Remember ME - You Me and Dementia

June 25, 2011

USA: Celebration

 PORTLAND, Maine/ The Elder Storytelling Place / TimeGoesBy / June 22, 2011

Celebration
By Mary B Summerlin who keeps a photostream at Flickr

Today was a celebration of colors. This morning a male cardinal came to feed at my bird feeder. It seemed to me he was redder than usual. A bright red red!


Then, after he had been here a short time, a flock of yellow goldfinches stopped by. And they were not just yellow but yellow yellow with touches of black on them.
Spring is barely beginning here in upstate New York but these bold, vivid colors brightened my spirit with thoughts of all the colors and textures to come.

Then right above them was a squirrel eating the new beginnings of blossoms on the maple tree. Now I been observing and warring with the squirrels for at least 25 years and I’ve never seen this before. I told you today was a celebration.

I decided some years ago that I have the right to declare my own celebrations. I don’t have to wait until July 4th, Christmas or Mother’s Day or any of the rest.

The first celebration that I declared was when some friends and I went on a boat ride to see manatee in the Florida waters. On the way home, dolphins joined us. They followed us and jumped through the waves caused by the boat. It was an awesome sight. I just had to declare April 4, 2008 a Celebration.

And that’s not all; as we neared home a rainbow come out. That was the icing on the cake. When outstanding things happen that leave you with your mouth open – it’s a celebration. At least it is in my world.

And the celebration this day did not end with that lovely morning. Later that day about sundown, I drove to a playhouse to see Robin Hood. I left early so that I could stop and take pictures if anything presented itself.

Just beyond the playhouse is one of my favorite trees. I have trees that I call mine even though they are on somebody else’s land. I feel we have a special affinity.

I went to see my tree in the evening light. It is dead or dying so there were some branches very bare and there were vines growing up it. It looked like a ghostly sculpture, especially in that ending of the day light.

In the background was a bank of trees, some evergreen and others just beginning to bud and bloom. A gorgeous array of colors. My visit with my tree added to my celebration.

While at my tree site, I noticed red-winged black birds. The first flock I’ve seen this year. I took picture after picture even though they were far away and the evening light was dim. The results were not good but it was an event to add to my day of celebration of color.

I drove back to the parking lot of the playhouse and as I got to the car I saw another beautiful sight. There were three weeping willows and the leaves were that beautiful chartreuse spring color. I took several pictures and I liked the results. Another color to add to my day.

I finished my day with the entertainment of Robin Hood. It was done by a local theater group and a friend had a part in the play. I met his wife (a friend of mine for about 40 years) and we comfortably sat together as only old friends can and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The colors of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, all the other characters and Sherwood Forest were all the colors of the spectrum.

Now that was a day to celebrate. I declare April 22, 2011, My Celebration of Spring Colors.
I can’t wait to see what my next celebration will be.

© 2011 Ronni Bennett

Mary B Summerlin of Hyde Park, New York has this to say about herself:
"I am an retired elementary school teacher. Since my retirement I have become a professional storyteller, a workshop leader for Memoir Writing and photographer. I became hooked on photography in 2000 when I got my first digital camera. I live in the Hudson Valley of NY State and enjoy photographing landscapes, birds, animals, and anytime I see nature in a unique light. My back deck is always a mess due to the fact that I feed birds there. I can't give up the birds to have a clean deck - so there. That's me, more or less."
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