 It was so cold on our walk this morning, we weren't surprised to see five ducklings huddled together on the edge of the pond. They jostled and poked and climbed on one another until settling into mound of down ... fluffy, warm, and camouflaged.
This morning I created natural mandalas from foraged materials on our walk. This red maple mandala came about from the whirligigs (or helicopters if that's what you call them) that have littered the landscape for weeks. They've finally stopped falling and until today I'd only seen them as a nuisance.
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 We were standing in line ... a woman, a young boy, a girl about five-years-old, and me. The little girl wore a blue sun hat, a pink-and-white striped one-piece outfit, and hot pink rubber rain boots.
I said hello to the little girl, but she said nothing. "I like your outfit," I added. She looked down at her boots, put one hand on her belly, looked up at me and said, "It's a bathing suit." "Even better." I said, "I'd like a bathing suit like that." Without missing a beat, she said, "Too bad." Yes, it is ... especially since earlier in the day I'd been considering a personal challenge this summer ... a swimming challenge. I love to swim and at the end of last summer realized I had gone swimming once. Once. We are surrounded by rivers, lakes, and the ocean(!) and I managed to swim only once. Yes the ocean water is frigid, but still, once?  When I met two friends at the arboretum for a walk and a bite to eat, we decided to keep it simple ... each of us was to bring our own lunch.
We walked along the trails and through the fields, past the larch and the lilacs, to a clearing where we discovered a picnic table. We pulled lunch from our bags, and one by one described what we'd brought ... each offering to share what we had. When we started eating, I realized not only did I forget a napkin, one of my friends had upped her game and brought a cloth napkin. I realized in that moment if I had packed lunch for all of us I would have taken more time to consider things like napkins, and maybe a tea towel for the center of the table. But because I was packing just for myself, I rushed the process. It was a sharp reminder that what we might do for others, we should consider doing for ourselves. The first edition of Tinplate No.1, the summer edition is coming soon. It's an activity book ... and yes, picnics are included, along with a checklist(!) of what to pack. The activity book is my way of reminding myself, and you, to do more of what we enjoy this summer. To take the time between the things we have to do for the things we want to do ... and make the most of it. I think you'll like it. |
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