hazy lazy daze of summer

day after day of hot, sun-filled mornings and afternoons--all people can talk about is the heat. this summer has been the clearest, the bluest, the hottest one that people can remember. i don't like air conditioners, but there have been a few sultry afternoons when i would have succumbed.

my cousin diane heard the loons last night, or so she thought. she said it was this beautiful call, a long melancholy calling, so marty grabbed his laptop and found loon calls on the internet and as he played them diane was so excited. "yes!" she kept saying, "that's exactly what i heard. i never heard a loon before."

the other big news on the marsh is the ducklings. on his morning walk with francie, marty came upon a mallard with five new hatchlings which he said were totally adorable. this is a late hatch but a most welcome one. when it came to naming them, i suggested the name needed to include the number five, like the jackson five. marty said, "or the dave clark five." but julia won the day with "the quackson five." welcome to the neighborhood, little quackers.

Little Journeys IX

as promised my brother john wrote about his (often) weekly date with spouse pam to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park, in grand rapids where we all grew up and where, of the six of us, he still lives.

The Tuesday night Garden Party was alive and kick'in. Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys were the featured band, a good ole hoe down and country spunk quintet. Delilah ended the show by standing on and balancing her stand up bass. All the while continuing to play. Of course we took our normal stroll through the gardens during the show - a nice peaceful, almost fall like evening. The main pond has a fine green layer over top as it's been dry, warm and little rain. But it makes for a new vision of the pond, especially with the ice blue Chihully blocks still firmly anchored about.

The little frogs are everywhere and make for a fun game of tag - of course we had to wiggle all the rocks they dove for just to make sure they were OK. It's fun to people watch, especially those new to the gardens - so many different expressions, observations and assessments. Love, John

sunshine at low tide

SHEEPSCOT VILLAGE

it was supposed to rain today but instead the sky is baby blue and cloud free. everything on the ground is radiant with a golden glow. there's quite a breeze out there so the windows are still closed. nice and fresh, like i feel myself after a bath and getting my hair washed and brushed out. it was like a mini-spa here earlier.

i have so many loving (and often hilarious) people taking care of me, opening the world to me, keeping me their prayers, starting with marty and expanding out from there to include my children, dear friends, cousins, sibs, my therapist, my acupuncturist - and many beloved members of the churches i served. now added to that are hospice staff who've been with us since mid-march - they are extraordinary. i was director of one of the first hospice programs in the country, in Sonoma County CA in the early 80's. it's terrible having this monster illness at 58, but thank god they're there for all of us and i can have life and love in this little paradise. along with ronny foxy baby, i'm a lucky duck too.

gray day on the marsh

I know I say that every season and every day outside is beautiful, and it's true, each in its own way. But recently, it has been extraordinarily so. Right outside the window in the little garden there are butterflies and hummers eating from the feeders and the flowers. Just down the berm the spartina begins, first in green waves where the grass falls over on itself and looks like an emerald version of a choppy sea. Then there is a band of taupe-ish grass that has already dried out, like all of it will be by December. Behind that rises up more spartina that looks kind of like corn, with green stalks and golden toppers. Then there is a little island with more of the tall grass, but all green. Then you come to the river, which today is a sparkling silver. The tide is receding, and the water going out reflects the green trees and the gray skies.

Two loons appeared earlier, followed by a flock of gulls on the river, followed by a visit from a bright lemony finch close to the house. Everywhere I look is peace and softness. I am having a really good day myself; maybe I am mirroring the marsh, the way the river mirrors the sky.

Little Journeys VIII

as promised my brother john wrote about his (often) weekly date with spouse pam to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park, in grand rapids where we all grew up and where, of the six of us, he still lives.

Our Tuesday night garden party was held on Sunday night when we attended the George Thorogood and his Destroyers concert at Meijer Gardens. George is an old blues rocker from way back (ok, not so far back - he's our age) whose hits include Bad to the Bone; One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer; I Drink Alone; Haircut; Move it on Over and other assorted intellectual classics. Aside from his deeply meaningful lyrics, he is an incredible blues/rock guitarist and high energy performer. Had a great time on a beautiful summer's evening. Love, john

love letter

this is a love letter to my sister terry who just spent two months making life on the salt marsh paradisial. (thank you, wendell berry, for that exotic word.) terry spent two months caring for me, marty, the pets, the house, and the gardens. she installed two hummingbird feeders which are visited daily by several cantankerous ruby-throated hummers. the transformation of our home and life here has been nothing short of miraculous. i am especially grateful to my nephew scott and brother-in-law lloyd for loaning her to us in such a good natured way.

every closet and cupboard got sorted out, the two upstairs bedrooms we redecorated together, and putting in the gardens with her was a blast. she used a little movie camera called a flicker to film the upstairs rooms which i have never seen in person, to show me how she had arranged the furniture and elicit my suggestions. we ordered butterfly quilts for julia's bedroom and quilts with moose, mallards, and other marsh wildlife for sam's room. when it came to the gardens she tore out all the weeds and undergrowth and together we chose what plants to put in and where they should go. it was a project that still makes my heart sing.

most of all she was attentive to me in such a completely loving and devoted way; truly unbelievable. there's the life on the marsh happening outside and the life happening inside. she made our inside life a work of peace and beauty. she may be able to return in september after my nephew starts high school. this would be over-the-top fabulous!

Little Journeys VII

as promised my brother john wrote about his (often) weekly date with spouse pam to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park, in grand rapids where we all grew up and where, of the six of us, he still lives.

Pam is on her way home from Ethiopia - arrives late tomorrow. So Pauline, friend Sami and I went to the gardens to make sure nobody was messing with our Tuesday. Being August, they have live bands on Tuesday nights so we were able to take in the gardens and got a free show on top of it. It was a gorgeous night - people everywhere. It's really nice as you can stroll around and groove to the music or sit in the grass amphitheatre and watch all the old fuddyduddies trying to reenact their youth.. The highlight of the night was watching Pauline sail her little boat through the entire chain of Great Lakes in the children's area (it's really a cool replica of the all the Great Lakes) - she was quite proud of her accomplishment.

Sami kinda looked on - humored of course on how Pauline had taken her little plastic boat and so artfully navigated the varying levels between the lakes, wondering how real boats would navigate abrupt drops in water levels without crashing into oblivion. But together they figured out the real world used locks and therefore the end of the earth doesn't occur at the connecting points of each lake. Pretty impressive conclusions for a couple juniors in high school. But we had a wonderful evening and while we missed Pam it was fun to just hang out with daughter and friend. Love, John

duck fusion

when we got this lovely little house last summer, it came with a family of mallards, one drake, his mate, and their one surviving offspring. i said to marty, we need names for them, ending with "and baby makes three". he immediately responded, "ronny, foxy and baby". instant accord between us and here's why.

shortly after i moved to san francisco in 1979 to be with marty, we read an article in the SF Chronicle about a muni bus driver who had stolen a bus and had gotten as far as san luis obispo before being stopped. he told police he had commandeered the empty bus because he'd "never been to L.A. before and needed a break". the paper also mentioned that the bus driver went by the name "Ronny Foxy Baby". we were charmed. ten or maybe 15 years later, still living in california, we heard a breaking news story on the radio that someone from sacramento had stolen a city bus from the lot where he worked and was caught driving south, allegedly to L.A. - and just as we turned to look at each other, the announcer added, "the thief told police he prefers to be called by the name 'Ronny Foxy Baby'." we were smitten.

so much so that we named my power wheel chair after this superhero.

and then the 3 ducks. but since foxy and baby both eloped with new drakes this spring, our faithful remaining mallard is now bestowed with all 3 names for himself, the lucky duck.