#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream

“Poems are like dreams: in them you put what you don't know you know.”
― Adrienne Rich

The alarm was unwelcome. I snoozed. But I wanted to have a welcome home walk with a friend, and so I got up. Got out the door quickly, with both dogs. It was wet and mild and I walked fast to the meadow to meet my friend and her dogs–our dogs reunited with joy too. I love this picture, above, the mellow, cheerful, welcoming tones of sunflower gold and green-blue mist and pine green and rust. I love the day after a holiday; the satisfaction, the relief. We walked and talked so briskly over all our concerns and successes and things we’re clear and unclear about. I felt so productive and positive and energetic today! I got so much work done on projects. And, a highlight, an hour of pure play with a grand nephew who visited. While my niece and daughter visited, I engaged him, or, he engaged me, with the joy of our yard and woods. We fished the dead leaves out of the frog pond, but sadly, had no sightings of frogs or turtles. We walked to the river where he had to relieve himself. We walked the wooded trails of my property, which to him felt vast, limitless and I could sense he was a bit afraid of being lost. But we played imaginative games, pretending we might get lost and need to spend the night. We’d use my coat as a tent. But neither of us had matches on hand for a fire, so he knew we would have to rub sticks together. I let him trust his instincts and choose the paths that guided us back to familiar territory. We had many, many running races up and down our sloped yard. I laughed and laughed and so enjoyed his company. My daughter said my niece probably very much appreciated it. But the pleasure was all mine. I got to play the way this little boy plays and I liked it.