Last Looks

Oh Vermont, ours has been a forty plus year love affair which I still cling to even while I prepare to move west. Happy lake time runs from May into October and brings a constant treat. Diving in takes precedence on most afternoons, yet each time I consider myself lucky. There are more than 800 lakes and ponds in Vermont, one more spectacular than the other: I have done my best to swim in lots of them, although I have found favorites they are all fabulous. Of course there is more to my love than one season’s occupation. There is the richness of green hills against the brilliant blue sky, the sweet smell of yellow flowers that run Spring through Fall, as well as the stark black and white beauty of Winter. All an integral  part of me now.

As the movers lift the last of our boxes into their truck, I am certain it will all come with me.

Continue reading

Barbie, Indictment #4, and Summer’s End

Did I get your attention with that title? I really don’t have much to say about “Barbie” other than duh. I mean who doesn’t realize the world is in the control of rich white men? Casting Will Ferrell doesn’t really change the fact that men like Ron Desantis and his cohorts want to not only change our history books and keep women barefoot and pregnant, but want to keep guns in the hands of equally irresponsible and angry white men and trans women the target. “Barbie” is fun and all, and the litany of indictments aimed at putting that clear and obvious criminal behind bars is also fun and all, but this is a man’s world. T-man’s rich and not afraid to lie or coerce or slander or destroy for his own gain, so whatever, I am thinking about more immediate last-ditch summer-blowout fun-shine and sun-scapes this week. You too?

Continue reading

Past our Bedtime

meeeeSummer nights are what we in the northern hemisphere live for, well at least this one does. Staying out until last light, waiting for fireflies and stars to transform the landscape, the afternoon heat to cool into sweet night, to live fully through the whole of a day. There are many jokes about the seasons in Vermont and in many respects this one is true: there is July and the other season. But, for now, at the start of this glorious month that allows for morning and night lake swims, fresh strawberries and peas, bike rides through the woods, and time to gather with friends on a hillside to listen to orchestra music, I will celebrate.

Continue reading