A Blog for 2025

March 31, 2025 Not sure where this day went.  I did take pictures. Although I was cold all day it was 60 in the very cloudy rookery between 5:30 and 6:30.  While I sat there communities of birds collected in front of me.  By the time I left there were 18 Common Mergansers.  There were 30 or so black birds in the trees.  I couldn't tell if they were all red winged or not. There were certainly several around making noise.  There were geese coming in and two wood duck couples, a kingfisher and watching over everything sat the eagle.   I heard others that I could not see, but my bird ID app is in German and I can't figure out how to change the language.     https://aqueensnarrative.com/f/embracing-healing-and-friendship-with-trauma-through-writing?blogcategory=2025+Month ly+Blog+Stories  My article on writing as a tool in my own journey came out today.  Here's the link, but check A Queens Narrative out, too.    My ri...

  March 30, 2025 LAVA Center Intergenerational Choir Put together in 48 hours.  They did great.   Outrageously ugly day.  Truly!   It was gray, rainy, cold, and just north of us it was ice and a lot of electric outages.    I warmed up chicken soup and I ate hot dogs. Meals were made up of comfort food.   And at 3 I went to hear the concert. A group of about 50 kids and adults came together to work with a gentleman who is a sacred music professor.  He and a two local musicians worked with 2 after school programs and about 30 adults and put on 2 days of concerts.  Yesterday the kids performed, today some of the kids joined the adults and they made up an intergenerational choir.  They sang spirituals and learned about song as a contemplative study.  The audience was moved, people were visually affected as they came out of the concert into the social hall of the church. The day was also full of odd curiosities. ...

March 29, 2025 Found another box of assorted photographs from 1977 to 1996.  These four were shot in Japan  in 1991.  That night Gab and I couldn't stop laughing, we were acting about 14.  My poor mother didn't know whether to join us or beat us over our heads.  This family was very close to Jason.  I think this was the most relaxed we were which made us misbehave.  I think we left the house for a bit to gather ourselves.   I don't know how to rotate photos on blogspot.  Many of the people in these photos I have not seen in 35 years.  Kora's 5th birthday party, 1996, is well represented in this stack.  The black and whites were taken at my Marlboro graduation party at Sunset Cottage.  What should I do with piles of snapshots from forever ago?   And do they stimulate any good stories?   This hawk died on David's property the other day.   He is honoring it and burying it.  It's a Coopers Ha...

March 28, 2025 Happy Birthday, Tucker. First time I've seen the otter in a year.   You have to remember in the summer of 1969 Andy was almost 18, I was 16, and Fred was 15.  We were headed off to the newest biggest deal we had ever heard of.  We got in the Dart early Saturday morning and headed over to N.Y.  The closest we could get was 15 miles away from the stage.   We had to park along the side of the road and join the line of people walking to the concert.   It was an August day in New York and it was not cool.  I was dressed in a turtle neck, corduroys and fur lined suede boots. It was not the best get up for a 15 mile hike in humidity, although the storm had not begun. When we came to the lake, people were just jumping in.  Andy jumped in naked, I jumped in with all my clothes on.  Once I slipped my boots back on and we started walking again I was aware that blisters were what I was looking forward to.  At some point a pi...

March 27, 2025 Fifteen minutes at the place of grace today. Very pretty. Actually worked today. Will work a little bit tomorrow and Sunday.  Actually like my colleagues so much in all our quirkiness.  At least we laugh a lot. We heard on the radio that this huge rock concert was going to take place in Central New York State and I begged my parents to let Andy and me take the Dart and go for the weekend.  Our friend, Freddy wanted to come, too.  I wanted Michael to come and bring Jason, but he thought I was crazy, why would he want to go into that crowd?  It would be a mad house.  And even if he didn't have a 4 year old, he wouldn't go.  We took Jason everywhere, but we said good-bye and Andy, Freddy and I jumped into the car and headed for the concert.   I'm trying to decide on a story i want to submit for a chance to work with a storyteller.  I have to write a 200 word story to submit.  Asked a few friends what their favorite LINDY...

  March 26, 2017 March 26, 2025 Does anyone recognize this window?  Any of you Montague Center folks? I Still Want   Clippers to hang on my pant loop A piano to play on           to learn again           to accompany my dreams. An open mouth           even though I’m brought to tears           by the memory of his           so wonderful, so deadly Kisses that continue to hurt.   An early morning chat           a walk around the block with him           the possibility that you’d bring           me home an unwanted present           ...

March 25, 2025 Chris has been gone a year and what a year it has been.  His death caused giant ripples and his spirit is still very much present.  You are missed, sir, you are missed. And you have to know you are loved. I had a gentle but sad day.  The rookery was damp and there were birds; common mergansers, wood ducks, Canada geese and an eagle way up over the radio towers.  The water was high and the breeze was evident.  Temperature was 44 degrees at 4.   The rookery neighborhood is its own community, too, and people were outside today.  Got to say Happy Birthday to Jen.  Got to hear the outcry about the eagles seemingly moving in for the summer.   In this neighborhood the eagle has made himself not wanted.  Three seasons of wiping out heron babies is just too much for the humans to take.  But I thought their presence was great yesterday and I think the herons are smart enough not to try those nests this year. ...