My co-workers joined me last night for a local gem--Jamaican BBQ night at Coonamessett Farm. There were steel drums, spicy sauces, fried plantains--and Nadine treated me to some ginger ice cream in the ice cream shop. It was all Lisa's idea--and what a good one! There were small children running everywhere, a wind turbine to be watched, and many animals and healthy crops about. Missing from the photo are Wayne and Michelle, Skee and Susie, Nadine and Scott, and Joe, Eliza and Alden. At a minimum. I wound up with some new (very sporty) Woods Hole Research Center apparel.

The past couple of months have been glorious. They've been full of quality time with family, old friends and newer ones. I can't possibly summarize all of the reflections I've had, but here are a few noteworthy moments:

#1: May 17th. My brother graduates.
I got in my little car on the 16th and trucked across several states to Pennsylvania to celebrate my brother's graduation. It was an exciting time of dinners and receptions and sitting through names being called--more because of the symbolism than anything else that I could put my finger on. Because Jer's grandfather was wed the same weekend, I was able to spend some time with him and with his family, as well.




#2: Memorial Day Weekend.
On Sat. of Memorial Day Weekend, I headed up to Boston. My friend Teresa was nearing her graduation from her master's program in Mediation at UMass, Boston, and had planned a little gathering of some friends from her program, old friends from Juniata and even a friend from high school. It was great to see some buddies from Peace and Conflict Studies retreats and choir--(Matt and Mark), as well as their lady friends! Teresa and I had some early-morning conversation on Sunday, and then I set off on foot to meet Emily Martin for a delicious brunch and some wandering in Somerville. Too short of a time to visit, but lovely.

#3: Last week of May, first week of June.
On Tuesday evening of the 27th, I headed to VA. Jer was in the midst of preparing for his motorcycle trip in the Western U.S. with his friend Phil, and I spent a couple of days working, taking a roadtrip to visit/meet with Greg Amacher at Virginia Tech (and hang out with Callie!), and visiting with Jer and my family. On Sat. morning, Jer and Phil and I hopped in my mom's honda civic (Phil) and in the big blue van with two bikes in the back (Jer and I), to head to Jer's friend Rhoda's wedding in Ohio. It was a lovely outdoor ceremony followed by a laid-back reception, and Jer and Phil got on the road to head to Denver immediately following. I hopped in the car and drove two hours to a cabin somewhere south of wedding #1 where several friends (Kerry, Callie, Bine) were staying following our friends' Thompson and Julie's (from VT) wedding. I was exhausted after getting lost and being pulled over for speeding, and caught up briefly with Kerry and Callie before crashing on Kerry and Parrish's floor in my sleeping bag.

The next morning, I grabbed some coffee and without even changing from my pajamas, hopped in the car to head towards Aurora's house in Dandridge, TN. Many hours, another close call with a speeding ticket, a check engine light, and an hour phone conversation with a potential housemate later, I was greeted by Aurora, her menagerie, and her family. I had heard so much about them--especially her father--and was so glad to get to visit with them and with Aurora. We ate Hungarian food, Tennesseeian food, played with the pupplers in TVA water bodies, visited with big animals, and sat on the porch. It was great. On Tuesday, I was back to VA, on on Wed., back to the Cape.



#4: Finding a place to live in CA.
Not three days back from VA, and I was on the road again--this time to CA. I set up a dizzying number of house visits, some of which I wound up canceling after finding a place with an artist named Penny who rents her two upstairs bedrooms. In between the surprisingly-delightful hours trekking around Berkeley and meeting people I didn't know, I got to catch up with some old friends!! I stayed with Steve and Kathleen, and caught up with Darren, an old buddy from Juniata, at the brewery where he works: Trumer Pilsner.




An additional bonus of going to California was that I got to see Jer and Phil toward the end of my trip...and in the middle of theirs. All of us were tired but in good spirits; we ate sushi with Phil's friend Janet, and then got to catch up with Jer's brother Matt and girlfriend, Holly.


#5: Teresa comes to see me!
On Sat. the 14th, I awoke early and hopped in the car with Nora to go watch my housemate, Jared, and friend Michelle compete in a triathlon. As I was leaving the triathlon, the day still new, I get a text message from Teresa: "can I come down to the cape?" I picked Teresa up from the bus station early in the afternoon, and we were beach bums for a couple of hours. We cooked out with my housemates, and then all went to see "Sex and the City."








On that Sunday, I went for a walk with Cheri, and Stella the Great Dane--and then had dinner with Cheri and Ujwala, the daughter of Rama (another person affiliated with the center). It was a great weekend of girl time.


More recently...

Lisa and Brian and Holly stopped by for a short-but-sweet visit and backyard bbq on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we neglected to take pictures! It was great to see Holly so interested in everything and so very mobile, and to catch up with Lisa and Brian about their ever-active life.

Tracy came back from a conference in Bonn and some time with her family in VA on Tuesday. We caught up on so many things...shared some laughter and tears, and I started getting wistful about leaving.

I said goodbye to Frank on Wed., and then spent Thursday traveling to Dartmouth for a meeting with a colleague, and returning.

On Friday, I celebrated the solstice with Mike and Scott, Paul and Milene, Jared, Pieter, Nora, and two friends of Mike and Scott's on the beach. With wine, cheese, laughter, and a sunset. I got in the water at sunset, and it was the most beautiful thing.

Yesterday, Josef and Emily took Tracy, Jared and me out for the first sail of the season in the Wakonda. It was a simply marvelous way to spend the day, though it made my last day with Tracy seem all too short. We strategically said goodbye as she left for Japan last evening as if we were saying goodbye for a week--and knowing that we would see each other again, soon. Otherwise, I might have broken down. I hope this turns out to be true.










Now, I'm putting my life in boxes and trying to get rid of some furniture. And trying to fit work, walks, yoga and relaxation in everywhere else.

Everytime I say goodbye to someone here, I wonder how I could possibly find such kind and amazing people anywhere else--and then remember that somehow, every time, it just seems to happen. For some reason this doesn't help with the letting go--it makes it an emotional time filled with laughter, tears, music, hard work, packing, and reveling in the small things and moments spent together.

A few of the things I like about spring:

Taking my shoes off, even when it's still too cold to do so

Driving with my windows down (at the moment, this is a mixed blessing--I must remember not to put my right passenger's side window down, lest it get stuck there). Opening the windows at work so I can hear the birds

Lying on my back on the ground with my eyes shut

Trying to grow things, sometimes unsuccessfully.

Thunderstorms, and windchimes.

Wait, did I say chirping birds?

Color. GREEN. Yellow.

Longer days mean I rarely have one where I can't find a moment to be outside.

the anticipation of farmers' markets.

Baring skin and having to dig out the sunscreen. The smell evokes memories of familiar sunny places---the beach, Brazil, Mozambique, the New River, canoe trips.

Where I will be in the fall.

Easter Chili pepper brunch/Big Hair Birthday Bash

We at the WHRC like good food, good company, confusing small children (who ever heard of an easter Chili pepper?), and any good excuse for a costume party. In this case, it was Tracy and Michael's birthdays

Carabiner's, the climbing gym.

I hadn't been back on the cape for very long in January when one of my officemates, Tracy, invited me to go to the climbing gym with her. I was quite sure it had been probably 4 years since I had been in a harness--indoor or out. I didn't get the sense that Tracy was inviting me along to show me up or humiliate me--so we made an exploratory venture to "Carabiner's," the climbing gym in New Bedford, MA.

Tracy's been much more of a regular climber in her lifetime than I, and is definitely more hardcore. Nonetheless, we've been going between 1 and 3 times per week when we are both here, and enjoy the hell out of it every time. Tracy is fantastic company and a great climbing partner--and it's truly one of the best ways to get out of my (one's?) head that I've found. My body enjoys the challenge, too.

Sunday afternoon hike and motorcycle ride...followed by dinner with my other family. Sometimes it gets a little crazy that everyone lives so close together..but it sure is nice to be able to see Jer & parents and brothers & cats and dogs all in one weekend.

a visit to UC Berkeley and the city of San Francisco--

Some have mentioned that they have been disappointed that I am not keeping up my weblog; to those of you who are among these people, I apologize. The underlying reason for my negligence is not that I have ceased to ponder the glorious or the difficult things about life--nor is it that I have abandoned adventures or doing fun things with people that I care about. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I started a weblog to keep my friends and family up-to-date as I was traveling the globe last year, and have struggled to transition to make it a part of my everyday life sans travel--as I do things that everyday people do--in my own country. There's something about international travel that allows you to describe exciting events, situations where you are caught by surprise, and to reflect about feelings in a way that is at once extremely personal...but still far enough removed from "real" life that there is a bit of detachment. The type of reflections I have more often, these days--reflections about going back to school, about Love, about family and sense of place, about balancing the tricky elements of day-to-day life, are not always things I want to share with an audience.

Anyway...here are a few pictures of last weekend's adventures on the west coast! On Wednesday, I left Boston. I arrived very late that evening in San Francisco, CA--and was picked up at the airport by my friends Steve and Kathleen...Steve completed his Masters' degrees at Virginia Tech and we spent a good deal of time together during my first year in Blacksburg. He and Kathleen were engaged during that first semester, and I enjoyed getting to know her during her frequent trips to town. Steve left Virginia Tech to pursue a Ph.D. in the Agricultural and Resource Economics department at UC Berkeley. This was rather convenient for me, as I had decided to apply to the program (which has a pretty decent reputation) and a visit to Berkeley, then, was an opportunity to visit with Steve and Kathleen. It made me EXTREMELY happy to see them.

I spent most of the day on Thursday in the department, meeting with faculty and students (and now, I need to write some thank yous...). Faculty were, in general, engaging, interested in talking with me, and pretty sharp. No surprise. Students seemed to be happy there--surely a good sign.

Brian, Steve, and I--eatin' brazilian food on the sidewalk in Berkeley.

UC Berkeley campus

Giannini Hall, home of the AREC department

Thursday evening, Steve and I and some other students in the department walked to downtown Berkeley for some sushi...and met up with Jer, Justin, and Angela. Justin is a longtime friend of Jer's who lives in Santa Cruz; Angela, a friend of Justin's who lives in SF. And Jer, well, anybody who reads this weblog at all knows I was pretty excited to see him. And tickled to have a little bit o' vacation with him on the west coast.

Friday I had one more meeting...and then we (Steve, Justin, Jer, and I) headed to Muir Woods for a hike. The towering redwoods were incredible...and once we broke step with the very international throngs of tourists, we we free to frolic in the groves, take in the vistas of the shoreline, and ponder the very difficult plight of consumers in America--the many perils of a combination of marketing and vast amounts of available information. Confusion. Guilt. But, you know, I can't think about these things for too long or too hard without getting even more confused than I started out. So, all things in moderation. Even thought and conscientiousness. ;)

Steve and Justin--backed by a sweet vista

It's like one of those glades where if I went there at night I would most certainly convince myself there would be little elves....

Friday eve., Jer and I and Steve and Kathleen consumed a delicious spaghetti squash concoction which we can mostly attribute to Kathleen--and over fine wine and in good company, spent the evening hanging out and playing spades.

Sat., Steve and Kathleen dropped us at Jer's brother Matt and girlfriend Holly's house in the city. We then headed back out to the Muir woods area--where we climbed to some lovely vistas, and returned to sea level to sit on a green lawn at a small inn drinking good beer in February. It was blissful.

The Good brothers.

This adventure was followed with simply scrumptious Peruvian/Latin American food at Destino and a stop at a birthday party of a friend of Matt and Holly's. Sunday we brunched and watched numerous episodes of Family Guy and partook of awesome Indian food--a relaxing end to a vacation that started off at a rather breakneck pace and on too little sleep.

I don't know what else to say, except that I was sad to leave--sad to leave good friends, leave Jer, and leave the warm weather behind. But, while the Cape is not so warm this time of year, it sure is a nice place to live....

(note: both of those group shots are Jer's--thanks, sweetheart)

SNOW

I got snowed-in while dog/cat sitting for my friend Tracy last night. I'm going to pretend I am snowed in for a couple more hours, since the center is closed this morning.

rural-urban interface.

This morning, I saw a coyote booking it through downtown Falmouth on my way to work. I felt bad for the poor little guy/girl. We've expanded into their space and have now written them off as a nuisance. What an existence.

One of my favorite Natalie Merchant songs goes like this:

I may know the word
But not say it
I may know the truth
But not face it
I may hear a sound
A whisper sacred and profound
But turn my head
Indifferent

I may know the word
But not say it
I may love the fruit
But not taste it
I may know the way
To comfort and to soothe
A worried face
But fold my hands
Indifferent

(Chorus)

I may know the word
But not say it
This may be the time
But I might waste it
This may be the hour
Something move me
Someone prove me wrong
Before the night comes
With indifference
...

Some of the rest of the lyrics are a little darker. But, for some reason, every time I hear this song I well up with emotion--a strange sensation that has tones of beauty, responsibility, lightness, weight and balance. Hope, and despair. And that reminds me that being indifferent--without strong feeling of joy, of pain, or the openness to being moved--means, ultimately, giving up on what it means to be alive.