Me in Black and White

I just returned from a poetry "camp" at Wofford College where I wrote a poem about a photograph we were given of a girl on a bicycle. The photo was probably 70 years old and taken in the Henry River Mill Village of North Carolina. When I first saw the photo, my reaction was "It's me!" I have a picture very much like it in my archives, only taken in Upstate New York.


It's me
It's me on a bike

I recognize the hair
hours spent
ammonia scented
tiny pink and blue rollers
tight against my scalp
shaping curls
cast askew by life and wind

I recognize the sweater
store bought
Momma didn't knit
pale yellow with plastic pearl buttons
freshly scented
cakes of lavender dissuading
moths and other creeping things

I recognize the dress
hand-made
Momma sewed
full skirted - pleasantly plaid
with pockets for important stuff
like tissues and hoppy toads
scented with Fels-Naptha
the dress, that is

I recognize the bike
it is fast
it is freedom
it is adventure and journey on wheels
it smells of red dirt
and green grass
and the fluffy yellow tops
of blooming dandelions

*******

I'm a goin'
and I'm a goin' fast
I may not come back
but
I probably will

I hear there's
chicken and biscuits for supper
and
dare I say
peach cobbler for dessert


postscript: My husband just saw the photo and had the same reaction - he thought it was me.

Lake Jocassee

When camping, I normally take pictures of our camper, camp-site or kayak, but this time I'm showing our early morning of berry picking at The Happy Berry. If you've never been, you should go and go early because it does get hot. The picking is easy and the place is beautiful and fun and delicious. I also enjoy eavesdropping on conversations going on round about me.

The prized black berries!!!

These are baby figs in progress.

A fruitful foto of luscious blue berries.

The cement statue was snuggled in the grass right where we parked the car. I loved the fact that it was in full view - but hidden. I'm sure most people passed it by as they raced to catch the freshest berries. I like it's quiet presence.

Liquid Fire

This morning I sat beneath my tent made of timber and shingles and watched last night's rain gently drip off of the roof. Catching or being caught by the sun, it blazed as bright as liquid fire. Of course it is not. It is merely the remnants of last night's rain and hail mixed with thick morning dew - a metaphor on the transforming ability of morning light.

Aluminum Can Flowers

Yippee!!!! They came out so great...like a little herd of chromatic tin adorning the garden.


These are flowers made out of discarded aluminum cans that once help soda or beer. It wasn't my original idea, but I've had so much fun creating them, layer by layer. When they are finished (sprayed with a clear acrylic) they will be nailed to wooden stakes and "planted" in my flower garden to bloom brightly and faithfully with no water or plant food. They are simple to make by cutting off the tops of cans, cutting again to even out the edges, cut down in strips to form petals, spead out petals, paint and assemble 3 cans to make the ones like mine. FUN!!!

Oconee Point

One of the best things about this trip was seeing all the bird babies. Our favorite was a pair of killdeer with their 3 chicks that looked like puff-balls on stilts zooming by. Protecting their babies, they ran off every perceived predator including squirrels and an overly aggressive goose.

Storms came through on Thursday evening leaving a trail of foliage debris and several downed trees including one that crashed onto a camper. But not ours.

Our campsite this week was on a point jetting out into the lake where all the birds wandered by. We saw ducks and geese and killdeer and a crane and several kinds of shore birds that looked to be more at home by the ocean than a lake. Again we saw a dead snake on the road.

I love our tacky Christmas lights set up between trees. Who doesn't love Christmas lights?
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It is amazing how much we miss even when we are intently looking. As we were pulling up stakes and getting ready to exit the campground, I spotted this little clump of some kind of blooming plant nestled below a towering pine tree. Someday I'll look it up in my wild-flower book. But, there it was all sweet and cozy and hidden. We never saw it 'till we left. I wonder what else we missed......

Bald Ridge Campground - Lake Lanier

A simply wonderful week at the beach at Lake Lanier near Cumming, Georgia where we used to live. There were no storms this week and lots of fun visiting our favorite places to shop and eat.

The water was so clear that you could actually see the fish!

The best spot for morning quiet time with a hot cup of coffee.

Our campsite was right on the water where we were able to see ducks and geese and jumping fish. This mom came by every morning with her brood around 10:30 for a quick snack of old hot-dog buns.

Down below the dam on Lake Lanier is a lovely hidden spot for many fly fishermen.

Coffee Mugs

Do you have too many coffee mugs and don't know what to do with them? Do folks give you mugs as a token, a joke, or a souvenir? There were way too many items in my kitchen cabinets and I decided to take control of the situation by removing many surplus coffee mugs. But, what do you do with them? Where can they go? And what of hurt feelings of those who so contentiously and meticulously chose them for you? As they sat on my kitchen counter awaiting their fate....I had an idea. I love fun stuff in my garden, and so I grabbed them up, carried them outside, and fitted them atop my picket fence where they look quite perky. They are now out of my cupboards and yet still available if I need extras for company. Being ceramic and slippery they do frustrate the neighborhood birds, which I admit is fun to watch!