"There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free." -William Cronkite We found this little squirrel in a trap today. He was very frightened and upset at his capture. But his spirit was not gone. He searched every square inch of the cage for an escape. He chattered angrily at me as I debated what to do next. I slipped him my granola bar, which he devoured in an instant. Who knows how long he's been there.  Finally, we managed to set him lose. The moment he realized his freedom, he scurried to the highest tree top. He looked back one last time, just to make sure the cage was really behind him.  I imagine he is with his friends and family, telling the heroic tale of his capture and escape, and enjoying his freedom.

My little friend lives just outside. She chirps and sings and flies with pride Today I watch her only through glass. I’ll stay inside till the rain has passed. The dark gray clouds have darkened my mood. The wet showers have dampened me too. But the rain won’t keep her hidden away. A puddle is the perfect spot to play. A few little drops won’t stifle her song. Soon the others start to sing along. A dripping wet wing is no nuisance to her, Instead she basks in a refreshing shower. Ok my friend, you’ve lured me out. I’ll save another day to pout. So clearly you show me, so plainly you say, “Rain’s no excuse to waste the day.” *Painting by Dot Small

I listened to a radio interview of author Sonny Brewer on NPR the other day. I’d never heard of him before, but what particularly caught my attention was his new project called Don’t Quit Your Day Job , a compilation of 23 authors sharing their work experience prior to their writing success. Coincidently, I myself recently googled, “how to write a novel,” thinking that maybe someday soon, I would write my novel idea that's been in my head for about 4 years now. There is wrinkled, used scratch paper in my desk, scribbled on napkins in my purse, and Word documents on my computer with random fragments for a half concocted novel. Every time I seriously consider beginning the writing process, I feel overwhelmed and totally lost as to how to go about it. After all, the publishing world is about as challenging and confusing as the music industry. One impossible thing at a time please. I did hear a piece of advise in the interview however, that I’ll hang on to and use on days like tod...

My grandma is a gardener. There is a square of dirt in her front yard that blossoms into colorful beauty every year. She has personally cultivated every plant from bulb to flower, putting in hours of nurturing care to see that they're brought to their full life and potential. To me as a child, her yard was a sanctuary of fantasy-like charm, with ancient looking bird baths, decorative stepping stones, hypnotizing gazing balls, butterflies, birds, squirrels, and solemn stone statues to watch vigilantly over everything. Red and pink roses climbed the white siding of her house, using their green, ivy arms to pull them ever upward. My grandpa's bountiful tomato plants became home to a small family of bunnies. Lilac bushes lined the manicured, green lawn, filling the atmosphere with a heavenly aroma. My grandma has never been one to shy away from work, knowing full well that effort today is required for a result tomorrow. I've seen that in many aspects of her life, from her ...

Yesterday was a truly amazing and magical day. Eddie and I spent the day in Gloucester, MA and bought last minute tickets for a whale watching tour. It was about a 7 hour trip all together. We left the port and traveled over 2 hours in the Atlantic to our destination where a large group of hump back whales were feeding off the coast of Boston. As we approached, our guide (who knew all the whales by name) announced over the loud speakers that she spotted whales ahead on the horizon. At once, all the passengers crowded to the bow of the boat, straining our eyes to see. She described the sight as a puff of smoke coming off the water. I had trouble spotting it at first, but soon understood what she meant. I was thankful to see that from afar and had no idea what was in store as we inched closer to them. Suddenly I realized that they were all around us. We were in the center of about 30 hump back whales. We stayed in the area for about an hour and a half and gazed with dropped jaws ...

One ray on one wave. Countless ripples ocean wide. The ray turns to stars.

Felicity is the name I gave to the robin I found in the yard today. When I walk Joy in the enclosed grassy area near our apartment building, I often let her off the leash so she can chase and bark at the birds as they scatter to the sky. She’s never come close to catching one. Today from afar, Joy and I spotted one lonely robin digging in the grass for worms. “Ready Joy?” I asked. As soon as Joy’s eyes were locked on the bird, I unclipped her leash and watched her shoot like a rocket straight towards the robin. But I instantly felt something was wrong when after a few seconds, the robin made no effort to fly away. I hollered at Joy who was overcome with excitement at the prospect of catching her very first illusive, flying creature. As I always suspected, when Joy was near enough to the bird to actually do something, she froze, stunned at the sight of the helpless little creature who was only inches away from her nose. I rushed to the scene and restrained Joy from the bird who was ...

Today at the Jersey Shore, Eddie and I tried to soak up every ray of sunshine possible, realizing that somehow, the summer is nearly over already.  The water had warmed considerably since our first visit in June when we nearly froze to death. We waded in the shallow end, slowly inching deeper until we finally let the waves wash over our heads as we bounced on our tip-toes and spread our arms out, swaying in the murky water to steady our balance. After the waves tossed us around to the point of exhaustion, we walked up and down the shore, scanning the sand for seashells. When my friend Deb visited, she took some shells from the shore back to her daughter, Zoey who was enthralled with the tiny objects.  So I decided if I found another pretty one, I would clean it off and send it to her. I was shocked to find that almost every shell was chipped or broken. I had a lot of trouble finding even one that was in good shape.  That was until we got further along the shore. After...

Early this morning, I woke up to Eddie asking me where the scissors were kept. I sat up in a confused state, first because Eddie was awake before me (which never happens), and second, shouldn't he know where the scissors are by now? When I asked why he needed them, he explained that he found a baby bird outside that was tangled. Suddenly, I shot straight up, threw on a sweatshirt and flip flops and raced outside to the bird. I've always had a soft spot for animals and couldn't bear the thought of one in danger or pain. Over the years, Eddie and I have rescued countless rabbits and birds that have found themselves in turmoil in our back yard. When we got outside, I saw the little brown bird, maybe a sparrow, caught in a mess of string and twine which was tangled around his leg. I held the small, scared bird in my hand while Eddie gently snipped away the mess around his fragile limb. We set the bird back on the ground where we discovered him and stood back to see what he w...