two day pass

this weekend at the tail end of summer vacation left me feeling a little unsettled.
i have that dreaded, panicky, how can this be feeling.
i mean truth be told, summer is like almost three months of weekends.
at least for t. bone and miss bit.
and because i've been known to live vicariously...me too.
i'm not ready for the loosey, goosey pace, the come what may attitude to cease.
so in the interim we do our best to eke out the goodness is most moments.
we took a family walk before friday night pizza/ movie night.
miss bit kept pace with us for 3 1/2 miles, but there were numerous stops for bug catching and crane viewing.
saturday we visited the audubon center, met a couple owls, caught a few frogs and bounced for a while on the trampoline trees.
later in the day we made our way due north for a summer night on my aunt and uncle's patio where the highlight of the party was a sweaty game of ultimate frisbee.
miss bit only gloated a little that she was responsible for the most touchdowns.
never underestimate the young and small.
sunday the kids were off and running to the pool, lunch and then golf with my brother and sil.
when they came home all water logged and happy and hungry again, coach grilled the best brats of the season.
we served them with ears of the sweetest corn and watermelon: quintessential summer.
in a word...simple.
miss bit is calling me from the landing now.
it's time to read together and then get some sleep for another week of summer.
2 weeks to go.

Field Guide For a Summer Night on the Prairie

The other night we put on our walking shoes and headed to the nature center for a guided hike just before gloaming.  They have them every Thursday during the summer and every week we have missed the opportunity.  I know I was hoping for a little owl prowl. While the gloaming is coming earlier as we edge closer to the cusp of seasons, I knew it still wasn't dark enough for much owl activity.  All Miss Bit wanted to do was go ponding.  Coach yearned to see some deer. We got the prairie instead.  

We weren't overly excited at first, but as soon as the guide started talking about the native species, we were all seeing these well traveled trails with fresh eyes.  And isn't that what it's all about?

This is blue stemmed something or other also referred to as Turkey Foot.  Of course it is.  Isn't it perfect?

Below is Culver Root, which makes the prairie expanse appear to be adorned with many flickering candelabras.  It's total whimsy and delight.

Blue Verbena is purple. What is in a name?  Is one person's purple another person's blue?  Does it matter?

The Compass Plant is smart enough to orient itself North and South so as not to get scorched by the sun. It's no wonder they can live for 100 years.   

Bee Balm is a natural antiseptic, tastes like a mix of peppermint and spearmint as was used by Native Americans as seasoning for wild game.

Rattlesnake Master is a member of the carrot family, but smells sweet like honey in the sunlight.  Pioneers thought the flowers could be used as an antidote to rattlesnake bites hence the name.

Yellow Coneflowers so pretty they don't need a scent.

Mountain mint releases a strong mint scent, of course.  Did you know that all members of the mint family have square stems?  Roll  them around in your fingers.  Feel them.  Smell them.

And Miss Bit who only reluctantly grabbed a bug net, became a busy bugger before long.  

Sweep, sweep, sweep.

She examined many bugs: spiders, leaf hoppers, katydids, Pennslyvannia leather wings, Japanese beetles, an inchworm and her favorite Ambush bugs which she prefers to call Assassin bugs.  They love to hang out on Goldenrod where they stick their fangs into bumble bees, inject some digestive juices and then suck out their insides leaving just a shell.  Cute, ha?

  Miss Bit is listening to an angry bumble bee non-stop buzzing caught for the time being in a specimen jar.  The whole jar was vibrating.

Before heading home we had to stop at the pond so she could try out her new frogging net.  She caught this little friend and was then happier to call it a night.

A half moon night...

under a pink sky. 

 Perfect.

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Making it through the week.  It was a difficult one.  I was on a drastic down yo.  I'm still trying to get back to that happy place of steady contentment, but things are evening out.

T. Bone completed his sailing course and didn't complain this week when he was need an Advil sore after football practice that started Monday.

 Football.  He wasn't going to go out for the team and then he was and then he wasn't and then he did.  There were some significant last minute changes to the program this year that caused quite a scuttlebutt.  We were behaving like lemmings and listening to the rumors here at Casa Wags until cooler, clearer heads prevailed.  After the first practice, T. Bone was deflated and declared he didn't want be on the team.  Instead of lecturing him about commitment (which I really, really wanted to do), I just listened to his concerns and calmly asked him to give it the week.  By Thursday he was enthusiastic about it all and he felt empowered because it was his decision.

A girls night out/going away gathering for our friend Rosebud who is going to California (with an aching in her heart).  We met at the pub at what was the Pabst Brewery.  We drank $2 beers, ate cheese curds, laughed a lot, cried a little and started talking about a weekend in wine country TBD.

Miss Bit had one on one time with her aunt this week.  They went birthday shopping and out for dinner in the middle of the week and it sure made my girl feel extra special.  And last week she had a fun date at the pool with another aunt.  She always sees T. Bone so busy and although she is younger and much more of a homebody, I know she sometimes envies all his plans.

Coach, Miss Bit and I headed to the nature center for a guided evening hike this week.  It was the perfect half moon night for being outside and we all loved being at the center after hours.  Now my Bit has a new passion for bugging.  Just give that girl a net!

The three of us took a walk on a nearby trail tonight and we proudly identified plants and bugs along the way that we had just learned about the night before.  Miss Bit caught a few ambush bugs and glided the last mile of our trek because she was so happy.

Learning.

The Audubon Center.  We love that sanctuary.

Aerial feeding swallows...red bellied barn swallows and white bellied prairie swallows.

Lots of time for reading this week.  I finished Silver Star.  It was a quick, somewhat entertaining, but not very enlightening read.  Now I'm plowing through Flight Behavior and taking my time with Sense and Sensibility.  Lately, I feel like authors are victim to deadlines.  Like maybe they are publishing work that isn't necessarily finished...ready....because it is time, even though it's not.  I sure felt that way with Hosseini's latest novel.  I know what he is capable of, but And The Mountains Echoed fell short.

Pizza and movie night at Casa Wags.

Irishfest is this weekend.

Confession

This 1 paragraph a day, each day, every day is not really working for me.  At first, I was excited to show up as committed no matter the matter.  Mundane or mighty…the contents weren’t important.  I told myself it was the practice…the process that was almighty.  But…but writing simply for the sake of writing was paralyzing to the point that even when I had something to say, I was crippled to share it.  I was writing less often, not more often.  I didn’t feel connected to my voice.  I felt distanced.  Quieted.  I experienced a real and true at a loss for words affliction.  It was frightening.  Scarier than when I woke up to a bump in the night at 3:00 this morning, and had to rouse Coach to creep around the house until all’s clear.

Writing is an art.  Expression brings freedom.  One paragraph every day felt like a sentence not well crafted of metaphors.  Rather a sentence of confinement behind metal and bars.  So I’m releasing myself from this commitment and going back to what feels right and works for me.

So, I’m back.  Just not every day.

Sailing

T. Bone is a sailor.  Well, almost.  He’s soon to complete his level 1 sailing course.  A course I signed him up for despite his initial low level of enthusiasm for the sport.  I am nothing if not determined to raise a Renaissance man.  On this cool, crisp morning I stood on the shore watching him make his way from the harbor to the open water, and it struck me how intensely happy I felt watching him glide across the water.  He’s learning the rugged nuances of it all and speaking the language of sailing foreign to so many.  Trim, tack, keel, starboard, leeward, boom, jib, stern, spinnaker, halyard…it’s as mesmerizing as any romance language to my ear.  Regatta is one of my favorite words.  He proudly took second in a race yesterday, and fantasized about sailing clear across our inland sea one day.

Next summer Miss Bit wants to take up sailing too, but this morning she was more interested in the stray marina cat.  We made up stories about his life on the docks and decided that his was a good one.  I think she’ll be a good sailor.  She so loves the water.

I love the water too, yet I never learned to sail.  I wish I had.  My single attempt with a patient, brave friend resulted in a capsized boat, a few laughs, soggy sneakers and a slightly bruised ego.  So yes these days down at the docks are a result of my living vicariously.  Nudging my children to try and do what I couldn’t or wouldn’t.  I get a little self satisfied when it works out the way I had hoped and dreamed.

All day I have been remembering the first time I ever sailed.  I was a teenager and a passenger on a big, beautiful boat.  It was a gorgeous day and I was standing alone at the bow letting the wind whip hard and cool against my face.  The spray from the chilly Lake Michigan waters was oddly salty and sobering.  The words from Christopher Cross’s top 40 hit were resonating with me that day as they filled the air.  They're back today filling my memory and all day I have been smiling as I sing along.

Sailing.

Well, it's not far down to paradise

At least it's not for me

And if the wind is right

You can sail away and find tranquility

Oh, the canvas can do miracles

Just you wait and see

Believe me

It's not far to never-never land

No reason to pretend

And if the wind is right

You can find the joy of innocence again

Oh, the canvas can do miracles

Just you wait and see

Believe me

Sailing takes me away

To where I've always heard it could be

Just a dream and the wind to carry me

And soon I will be free

two day pass

it was a a good and happy birthday weekend.
there was a little party.
complete with competitive minute to win it games.
and plenty of presents.
there were uncle b. bone's macho margaritas, virgin strawberry daiquiris and grandpa's secret spicy choriqueso.
the south of the border spread was enjoyed by all, and the birthday cake miss bit helped bake and that i struggled to make was served with a festive side of churros.
we all slept in sunday morning and woke to reheat leftovers.
then t. bone was off with friends.
and miss bit had a friend over to play the day away.
coach cued up a couple episodes of breaking bad.
my friend came with wine and cheese for conversation sunday early eve.
and just like that it was already sunday night.
i'm finding myself at a loss for words over the fact that my baby is 9 and also that school starts in less than a month.
it all just goes too fast.
sigh.

Scenes From The Day (20/30)

Yesterday we enjoyed a  fun filled day at the fair celebrating our 9 year old!  It was a good day.