 |
| Newlyweds! |
 |
| Cute couple. |
 |
| Sister Sheila, Sister Sally, Susie and Sister Sue. |
 |
| Peggy and me. Who's playing that Tele in the background? |
 |
| Bill Kirchen and Walt Sample. Too Much Fun! |
 |
| Bill brought his trombone! |
|
Forseeing
Sharon Bryan
Middle age refers more
to landscape than to time:
it’s as if you’d reached
the top of a hill
and could see all the way
to the end of your life,
so you know without a doubt
that it has an end—
not that it will have,
but that it does have,
if only in outline—
so for the first time
you can see your life whole,
beginning and end not far
from where you stand,
the horizon in the distance—
the view makes you weep,
but it also has the beauty
of symmetry, like the earth
seen from space: you can’t help
but admire it from afar,
especially now, while it’s simple
to re-enter whenever you choose,
lying down in your life,
waking up to it
just as you always have—
except that the details resonate
by virtue of being contained,
as your own words
coming back to you
define the landscape,
remind you that it won’t go on
like this forever.
***********************************************************************************
My corn crib is an old tack shack about twenty five yards north east of my cabin porch at the bottom of the driveway. This year I filled it with 120 bushels of corn. There are about 60 ears in a bushel. The average ear has 16 rows and 800 kernels. So I have 7,200 ears and 5,760,000 little yellow kernels.
I am not the only one aware of that fact. Every morning while sipping coffee I witness many of my winged, two legged and four legged friends come visit. This year I installed a door which makes it even more interesting for me and more difficult for my friends.
Here is a picture of my guards. This is a rare snapshot because they are awake.
Usually the first visitors are squirrels. Fat happy squirrels. I am attempting to get photos of them inside the crib feasting. So far no luck. There is a small shelf above the door when the extra large grey sits and eats. One day while getting a bucket to feed Toby, Sammy Joe and Diamond, I opened the door and the jumbo red was startled mid feast and scurried up the wall and out one of the many escape/entry holes. I gathered ears and kept hearing munching. Not aware of the huge grey's dining table, I was startled when I turned and saw it inches from my head. It is humongous!
Next comes a parade of turkeys. Usually 10 or 15. sometimes too many to count.
Then the deer. I have two resident does with fawns. Last year they both had twins!
Now comes the exciting part. Small rodents enjoy the bounty and travel the area frequently.
This has not gone unnoticed by the local cast of hawks. They sit on a low branch of a nearby black oak and wait for dinner to scurry past.
Crows and Morning Doves visit constantly.
I put in a new floor and did my best to secure the contents of the crib before filling it this year.
Unlike The Great Escape, the tunnels all lead in. Along with holes chewed in the pine walls and plywood floor. Roof metal pushed aside.
You get the idea. All I did was make it a little bit harder, not impossible.
I see squirrels struggling while carrying full ears thru the woods and find naked cobs everywhere.
Spring time brings 1000s of lone corn plants through out the forest and pasture.
Racoons and opossums are nightly visitors. Never get much of a glimpse but, I hear the commotion when my guards get involved.
I am reminded of the National Geographic films at the African watering hole while I enjoy my coffee.
|
