#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream

Laverna Preserve, Maine

Awake very early, quiet house, an overcast sky. Soon, another hike to Laverna Preserve, and this time Frank and my youngest with me. We are excited to show Frank this wonderful trail and spectacle of ocean view. We have our youngest daughter all to ourselves and get to focus on her in our hiking conversation. Frank is quite impressed and glad he joined us. I find out the name of the four-petaled wildflower I’ve been meaning to look up since we arrived: bunchberry! This is the day my daughter has set up our tour of Glidden Point Oysters, an oyster farm on the road to Boothbay Harbor. We get to see the oyster traps and hear about the farming process in the Damariscotta River, a combination of fresh and salt water, and then everyone but me learns to shuck, and then enjoy, a wonderful selection of oysters freshly harvested. I am not a fan. I am happy at the picnic table watching them enjoy the feast under bright sun. It’s a lighthearted, sunny day, warm and remarkable. We all read and take quick naps on the nearby beach in the late afternoon. Tonight I lead my Aim for Astonishing writing workshop in the quiet house while all are out. Today my mood is sunny, grateful, healthily in bloom like a bunchberry blossom. I plan a hike for tomorrow.