Mary Jemison Her statue stands over the lands she grew to love beyond and above the first few years of living with fears in a New York forest dense with pine, only the best used for longhouses in which they could rest. At first she longed to escape, in hours so late but then, eventually,…
poetry
Poetry Friday: A Mish-Mash
This week I am getting ready for my student writer’s circle to start. We will meet at our local library on July 8th for the first time. I am excited to have this group. Thank you for your suggestions last week if you offered some to me! I am behind in my return comments but…
Poetry Friday: Group Work & Student Poems
Some of you know that I’ve had a student writer’s circle in the past. For six years, I ran an enrichment group for third grade students, handpicked by their teachers, to belong to a writer’s circle with me once a week during the school year. It’s been at least four years since I had such…
Poetry Friday: Poetry of Place
We’ve been travelling over the last week, visiting places we used to live and conduct our lives in Western New York. It brings to mind something my son said when he was young and in elementary school. Mom, he said, “Math is everywhere!” And, he was right. We started noticing how math was a part…
Poetry Friday: Turtle Movements
You move so slowly, Until you see me on the path. Quickly, you scoot away to the edge, Stopping momentarily to listen to More of my approaching footsteps On the gravel. Then, you’re off again, Scuttling into the dry forest Debris where you blend so perfectly. Still, if I bend down to look Under your…
Poetry Friday and RDP: Carousel of Life
One of my favorite rides at the amusement park has always been the carousel. I think it’s because on the surface, it’s predictable in it’s movement but not in where or when it starts and stops. I like routine and predictability so I am drawn to this ride. I also like the artistry of the…
Poetry Friday: Dakota Gift
We had a spectacular storm early on Tuesday evening. It took place after dinner, blowing in on winds from the west. I ran outside with my phone and small camera to take photos of the clouds lit with the sun from behind. A gentleman, who is a friend of a friend, told me in a…
Poetry Friday: Inspired by Turkey Vultures
Monday night we took a canoe ride after dinner on the small lake upon which our cabin sits on the shore. The water was calm and the lake was quiet with only a few other boats floating about. We paddled to the left and circled counter clockwise around the lake, opposite to the direction we…
An Evolving Post: From Mishmash to Conversation Poems
There are many ideas running through my head this Friday morning. But, none seem worth writing about. It’s been a busy week. We’ve seen several people we haven’t seen in a year or more. I had lunch out with a friend yesterday. Then, I used the afternoon to pot up some of my annuals and…
Poetry Friday: Wildlife Sights and Sounds
We live in Wisconsin in a town that has grown over three fold in the last twenty years. Houses occupy what used to be cornfields and prairie, tightly woven together with a maze of streets and lights where once there was nothing but crickets and darkness. Human development greatly impinges on the environment. In these…










