Open Water

After a brutal winter and a snowy November, a green Christmas for 2014 was not a disappointment. The day after Christmas, my granddaughter Avery and I went in search of open water.  I wanted to see how high the waves were on Lake Michigan and instead of high waves we found sunshine, blue and green water, a cold wind, fishermen on the Pentwater pier and a beach filled with flotsam and jetsam.

Avery didn’t think she needed a coat as the outside temperature was registering 45 on the car thermometer.  But her ever concerned grandmother brought a red parka for her to wear along with gloves.  Despite the temperature, I knew the winds coming off the lake this time of year would be chilly.

 We watched the water spray up on the pier on the other side of the channel.  Lake Michigan was choppy and at the end of the pier we were walking on, we saw fishermen in warm camouflage, fishing for whatever they fish for this time of year...maybe coho salmon.  I’m guessing as I know nothing about fishing.  One fisherman had caught three large ones while another had a fish on his line.  As he reeled it in slowly we saw the silver fish jump above the water.  Then there was a shout from the fisherman as his catch broke free.  Avery told me later that she wasn’t sure how someone could murder a fish so she was glad it got away.  There is something special about a grandchild who roots for the fish.

At the end of the pier the water was spraying on the rocks and spewing up close to us.  We both used the camera to try to get a picture of the splashing.  It took patience to wait for the crash of water and we shivered in the wind.

As we walked off the pier enjoying the sunshine, I asked Avery if she would like some hot chocolate.  Never a girl to turn down a good thing she enthusiastically said yes.  It was a day to revel in and I knew the open water would soon be a thing of the past.   January snows will come and cover the beach and the lake will freeze around the edges.  The open water will be further out or not within sight at all from the beach.  The pier will become a dangerous place to walk.

We will return in the spring to search once more for open water and collect bits and pieces off the beach.  The wind will be softer and we will watch the waves and feel the change of seasons. We will dream of summer and the carefree days it brings for a grandmother and a granddaughter who enjoy each other’s company. However not much could beat the day after Christmas experience we had just had.  May there always be open water between us.  

Making A List and Checking Things Twice

I sat in the eye doctor’s waiting room last week and made a list. It was unlike any list I had ever made in my life. On the top as a title I wrote:

FIND. Then I listed the things that were missing and needed to be found as quickly as possible because I needed them.

#1 - Pencil sharpeners

At Highclere Castle in England I had picked up five small plastic pencil sharpeners to give to the grandchildren at Christmas time. They were

fairly inexpensive, but they had a picture of the castle and also the name imprinted on them. I knew I had put them in a special place in September, but where that special place was, I had no idea.

#2 - Gifts for A & B

Every year we put up an Advent quilt for the three grandchildren that live down the road. It contains pockets with the numbers 1-25 embroidered on them and are big enough to hold little presents. When I asked Jay, Avery and Carter if I should stop doing the calendar, there was an emphatic, “NO.” Then Jay said, “Why would we want you to stop giving us presents?” That from a twelve year old.

But Adrianna and Bella in Novi do not reap the benefits of this daily present giving so I collect things I can give them as we usually go to their house at least once before Christmas. A bag with those small items was missing.

#3 - A gift similar to four others.

I can not be specific on this as it would give away a big Christmas surprise, but I had four of the same thing and was missing the 5th.

#4 - Two CDs

I had bought three CDs at Target for three different people and I had ordered one off Amazon. I had opened one from Target to listen to. The one from Amazon had not come yet and I was missing two. Math problem...how many CDs would I have if I had all of them?

#5 - Two pair of gloves

I have a pair of red wool gloves I bought at a sliver of a store near St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, Austria in 2011. I wore them in November when we had so much snow. I can’t find them now. I also had a multi-colored pair I bought at Menards in Muskegon which were also missing.

#6 - A small book

This was a present I bought in England for someone who shall remain nameless and it too was missing.

#7 - One alpaca sock

I found one under the bed but the other had vanished into thin air.

When I got home from seeing the eye doctor, I decided to start the search. I had just cleaned and straightened the shelf in the back closet, but looked there one more time. I went through my stuffed desk drawers and came up with nothing on my list.

I had already divided Christmas presents into sacks for each person, but I looked again in those sacks. Then I went to the big attic and opened a big plastic bin but nothing I needed was there. I noticed a smaller bin

under some sheets and pulled that out. BINGO! There were #1 and #6.

I found granddaughters Adrianna and Bella’s missing gifts in a stray bag in my craft room. I could cross number #2 off my list.

My granddaughter Avery found one of the missing CD’s near an attic door in our bedroom. I then opened the attic and found the Target bag with two more CDs. Hurrah for Avery and taking care of #4.

My husband was cleaning out the car this weekend and found my Menard gloves. However the Vienna gloves are still missing even after I searched coat pockets. I haven’t given up hope yet though. So that left half of #5.

As for #7. I put the socks on in the middle of the night when it was so cold in our bedroom and when my feet got warm enough I must have kicked them off. But why was one part way under the bed and not the other one? I used a flashlight to look beneath the bed and when it wasn’t there I decided to check under the blanket and voila….found sock!

I found #3 (one of five) on the floor of my craft room after I had looked there at least six times. I swear there is someone who follows me around and bothers me just to get my goat. Don’t laugh. I was sitting at a concert in Hart last Friday night and even though the wonderful woman pianist was playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, I could hardly keep my eyes open. Then someone poked me several times in the back. I knew that the people behind us had left at intermission, but I turned slightly anyway to see if they might have come back. Nope….nobody. Same thing at home….nobody, but some gremlin is there always haunting me and hiding things. That is why I am now having to make a list like no other so I can feel satisfied in checking the items off when I find them and keep my sanity. However I gave up on finding a cell phone I misplaced over a year ago. Some things just can't be checked off and since I have a new one, I'll let the gremlin keep the old.   

Myrna's Song

Two young girls

float through

a meadow of

tall grass

on their way

to a creek

beyond the field

Bright eyes

splash on eddies

where rivulets circle

and flow into

pools and over

stones

Musky earth

with white

trilliums

greet their senses

from the dark woods

behind the water

Lily pond,

moonstones,

cinnamon pool

giggle off their

tongues to name

and make the place

their own.

Away from their

mother’s demands

their innocence

slips the banks,

thrilling to

freedom in their

bodies and souls

Touching their toes

in the stream,

very far from home

they blink

at the sun

and shadows,

feeling so right

with their own interpretation

of a natural God

Winter Morn

The dark was all pervasive

With cold lurking

On the other side of

The frosty pane

Snuggled under quilts

Like a rabbit In a hole

Who didn’t want fur to freeze

Seemed a reason

To stay in the underground depths      

But thoughts of a fire,

The sunrise from my kitchen window

And hot coffee in a mug

Put my bare feet on the floor

To slowly walk into

The winter morn

It's Come to This

I am sitting up very straight as I write this new post. I have realized for a long time that I am slumping over at an alarming rate. My mother always used to preach good posture, but somehow over the years, maybe with correcting too many student papers, it was easier to

just bend low so I could read sloppy penmanship. Whatever my excuse, it has come to this. I probably should get a brace to wear around the house to keep my shoulders back. Yes, they have such a thing and yes, I’m probably going to buy one.

I had an aunt once that started talking to me about how she always stood up straight. The conversation came out of nowhere and I figured she was referring to my posture, but I gave it little thought. This was the same aunt who one day when I went to visit her, was in her garden. She looked up at me and said, “You’re fat.” Fat and slumpy. What a combination.

While looking on Amazon for a back brace my husband pointed out an elastic sleeve for my knee which has gone to pot. I am thinking these would make great Christmas presents if my children ask me what I want.

I don’t need a thing as a present except those items that help my body or keep me alive. I recently bought some grip like things to put on my boots in case I would like to walk on the snowy road or out to the mailbox. Last year my husband put up a railing close to the mailbox as there is a little incline on the driveway down to the box. The year before I slipped at that spot, went down on my butt and my head hit the driveway hard. It could have been one of those entries on America’s Funniest Home Videos except I never think those are funny where people are actually injured, usually with a hit between the legs. Besides, people have died by hitting their heads just like I did at the end of the driveway.

So besides a back brace or a knee sleeve, in case my children are reading this….what can they get me for Christmas? I like flowers and really good chocolate. I like books that I can read while I’m resting my knee. I don’t want a trip to someplace warm as it would mean I would have to go to an airport in the winter and maybe fly out or maybe be stranded at the airport. I don’t want to fly in a plane that has to be de-iced.

They could get me propane for our gas fireplace because I love sitting in front of that and I use a lot of propane. Or a good bottle of wine would make me happy as well. If they only want to spend a little….a bottle of Ibuprofen would be just fine. But the best present of all is just visit and bring the grand kids who always make me laugh. The laughter will cure any ailment I might have.

Living in a World of Negatives

I am surrounded by family and friends who are living in a world of pain. Not pain in the physical sense, but pain as it comes through feelings and emotions and life’s struggles. I have been internalizing this pain of theirs and it has had an effect on my daily life. I catch myself wondering how they are doing and if I can help in any way or even if I have the stamina and strength to help.

Then there is the guilt that I could be a happier person if I wasn’t dealing with their reality. The quote that you are “only as happy as your least happy child” or in my case also grandchildren and friends is with me always.

So how do we as caring humans live in this world of negatives? It isn’t just our close family and friends and their daily lives; the negatives are all around us. We can hear about them hourly as the troubles of the world are at our doorstep. We can choose to shut it out, but that doesn’t change what is happening. I prefer to be informed.

I stepped out on our deck one morning in bare feet and felt the cold of the frost the previous night. I watched the leaves drifting down like snowflakes as the sun came up and hit the trees at the end of the meadow. The creek flowing by our house brought a calmness to me. I went back in to get my camera, but knew it could not capture what nature was showing me. For a short time the scene in front of me cleansed my brain as I told myself to stop, breathe, take it in.

When my son was in high school he memorized a poem by an unknown author that he found in an obscure book. I shared it with some family and

one of my nieces illustrated the poem with flowers around the written words and gave it to me. It is framed and hanging in my son’s old bedroom. It seems to fit how I think I should face life when negativity gets me down.

THE COURAGEOUS HEART

I know that stars are in the sky

    I know the rivers run,

I know the ocean tides obey

    The mandate of the sun.

I know the flowers trust in God

    As year by year they bloom

Then why should I so fearful be

    Of destiny or doom?

I know that through all life there runs

    One great eternal law.

I know that ignorance is sin

    And fear the only flaw.

And knowing truth and fearing naught

    I go my quiet way,

Assured that a courageous heart

    Shall win the darkest day

Music that fits into this mood perfectly and can soothe one’s soul is Ashokan Farewell. It is a tender song that tells life’s story in so many ways. Ken Burns used it in his Civil War series on PBS a few years back. If you feel like taking the time to listen to this beautiful melody go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RMNoIzUY-0

Nighttime Insanity

The clock read 1:25 a.m. when I woke up to feel heartburn crawling around my chest. Must have been the cider I drank before bedtime or maybe the two or was it three pumpkin peeps I had along with the cider.

I lay there for awhile contemplating if the heartburn was bad enough for me to get up and take something. Lying on my side looking out the window I noticed car lights reflecting off the trees. Who would be on our dead end road at this time of the night?

I hustled out of bed and walked into the north bedroom and just caught the taillights going down the hill away from the house. Good - whoever it was, they were on their way out. But who was it? By now my heartburn was really kicking in so I proceeded to the kitchen for the ever trusty Ranitidine tablets.

Into my mind came the thought that there had been someone at the end of the road in the afternoon and they had turned around and left.

Had that person returned to steal something? My thoughts often go to the dark side after the midnight hour.

To get in a more positive vein I wondered if the Muskegon Chronicle delivery guy was delivering the Sunday paper. Why not go check? If the paper was there, then I’d know there weren’t any people up to no good. Besides I was curious to know how Mona Shores beat Muskegon in Friday night’s football game. I would probably be awake for awhile and that would be good reading.

I shoved my feet into some slip on shoes, grabbed a jacket off the hook to cover my nightgown and unlocked the door. I hesitated before turning on the outside light on the garage, but figured it was better to light my way to the end of the driveway.

The shadows turned my legs into toothpicks which I found amusing. In the next second a panicked feeling came over me as I saw car lights coming toward me where the last car had gone out and disappeared. What the heck? Why were the bad guys returning? I knew how stupid I would look to anyone, let alone someone I didn’t know. I felt like a deer in the headlights until the fight or flight mechanism in my brain kicked in. I chose flight.

The garage door was down so I couldn’t hide there and I had to run fast to make it to the house. If only I hadn’t turned that darned outside light on. At first I was jogging toward the house and then as the lights got closer I started to sprint. For two glorious seconds I felt powerful and strong and fast. It felt like it did when I was a kid running. Then old age hit me in the face. My left knee buckled with a shooting pain in my kneecap. I grabbed the railing to pull myself up to the small deck and gasping I opened the entryway door and snapped off the outside light. When I entered the kitchen I turned that light off as well. I was convinced no one had seen me, but I was in agony.

I hobbled to the front window and watched the car drive slowly toward the middle of our property. I couldn’t see if it was going up my son’s driveway but by this time I had figured out the scenario. If I hadn’t been in so much pain I would have taken a vehicle to the end of the road just to make sure there wasn't a strange car there.

But instead I downed three Ibuprofen and stiff legged it back to my bed. As I tried to get comfortable my husband asked me if I had been awake and if I needed a back rub. I said, “I did something stupid.”

He said, “Oh, O.K.” and went back to sleep.

Around 2:30 a.m. he was awake enough to hear the story and he got the heating pad. It has been heat and ice on my poor knee ever since. Hopefully it will mend.

There was no boogeyman in the night. Our granddaughter Avery had a friend over whose parents were staying down the road at our neighbors. Her friend Ava had felt sick in the middle of the night so my daughter-in-law was taking her back to be with her parents. In essence I was running from my daughter-in-law.

I am now paying the price for going nuts in those dark hours. However I have to confess by saying it’s not the first time I’ve been out of my mind at night and it probably won’t be the last.   

Autumn Tribute to Mr.Frost

               THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
                             
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far a I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

                                           -Robert Frost


Robert Frost has always been one of my favorite American poets. His works often take us into nature and leave a twist at the end. I find his lines comprehensible, but with something thought provoking added. I thought of him this morning as I was starting to write a letter to a friend and my husband came into the house and said, "Get dressed in something warm; get your camera and go to the big meadow. The light is just right.

I dressed and then put on a winter jacket, gloves without fingers, ear muffs and hopped on the golf cart.  When I got to the big meadow I gasped.  It was that fantastic. The sun was hitting the woods at the far end of the meadow and the colors were at their peak.  The family dog Penny was excited we were out and about and she ran along side the cart.

I parked in the middle of the meadow and started snapping shots. The perimeter had color that couldn't be beat by any trip further north. I waited for the sun to get higher and the shadows on the bottom of the trees to disappear. I decided it was my time to capture what might be gone in a few days.  

So I drove the golf cart all over the farm finding shots by pointing my camera up through tree leaves to the sky and down on the ground at leaves artistically paired with rocks and moss. I took photos of leaves in the water, a small waterfall at the spring, our old barn, the pond and then I got in the car for shots around the neighborhood. I went to Gales Pond where I used to take my English classes for creative writing this time of year. I drove down a road that is so close to us that went past the Oceana Grange building.  I was surprised to find that I had never been to the end of that road.  I discovered a chartreuse field of asparagus all leafed out with colorful trees behind it.  

I drove down another road and as I glanced to my left I saw a number of trees that were each a different solid color.The sun was hitting them just right, but when I got out to take a picture the sun had disappeared. I had to return later and got a five second opportunity to capture them in the sunshine.

Robert Frost's poem kept looping through my head all morning as I trekked down dirt roads and paved roads.  Now I will show you what I saw.  I'm sure everyone who lives in Michigan has seen similar sights the last few days and has them stored in their head for a cold winter's night.  

The road leading to the center of our farm.

                                                      The Big Meadow                               

Looking up

A forest floor covered with color.

Rays of sunshine coming through the trees by the spring.

My favorite place on the farm....the spring.

Stepping Stones

Old but solid.

Pond reflections



A rainbow of trees.



Beauty beyond belief.

Shades of nature on a road I had never taken before today.
..



Our neighbor's waterfall behind her house.





The loveliness of a country farm house in October.