A perfect gardening day and this plump friendly robin kept hanging around the yard with my dog Lucy and me. I couldn’t help hoping he was one of the robins born last spring that I watched over through storms and rain, hoping they would survive the rustic nest in my rose arbor! I remember that last day when the baby robin left. He was hesitant, unsure if he would survive without the mother who had been providing for him all through the spring. So, he sat on the split rail fence at the edge of the patio where it joined the woods. Sat there most of the afternoon and then as evening began to fall, his courage grew, and he listened to the birdsong echoing among the trees, all the feathered ones going in for the night, and off he flew. I watched him till he disappeared, deep into the woods, uncertain if I would ever see him again. And now, this plumb fellow is back again, sometimes sitting on the sidewalk dipping into puddles, sometimes on the fence where I watched him pondering his future, sometimes in the grass pulling up a fat worm. I wondered if he had a mate and where she was, if perhaps she had built a nest somewhere nearby and was even now sitting on the pretty blue eggs while this one dug for worms to feed her, and pluck twigs and stray wisps of dog hair to warm their nest. I marvel at their industry, always about something, hunting for food, foraging for nest material, happily splashing in the bird bath, occasionally checking the bird feeder, which I only fill during nasty winter storms when they need the extra nourishment. And always, at dusk, a few final songs, maybe only one long note, and then silence as they disappear into the woods until the sun returns. - July 2012

4th of July

It’s the 4^th of July and maybe we should remember that this is not a partisan holiday. It is a day of celebration for all the benefits we reap as Americans, one people.  Theodore Roosevelt said “To waste, to destroy, our natural resources will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified.” Are we bequeathing a better America to our children? We utilize our Constitutional right to elect officials that we hope are preserving what we have and bettering the world that we inherited.  John Quincy Adams said “Think of your forefathers and of your posterity.” Great men, great words. Do we think of them as Democrats or Republicans or do we think of them as Americans doing for our country what needed to be done. Are we all doing what needs to be done to continue that legacy? While we are enjoying our barbecues and parties, our celebratory fireworks (thank you for reinstating this wonderful tradition) let’s remember that we are here in this great country because of our ancestors – and remember the words of Stephen Vincent Benet “There were human beings aboard the Mayflower, not just ancestors.” Remember that we are all human beings who will someday be ancestors, we are all blessed with the freedom to pursue whatever endeavors we want and utilize the talents we were given to attain those goals without repression, aggression, or restriction. God bless America!