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!
Life on the Salt Marsh is a journal of what i am learning and experiencing in this breathtakingly beautiful place, where the Dyer and Sheepscot, both tidal rivers, meet and merge.
Sweet Last Days of Summer
Author
- Rev. Mary
- Midcoast Maine
- Rev. Mary is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served congregations in San Francisco, Sonoma County, Houston, Marblehead and Winchester MA, and New Orleans, in a variety of ways. She is President and co-founder of Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul and has led 14 service trips to Louisiana and Mississippi since a few weeks post-Katrina. She has 3 children, Sam, 22, Julia, 26, and Jason, 41, and the best spouse in the universe, Marty. She was diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease in 2006. Rev. Mary can be reached at duckdreams at gmail.com. Due to her illness her ability to reply is unlikely but she would enjoy hearing from you if that's OK.
From Mary's Journal in December
after simple surgery turned into a nightmare: "the pain has been excruciating and for 3 days was unrelenting, even breathing was an agony. i tried to picture our mallard in maine who i studied one day when it was freezing cold, windy, pouring down rain and he was in his spot in the grass all tucked up and i tried to imagine how he could handle the elements. i decided he must go very deep inside and have duck dreams. so i tried to emulate him."