Swans come together and nest in the marsh

 

Though the water, at night, still freezes

 

A doe’s sunken withers tell that Winter was harsh

 

She lifts her nose, scents Spring in the breezes

 

 

 

 

Throughout the yard, the grass is greening

 

Buds swell, responding to the Sun’s warm touch

 

Deep in the woods, the birds are teeming

 

Crocuses push through the damp, cold mulch

 

 

 

A woman steps out, takes a deep breath

 

She cannot resist spring’s rising tide

 

Uneasy with feelings she thought put to death

 

Now awakened within her, not to be denied

 

 

Love unexpected; found a chink in her armor

 

A man with a dream, he haunted her soul

 

Planting seeds of trust, sweet charming farmer

 

Why; no longer the question. How; now the goal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

 

I’m back-what a week!  I will fill you in, but I’m having a hard time getting it rolling.  Please bear with me…

 

I hope there are not too many hangovers being nursed out there in Blogland.  I was a good Irish girl-not one green beer.  The hubby even had Killian’s waiting in the ‘fridge.  I was pretty bushed from the week, though.  Probably would’ve finished one beer and passed out.  What a waste!  Hahaha.

 

I DID buy myself a bouquet of flowers, though.  I was pretty down-actually didn’t want to come home!  I bought a small bouquet of Bells of Ireland, Heather and Nemesia?  Not sure of the last one, the florist told me but I forgot.  When I got home, Cid spotted the flowers and thought they were for HIM!!  Well, I rolled with it.  What else could I do?  Poor guy!  He is starving for affection; I have been pretty icy these days, besides being GONE for a week.  Plus the kids were content, the house was not too messy, he’s been cleaning up the yard (getting rid of the junkers, finally!!) There’s irony here, though.  He ends up with flowers, and I get beer!  Ok, well…I guess we can each enjoy the other one’s gift…!

 

Why was I down?  This past week was a blast!  I loved being on my own, I loved learning, and I loved hiking in the woods.  I even wrote, although it was just tons of notes!  I got to hang out with Conservation geeks talking shop and it was TERRIFIC!  The fire training was intense, but interesting and even fun.  I will never look at a bonfire the same way again!

 

I had great teachers-they were young (20’s and 30’s) except for Rudolpho, who was probably around my age.  So, yeah, he was young ISH!  Steve was the “lead” teacher. When the others taught a section he still was in the back round, interjecting when necessary.  Steve was an actual wild land firefighter, but is now working at the Nature Conservancy and does prescribed burns.  He is about to become a crew leader, and I could see why.  He was an excellent communicator (critical in fire situations!) and was concise, to the point.  Very knowledgeable, he never made anyone feel foolish asking questions; he was intent on making sure we understood everything.  All the teachers were, actually.  (The other teachers were Jack, Tom and George.  I forgot, George was older, too.  George taught the HAZMAT part on the last day.  Wow!) 

 

I wish I could tell you all I learned, but there are volumes of information!  I never realized there was so much to fire behavior; there are so many influences, so much unpredictability.  Even if you take EVERY precaution, much can still go wrong.  I always thought I understood that fire was dangerous-I didn’t have a clue!!!  Still, fire can be a great tool, and there is a place for it in conservation.  While I was out there I visited two preserves owned by the Michigan Nature Association.  Absolutely gorgeous!!!  Especially the second one!  I wished I had brought a camera.  I can’t believe such beauty still exists in Oakland County.  Still, the invasive plants were everywhere.  The growing season is just getting started, but last year’s growth told the story.  Part of that particular preserve was burned last year, and despite how early in the season it was, we could see the difference.  Even a green horn like me!  That area had almost all Native plants in it.  I now see the importance of burns.  They work!  Our guide, Joe, described how they did it last year, and even though they never lost control of the fire, at its peak they had thirty-foot flames.  I understand now very clearly why it is just as important to be a fire fighter out there, as well as someone who knows how to do a prescribed burn.

 

The more I learn, the thirstier I get for more.  I am going to continue this quest!  I have found something that seems to tie in almost all my life’s experiences, odd as it sounds, and yet I am just getting started.  What I have learned this past week has awakened me.  This is where I want to be.  Right in the midst of nature, in conservation, reestablishing Native habitat.  This has even changed my viewpoint on gardening!  Much of what has invaded our lands has come from gardens of the past, and present.  No one knew, or considered how much of an impact these ornamentals would have on our wilderness.  But they do!  So much of our flora and fauna in this region depends on what evolved here over the millennia.  The ornamentals are comparatively new arrivals, yet have impacted so much. 

 

Will I rip out everything in my garden, and go Native?  I will be putting in as many native plants as I can, or at least insure the non-natives I have are not invasive and easily controlled.  I guess after seeing these preserves, I want them to stay.  If you could’ve been there! The bird life alone!  Amazing!  I scared up a grouse-it startled me too!  The Sand hill Cranes are making a come back, and their eerie cries echoed through out the preserve.  The Canadian geese were honking too, and we weren’t sure but we thought we heard a Rail.  Although they weren’t around, our guide said that Blue racers abounded (a type of snake) as well as spotted turtles, some box turtles, Blue herons, and so much more.  Deer sign was everywhere, of course, and we smelled a skunk-a good distance away, luckily!  All of these creatures depend on the habitat established here after the last of the glaciers pulled back.  I would hate to see it lost.

 

This is getting long!  I could go all day, but of course I can’t.  I will end with how grateful I am to have had this experience, this opportunity.  There are burns coming up, and I am going!  I can continue with education, too, what I learned was really an introduction, there is SO much more.  What is cool is this knowledge can be applied through out the country, even the World, although I will probably stay in my region of the planet!  I still want to end up on my Island, after all.  Say, I could even use this stuff THERE!  Hmmm.

 

Thanks for reading, thanks for listening. 

 

Mid

 

P.S.  I’ve been back to days for a week now!  How wonderful to be in the Sun.  Going to be tough going back to nights.  Time to change that, I think.

Hey everyone, just thought I'd let you know I'm going to be gone. Taking off from March 13-March 17th. I am going for training as someone who does controlled burns, and fire fighting. I will receive my S130/S190 cards when finished. I am very excited! If I can find a computer, I will update you guys but I am not counting on it. So I will more than likely fill you in upon my return. See you then!

1.  I wear both silver and gold jewelry.  Gold looks better on me, but I like both.  Have to have 14k gold or above, or I react to it.

 

2.  I like a clean house(especially if someone else cleans it!)  Too bad you can't tell, except Mondays, the only day I have time to clean it!

 

3.  I prefer outside chores to inside chores

 

4.  I think people come into your life for a reason.  I think animals do too.  I learn from both!

 

5.  I wear contact lens.  I got tired of knocking my glasses off at work.  They are the thirty day ones, so I don't have to mess with them much!!

 

6.  (Bonus)  I am not very organized.  I have to force it.

 

 

I haven’t had much luck making it to the ‘stream lately.  Plenty of stories rattling around in my head, to be sure, but unfortunately not enough time rattling around in my life!!  Some one told me once I was in the midst of the “marathon years.”  Too true!  Kids, job, running a household…just hate to think I’m too busy to do the other things I love.  Well, today I’ll fit in one of those other things, writing!  Let’s see how this turns out…

 

 

I work the midnight shift at a high school, as many of you know.  I am a part of a crew of six, and we are responsible for quite a few “extra duties” besides our normal areas.  One of those duties is snow removal.  Usually we are out there at least once a week.

 

Last month there was a heavy snow, with a layer of thick ice underneath.  We split into teams of two, and took on the major areas of the school.  My team included Jeff and Anita.  We cleared off the snow, and then laid a bunch of salt down to soften the ice.  Anita and I came back about 4:30 am to clear off the slush, and we were well into it when Anita looked up.  “Hey Kel,”  ‘Nita said.  “That kid is here awfully early.”  I looked up to see what she was talking about.  “Who is that?”  I wondered out loud.  Indeed, there was someone walking up the center sidewalk.  The front entry of the school is set back about a quarter mile from the road.  Most of the time a parent drives up and drops their precious cargo at the door.  Where were this kid’s parents?

 

 

‘Nita and I started to scrape at the slushy ice again, but kept one eye on the kid.  Suddenly he veered off, probably noticing us.  “Uh oh, that’s not good,” I exclaimed.  ‘Nita asked, “What’s wrong?  What do you mean?”  I answered,  “I opened the doors over that way, while we were there working.  That kid may try those doors and get in.  There isn’t any one there now…” I trailed off, and then dropped my shovel.  “I’d better get over there.”  ‘Nita said, “ok.  Hey, be careful!”  “ I will!”  I said over my shoulder, as I was already going through the door.

 

 

Just as I got to the open doors the boy saw me.  I was close enough to see he was a boy, and noticed right away that he was wearing nothing but a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt against the twenty-three degree morning.  I also noticed his baggy jeans were caked at the bottom with frozen snow, and had salt stains up to his knees.  He veered off again, picking up his speed.  I opened the door, leaned out, and shouted, “Hey!”  The boy kept going.  “HEY!”  I shouted louder.  This time he stopped and looked back.  “Hey!”  I shouted a third time, but now waving him in.  “You’re here early!  Come on in!”

 

The boy hesitated, but then walked up to me.  I stood aside, and let him in, chattering the whole time.  “Jeez, kid, where’s your coat?  You must be freezing!  Why are you so early?  Do your parents know you’re here?  What’s your name?”  He answered my last question as we started walking back down the hall.  “My name is Early.”  I blinked, thinking at first he was kidding around.  “Your name is what?” I asked again.  “Early,” he repeated.  I went with it.  “Ok Early.  Let me ask you another question.  Do your parents know you are here?”  He looked puzzled, so I repeated the question.  “Oh, oh yes they do,” he answered.  It was then I realized something. His speech was very good, but still I hear something different about it.  It wasn’t an accent.  I thought maybe he was hearing impaired, but he wasn’t wearing a hearing aide.  I made sure to keep facing him whenever I spoke, just in case.  Later, Anita confirmed what I thought.  She had worked before with special needs people in a previous job, and her department worked with hearing impaired people.  They did speech therapy.  She confirmed he was reading our lips and could probably only hear loud noises. “Lucky thing you have a big mouth, he could hear you when you yelled for him,” she teased.

 

We went to the lunch area, and after sitting him at a table, Anita and I got him some food.  He was ravenous.  While he was eating, I sat down next to him.  “Early,” I asked, “Do your parents really know you are here?”  He put down his food, looked me full in the face.  “No.” Then he said, “I can’t go home.”  “Why?  Early, why can’t you go home?”  I looked at Anita, who was also listening intently.  She met my eyes and shrugged her shoulders slightly.  I looked back at Early, but all he said was “I can’t go home.”  Then I asked, “Early, were you out all night?”  He said, “No, I was at Meijers until they made me leave. (Meijers is a giant department store open 24 hours.) Then I came here.”  I asked a few more questions, but he wouldn’t answer any more, except to repeat here and there he couldn’t go home.

 

We left him to finish his breakfast.  We had to clean up the front before zero hour, which started at 6am.  I had that “tip of the tongue” feeling, a memory or something forming, but I couldn’t quite figure it out.  Then it hit me.  “Anita, oh my god-I think I know this kid!”  She exclaimed, “How??”  I then told her about a kid who had been hanging out at my son’s apartment.  He stayed awhile, but my son ended up sending him away.  The kid was deaf, and kept telling my son he couldn’t go home!  “Anita, this was back in October!”  She gasped. “Do you think he’s been out this long??” Anita asked, incredulous.  “I don’t know, but I think at any rate this kid needs help.”  I tried to think.  Anita said, “Maybe we should call the cops?”  I answered, “well, maybe, but you know, there’s a guy right here at the school who could help.  Wouldn’t be as scary, either.”

 

We cleaned up, and then went back to Early one more time.  I handed Early a piece of paper with the name and room number of the man I thought could help him.  “Early, this man is in Youth Assistance.  His name is Hank, he helps kids like you.”  Anita chimed in, “even if you just need to talk, this man will listen.  He is very nice.”  I knelt down next to Early, so I could look up into his face.  He looked down at me, and I said, “You have to promise you will go see Hank, Early.  Do you promise?”  Early grinned, patted me on the shoulder, and said, “I promise.”  I stood up.  “Ok, kid.  I have to go home now.”  I reached out and took his hand, shook it.  “Good luck, Early.”  Anita said good-bye too.  As we walked away, she looked at me.  “You ok?”  “Yeah, I’m fine.”  I answered, my voice husky with tears.  Anita grinned, gave me a gentle push.  “Softy.”

 

I called when I got home.  Hank wasn’t in yet, but his secretary was.  After hearing my story she said she’d go get Early right away.  I told her, “He’s wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt and baggy jeans.  He’s right there in the lunch area, sitting at a table.”  She repeated she’d try and find him, and then we hung up.  Later I called again, asking if she had found him.  Unfortunately, she hadn’t.  He was gone.

 

Two weeks ago I was separating some lost and found clothes in one of the locker rooms.  Every so often we donate the lost and found to a local charity, and we like to send only the “like new” stuff.  I pulled out a gray hooded sweatshirt.  It looked pretty worn so I put it in the garbage pile.  A piece of paper came partially out of a front pocket.  I noticed writing on it, and it looked familiar.  Pulling out the paper, I looked at it closely.  It was my writing!  I grabbed the sweatshirt again, this time looking through all the pockets.  Nothing else.  The sweatshirt was Early’s.  What happened to him?  I took that sweatshirt.  It’s in my locker at work.  I don’t know why I kept it, except maybe to give it back if I see Early again.  I hope I get the chance.

 

Sometimes I don’t understand.  Why are there all these lost kids?  There are so many never getting a chance, so many thrown away.  For many of these kids, it may be too late.  I hope it’s not too late for Early.