From my walk a week ago at Kensington.
At first glance I thought I had a tree filled with blue jays. But one is not like the others.
Ha. Made you look!
Which one of these is not like the others?
Author Archives: dawnkinster
Unexplained
Some twenty years ago my cell phone rang and when I answered it I could hear muffled talking but my sister, who’s phone I was listening to, didn’t respond to my repeated hellos. I had been, as they said back then, butt-called.
Later in the day I talked to my mom, something I didn’t do every day, and she mentioned that she hadn’t heard from my sister in some time. So when I called my sister back to tell her about the butt-call I told her mom would like to hear from her. My sister called mom that evening and they talked. I don’t know about what, most likely just typical daily things, the weather, work, when they might get together. I’m guessing it was a nothing special call.
And then, a few days later, mom died suddenly, and all opportunities for conversation ended.
Last week, on February 25th my cousin, who doesn’t call me very often, called on Facebook messenger. My phone made strange noises and lit up. I don’t know how to answer a Facebook call, and I fumbled around tapping different things trying to respond. At 3:22 messenger said I had “missed audio call” and there was a button that said CALL BACK. I didn’t, but I did message her that I was sorry I missed her call and that I didn’t know how to answer Facebook calls.
About an hour later she called me directly, without the ‘help’ of Facebook, and asked if I had tried to call her. We laughed about who called who and technology being smarter than we were. She said she was in a rehab place, doing physical therapy and getting stronger after a recent hospital stay. She said she was glad to be there, getting better, but she sure wanted to go home.
We talked about what my siblings were doing, and what her grandchildren were doing. We talked about the family Christmas dinner that she hadn’t been strong enough to attend and how much all those people meant to her. And we talked about Christmas Eve when her children and their children gathered at her house and they opened gifts and how wonderful the time together was. It was a nothing special kind of call.
Sunday, March 3rd, just one week after that conversation, my cousin’s daughter let me know her mom had died, unexpectedly, at the hospital where she had gone a couple days before. And I instantly thought about our last phone call. The one that shouldn’t have happened but did because we were, in effect, each butt-called.
I am so grateful for both technical glitches that put me in touch with people I might not have talked to that day. I’m grateful for technology giving us a chance to connect, not knowing it would be our last chance.
And here’s the lesson I learned from all of this — you never know when it’s your last conversation. Each time you say hello and then goodbye is precious, and maybe we shouldn’t wait for technology to do the calling for us. Maybe we should just pick up the phone more often and connect with the people we love.
Godspeed, Joyce Braun. Condolences, hugs and prayers to your children, grandchildren and extended family. We’re all going to miss you so much. And thanks for picking up the phone and calling me. It was always great talking with you.
Titmouse v.s. chickadee
I went out to Kensington this morning. I haven’t been there to walk among the birds in a long time. I have loads of images to share with you. But this little sequence made me laugh.
I hope you enjoy it. too.
When I get some time I’ll look at what else I found and I’ll share the best of it with you. It was a wonderful day in the woods.
Mom has been sick.
Penny here.
Just stopping in to tell you that mom has been sick. She got that covid thing and she’s been mostly in bed for a week.
Being the loyal canine I am I’ve mostly been in bed all week too.
Even when mom had a fever and kept pushing me away cause she said I was too hot I pressed up against her cause I know what she really needed in order to feel better is more of me.
Cause she couldn’t be out and about we haven’t had any adventures lately, but the pictures here are from my last set of adventures.
Mom says we’ll get back on the road again in a few days. She says she’s mostly still tired.
Me? I not tired at all! I’m ready to go as soon as mom says the word.
Until then, I remain mom’s heating pad. Whether she wants one or not.
Signing off now,
your warm and fuzzy girl Penny.
How much is YOUR library worth to you?
Tonight’s local news aired a piece about property taxes, specifically one woman’s fight to eliminate the only tax, she says, that risks a person’s home if left unpaid. She said that people who can’t pay for food or utilities have to pay their property taxes or risk their home.
She concedes that some things property taxes pay for, like police and fire, are necessary so she’s fine if money for those are collected, but she specifically seems to be angry about paying for a library, which she says she never uses.
When I moved to my little town in 1992 the library here was housed in a historic one room school building, and had been since 1976, with books crowded onto shelves and piled on windowsills. It was a tiny space but it was a library and I was grateful it was there. In 1998 the community approved a .41 millage to build a township building to hold offices and the library. The new library opened in 2002 and operated on that .41 millage until just a year or so ago when we approved an additional .5 millage in support of the library.
I’m pretty proud of our community for passing those millage requests the first time they were put on the ballot.
According to information online the Springfield Township Library serves a community of 14,000 people, has a collection of over 70,000 items and has public internet computers, wi-fi, meeting rooms, interlibrary loan, adult, teen and children’s programming.
I know this is true because I’ve used nearly all of it. And every time I visit the beautiful building with it’s big windows looking out over parkland I’m grateful all over again for our local library.
Still, one part of my brain understands where the woman is coming from. She never uses her library, yet she pays for it. I’ve been thinking about that since the news aired.
So…I wonder…what do you think about being forced to pay for something you don’t use? Should there be a use tax instead? Or some other way to fund things like libraries?
On one hand I get not wanting to pay for something I don’t use. On the other hand…I hope I never have to use the fire department…but I’m still willing to pay for it. And wasn’t there a time, back in the Ben Franklin days, when people paid a fee to have fire department service, and if your house was on fire but you hadn’t paid the fee they let it burn?
Is that the way we want to live now? How much is your library worth to you?
Interesting question.
PS: If you’ve read this far, go read this post, written almost 15 years ago about one night I worked at a public library. Made me smile in remembrance.
It’s just one adventure after another around here.
Hey it’s Penny!
Mom told me you were all waiting for me to tell you about my day(s) of adventure. I thought I had delegated that to her, but you know how hard it is to get good help these days.
So I guess I best get to the telling.
Mom and Dad are having some work done in the food room. Given that’s my favorite room in the whole house I tend to keep a very close watch on things going on in there.
Mom says I get under everybody’s feet and somebody’s going to get hurt.
Plus did I mention I bark very loudly and for a long time if anyone uses a power tool in my vicinity? Uh huh. So Mom decided she and I needed to go on an adventure all day, or until the nice men with the power tools vacated my property.
We went out early in the morning and our first stop was MY park! Did mom tell you I have a park named after me?
Well, it’s not official or anything. Not yet anyway. I know Katie has a park, and I’m really happy that now I do too! It’s a new part of a big park, and you have to walk over a railroad track to get to it.
That creeps mom out, but I told her not to fixate on it and just keep moving. Geeze. Sometimes mom is a wimp.
It was windy the morning we were there, and cold, but I was having a great time exploring until mom tried to walk with me into the woods. I’ve told her and told her I don’t really like being in the woods. And that day there were leaves blowing all around and trees creaking and stuff.
Well mom finally got the idea that I wasn’t happy there and we went back out to an open part. I liked that much better. But the wind was getting worse and it was cold and mom said we needed to move on.
We spent some time in the car warming up and then mom took me over to 7 Lakes State Park. It’s about 15 minutes from our house and a park mom has never explored before.
A sign there said it was called 7 Lakes because a developer dammed up a river and it flooded 7 small lakes into two bigger lakes. Then the developer decided not to build on the property and sold it to the state for a park.
It’s real pretty. There’s lots to explore there, but this time we just walked out on the earthen dam. Mom took lots of pictures that weren’t me.
Then on the way off the dam mom asked me to stand on some big rock. I thought it was more fun to stand with just my front feet on the rock. Mom thought I was pretty cute that way too.
There are trails and lots of things to explore at this park. We’ll be back for sure!
Then, since the tool guys were still in my food room, mom took me to a third park, about 30 minutes away. It’s near a library where she used to work. We’ve been there once before.
Somehow this park always gives mom uneasy feelings. She doesn’t know why. She says she never sees any other people there, but the day we were there we met a nice young couple out walking. It was getting late so we only did one small loop. I was getting tired of posing, but I stood on the bridge for her, and then on a log. But I wasn’t happy about it.
I was so happy when dad texted mom that the tool guys were gone and we could go home. I’ve never been to three parks in one day before! It was fun but it was exhausting!
During the day we drove around a lot too, and mom figured out I’m a pretty good rider on long drives. She says she is glad about that because someday we’ll go on a big adventure together!
Bigger than three parks in one day mom? Wow! I can’t even imagine that!
Oh – it turns out the tool guys weren’t done with the project so mom and I had to leave home again on another day this week. I’ll have to wait to tell you about that day, cause I’m still pretty exhausted and need a nap.
I bet you’re exhausted just reading about our adventure day!
Stay tuned,
Your Adventure-girl, Unstoppable Penny!
Penny knows
It was sunny and cool on Wednesday, the perfect day for a sheltie-girl. Penny and I were walking through the back yard, she focused on her beloved birds flitting among the feeders near the house, me remembering, as I often do when I’m in the back yard, Katie’s last moments there.
I remembered walking with Katie into the house when the vet arrived. I never thought, in the moment, that she and I would never walk into the house together again. I remember walking with her, the vet and my husband, through the backyard to a pretty place under the birch trees, the sky blue like it was yesterday. I never thought, in the moment, that she wouldn’t be there to enjoy her yard ever again.
But now, often when I’m out there, I think about those moments and the bigger picture and I miss her so much.
Meanwhile Penny was laying at my feet, intently watching the feeders, when she heard me sniffling and looked over her shoulder at me, concern in her eyes. Then she popped up and put her front feet on my hips, head tilted inquisitively. I reached down and lifted her into my arms for a hug.
My sensitive girl knew.
Then I put her back down and we both ran joyfully back to the house, her attacking my ankles, me laughing. And somewhere over the rainbow bridge Katie smiled.
I’m sure of it.
Change Is Hard 