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Oh my, my friends, how Spring stirs my blood. I saunter lazily to the refrigerator to splash some chardonnay into my glass, and my eyes sweep the vista that is my green, tree-filled domain. It is Spring, and time for mating. It is such an urgent feeling, and I have received so many lovely winks and smiles and kisses. It makes me pat my head and rub my tummy. It’s river-down in two weeks. That means they’ll close the upper dam and open the lower, shrinking our river to a trickle. It gives us dam owners a chance to don our hip boots and wade knee-deep in muck for four days. Identify the sunken boats, the rotting logs, the cool slimy mud and things that might menace us during our summer playtime. While the work is hard, and muscles ache, there is also that visceral pleasure of work well done, and pleasures well earned. Feet up, and colors remembered. It brings to mind a great book by Joanne Harris, the woman who wrote “Chocolat” some years ago. In “The Five Quarters Of The Orange” she wrote of living by the River Seine, and stalking the great fish that lived in the river. This particular fish was a myth; a curse. Of course, she caught the fish and defeated the curse. As all children should. You should read it. I have not been here long enough to remember any particular fish story, but the simple act of planning for a “river-down” excites my soul. I have bought my hip-boots and assembled my collection of rakes. I had a survey done, and I now know that the north end of my property includes a satisfying stand of trees that sough in the wind and poke twig-fingers at your face when you scrabble through. And when you have pushed through, you find a place to lower down bottles of wine into the cool river and find a burrow for reading in the summer afternoon; while the sun bakes your face and the children splash with pleasure in the crazy sun-shine. In summer, I’ll return to California to see my daughter graduate. I’ll move on to England to touch base with my love, and return to Michigan to watch the sun set while the children catch bluegills and we lay a linen table with candlesticks and fat cigars, pretending we are in France. So nice to see you again, mes amis. The best of summer to all of you, and, as Ratty on the riverbank, I will look for you again. Love, Kitty |
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4/17/2008 5:17 pm |
Hey ya kid. Missed ya. Had a tuff time getting past the paragraph about mating season, but once I did it was nice ta see what you've been up to. So you're off again. Sigh. Well, here. Take this wit ya.  Enjoy the ride. All you take with you when you leave is the experience.
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4/17/2008 5:54 pm |
hello my fellow michigander! as always, a reading pleasure! "hot fun in the summertime, hot fun in the summertime.." once an oldhoglover, always an oldhoglover!
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4/19/2008 1:33 pm |
Hey ya kid. Missed ya. Had a tuff time getting past the paragraph about mating season, but once I did it was nice ta see what you've been up to. So you're off again. Sigh. Well, here. Take this wit ya. I wish I had more time for this place, but I am consumed with other stuff: the bruised ribs garnered in our recent ice-skating lessons, a happy contemplation of an upcoming camping trip, and of course, the pure joy that the snow has stopped. Hope your Spring is prolific. Thanks for the hugs. Love, LK
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4/19/2008 1:39 pm |
hello my fellow michigander! as always, a reading pleasure! "hot fun in the summertime, hot fun in the summertime.." We are on our way to Chippewa Landing next weekend, to commune with my brothers in the wilderness, and kayak the Manistee River. I am in my element. I am so glad I left Michigan, because otherwise I would never know how glad I am to be home. Love, LK
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