to the lame prince. Oh boy, but I loved that book. Years later I found it at a library sale and snatched it up.

Libraries became magical places for me as I began to explore the world of reading in my elementary school years. My mother had a set of Wizard of Oz books that were marvelous, all with charming illustrations by W. W. Denslow. For most people, the only thing they know about The Wizard of Oz is that it got made into a movie with Judy Garland. My mom hated that movie because it was unfaithful to the book, so now you know where I got my own strong opinions on those things. My mom also owned several books by Johanna Spyri, the author most well known for writing the book Heidi. My own children will remember how much I hated the movie production of that book with Shirley Temple. Like mother, like daughter!

My childhood was simply filled with books. I could pick up a book and become so completely engrossed in the story that the world around me almost ceased to exist. I became such a bookworm that my mother frequently had to pry me out of my reading chair to get me to go outside and play. Books shaped and influenced me as well. I read The Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney and was determined to become a better daughter and sibling. I read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and wanted to be like Dickon and become friends with animals or like Mary, learning how to cultivate a garden. I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and wanted to be noble and faithful like Peter, Susan and Lucy and not a traitor like Edmund. I also desperately wanted to find a secret world like that, but I suppose everyone did, even C.S. Lewis. I learned about the importance of forgiveness when my 4th grade teacher read aloud to us a book called Follow My Leader. I read The Black Stallion and thought how grand it would be to have a special connection with a horse like Alec did with the Black. How very disappointed I was the first time I got to go horseback riding. We were put on plodding slow horses and never got to go faster than a trot. And unlike my romantic ideas about how wonderful an experience it would be, horseback riding was uncomfortable and jolting. I’m afraid reading books made me very much a dreamer who sometimes had a hard time adjusting to reality.

Over the years, my reading tastes have changed, for the better, I hope. I’d like to think that I’ve become a more discerning reader. I still love a good fiction story, but I also appreciate non-fiction more than I used to as a child. I consider the Bible essential reading now, but wouldn’t even have considered reading it when I was growing up. At any given time, I have about 5-6 books in progress, which would probably drive some people crazy. I usually only work on one fiction book at a time, though – the others are all non-fiction books that I’m working through more slowly.

So, Mrs. Budge, I thank you for helping me learn how to read. And I forgive you for penalizing me for pointing out that your slip was showing.

Just call me the Wizard of Blogz – this will disappear in the morning.

I was sitting on a bench in our garden the other day. A cicada landed on one of the wooden supports right next to me and sang his bittersweet song. I’ve never seen one up close like that. It felt like a special visitation.

The next day as I was brushing my teeth I heard a loud noise coming from the window. I lifted up the shade and to my astonishment, a squirrel was on the screen, just passing the time and not in any particular hurry to move along. I tapped the window to give her some motivation and off she went. Another visitation!

I am feeling a little like St. Francis of Assisi. “Brother Cicada, your Creator gave you just one note to sing – praise Him with it! Sister Squirrel, though you dirty our sidewalk with your black walnut leavings, the Creator has made you with strong jaws and an adorable tail. He is no doubt pleased with how you are using His gifts.”

Life is interesting when you know Who wrote the story and see your part in it.

Brother Blog, may you be deleted, as is proper, in the morning.

The world of dreams – if you remember them – is an endless fascination. Sometimes I have dreams that are unbelievably prosaic. Last night I dreamed, briefly, of looking in our fridge and seeing a couple large containers of cut-up fresh fruit which my husband is planning to bring to a men’s breakfast tomorrow. It must have been on my mind.

A few weeks ago, I dreamed of someone who is no longer in our lives, and about whom I had not been consciously thinking. But in my dream, I was furious with this person and we had a very loud confrontation. Wow. It must have been on my mind in some way as well.

The stories that play in our heads in the night
Are telling, revealing what’s hidden from sight.
The heart is a cavern where things go deep,
But the mind pours light on them while we sleep.

The blog is a cavern where posts go deep…but not too deep for me to delete.

Once we got over the shock of losing the wee bit of wilderness across the street, the whole process of watching an apartment building come up in its place was really quite fascinating. A blueprint became a building. What started off as an idea became a reality. Many different workers of different skills paraded over the property for a year, each one doing his part to bring the project to completion.

Two weeks ago our new neighbors began to move in. And the sunset is still as beautiful as it was before.

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years…
One blog post following another, laden with wordiness and cheers.

The beautiful Mary B died one year ago today. I’ve had many moments over the year when I’ve thought, “Oh, Mom would love to hear this,” or “Mom would enjoy seeing this…” When I found out that at least one of my poems was going to be published in a poetry anthology for children, my first thought was to call Mom and tell her. She would have been so pleased.

Going through some old things (a theme of mine lately, right?), I came across a poem that Mom had written for Dad, probably right before their wedding day in June of that year.

Continue reading “Monday, September 9, 2024 The Beautiful Mary B” →

I’m still plugging away at sorting through old family photos, documents, letters, etc. and today came across a prayer that my grandma copied when she was 89 years old, entitled “A Prayer for Those Growing Old.” Author unknown.

Lord, Thou knowest that I am growing older.

Keep me from becoming talkative and possessed with the idea that I must express myself on every subject.

Release me from the craving to straighten out everyone’s affairs.

Keep me from the recital of endless detail. Give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips when I am inclined to tell of my aches and pains. They are increasing with the years and my love to speak of them grows sweeter as time goes by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Make me thoughtful, but not nosy; helpful, but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom and experience it does seem a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, I want a few friends at the end.

All I can add is, “Amen to that!”

Give me wings to delete this post.

Maybe the title says it all – a poem of four words.

Coral, floral
Bingo, flamingo.

I kind of like it. But at the same time it feels like cheating, like I ought to put a little more effort into the thing. Here’s another one:

Continue reading “Thursday, September 5, 2024 Coral Floral Bingo Flamingo” →

“…there is nothing more astonishing than a human face. …it has something to do with incarnation. …Any human face is a claim on you, because you can’t help but understand the singularity of it, the courage and loneliness of it. But this is truest of the face of an infant.” from the book Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

I’ve been thinking about the human face – in particular how hard it is to draw one. I’ve drawn and painted birds and animals and have not found it too hard to get the idea across there. One robin looks pretty much like another. Animals have faces, and sometimes even unique ones, but nothing like the ensouled human face. I’m not just drawing a type of a creature, I’m trying to get across the individuality of a person. No one human looks just like another. Even identical twins develop slight differences that distinguish them from each other to those who know them well. The difficulty of communicating what makes a person look like who they really are, capturing the essence of them, makes you appreciate those who do portraits well. Much of it is in the eyes, I think.

Continue reading “Wednesday, September 4, 2024 The Human Face” →

We purchased a travel trailer recently and the first order of business was to take it out on a short “shakedown cruise” to a campground at a state park not too far from us. And since we were out and about, we decided to visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha for our Minnesota Meanderings in August. For previous meanderings, see these posts: Spam Museum, Bell Museum of Natural History, Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Fort Snelling, and Great Lakes Aquarium.

Back to the breakdown cruise – I mean, shakedown cruise – we chose to revisit one of our favorite state parks from the hiking club years: Whitewater. My husband suggested we call our new camper “Bag End,” which is a nod to Lord of the Rings. Our faithful white Honda Pilot has already been named “Shadowfax,” so it seemed only fitting to continue the theme. Bag End proved to be a wonderfully cozy little home in the forested campground.

Continue reading “Tuesday, September 3, 2024 Minnesota Meanderings August 2024: The National Eagle Center” →