A Blog for 2025

  January 17, 2026 A true snow day. People who read my blog must think I am weepy a lot.  I really am not and I certainly don't cry often, but I do experience every emotion that goes through me at rapid succession. Last night Kevin posted the GoFundMe to support me receiving Annie's car.  The response was  so amazingly cool.  It's hard not to weep when the world  comes to your side so quickly, and I don't mean just those who are always there for me, whose existence let me have mine, but ones who have slipped in and given and said nice things and joined the people that stand behind me.  It is so lovely, it is moving.  I kind of want to do little bios on a couple people, but I won't.  Just know, that I am so touched by it all, I am so utterly grateful.  I am so pleased to be appreciated for my smile and the things that I share with my communities.  I am so full tonight. The other tidal wave of this week has been peoples' responses to ...

photo by Claudia 2008 January 16, 2026 I found this photo today.  I love it.  It was taken the day Jason and Claudia left Vermont for California in 2008.  He's my boy, well, not really anymore, he was already 43, but still my pal.  The last few days have been filled with memories, filled with new memories, but lots of people sending out love in response to Jay's passing.  Oh my God, it's true, we laughed a lot cause he was in  our lives.  There was  something about the combination of  Jay and Jason that was pretty damn perfect for me.  They had a lot of things in common and I think  from the beginning I thought they'd both  be around for ever.   For the past 18 years I have had neither of them around physically, but they both are in my heart and mind continuously.  2 of the people I love the most in the world.  01/16/25 I think it will snow tonight. I don't think  there will be a lot of accumulation, bu...

January 15, 2026 A patch of sun shines through clouds and porch and makes its way across my sofa reflecting my internal heart. I posted Jay's obituary today on a few things.   I'll put it at the bottom of this post, too.  People should share it if they need to.  I hope the word reaches as many people as it can.   There's a copy of my favorite photo of Jay.   He's holding Kelley in their living room in Alfred so many years ago.  I'm going to put together  a google folder for Kelley.   A year ago.    I thought I'd get out today on a little adventure, but it didn't pan out so it was another day without photography, or at least the doing of.  I did spend a lot of time going through photos.  Tomorrow I'll get out and I believe the Gofundme will be up tomorrow,  too.    I told two  people I  would write them letters today.  The first is Kelley,  who I want to stay in  touch ...

  January 14, 2026 Back to being a dependent human lucky to have joyful friends to hang with So Emily picked me up and brought me to the Y, Gary took me from the Y to therapy.  Clara got me at therapy and we went to lunch, she brought me home and helped finish  a few important tasks. I  finished making a wonderful soup.  It began as  a 13 bean  soup with a lot of mushrooms and asiago in it.  Tonight I added Italian sausage with a thimble of sesame seed hot oil.  It is so good.  Jan. 14, 2025 I remember shooting this sunset last   year. The weather was a little different today.  It was gray  and rainy, in the low 40s.  By sunset it was truly raining.   I'm not sure if it is pouring tonight or not.  But I did not have space to photograph.   Now I have had space to think about things.  Clara was a great sounding board for my need to process today.  She got to hear Jay-Jay stories; ...

January 13, 2026 Jay C. Davis  This poem was chosen by Garrison Keeler and featured in May 2005.     Knives, or the Way to a Man's Heart It's been a great couple of weeks for staying home and sharpening my knives, and each one has a perfect edge now. All this honing has really whetted my appetite. I feel a keen hunger, for freshly chopped and diced and julienned and sliced and shoestringed and French cut and coarsely chopped and minced meat and vegetables, filets of fish and beef and chicken, carrots, celery, blanched broccoli and fresh onions, garlic, peppers—sweet and hot— strawberries, peaches, all the tropical fruits, parsley, thyme, rosemary and every variety of fresh herbs. Strop, strop, chop chop. If you open a box and drop in 100 mice with one piece of cheese and one small hole to escape, and wait for the scratching to stop, one mouse only will exit the hole, cleaning his claws against his glossy coat, grinning in the spotlight, mugging for the paparazzi and ...

January 12, 2026 Happy Birthday, Zoe.  Pretty impressed by this lovely human being.  Good luck starting college tomorrow.  Love you. And the sad news of the day is Jay is gone.  RIP  05.09.53 - 01.11.26 I have no formal announcement or any solid information, yet, just a message from his daughter that he went last night.  Once I know facts, or once I am able to share information I will, but until then light a candle in his honor, remember him as the smiling, really smart, always giving man that he was. My heart is really heavy and I am both in shock and not surprised.  I love you very dearly, Jay Jay.  

January 11, 2026 Annie made a country pate that is superb.  I just ate a piece of it and got in touch with my roots.  Eliza just told me she could put sprinkles on her slice of cake tonight that her  Papa just baked. EJ is looking for homes for old clothes, he's separated out costumes from his old clothing and has stuff to give away. Kevin had a strong week. Jiah says there were1000 people at the Brattleboro  vigil. And I'll make sure Paul and Molly are ok in a bit.    The weather was much improved today and I still have the pleasure of having Annie's car so I went out this morning to see where the  swans were at. The car feels so safe and secure.  It's got power, but it's solid. It's  been a long time since I felt secure in a car.  Driving the Jetta was a pleasure, but being sure  that it wouldn't break down was always on my mind.   And now that I understand what was wrong with the engine, I get why I felt that way. But H...

  January 10, 2026 This photo makes me very happy. I have the use of Annie's car for 48 hours which allowed me to wake up this morning and go for a rookery ride, take photos and write some poetry.   I went to the  Coop and had   lunch with Jan  and kind of felt  normal for the first time in  10  days.  The best part was going wherever I wanted to go to take photos. I went to the rookery, I did the  Shelburne drive and after lunch  I went to Migratory Way and wrote  for an hour and over to Highland Pond to look for owls.   I will share with you all tonight my journey. Annie's Honda It's amazing how helpful sitting  up just a little higher  is. I just  reread everything I wrote today and realized nothing is in the shape to share.  I'm a little rusty, it's been a while since I've given myself the space to just sit and write.  It was quite comfortable and I had good birding, but it's all...

painting by Zoe Tilton January 9, 2026 Happy Birthday, Charlie. Happy Birthday, Mr. Spicer. Seems to have been a good day to be born, or at least that good people were born today.  So this is Zoe's painting that she had made into cards this year.   I think it is a fascinating study of a simple activity.  It's modern and Renaissance and male and female and edgy but not.  I can't wait to talk about it with her.    Bye-bye sweet car.  Thank you for being my office for the past five years.  You served me well.  Not only were you gifted to me by my lovely and loved niece, but you kept going no matter  what, until the end, when it was important for you to be allowed to go gracefully.  Thank you, Sarah, thank you car, thank you, last 5 years.  I'm feeling some mourning around this, although I am aware that there is a lot to mourn at the moment.   poetry escapes me and bitterness makes a bid for my heart so for a second here ...

January  8, 2026 Sorry it's not slightly crispier, but when were  you last at a party where the host offered you sparkling cider with a twist of cherry and a cherry in your glass? Unfortunately, I won't drink it, but I can appreciate it's prettiness and I can appreciate the memories of Shirley Temples at Tony's Restaurant.  I've been carless for 10 days now. This morning my knee felt strong enough to walk to the mailbox and to take a few photos along the way.  I actually  managed to get stuff done today, that's two days in a row of staying pretty focused.  My blood sugar is still high from the cortisone, but my head ache has lessened.   This morning was a success.   Clara  came and got me and we went to a little get together for LAVA that we had put together prior to the holidays. It'd been almost a month since we sat in a room together.  I found it very sweet.   Tomorrow is Charlie's birthday, so we did a mini celebr...