Fireflies provide an added element of joy!

Here is the link to my column that first appeared in the KPC news two weeks ago. Enjoy, and thank you for reading!!

There was a lot of news this week, but I decided the firefly or the lightning bug deserved my attention. In February the “Say’s Firefly” was designated as our state insect. It came as a surprise to me as it probably did to you. First, I did not know other states had designated insects. (We were only one of three who did not!) This is mostly due to a young lady at Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette. When Kayla Xu was in second grade, she and her classmates became aware of the fact we did not have a state insect. (How did they know and I did not?)

These young people set out to do something about it (kind of fits in with the news of this week, don’t you think?) and they did it! Kayla is now in fifth grade and there is a lovely photo of her with the Governor at the state house. I tried to call her directly to get a quote, but she was on spring break so the phone call will have to wait!

Fireflies or lightning bugs have been blinking their way into summer fields and gardens in Indiana for as long as I can remember. Oh, the joy of summer to run barefoot through the gardens and capture them in our hands. Of course, the next sequenced event was to put them in jars and place the magic next to our beds as a night light. I guess it was my parents who set the fireflies free, watching them fly off into the distance in the star- studded nights. I did that for my children and my little grandchildren who were from Phoenix. Each summer Holly and Brianna spend time with me in my Indiana garden. There are no fireflies in Phoenix so they are very charmed by them. They, too, run barefoot through my gardens catching them and putting them in jars. When they are tucked into bed, I quietly gather the jars and watch the fireflies take flight.

My friend and writer extraordinaire, Helen Frost, wrote a book in collaboration with artist, Rick Lieder, on the beauty of fireflies. I attended a lecture given by the two of them in Fort Wayne as they talked about their book, “Among a Thousand Fireflies.” Rick shared photos and with each one I was more in awe than the previous photo. Helen’s lyrical poetry fuses with the illustrations beautifully. I once asked Rick about his work. He said, “I always loved insects as a kid. As a grown-up, it gives me a great chance to sit on the ground and watch bugs and fireflies with my camera.”

All this beauty comes with a 170-page document of regulations. (Kayla, did you expect all of that?) I hope to read this before my girls visit! We will use the appropriate size glass jars, keep only a few, and release them. Of course, this only applies to the Say’s Firefly. I understand there are 2,000 varieties, which will not be under the new guidelines. However, I think to avoid any prosecution, we will follow the rules for all fireflies.

My grandchildren will visit. We will catch and release fireflies in the warm summer air as we run barefoot in the grass. At night, I will read to them from Helen’s book. And, when they are sound asleep, I will tiptoe around their room and carry our beloved fireflies out to the dark gardens. Lovely.

Kayla, thank you for spear heading this movement. I hope, as you grow older you will keep up your enthusiasm for making our world a better place. There is much to do, and we are counting on you.

Be strong by being yourself, will you?

Be strong by being yourself, will you?: Some weeks just fall into place with stories and events and a theme emerges for my own life, and maybe for yours. I do not plan these themes, but I do recognize the power of it when it appears.

Here is the link to this week's column. I loved writing it and hope you enjoy it!

Just click on the above link and it will take you right to the KPC site.

As always, thank you for reading and thanks to my editor, Mike!

Lou Ann

P.S. I have had the flu/cold for about eight weeks and realize I am way behind in posting on my blog site and my columns. I hope to correct that soon.

Hope you are all well!!

Again, thank you for reading! 

Tea with Robert Burns

Please join me Wednesday evening at the

Caleo Cafe as we celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns.

The tea if from 4-6. Tea and scones will be provided

and soup and desserts will be available for purchase.

If you have a favorite Burns poem, please bring

it along to the celebration!

 

Winter on Ocracoke

This story popped up in my dropbox this morning, and I thought you would enjoy reading it...Winter on Ocracoke. Of all the times I spent there, I truly loved winter the most. As always, thank you for reading.

It is winter on Ocracoke. It is my first winter on Ocracoke, and I really didn’t know what to expect. The shops are closed. The tourists are gone. There are no ghost walks or shows in the theatre.  

The truth is, it is perfectly lovely. Somehow the rhythm of the seasons seems balanced here. Of course there is no snow, but the wind sweeping in from the Atlantic is chilly enough for me to wear my winter coat and gloves when walking the winter beach. 

 “What is it like in the winter?”  is the question most tourists ask during the summer months. I always gave an answer, but it was not from my own heart. Now I know. Sit back, watch the snow fall (I do miss that as you know), pour an extra cup of coffee and let your mind wander onto a small island accessible only by ferry during the dark months of the year. 

The ferries from the mainland, known as Swan Quarter and Cedar Island, only run twice a day; 10:00 in the morning and 4:30 in the afternoon. You can’t be late or you run the risk of reading and/or sleeping in your car. The 2 ½ hour ferry ride travels through the Pamlico Sound. Taking the late ferry, you travel in darkness with Orion to guide the way as well as the green and red buoys strategically placed so that there is no chance of being set adrift out into the sea. 

Arriving on Ocracoke in winter is magical. The lanes and streets are quiet and dark as they are void of tourists. Shops are closed. Just a handful of restaurants and ‘motels’ stay afloat as a few duck and geese hunters travel here for their winter catch. 

It sounds a bit like a ghost town, but far from it. There are still 800 folks living here with children attending school. The big difference from summer is that you know everyone now. The sound of carpenters fill the air repairing structures, shop keepers are doing inventory, writers of song and verse are working in their studios, and the normal jobs of a community continue on through the winter months. 

I find myself in a wonderful pattern of life waking with the rising sun. My first thought was to get to the beach every morning to watch the sun come up as I do in the summer months. The truth is, it is chilly here. The Ocockers say it is cold, but I know better.  

Coffee and a fire on the hearth greet me before I head out to the Mad Mag Studio to work in the morning. The trees of cedars, yaupons, and live oaks are still covered with leaves. The pattern of trees and sun dance upon the old floor in this ‘once upon a time washhouse’. 

By early afternoon it is time for the beach walk.  I head out the cottage door with my camera slung across my back. I am often greeted by dancing dolphins and seagulls. Once in a while I come across another walker, but it is rare. It is as if the beach belongs to me…there is just sand and sea. This pristine Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach is a protected sanctuary with picture book beauty.  

There is always a trip to the Community Store as shopping is done daily here. I take my list, but change the menu once I am in the store as I can only cook what is available on the shelves. There is also the daily trip to the post office to get the mail, read the bulletin board and hang out with friends. 

Evenings are for social activities…potluck dinners, listening to our local jazz band at one of the two restaurants open, watching movies with friends or just staying home reading by the fire. There are ball games as well, although the times are early as the visiting and traveling teams must commute by ferry. Sometimes the games are canceled because of high waves or wind.  

There are meetings and book clubs as well. This past week there was a community meeting over ferry tolls and most families had at least one member in attendance. 

The sense of friendship and community is validated in the winter as we chat over tea, over books, over each other’s cooking. 

As much as I miss family and friends in the Midwest, these dark winter months have embraced me on my island by the sea. 

The chill of winter is perfect for certain poetry

The chill of winter is perfect for certain poetry: It is the end of the semester, and time to say farewell to my students. I know I always say this, but this year they were extremely wonderful … friendly, smart, and interesting. We finish our final projects and I tell them to bundle up and meet me in the courtyard behind Taylor Hall. This week has been cold with snow and the beginning of icicles hanging on old buildings and gutters. It is the perfect weather for reading poetry although the students are doubtful. It is not as if it is a surprise; I have told them about this all year so they knew it was coming. “Bundle up,” I say. “Let’s go.” And out we go.

Here is the link to this week's column. As always, thank you for reading and enjoy! Just click on the title or the first line!

Lou Ann

Music is alive, well this holiday season

Music is alive, well this holiday season: Sitting in a shaft of sunlight in Irene’s café is a delightful way to spend the morning.

Irene's Cafe or Caleo Cafe is located on Maumee Street in Angola.

Music is definitely in the air here in my hometown. Just spend a bit of time with us...walking around the mound or in our cafes and you will agree. I heard a rumor that a certain someone with a ukulele will be playing at Caleo next Friday at noon. Hope to see you there.

As always thank you for reading. Just click on the title or the first line for this week's column. See you around town.

Lou Ann

Time sits in a capsule of joy in Waterloo

Time sits in a capsule of joy in Waterloo: I put the kettle on for tea, pack up canned goods, gather together winter paraphernalia and wait for a group of friends to gather at my old house. It is dark and the hour grows late, but we are on a mission to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in Waterloo as it passes by on this night. One by one, they arrive … Kathy, Jan, Judy, and Mary (the bat girls, if you remember!). We all talk at once and head out to the shiny red Jeep. We toss our canned goods in the back and we are off. It is only a 20-minute drive, which is lucky, as they are all back seat drivers. Too much heat, too little heat, watch out for deer (and, yes, there were several on the side of the road), do not go too fast, do not go too slow. I just laugh and drive.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

 

 

Or it could be titled, The Night the Train Came Into Town. Here is the column of greeting the beautiful midnight train in Waterloo last week. It was a wonderful experience, and if you weren't there, you can read all about it here!

As always, thank you for reading and enjoy!

Lou Ann