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 very rough drafts of unfocused nature poems.

I wanted to write about my car history  COVID to now.  You have to remember I kept my sanity by developing these road rides that observed and documented bird environments.  When COVID began I designed a bird list form and began by keeping it and writing in my journal.   The car I was driving in the beginning of 2020 was a sweet VIBE that my friend, Karen Adams gifted me after my Honda of many years rusted through. That was in 2017.  Karen past two years ago, way  too young.  

So in  2020 I was well into being  close friends with the VIBE. I  don't remember how many miles it already had on it, but huge, like 250,000.  That engine  just kept going, but other things, like  heat and cooling became obsolete.  It was hard for me to give it up, except two ideal variables collided in mid-air, Sarah could give me her 2008 Jetta, which was as old, but did not have bad mileage, and T. could use the VIBE.  We did a shuffle, passed the cars sideways in what was essentially a family act of kindness.

So since then I have driven the  Jetta with love.  Today I was trying to  decide which car I've owned was my favorite.  I  couldn't decide because I have so many cool memories around cars.  I started in a 1968 Blue Dodge Dart.  Now that  was a great car.  I think all believed  it was our secret  armor, protection from all evil.  I'm sure many people have cool Dart  stories to tell, like when Jason, at age 6 told the police officer he was going to steal his gun away and throw it in the garbage.  

So  now the Jetta is gone and I am trying on this Honda of Annie's. It's so nice.  It's 10 years old, and does not have a lot of mileage on it.  I had such good time doing my COVID run today.  It  sits up higher and there is more openness for photography.

I saw no eagles, hawks nor owls  today and I looked.   I saw plenty of water fowl,  but there weren't any mergansers or sea ducks up from Boston. I counted 18 swan, several  adolescent ones who have stuck around for the winter.  I found them rather amusing today and once again was so aware of how in the moment they let me be. 

It was a nice day.  I did get somethings done towards my stability goals, but I calmed down, didn't feel so edgy.  I think the cortisone shot must have assimilated properly.

Thank you gang, you know who you are, the ones  that keep me from flinging off the side of the record album. Did you ever do that, put something on a turning record and watch it fling across the room? That's what I thought my head was going to do last night, just throw itself to the other side of the room in a large splat.   But it didn't and today I calmed it all down again.  So thank you.