Mainely Write

Dog and Toad He was here A couple of days ago; The dog found him Galumphing along Slowly, Slowly enough to be caught, Carried in her mouth For a short while before Being dropped back into The soft cool of the grass And fallen leaves. I wiped her chin Where the toad had been. Gone is the toad Must be too cold Time for making A home down deep A place of rest and sleep Until spring arrives And warms him Back to alive And puts a jounce back In his bounce. ©Donna JT Smith, 2012

On our way to the beach at Friendship yesterday, we spotted a few people out walking their dogs. It was a beautiful afternoon for walking. There's a leash law in Maine, so when you walk your dog they have to be on a leash or under your voice command, and, of course, you need to bring little baggies with you, in case your dog drops little treats anywhere. So it was a bit of a surprise to round a hill and have this huge black lab meandering down the middle of the road and crossing in front of our car. We slowed down so as not to hit him, and then saw the owner, a woman, up ahead about 20 yards calling the dog, who was essentially ignoring her. So much for voice control, let alone leash. Often people from away come up here and think we don't have rules or laws. We're the wilderness, after all. It's amazing what we've seen people from away do that they wouldn't think to do at home. Anyway, that's another day. So we avoided her dog and went on down to the be

Yesterday was the 9 year mark for my mother's departure for Heaven.  She had surmised in her head that she would be leaving about the same time my father passed away two years prior.  She had her hair ready a few days before she died.  Her affairs were all in order.  She was ready to meet her Maker and see my dad.  Her passing was two years, a week and a day after my father's.  She was ready...not sure we were.  But this is for her.  It was supposed to be yesterday's blog.  I wasn't ready. Two years after his death you left With worldly reason We mourned the theft Bereft Throwing off Chain's heft Now deft Two soul mates Once cleft Again warp and weft Two years after He passed At last Heaven's Heavenly Enmeshed Flawlessly fleshed I like to think of it that way, not sure God does it that way though.  I guess I'll know later.

Today my husband woke up with a cough that started yesterday morning just before church.  In spite of that, we had a fun afternoon at my brother's and sister-in-law's house.  My sister came over and joined us for dinner.  Tim and I had run to the grocery store after church to pick up dessert.  We chose Cherry Chocolate Chip ice cream and strawberry cheesecake - without really thinking of the color scheme - ruby. So when my sister said, "Good colors for today," it struck me that they indeed were good colors for a ruby anniversary dessert! Then she brought out the presents.  Wow!  I didn't think we'd get presents!  But we did.  There was a basket of small presents wrapped in red tissue paper and a large red box with batteries stuck under red ribbons. We decided to open the basket presents first, trying to guess what each could be before opening them.  Well, the first was a bottle of barbecue sauce - red, of course.  The next was a can of beets - um, red

Tomorrow is our fortieth anniversary and we are taking a week of  vacation to travel around the state taking pictures and doing things we either haven't done before or going places we haven't gone before or doing and going to places we've experienced before and want to do again. Today we are taking the Maine Eastern train up to Rockland for the day. Never been on this train and always said we were going to do this someday!  Today is someday! We chose the Parlor Car though it was a bit more expensive. Quiet and roomy!

Today is the day my dad went to be with the Lord eleven years ago.  I miss him, but I can still see his twinkling eyes as he fashioned something out of nothing.  That was his life. Lessons from Baseball My father loved to play baseball, And on Sunday afternoons We would file out one and all Ditching paper with cartoons. We’d head off to our big backyard With a Wiffle ball and bat And even though he could not play, Along came George, our cat. The stately elm was our first base Apple trees would make two more The plum tree was the perfect spot For the youngest's on-base chore The plum tree spot was tucked away Behind grapevine home plate Where you could still be in the game But safely watch and wait. When we were very young and small We’d get to swing and swing He wouldn’t let us quit or stop Till the plastic bat would ring We always got a hit off Dad From tree to tree we’d run You might get tagged and make an out But the running made it fun. As we