A Blog for 2025

September 24, 2025 Another day of many birthdays. Another Wednesday.; Lindy's self care day.  photo by EJ The eastern box turtle ( Terrapene carolina carolina ) is Massachusetts’ only completely terrestrial turtle. It is a small species ranging from about 11.4-16.5 cm (4.5-6.6 in) in carapace length. The box turtle is named because it can completely close its hinged plastron (lower shell), protecting its head, limbs, and tail. Adult eastern box turtles have a circular to oval, domed shell with variable coloration, but usually some combination of yellow, orange, brown, or black. The carapace is usually brown or black with irregular yellow or orange blotches. (Mass.gov website) Meet EJ's new friend who they helped get off a road today.  He's so beautiful.   I don't think I've ever seen one that is this colorful.  He looks aboriginal.   Working on my readings for Saturday.   I took 2 photos in Jen's garden in the rain today and I ...

September 23, 2025 Happy Birthday, Jovonna! So happy you are a part of my life.  Hope your day was a blast. A new story or an old story in a new voice with a different lens?  Tonight's blog is a narrative I wrote yesterday at the Bookmill.  Bobby's birthday is Thursday so he's been on my mind.  I conjure him, he comes to me, he keeps me warm.   He came to live with us because he was about to give in to the life of a junkie and he needed to get out then or be sucked into the world he’d spent the last year trying to protect her from.  He was so in love with her, but he knew his own body, his own will power, his own consciousness was about to slide into the abyss of heroin usage.  He asked Paul to take him away, so Paul brought him home to his family where everyone fought addiction and no one knew who was winning which battle.   That night he taught my 16 year old self to scream. It was January of 1970 and I was pregnant.  Our home...

September 22, 2025 Happy Birthday, Janice. I was trying to remember what year you moved away.  I moved into this house in '96, I believe.  Had you already married?  I can't remember.  I know Mikey used my moving boxes, so I think that means I lived in this house when you got married.  Amazing how time trips away.  Have you been married almost 30 years?  OMG I had a hard time getting up and at it, but I was lovingly pushed, urged by my pool pals.  I love my pool pals.  I don't know why I was in pain all night, but I was so it was important to get into that pool and let my body move without too much challenge.  Then I went over to the Bookmill and met Joanna to write.  We wrote an hour and a half.  I'll edit what I wrote and post it in the next couple of days.     It was really nice to just be there.  Another gorgeous day in the Valley.                    ...

September 21, 2025 Another beautiful day. I will never ever be a good fundraiser.  I hate money way too much to be good at asking for it.   It's terrible.  I can't even move myself forward to get the money to update the house and make better use of it now that I'm old.    But I always think I do know people with money and that I should be better at connecting with those who can afford to support the organizations that I have given my heart to.  If anyone is interested in supporting LAVA financially, now's the time.  We are having an annual appeal that has several components to it that are worth your time to investigate.  Seriously, check out www.localaccess.org and help keep really good work happening.    Meanwhile, today the rookery was 71 at 5:00.  Heron was smack in the middle perusing her territory for supper.   I continue to be amazed at how different her colors look depending on the sunlight.  Today she was...

September 20, 2025 Ahh the rookery on a September evening. Lazy Saturday morning with a clear blue sky and the leaves just showing the beginning of real color.  Did not get over 70 today and Main St. had marketers sipping coffee and learning about danishes.   Met this clear eyed, very aware 14 month old this morning.  I have to say I miss taking pictures of kids, but I've gotten shier about doing it in the past couple of years.   Thank God for Charlie, who figured out my adapter was broken and not my computer.  Ahh, nothing like knowledgeable, clear headed, helpful friends.   So tonight we get photos again.   I went to LAVA to visit Clara and Charlie and T. came by and brought me flowers and did a lot of silliness and flirting.   Laughing is good.  And my flowers are gorgeous.  They are purples, perfect for my altar.  And everyone got to swoon a little about getting brought flowers.  He does make me smi...

September 19, 2025 Happy Birthday Kora J.  YUP!! Ladybugs on the left over wildflowers. Playing around with Patrick's new lens I managed to disconnect my own E drive on the computer.  How did I do that?  I have cool photos to download that I can't So Rookery was great.  Heron sat in a tree the whole time I was there.  I'm going to borrow Patrick's lens on Sunday and see how much better the 400 is for catching that heron.  

September 18, 2025 Geoff and Marcie on The Bridge of Flowers. Geoff, Marcie, Patrick and I were tourists in Shelburne today.  We went to the Pot Holes first.  The dams were shut and the water was very low.  No feeling of great water power, but the potholes themselves are very interesting.   Plants are amazing.  There were trees and plants all over the potholes. Was this an indication of enough water?  I found it so interesting.  Patrick befriended this woman with a Nikon just near the Bridge of Flowers.  This is a Coolpix, one piece.  This lens is not removable.  Fascinating.  He got the whole run down from her. Marcie shot with her phone today.  They walked the Bridge and I sat with Patrick and people watched.  We went to lunch at a restaurant that was way too noisy for us.  It didn't shut us up, though.  I was pretty tired when we separated.  Patrick brought me to the rookery before I went to work. Th...