Loose Leaf Notes

We’ve stuffed a lot in and, like a good meal, summer feels over too soon.  I feel blessed by the fullness, the family interactions, and all the settings and activities that epitomize summer for me.

I ate blueberry pies with blueberries from our garden, swam in the ocean (in three different states), and watched my grandson ride a pony on the 4^th of July.  I saw the wild ponies of Assateague Island, ate the best crab cake I’ve ever had in my life, and biked around a nature preserve with Joe.

I went to a porch concert at my neighbor’s farm on a perfect summer evening, picked armfuls of greens from the garden all summer, and took countless photos of butterflies.

I wrote a story about mountaintop removal, a poem about summer’s squeaky wheel (crickets), and another about the beach at sunset being like the Louvre of nature and the Sistine Chapel of sky.

I covered the Humane Society’s Stand up for Strays event for the local paper and our town’s high school graduation.

In the Global Village at Floydfest I went from a talk on the teachings of Buddha to petting a milking cow named Primrose.  I watched Old Crow Medicine Show sing a favorite song up close, saw a giant fire breathing junkyard dragon under a full moon, a dance troupe perform 100 feet in the air, and a parade led by my favorite 10 foot tall blue fairy.

My son Josh came up from Asheville for his birthday. I met his girlfriend for the first time and we got the whole family together for a meal at Mickey G’s, one of the summer’s brightest highlights.

While in my hometown of Hull, Massachusetts for two weeks, taking care of my mother who was recovering from a fracture in her back, I went to my brother Danny’s 40^th high school class reunion. Danny died in 2001, not long after going to his 30^th class reunion, which turned out to be a life highlight for him.

Also while in Hull, a beach town peninsula, I saw the movie Shutter Island. When it was over, I drove a mile to the end of peninsula to see Peddocks Island, a very familiar spot where the opening scene of the movie was filmed.

I had tea at the Dunbar tea shop with my sister Sherry on Cape Cod and drank a microbrew with blueberry floating in it at a pub where musicians were playing Irish music.

I also saw blue frogs and a cougar at the zoo and swam in the pool and in Fairystone Park lake with my grandson Bryce.  I made sand castles, played with playdough, and danced to the Emily Brass Band at The Pine Tavern.

It’s been a full course summer of sun, fun, and love.  I think I’m ready for the slow-paced simmer of September.