Recent Posts
Squirrel Show
Squirrel Show On warmish mornings, we sit on the porch with our coffee and watch the squirrel show. They will take a running leap from the end of an oak branch and fling themselves over the driveway o... Read More
Missed Boat
Missed Boat There was a time when I looked at other people’s expansive homes, their accomplishments, their travels, and I got the sense that we had somehow missed the boat. We hadn’t gotten news t... Read More
Expansion and Contraction
Expansion and Contraction In the beginning, I lived in a womb. That is how small my world once was. When I stretched that place to its limit, I was born. My world has been an expanding circle ever sin... Read More
There is Beauty Everywhere
There is Beauty Everywhere Even the tattered tarp that covers the woodpile, battered as it is by the bitter wind, cups a puddle of rainwater in its folds, which it offers now, like a chalice, to the t... Read More
Am I an Old Lady Yet?
Am I an Old Lady Yet? I’m not quite sure when that threshold is crossed. Some of the external evidence is here- thinning hair, furrowed skin, aches from old injuries, and the way I have become invis... Read More
A Blessing
A Blessing As you set out on the path ahead, may the difficulties of the past be transformed into strength and compassion. May your fears be channeled into alert determination. May self-doubt recede s... Read More
Sense of Well-Being
Sense of Well-Being Such a luxurious beginning, the way I climb out of this soft, warm bed and have everything I need- a bathrobe and slippers, a toothbrush and paste, a toilet that flushes, ample cof... Read More
Elegy to My Father
It has been 44 years this week since my dad died. It was all such a long time ago and I am glad I wrote down these memories of him when I did. Elegy To My Father I My dreams took years to comprehend y... Read More
Just This Moment in Time
Just This Moment in Time It is a cold December evening. We have just returned from a night hike under the stars and now, you stoke the wood stove while I settle in with a good book, basking in the coz... Read More
Introversion
Introversion When I am around a lot of people, there is a little scribe in my brain who insists on taking notes, processing every single interaction. He is very thorough and writes slowly with his tin... Read More
Granddaughter
Granddaughter We are walking together across the blazing blacktop. Sweat blossoms on my lip and brow. She is talking, talking, talking. Her hand, as if it knows its own language, the language of trust... Read More
When Sadness Comes to Visit
When Sadness Comes to Visit Against all instinct, Don’t run away. Try not to fix anything. Don’t get busy Cleaning the house Or running errands. Just sit down with it. Offer it a cup of te... Read More
Late Afternoon
Late Afternoon There are plenty of days that I let this moment pass, just keep working, ignore the slant afternoon sun’s beckoning call. Come, it says. Rest. Linger for a while. You have worked hard... Read More
On Watching Mr. Rogers Bury a Dead Fish
On Watching Mr. Rogers Bury a Dead Fish My grandchildren and I sat mesmerized, as he quietly, carefully, netted the little silver body, wrapped it reverently in a paper towel shroud, troweled a hole i... Read More