Campsites 21, A, B,C and D - the Pines.

Site A - woman and a man driving a Honda CRV with 2 kayaks on top. A black dog, short haired, medium sized, tail curled up over her back. Her front 2 paws where white like she was wearing socks.

Site B,C and D - a group of seven friends, looked like mostly in their twenties. A Ford Focus, Jeep Cherokee and a Honda Civic Coupe. Lots of bikes. They had a dog, Charlie, who looked like darker brown Weimaraner on the small side (maybe still growing). When off their leashes the two dogs would chase each other like crazy. On Saturday night they all sang happy birthday. They mostly wore LED head lamps and at night it was so dark that all you could see was the lights bobbing around, like disembodied light creatures.

The profoundness of the ordinary

One day last week I stopped myself right in the midst of meditating. I could not do it any longer. Today I learned that if I accept my inability to meditate without judgement, then that is the essence of meditating.
Holy bodhi tree Batman.

Sunday morning.

Thursday and Sunday the campground is empty except for the sound of birds, wind in the trees and the slight snick of White Pine needles falling to the ground. Nice place for a hot cup of Ethiopian coffee and a book.

What does this mean?

It took 4 days to shake off a 3 day work week.

Can't quit my day job.

At check in the ranger asked if I had a particular site in mind. I said that there was this short dirt spur road, sites numbered twenty something,  that looked nice. He looked on the computer and after a bit called the other ranger over and said to him "Can we give him 21? ". The second ranger gave me a quick look and said yes. First ranger said to me that this a special site, not even on the maps, reserved for the camp host however they had already left for the season. "In the future you can't request this site ." I said great and did this make me a State employee?  He looked over the top of his glasses and said "No " and after a pause "That's not something you would brag about anyway."

Me and Ricky. October 5,2013

Email from 5 years ago

From: Richard Wood
Subject: The big day cometh
To: mariefinigan@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 12:34 PM

Hi Claire, The wedding rapidly approaching and I am looking forward to seeing you. I was reviewing the logistical plans that Michelle has drawn up and I wanted to make sure that you knew that Ricky wants to have his picture taken with you and my brother Chris before the wedding at the church at 4:45 (1/2 hour before thew actual wedding starts). If that doesn't work let me know and we can make other plans. Ricky had his bachelor party last Saturday. It was at a cigar bar. I still can get a wiff of cigars when I get in my car. It was great to see him very excited about the wedding with Than and many of his friends. There is a bitter sweet element for me to all this. I wish my Mom were here to see this, as I bet you wish Bert were here as well. I also wish I was experiencing this holding my wife's hand. That's the bitter part. The sweet part is I know I was raised by a woman who loved me, married to a woman I loved deeply and am very lucky to have 2 great boys and a family of love to surround me. I am so looking to give you a big hug Saturday, Love Rick

Venti half decaf, half dark roast.

Earlier in the day I sat on the grass outside a Starbucks with six other people.
We had all entered the store,
chose what we wanted,
paid in a variety of ways.

Later, on the second floor,
however its not that way.
These women and men, seated around tables waiting to be fed,
caretakers moving from table to table bringing food to their mouths.

Rainy morning camping

While I was at the water faucet filling my coffee pot
a six year old rode her bike over to check out what I
was doing. I said "Hey, know what happens when you ride your bike in the rain?"
to which she shook her head no. "You get wet." She laughed and said
she didn't mind because she had plenty of dry clothes to put on.
She then told me her dad had said he wished he had a pop up camper like mine
when it rains and I replied it was pretty nice. She then told me one of the secrets of
 happiness. "You know what I like about camping in the rain?, I get to eat blueberry pancakes in the tent."

Amen sister.

Preen my feathers at dusk.

I took a bath with five ducks. As I cleaned the sand from between my toes in preparation for putting my socks on three of the ducks turned there heads backwards, shrugged their shoulders up and stood perfectly still on one leg. They held that pose for as long as I could see them as I walked back through the rapidly darkening woods towards  camp.

Walk around Big Cliff Pond

I had been walking counter clockwise around the pond when I came upon 3 kids. There was 13 and 7 year old girls and a 10 year old boy. The 10 year old said they had been abandoned by thier parents and pointing to 3 kayaks said the wind was blowing to hard to paddle away. The 7 year old was playing at the edge of the water and the 13 year old was stretched out in the equinox sun. The 10 year old then asked me what I knew about solar clocks. He pointed to a circle drawn in the sand with 4 sticks at the cardinal points with a shadow of one pointing to a stone which he said meant it was 12 noon. I asked if he wanted to verify the time with my phone to which the 13 year old, eyes still closed, said "Please God yes! " The phone said it was 11:01 am. After a moment he adjusted the 12 o'clock stick in anticipation of the shadow crossing the stone in an hour. As I started to walk away I said not to worry that they had plenty water to drink from the pond and anyway they might be better off without their parents. That made the 7 year old laugh.

Big and Little Cliff pond at Nickerson State Park.

September 9th, the expirement

I thought that the experiment took place within
the walls of an impervious reaction vessel.
Results showed the vessel was part of the experiment
which makes the Brownian tracks of the ever
continuing results speak with a different voice.
34 times doesn't mark failure,
it marks results that continue to amaze.

Down to my toes.

Approximately 13 pounds of star stuff
meets and holds my gaze. I am held in
the palm of the universe,
eons of evolution ringing
like a bell.

A gift

The exquisite simple act
of comforting a one month
old. Hold him, walk with him and
pat his back. He farts, the crying tapers off
and then he
settles back in against my chest.

X marks the spot.

Sitting cross legged on the floor
and in front of me is a cross of shadows
from the legs of the coffee table.
The overcast sky was causing the light to enter
both my North and South facing windows
pretty much the same.
That light had just leaped off a star
9 minutes earlier.

A mighty fine nap.

I was held in place as if at 100 Gees
but not pulled through to true sleep
time became meaningless and yet
it was blissful. The slow ascent after was equally
sweet. Like floating up through a long
dark tunnel until my eyes were able to open
and it was dusk outside.

Slow news day

Thinking of a thing is not the thing.

Danny boy

Heard this morning

Sometimes a change causes you to change.