September 21, 2026

Happy Birthday, Marcie Reed Whiton

Hope your day was fun.

Mine was full,

but I'm not sure fun.

This is a second harvest of milkweed pods.  I was shocked this morning when I went out to get in the car and all of these flowers were glowing in the sun at noon.  I didn't look for monarchs.  Tomorrow.

It was over a year ago that my first attempt at eye surgery was scheduled. Since then it has been canceled three times.  The last time was when i went into Afib in March.  I saw the eye surgeon for the first time in 7 months.  He is the first doctor to acknowledge that the last 7 months had been too much.  He would not reschedule the surgery for early Winter and suggested we reconvene in January.  I'm worried that by the time I actually get to it, my vision will have been effected too much. So after 2 hours of waiting and being examined and being rejected I left there feeling both validated and pushed away in the same moment.  

I drove over to the canal.  It is draining week.  The mud flats were covered with lily pads and other green plants.  The floor of the canal is a mixture of greens and browns with just enough water still there to provide a hint of blue.  My attention got grabbed by the egret.  It's the first egret I've seen  there in a couple years.  She was delicate compared to the three heron.

I came home to hear that Piet Van Loon passed away this morning. I know he was in his 80s, he was older than Michael, but I haven't seen him in so long.  I have many stories about Piet.  He grew up in Wilton where his father played music with my parents and Walter Trampler.  He was in a couple classes above Mike.  I believe he joined students at Marlboro in the late 50's and never left.  He ran that campus site for many years.  When I first graduated in 77 I was elected secretary of the Alumni Council, which Piet's wife, Hilly, whom we all adored, was Coordinator.  For 8 years I served in that position and learned a huge amount.  We had great times together.  Oh Piet, you were so anchoring to have near.  I always felt safe with you. God speed.