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BS: Sunshine Thoughts

Megan L 24 Nov 13 - 03:08 PM
Megan L 29 Oct 13 - 02:11 PM
ranger1 29 Oct 13 - 08:38 AM
Megan L 11 Oct 13 - 03:55 AM
Megan L 19 Sep 13 - 08:28 AM
Ebbie 18 Sep 13 - 03:24 AM
Megan L 18 Sep 13 - 02:08 AM
Megan L 02 Sep 13 - 02:17 AM
JennieG 02 Sep 13 - 01:56 AM
ranger1 01 Sep 13 - 09:17 PM
Megan L 14 Aug 13 - 03:41 PM
Ebbie 13 Aug 13 - 02:33 AM
Ebbie 12 Aug 13 - 10:31 PM
ranger1 12 Aug 13 - 09:48 PM
Ebbie 12 Aug 13 - 12:05 PM
ranger1 12 Aug 13 - 10:18 AM
Megan L 12 Aug 13 - 09:55 AM
ranger1 12 Aug 13 - 09:46 AM
Megan L 12 Aug 13 - 05:15 AM
JennieG 03 Aug 13 - 06:45 PM
Ebbie 03 Aug 13 - 04:22 PM
Megan L 03 Aug 13 - 03:35 PM
ranger1 03 Aug 13 - 02:40 PM
Megan L 22 Jun 13 - 04:00 PM
LilyFestre 31 May 13 - 04:01 PM
Megan L 31 May 13 - 01:27 PM
Charmion 30 May 13 - 11:18 AM
AllisonA(Animaterra) 29 May 13 - 03:01 PM
gnu 29 May 13 - 02:24 PM
ranger1 29 May 13 - 10:48 AM
kendall 29 May 13 - 08:26 AM
Megan L 29 May 13 - 08:21 AM
ranger1 29 May 13 - 07:19 AM
Megan L 15 May 13 - 06:49 AM
ranger1 15 May 13 - 06:40 AM
Megan L 15 May 13 - 03:11 AM
ranger1 14 May 13 - 02:36 PM
kendall 12 May 13 - 07:15 AM
Megan L 12 May 13 - 06:12 AM
kendall 09 May 13 - 08:01 AM
ranger1 08 May 13 - 10:48 PM
kendall 08 May 13 - 07:43 PM
ranger1 08 May 13 - 08:13 AM
gnu 07 May 13 - 05:15 PM
Ebbie 07 May 13 - 04:21 PM
kendall 07 May 13 - 03:07 PM
jacqui.c 07 May 13 - 02:54 PM
Megan L 06 May 13 - 03:19 AM
Megan L 04 May 13 - 12:50 PM
Ebbie 04 May 13 - 11:23 AM

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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 24 Nov 13 - 03:08 PM

What happens when you cross a four year old with a fourteen year old and a forty year old :) Christine.

She has a "How many sleeps till Santa" ap on her phone and Christmas ringtones I kid you not that lassie is Christmas daft.

Yesterday morning I picked he up and headed of to Skara Brae It is a historic Scotland property and they were having a members event. we had mincemeat pies and Christine had mulled wine :( I was driving so orange juice for me. we wandered round the shop while she oohed and ahed at the Christmassy things, I got her a small tree decoration and you would have thought I had given her the crown jewels.

once I got her eased away from the decorations we went for a drive through the crisp landscape. The cows have all been taken in now the fields seem strangely quiet and still like a forgotten memory of summer.

a meander through the countryside brought us to the Merkister hotel on the Harray Loch to sit over a lovely fresh seafood lunch watching the last swans trying to make up their minds whether or not to go on holiday.

then into town to examine the small trees that have been put outside every shop they are all about three foot high and have some of the weirdest decorations ever. The dress shop had cut out and coloured miniature dresses and the chemist hung theirs with empty pill packets :. I thought I had got her tired out till we neared home then she wanted to make Christmas cards. I am not sure which is the most exhausting her or the twins .


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 02:11 PM

sounds like a wonderful place lass


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 08:38 AM

Today, I am sitting at my table and reflecting on how lucky I am. I live in a beautiful place, work with wonderful people, and am surrounded by amazing friends.

The last month and a half has been a whirlwind of joy. Four of the last six weekends have focused on music. Two shanty sings at The Press Room, the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, the pre-Getaway gathering at Sinsull's, and the Getaway itself. The joy that singing with others brings heals my raveled nerves and soothes my soul. And introducing someone new to that joy has been satisfying, too. Besides the music, another circle of friends has gathered me into their fellowship. An autumn party with good food, good company, excellent conversation, and adorable puppies was another reminder of my wealth of friends.

This past week was the jewel in the crown, though. It says a lot about one's work environment when one chooses to spend time with one's co-workers when off-duty. One of my fellow rangers has access to a 125 year old family camp on a private island on an inland lake. We are privileged to be his guests in that little piece of paradise once a year. There are only two ways to get there, by boat or by hiking in five miles and fording a stream to get to the island. We hike, as Bandit comes with us, and a nervous dog in a canoe is never a good idea. The hike in goes through a cedar/pine/hemlock forest that has grown up around ancient, mossy boulders left by the glacier during the last ice age, skirts the lake, and arrives at a marshy area with the stream. Some years there is a lot of water, some years it's dry. The trail crosses the stream and one arrives on the island. There is a peacefulness that is immediately noticeable: at least seven generations' worth of happy memories and good times have made this a place out of time, a realm apart from the ordinary.

There is no electricity, no cell phone service, no radios. There are shelves and shelves of books, cupboards filled with games, and a huge trestle table in a large dining room. All beckon one to interact with one's companions directly. Without all the modern conveniences, one quickly falls back into older, more natural rhythms: firewood must be cut and split by hand, water hauled from the lake, the fire tended to lest it go out. Time has little meaning there, we woke when the sun rose, ate when we were hungry, sat in front of the fire in conversation, played games by the light of the gas lights, and went to bed when we were tired. Everyone fell naturally into chores: Andy splitting wood with maul and wedges, myself doing dish duty, Michael being the host and knowing where everything was and how things worked, Jenn mastering the use of the percolator. Cooking was a communal affair, whoever emptied the water filter for drinking water immediately refilled it, the water pitcher was kept full.

When our short time came to an end, we left things clean and tidy, the wood box next to the fireplace full, and everything they way we found it. I like to think we added to the aura of happy memories and good times that envelop the island and that the next person to arrive there gets as much peace and contentment as we did.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 11 Oct 13 - 03:55 AM

For three days the wind howled around the house I am never sure when it does that if it is a cry of pain or its attempt to strike terror into the hearts of those huddled inside. The rain came not like tears but like waves of miniature daggers hurling themselves against the old walls and anyone foolish enough to venture out. Darkness descends and winter strode into town with all the vulgar brashness it could muster.

Our small town however is not quite ready to give in to the cold look winter has cast us. For a moment it is beaten back now the weather sits stunned on the horizon unsure of what it is supposed to do.

The town holds its breath till not even a blade of grass moves afraid to draw winters attention. Birds hide untrusting of this quietness with the exception of one rather stunned house sparrow who sits on the fence across the road watching the thin band of brightness on the distant horizon gently turning the darkness over the town to a lighter grey. It bravely tries to expand its territory of light but the low cloud fights with steely determination to maintain its dominion over the town today however it will lose the battle as the light quietly nibbles away at the edges of darkness.

Gradually birds emerge from their shelters today they will feast on the rowan berries. The residents of the small town follow their example and life creeps out of heated buildings onto quite streets suffused with the last vestiges of autumn warmth.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 19 Sep 13 - 08:28 AM

Little things mean a lot

It was on the thread for Charlie and his wife I spoke about the little things that keep you going when someone is in hospital, it reminded me of the song sung by Kitty Kallen.


Little Things Mean A Lot

Blow me a kiss from across the room
Say I look nice when I'm not
Touch my hair as you pass my chair
Little things mean a lot
Give me your arm as we cross the street
Call me at six on the dot
A line a day when you're far away
Little things mean a lot
Don't have to buy me diamonds or pearls
Champagne, sables, and such
I never cared much for diamonds and pearls
'cause honestly, honey, they just cost money
Give me a hand when I've lost the way
Give me your shoulder to cry on
Whether the day is bright or gray
Give me your heart to rely on
Send me the warmth of a secret smile
To show me you haven't forgot
For now and forever, that's always and ever
Honey, little things mean a lot


Sometimes it isn't words that matter it's the little touches and smiles even if they are sad ones all the little unspoken communications that tell us people care even when they don't know what to say.

Sadly when we are scattered all over the world sometimes words are all we have they are our cyber hand on the shoulder . There was one old lady I used to visit who always placed her frail hands very gently on top of mine as we spoke, her touch like a butterfly kiss yet the love and care it gave was stronger than any castle.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 18 Sep 13 - 03:24 AM

I love "dayspring".


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 18 Sep 13 - 02:08 AM

The past few days have been rough here on the island, gale force winds, driving rain and squally hail showers definitely not weather to go out unless you absolutely had to.

Today however something woke me even earlier than my usual 6am. It took me a few moments to figure out what it was, the world was quiet the wind had stopped trying to move my wee house to the bottom of the hill.

Although it was still dark out I decided to get up and watch the dayspring that peaceful moment before sunrise when the sky begins to rub the darkness from its eyes. The night tries valiantly to hold its power over the sky but the battle is already lost for like drops of water into ink at first seem to make no difference. Then comes the one drop where you eye sees a difference and from that point the march to sunrise is inevitable.

Each time I watch the dayspring it fills me with renewed hope reminding me that even in those times when things are bad and no relief can be seen if you keep on working towards it dawn will come one effort will make the change visible, you never know which small thing will make the difference you just have to keep trying and watching for the dayspring.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 02 Sep 13 - 02:17 AM

Tami that is wonderful I hope you both find happiness in meeting up again.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: JennieG
Date: 02 Sep 13 - 01:56 AM

Tami, that's lovely to hear! You and your friend must have a lot of catching up to do.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 01 Sep 13 - 09:17 PM

Once there were a bunch of uni students who all lived on the same floor of a dormitory. Most of them were good friends, but one was a bit immature and annoying. Most of the students living on that floor avoided her, and she went through several roommates before one kind young woman volunteered to be her roommate. At the end of the year, may of the students moved into off-campus housing, and one of the students who hadn't had much patience with the young woman while living in the dorm took the time to get to know her better. They became good friends, with the off-campus friend inviting the on-campus friend over occasionally to watch movies or share a meal.

By the start of the following year, this had become a weekly ritual. The on-campus friend's roommate gathered a bunch of friends together and informed them that the on-campus friend had a birthday shortly after the semester started and that no one had ever noticed in the hub-bub accompanying the start of the term. The off-campus friend volunteered to host a party and the friends started making grand plans for a surprise party. A collection was taken up for party food, her favorite movie was acquired on video, someone finagled a ride to the closest town with a supermarket, 17 miles away, to get a cake. Several flavors of Ben and Jerry's ice cream were purchased, and pizza was ordered, one with all her favorite toppings on it. One friend was nominated to get her to the party. On the day of the party, all the friends were busy getting all the final details taken care of. When she walked in the door of the off-campus friend's apartment and everyone yelled "Surprise!", it took her a while to realize that 1) it was a party, and 2) that it was for her. When she realized what was going on, she exclaimed "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!" and burst into tears. When she had stopped crying, the friends learned that no one had ever thrown her a party before in her life. And the friends all realized that they had done not a nice thing, but a truly amazing thing.

I lost contact with Jess a long time ago, and have always felt bad about it. And I have always remembered how it felt when we discovered that she'd never had a party. I've tried numerous sites on the internet over the years and always came up empty - until tonight. She joined Facebook about a week ago and tonight has been spent messaging back and forth. I'm sitting here typing with a big smile on my face, I'm glad to have my friend back, and doubly glad I took the time to get to know her and to be the host for that party and all the movie nights we had.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 03:41 PM

The schools go back next Tuesday and I had promised the boys I would take them to the ice cream parlour. We had tried on our way home on Saturday after My brother and I had piled both of them and their mum into the car and went to watch the waves at the Broch of Birsay. Sadly we had forgotten it was the county show in Kirkwall that day and it was shut. The youngest lad has problems and does not cope well with plans being changed so we expected him to kick of but Roy must have been a calming influence for he merely sulked quietly.

Today we tried again this time everything went well we went into town to get some shopping then stopped at Jerry's on the way home. The shop is tiny with just four tables and half the menu filled with Orkney names for the original sundaes. What can be better than sitting looking out over the Stenness Loch towards the towering sentinels of the Ring of Brodgar while eating a toffee fudge sundae.

It is said the stones were some local giants who had offended the local witch with their noise on the way home from the New Year revels. She followed at a distance and watched as they danced in a drunken circle around the top of mound one stood apart from the others and feeling thirsty he went down to the loch to get some water. No sooner had he stood up from the waters edge than she cast her spell turning them all into stone. And there they stand to this day though it is said that on the stroke of midnight each New Year they are allowed to move down to the loch beside their brother to drink the fresh water.

It just shows how dangerous it is to annoy an Orkney lass, mind you perhaps some lads have learned something for both boys thanked me nicely when they were dropped at home


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Aug 13 - 02:33 AM

I should clarify that: the three that I painted I took from photos, not from real life.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 10:31 PM

Thanks, Tami! There are so many kinds and colors and sizes and configurations of them. Recently I have taken up a water class and I have painted three very different ones. One of them has a pink body, lacy orange wings and a shiny red head! My favorite of those three, though, is an all blue one, three different shades, from baby to cobalt to navy.

Oddly, my mother didn't like them- and from her we learned to call them 'snake doctors'. Suffice it to say, she didn't like snakes.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 09:48 PM

For you, Ebbie: Guardian of my cottage.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 12:05 PM

If there is such a thing as a totem for each person - as native folk around here say- mine is the dragonfly. My most recent encounter was the closest.

I was walking on the leafy path to *the* glacier- as we speak of our largest and closest one - with a new acquaintance and dragonflies were lifting off everywhere to the left and right of us as we passed. I said, These are all little ones. I like the big ones; they always make me think of helicopters with tiny people inside.

Just then a large one lifted up and we watched him fly away across the quiet highway and almost out of sight. We walked on a couple of steps and looked up at the whizzing sound approaching. Here came the dragonfly again straight toward us, passed us and flew down the pathway we had just traveled. We watched him go.

And then he turned and flew back. This time he flew straight at me and I offered him my shoulder.

Instead, he landed gently on my right cheek and held on. Did you know they have little hooks on their feet? I didn't know that, but it was distinctly so.

And his belly raised and fell with his breathing. I felt in touch with something magical. And my acquaintance clasped her hands together and squealed, Oh, I wish I had a camera!
                      ******************
A friend of mine was biking down a path when he doubled back because something had caught his eye: a huge dragonfly, whole and strong but quite dead. He brought it to me and it rests on a bed of white cotton on my dresser.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 10:18 AM

And your stories have the same effect on me, Meg. It's a beautiful, fascinating, magical world we live in, isn't it?


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 09:55 AM

Tami your evocative descriptions sparks my hunger to visit with you someday and see these wonders for myself.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 09:46 AM

Thank you for that one, Meg!

I've no stories this lovely Maine morning, but the crows in the field are busy. I think they have found an owl or a hawk to annoy, or even a fox. I suspect it may be one of the family of hawks in the woods behind the cottage. And two mornings ago I had a dragonfly sitting watch on my porch for a few hours. The field is full of dragonflies of all colors. There are blue-bodied ones with black and white wings called Widow Skimmers, and reddish ones with golden-amber wings, and my guardian of of Saturday morning was a bluish-white fellow with black spots on his wings. And like birds, the males are much more colorful than the females. And in the little ponds and marshes nearby, there are bright blue ones and shiny red ones, and the occasional emerald green damselfly settling on a reed and folding his wings on his back.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 12 Aug 13 - 05:15 AM

Yesterday my brother and I went to a story telling event at Corrigall farm museum we heard some grand tales but as is always the way with me while my ears were on the story my mind was weaving the things I saw and heard into my own tale.


There was a nip in the air as they sat together in the old grain barn. The peat fire under the grain kiln reeked like the lums o' hell but gave of little heat having been to newly lit to be profitable.

One lass drew the auld knitted blanket across her knees silently thanking her grandmother who had spent the hours knitting it while waiting for her to be born. She looked at the squares for a moment lost in the colours, shades of purple and green for the moors, blues and greys for the sea.   There were the yellow of the lichens, the dark brown of the peat and stone and a stony red that granny had said was to reminder of the Red Heads of Eday where the family had come from.

She remembered as a child how her granny would point to one of the squares and tell her tales o trows and hogboons, selkies and the Finn folk. These would be woven with tales of the peoples, from the laird to the old Skatehorn a tramp weel kent around the mainland in days gone by. But the tales she liked the best were those of how the normally quiet island folk would outwit the press gang.

Now she snuggled in the weel loved blanket as Tam o Biggin rose like the great oak doors on the cathedral solid and strong.

"Weel fowks ah'll tell thee the tale oh how I came tae the storytellin."

The tale he told set well the scene for their gathering for it set folk to laughing at the misadventures oh a young man who had come to the hairst hame wie neither a tune a rhyme or a tale tae tell. As his stentorious voice eased to a halt like Raymie Manson's Clydesdales at the end o a furrow a softer voice moved the evening forward wie the tale oh grannies muckle bed or how the farmyard came in the hoose wie peedie Mary.

The supper wis a grand affair wie home brew, bannocks both floory and bere served wie cheese still squeaky frae the still room topped aff wie pancakes and scones served wie rhubarb jam.

Tales flew aboot the room like Whaps in the fog till een wur droopin and hieds sinkin ontae breests till at last meg o' Aglath spoke.

"Tis a fine night we have had and here is one last peedie tale see ye on yer road."

Ye aw ken the auld ruined kirk doon by the shore weel there wis a lad used tae attend that kirk cried Jimmo Bews. Jimmo wis a fine lad wie a fiddle and wis aft times cried oan tae play fur neighbour fowk. A nicht he wis headin home frae playin at the weddin o Jock Burgess he walked along briskly whistlin some oh the tunes that were runnin through his head. As he approached the kirk he saw lights in the building, "strange" thought he "I wonder who can be in the kirk at this hour fur theres nae need tae be in the kirk sae early in the morning."

So though it wid hae bin wiser tae hurry on hame the courage o ale hid him change course till he loupit ower the dyke and headed up tae the door fur a look. He fair goggled in surprise for where there should be an empty room (For in those days maist folk stood during the service) was a brightly lit hall filled wie fowk . now Jimmo hid heard o the fair fowk but hid believed them tae be awfy peedie but these lads and lassies were near his ain five fit but o far slighter build.

Someone spotted him and the hall quietened till a bonny lass approached him.

"Sir that is a fine fiddle I see you carrying and as you can see we could not find a fiddler willing to play for my sisters wedding would you be kind to us and play us a few tunes."

Weel although he had been brought up to be afraid o the fair fowk Jimmo wis a kind hearted lad and the thought of a wedding without a tune to dance to filled him with sadness so he stepped into the room and lifted his fiddle and began to play. My how they danced through reels and strathspeys they stepped lightly and always the lass who first spotted him stayed by his side and praised his fine playing.
They danced till the sun was peeping ower the breest o the brae and a distant cock crow was heard. The bonnie lass who had invited him in thanked him for his kindness to them she gave him a bag o siller for his pay and a blessing that his music would always gladden the heart of all who heard it. She asked if he would consent to come back each year to play for them and to tell the truth since he was half in love wie the lass already he quickly agreed.

And so my friends Jimmo did what we must now and wended he weary way home. But he never told anyone about the fair folks use o the kirk and each year on the longest night he would quietly leave the town to go play for his lady and her friends. He grew older but still he kept his tryst with the lady till one dance night he sighed to the still young girl who stood beside him that this might be his last dance for them. He was now an old man and not so able to walk the mile to the auld kirk a new one having been built in the town.

The lass smiled and asked him if he loved her Jimmo held her hand having laid his fiddle by to talk with his friends for a moment.
"Lass I have loved you so weel all these years that I never took to me a bride from the town."
She kissed him soundly to the cheers of her friends "Then my bonny lad come marry me this night and stay with me forever."
No sooner had he agreed than he felt the aches leave his old bones, his back straightened and he felt a bit light in the head so he closed his een.
Warm arms wrapped round him whispering to open his eyes and look at the man she had married. But when he did so he near swooned with shock for the reflection in the mirror she held showed him as he had been the first night he had ever played for the fair fowks dance.

Back in the town folks said that the old man must have wandered of in the night and fallen over the cliff for he was never seen again. Should you wander past the ruins of the auld kirk tonight on your way home listen you quietly and you might just hear the sweet sound of the fiddle and the dancers laughing.

I bid you all goodnight.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: JennieG
Date: 03 Aug 13 - 06:45 PM

On my morning walk I am accompanied by the sound of rainbow lorikeets chattering in the eucalypt trees above, while I dodge the falling blossoms - the lorikeets are nectar-feeding birds, so they chew on the blossoms which of course then fall to the ground leaving a snowy sticky carpet. The air is crisp, fairly cool but not quite cold (although my nose doesn't quite believe that) and I am pleased to get home and have breakfast, sitting in the sun coming in the window. Sometimes I am greeted by the little black and white puss down the street, but not today.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Aug 13 - 04:22 PM

Speaking of young crying to be fed- yesterday in the parking lot I stood and watched a crow parent trying to appease two young'uns. Nice to know they had successfully raised TWO babies but I suspect they had doubts as to the wisdom of it. S/he pecked diligently at the ground and offered morsels to first one and then the other but whichever one didn't have food at the moment kept its mouth busy blatting away.

As I watched, papa/mama landed. S/he didn't help but looked on, rather scornfully.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 03 Aug 13 - 03:35 PM

It must be wonderful to watch them lass.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 03 Aug 13 - 02:40 PM

The last several weeks have seen our young raptors discovering what their big wings are for. We have at least seven young osprey invading each others' air space and the adults birds spend a lot of time yelling at the neighbor kids. We also have a couple of red-shouldered hawks learning how to fly and their parents attempting to teach them that the squirrels and chipmunks are not entertainment but dinner. The young crows are nearly the same size as their parents, but still follow their parents and older siblings around begging to be fed. They are easily identified from the adults by their still slightly fuzzy brown heads. They look so silly, I can't help but laugh at them. Our little phoebes under the eaves of park HQ are also learning to fly, and will be on their own soon. And with the seeds forming in the thistles, the goldfinches are finally getting serious about nesting. But it's my osprey that love best :)


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 22 Jun 13 - 04:00 PM

The sun played peekaboo through the leaves of the large old oak as we sat in its shade to eat our picnic. It was hard to believe we were only a few hundred yards from the slip road to the motorway. Two young rabbits were busy playing tig around the stump of another tree nearby while an angry raven scolded them from the safety of the next tree down the avenue.

We stood and slowly continued our walk back to the car park talking of grandparents, parents and others now gone who had given us life and shared their life with us both good and bad, the wisdom and the foolishness of the past.

We walked together, the oldest and the youngest of a fast shrinking family relishing our brief time together now that we are usually separated by several hundred miles. The time was we could do this six times a year as Dauvit and I went down for conferences four times a year and Roy would come up for two of his holidays, now ill health and lower incomes has reduced our visits considerably, this was our first in over a year.

For the past week we have enjoyed each others company and revisited places he had taken me as a wee girl. Well now it is back to old clothes and porridge as my mum would have said . However I have returned to something I had given up hope of ever experiencing the shower room I have been saying was dangerous for ten years has been replaced with a new wet room by the housing association. Ah how I love my island I dropped of the key with the association before I headed of . I would have left the door unlocked like it usually is but they don't really approve of that, they had even hoovered the carpets before they left.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: LilyFestre
Date: 31 May 13 - 04:01 PM

I woke up to the sunshine sneaking around the edges of a quilted wall hanging that I purposefully hang on the window to keep the rising sun out of my bedroom...today that little trick didn't work.

It is about 90 degrees in northern Pennsylvania today...much to hot for me. ICK.

Michelle


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 31 May 13 - 01:27 PM

Well folks I have to report that I woke to a foggy drizzly morning. I wandered over to the window and there I was faced with the most blatant and disturbing display of public sex right there on my front lawn.

There they were quite obviously at it and me a former Sunday school teacher as well. I mean what else could I do I phoned the housing association to complain giving them a very accurate description of those involved, only to be told they would do nothing, absolutely nothing.

Apparently the local bylaws do not cover amorous sparrows, how was I to know that. When he stopped laughing Brian informed they would begin work ripping out the bathroom I have had problems with and installing the new one.














OK I KNOW
which way is the cellar?


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Charmion
Date: 30 May 13 - 11:18 AM

This morning, we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to the whistling of a white-throated sparrow, the "O Canada bird", who sings the opening phrase of our national anthem to announce his presence to the world. He also has a wide range of piercing two-note calls and, now that it's getting hot and we have our windows open, he can jolt us out of a sound sleep.

At the first flutter of an eyelid, Rosie the cat is on the job to finish what the sparrow started. Whether we want it to or not, our day has begun.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 29 May 13 - 03:01 PM

Beautiful, Tami!


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: gnu
Date: 29 May 13 - 02:24 PM

What a wonderful thread. Megan, r1... absolutely beautiful posts! Thank youse.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 29 May 13 - 10:48 AM

Kendall, winter is when the rarest beauty is to be found, because there are fewer of us to appreciate it. The deep blue of the predawn hours during a snowstorm contrasting with the white of the snow; the deep green of the pines against the blue sky; the bare branches of the hardwoods silhouetted against overcast skies; The silver reflection of the full moon on crusty snow; the thousands of bursts of color made by sun shining through ice on the trees after an ice storm. It's a starker beauty than the other seasons, but no less beautiful.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: kendall
Date: 29 May 13 - 08:26 AM

Maine is truly Gods country; he/she/it doesn't spend the winter here.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 29 May 13 - 08:21 AM

Lass that is a wonderful picture you painted in my mind. My Uncle Tom was blind and loved going for walks with people who could paint the scenery with their words, he would have loved listening to you.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 29 May 13 - 07:19 AM

I took a trip back "home" ten days ago. It's not the area where I spent the most time as a child, but after all the moving we did (seventeen moves in my 15 years of life at that point), it was the place that felt the most like home. I dropped in on our old landlords and had a lovely visit, and they let me wander though our old house. Standing in what was my old room, I remembered all the mornings that I awoke before the alarm clock went off and lying in bed listening. I could tell the weather from the sounds I heard. If it was foggy, I would hear the fog horn from the lighthouse and the bell buoy out in the bay, but everything else would be all muffled. If it was snowing without being a northeaster, it was all quiet. If there was a northeaster going on, I would hear the snow hissing on the windows and the wind sounding like it wanted to blow the roof off. Some mornings, I'd hear the lobstermen in Back Cove behind the house getting ready to go out for another day, gear clanking and NOAA on their radios giving the marine report. Summers, I'd be woken up earlier by the birds singing or the sound of Paul Yates' lawnmower at 5:00 AM.

I will always miss those winter mornings, though, when I would lie awake in the dark, snug and warm in my bed listening to the bell buoy or the foghorn.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 15 May 13 - 06:49 AM

You lucky lass.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 15 May 13 - 06:40 AM

Megan, That's wonderful!

I get to do it all over again today, except that I'll be poking through tide pools with them instead of on the trail. And I get paid to do this!!!


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 15 May 13 - 03:11 AM

A child's eye view


Look through my eyes see what I see
The whole world is fresh and new to me
The things you've stopped seeing
You no longer hear
Are bright and exciting
Wondrous and clear.
I don't over think things
I'm filled with their joy
I dance in the sunshine
All my senses employ.
The veins on a leaf
The croak of a frog
A caterpillar crawling
Sharing food with my dog.
My very first snowflake
The rough feel of a log
I look and I listen
With eyes open wide
Its fresh and its new
And I don't try to hide.

MHTBL 15th may 2013 0810hrs


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 14 May 13 - 02:36 PM

It was beautiful morning at the park today. Sun shining, birds singing, and children laughing and learning. We had 60 five-year-olds come to the park this morning for nature programs. They are like popcorn at this age, all over the place, but they are so much fun to spend time with! They all want to stand close to you and tell you about every tiny detail of their lives and it's sometimes hard to get them to concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing. My thought is that if I taught them at least one new thing, then I have accomplished something. Today's nature programs focused on using their senses and it is always amazing what they notice. The red of the stems of tiny ferns that most adults never even notice, the bumpiness of the clay in the picnic field under their feet, one tiny bird call that I never would have noticed if they hadn't brought it to my attention, the smell of the grass they're treading upon. And most of all, being able to experience the park through their innocence and wonder.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: kendall
Date: 12 May 13 - 07:15 AM

There's a song in there.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 12 May 13 - 06:12 AM

It had been a tough day, although I had reason to celebrate, the housing association are finally going to remove the slippy dangerous shower and just dish the floor turning it into a proper safe wet room. I was however surrounded by people drowning in bad news and sadness, that is their story to tell not mine.

By the time I finally closed the door at night and eased back into the recliner I was drained and feeling blue. As I sat quietly trying to push away the cares of the day a small memory timidly crept to the edge of my consciousness, it quivered with fright each time I looked at it till I had calmed enough for it to edge closer.

It was a simple little memory from oh so long ago yet as fresh as the day it was made. I was fifteen and sitting with my big brother in Abottsinch Airport waiting to board my first ever plane. We were not going that far just to a country festival in London but for me it was to be a big adventure, my first flight and my first time in a proper hotel. At that moment however it looked like a vanishing dream as heavy rain and black forbidding clouds threatened to ground our flight.

Suddenly there was an announcement there was a short gap in the weather and we would take off. We were quickly hustled aboard, the hostess gave us safety instructions, checked we were all buckled up even as we headed for the runway.

It felt like we were crawling along as the pilot took us into a long slow ascent the dark cloying cloud clinging to us like a shroud. My heart felt heavy with disappointment and anxiety, was it safe to fly through this? Would I ever catch a glimpse of the ground I had so wanted to see from this height?

Suddenly we broke though the top of the cloud and I gasped in surprise at the bright sunshine and fluffy white cotton wool landscape below us. I don't suppose I had ever really thought about it to me the sun was either there on sunny days or not on dull cloudy ones, yet here it was shining brightly while on the ground it had ceased to exist.

The memory gave me one last little butterfly kiss then wandered of to play somewhere else. I allowed the worries of tomorrow and the cares of today to sink into the cleansing river of evening. Sighing in the secure knowledge that no matter how dark the clouds got above them the sun is still shining and it will break through them someday.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: kendall
Date: 09 May 13 - 08:01 AM

Did it arrive yet? I don't know your zip code.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 08 May 13 - 10:48 PM

Aw, thank you, Kendall!


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: kendall
Date: 08 May 13 - 07:43 PM

I'll send you some tonight.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: ranger1
Date: 08 May 13 - 08:13 AM

I was late walking the dog last night. By the time we headed out the door, the mist was rolling in. There are no streetlights or sidewalks on our road, and I love that, but it does make after-dark walks a little dangerous. We just went a little ways, down the gated dirt road that leads to the town pump house. There is a beautiful little marsh down there full of spring peepers still peeping their little hearts out. I stopped to enjoy the sights and sounds. Among the cattails, I noticed a pair of red-winged blackbirds flying from cattail stalk to cattail stalk, the mail on the top of the cattail, the female staying lower. Red-winged blackbird males are handsome creatures, all black, except for a stripe of yellow visible on his shoulder, like an epaulette on a uniform. When he spreads his wings, the large red patch under the yellow becomes visible. The female is streaked brown and white, all the better to be invisible when sitting on the nest. The deer also use the gravel road, I can see their tracks. I suspect there may be a mink, fox, or other medium sized mammal using the marsh, as Bandit is always very interested in the riprap around the culvert that allows the marsh to flow under the road rather than over it when the water is high. It isn't at all high right now, and that worries me. It has been a very dry spring this year, and I hope for rain soon.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: gnu
Date: 07 May 13 - 05:15 PM

Kendall, yer seat must be comfy enough on accounta ya landed jac.

This thread is one of my all time favs of all Mudcat threads! The poetry in your words exacts all manners of emotions from me. Thank you, each and all.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 May 13 - 04:21 PM

Nice picture. And sun. Sunshine has been in short supply in Alaska.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: kendall
Date: 07 May 13 - 03:07 PM

A more comfortable seat


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: jacqui.c
Date: 07 May 13 - 02:54 PM

A sunny afternoon, a banjo, dog and cup of coffee.

What more could a man want?


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 06 May 13 - 03:19 AM

A glimpse of a sail slipping out of the bay the skipper judging the local waters to catch the oot race the rushing ebb tide that will grab him and allow him to ride it like a galloping horse all the way round the island to Birsay should he wish. From there he can catch the wind to make the dash to Shetland or work his way over to Norway as our forefathers did.

The local boat, the Orkney Yole wide beamed and shallow of draft they are clinker built and had almost died out on our islands. Thankfully an association has been formed to preserve and promote the yole and the first new built one in about a century was completed in if I remember rightly 2008.

Thought to have been brought to us by our Viking ancestors they were ideal for transporting people and goods between the islands. They are small by modern standards but could carry a considerable load because of their stability. Two of Dauvit's uncles were renowned builders not only for their own small island but also throughout the north isles it is also thought they were the last north isles builders to carry on the tradition.

Watching the sail disappear round the point of Ness I smile. Lilly the first of the new generation of Orkney Yole epitomises all that I love about my island the quiet sense of continuity. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, tilling, planting, reaping onward we move generation to generation yet our men still go to sea and our women still show their treasured possessions on the sideboard as our ancestors at Skara brae did.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Megan L
Date: 04 May 13 - 12:50 PM

Lass they sound like real special memories.


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Subject: RE: BS: Sunshine Thoughts
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 May 13 - 11:23 AM

I love the image of the white feet, Tami!


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