Busy Bees and Touch Me Nots.....

It's a lovely time of year to wander down our bike path. The trees and bushes along the path are thick and in full green. Some of the wildflowers are gone....others open to take their place. Years ago learning about wildflowers was a portable hobby for me. The little field guide fit into our car's glove compartment. With kids in the backseat for cross-country travels to Gramma and Grampa's house it gave us something to do to pass the time. We got pretty good at spotting a variety of wildflowers while zipping down the interstate or stopping for a picnic lunch.

That hobby fell by the wayside over the years, but I still have the field guide and can recognize many of the species that decorate our Port Washington bike path. During the past few weeks I've noticed the   orange Spotted Touch-me-nots boasting their fragile beauty.

Also known as jewelweed, my information states that this annual often attracts hummingbirds on their migration routes and bees are important pollinators. The stem juice can relieve itching from poison ivy and can also be used to treat athelet's foot.

Just along the way I also find bushes full of Pale Touch-me-nots with their softer yellow blooms. And bees....lots of busy bees. My photos aren't too clear, but it was fun to watch one been going from one blossom to the next - crawling inside for a few seconds and then backing out to stop at the next one.

Can you spot the black bee butt??

So Fenway and I continue home and just before arriving at the end of the path I spot a quick darting movement in the bushes. I wonder "what kind of small bird"? I stop to look and zip....there she is....a female Ruby Throated hummingbird. She hovers for a second looking at me and then zips back into the bushes. She too is stopping to visit the Touch-me-nots on her way south for the winter.

What a lucky morning!

Something About That Butt......

Having a dog means going for walks....lots of walks. But I don't mind....following Fenway helps me reach my 10,000 steps-per-day-goal.

We usually go down the bike path, across the bridge and back through the woods. But sometimes we head into town and go around Rotary Park or wander behind the bandshell. Depends on the weather and my mood and which way Fen turns as we reach the sidewalk.

And walking behind him always makes me smile. There is just something about that little Boston Terrier wiggle butt that is silly. His legs move fast...scissoring up the sidewalk. He probably takes six to eight steps for each of mine....but his feet move so quickly I can't really count.

His ears bounce with each step....and then, sometimes, they flatten toward the back or one will go back and one will rotate forward. Radar??      

I've found that walking a boy dog is not something that you can rush. There are trees to smell, weeds to anoint, favorite posts, garbage cans and sidewalk signage to "claim".....and then the dead stick that now belongs to Fenway. How is it that he always seems to save just enough pee to hit all his marks?   Every walk is a dog expedition....and even though we've done these same walks now for years, Fen seems to think every one is exciting and new! He has a nice outlook on life  and always seems to be a man with a mission....his walk....his world....a dog's life. I'm just happy to go along......

20 Cents......

After the events of last weekend down in Charlottesville, Virginia I've, once again, been thinking about opportunity and priviledge. And how ethnicity can interfere with many of those opportunities or education and future plans.

Last week I drove down to Wauwatosa and had a lovely lunch with two good friends. We try to get together every month or two for what we fondly call "Laughter and Therapy Luncheons". And we do laugh....and we do talk....and we are on the same page for most issues hitting the news every day. I look forward to my time with these two.

Hugging goodbye we headed off in three directions - one driving to Elm Grove, one walking home to her house in 'Tosa while I drove east on North Avenue to get back to the highway and head north to Port Washington.

For those of you who may not know it, Milwaukee has the sad distinction of being one of the most segregated cities in the Country. The "why" of this is complex and long standing. But today a large geographical area, mostly west and north of the city, has many homes in need of repair, businesses closed, food "deserts" with no grocery stores, few jobs and much disappointment, unrest and brooding anger. There are certainly nice sections and strong families on welcoming streets....but much of the area seems sadly left behind.

As I drove through East 'Tosa I passed shops and restaurants and any number of active storefronts. But within only a couple more miles I realized I was now distinctly in the minority. The neighborhood quickly changed....and not for the better. Store fronts were closed. Homes looked "sad". Cars were hardly shiny and new. I was one of the few white faces driving down the street. No one bothered me, people were going about their business....in their cars, or walking along cracked sidewalks....but I was the minority.

I passed a gas station and was struck by the fact that the price was 20 cents higher than it had been just a few miles back. Same street, different neighborhood, different price. Why?

If segregation in Milwaukee affects where you get your education, how many busses you must take to find a grocery store to purchase nutritious food for your family, where you might be able to find a steady job with decent pay and benefits....why should you also have to pay 20 cents more per gallon of gas?

I wonder what is the straw that will break the camel's back? What is the last little thing that makes someone say "ENOUGH"....and take to the streets to protest or get involved with crime....to give up?

20 cents......I'm still thinking about it.

Impossible Conversations.....

Our children were born in 1969 and 1974. We learned to parent the best we could right along with the two of them learning how to child the best they could. Some days were easier than others.....but looking back, I think it was mostly positive and they certainly grew into independent adults of good conscience. And now they parent......and the world is different, harder and more complicated so their job is much more complex.

While our family life wasn't exactly Leave It To Beaver-ish, it was pretty suburban/good schools/nice friends/regular jobs/two parents/nice houses/vacations/dogs etc. We had to monitor how much time they spent watching TV, made sure homework was done, chores got checked off the list, got to bed on time.....normal parenting stuff.

We tried to educate them in the right and wrong of things, talked about sex ed and drugs, decision making, consequences for their actions and all that. And then.....before we knew it, they were off to college and on to life.

Yesterday I drove to West Bend and dropped Fenway off at our daughter's house while I went to the acupuncturist. As I came into the house I found our daughter sitting at the kitchen table having a discussion with her two boys. I did not interrupt, but I did stand and listen before leaving for my appointment.

She was slowly, calmly and thoughtfully talking about what happened in Charlottesville last weekend and the response to it. She talked to them about white supremicists, about the KKK, about hatred for others based on race or faith....and how she felt about it. She talked to them about living in their own community where people had differences of opinion and how that was OK.....but the hatred spewing out of the crowd on that college campus would never be OK.

And she tried to explain the failure of leadership demonstrated by the man who now occupies the Oval Office.....how a President's job was to lead the country and set an example and stand up for what was right and bring out the best in our citizens. And she tried to explain how this man was failing.

I'm not doing this discussion justice......she was amazing. And her boys listened quietly. And I listened sadly....and left the house to drive to my appointment. I couldn't leave the driveway for awhile because I was crying. I had to sit there and try to gather my thoughts and dry my eyes before putting the car in gear.

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that in our America our daughter would have to have this kind of discussion with her two boys.

Never.

This One's for Polly.....

The idea of "six degrees of separation" happens over and over as we travel. It's so interesting and strange....meeting someone for the first time and introducing yourself. The conversation includes questions like: "Where are you from?" "How long have you lived here?" "Are your retired and if not, what do you do in the real world of work?" "Do you have children or grandchildren?" "What's your dog's name?" Those kinds of get-to-know-you questions.

Often it's just an exchange of basic information, over in just a few minutes at a campground with no further connection.  But once in awhile (and I"m beginning to think more often than not) you connect with this stranger in very unexpected ways.

We were visiting best friends in Alaska and after dinner went for a stroll down their long driveway, hoping to spot one of the moose that frequent the area. (No luck!) As we moved down the lane a neighbor walked by on their gravel road. We all waved. She continued down the road at a very good clip, using two walking sticks as she went. We meandered along in the same direction, Janie looking for blueberries while I pointed out wildflowers. We had to be content with "smaller" excitements since no moose appeared.

We noticed their neighbor turned around and was coming back toward us....she approached with a smile and the five of us chatted for a few minutes in the middle of the road. (There is zero traffic so it's as good a place as any for conversation.)

We learned Polly had been living in Alaska for something like 30 years, had endured seven hip replacements and now the walking was part of her phyiscal therapy to recover from knee surgery! I was even more impressed at her quick pace after she shared that information.

When she asked where we were from I said we lived in a small town north of Milwaukee along the edge of  Lake Michigan....Port Washington. Her mouth literally dropped open as she exclaimed "I was born there and lived in Port for seven years!"

I mean really.....from Alaska to Port Washington, Wisconsin.....six degrees of separation. You thinnk we live in a sort of "anonymous" world, but just ask enough questions and you'll find that the connection!

Common denominators.......

Short Growing Season......

A trip to Kenai, Alaska to visit friends = a summer adventure.  We've been able to explore Alaska's coast on two different cruise ships but this time we were a bit "inland". Our friends, Janie and Phil, are building a house in Kenai and we had a fun week enjoying their hospitality.

We always have a good time together but this visit really was fun and "their" Alaska did not disappoint! I guess the thing that surprised me the most was the wide variety of flowers in bloom. We found color everywhere.....and I mean big, bold and exuberant blooms!

In window boxes and border gardens.....flowers were everywhere....

Framing a mountainside as we drove to Homer and highlighting an historic Russian Orthodox Church....

Our last morning in Kenai we wandered pathways through acres of wildflowers.....

Alaska, land of snow and ice? Well not in Kenai in August.....it's mild and beautiful and colorful. And our friends are there.....well worth the trip!