Framework of the Heart

Rest in Peace, Callie

2011-12-26T17:25:00.001-05:00

Young Callie, a photo by CaptPiper on Flickr.

RIP Callie: born April 27th, 1994, to Isabelle. Passed quietly in her sleep December 26, 2011, aged 17 years and 8 months; She lived a long and healthy life, for a cat; She was born in this house and lived here all her life. Callie caught many mice and birds; she vanquished strange cats; was never hit by a car, bitten by a dog, or even sick. She ruled her territory with an iron claw. She slept next to me when I was sick. She took many walks in the woods with me. She was beautiful. I shall miss her.

The Martin Family, approx 1904

2011-11-05T20:05:00.001-05:00

The Martin Family, approx 1904, a photo by CaptPiper on Flickr.

Lydia and Edward Martin pose with their sons, James, Merritt, and Irving.
Copy of letter written to Merritt Martin by his mother exactly as was written.
Clinton, Michigan,
Oct. 14, 1918

Dear One & all:
My dear boy, tomorrow is your birthday – 38 years ago tonight about 9 PM, I knew there would be in our house within a few hours a little babe, your father sick and no help. Aunt Anna Martin came & staid that night with us. It was a beautiful night but no brighter than the eyes of a little boy they laid in my arms before daylight, and my baby’s cradle was the back part of his mother’s bed, where he nestled and got uneasy. Mother just drew him over to her & when he was where his mother was, he was such a contented child & he would open his eyes so big when mother talked to him & we were very happy together – just as you and I have always been & when I ask the question when I am so old and need my boys so much, why am I alone; I shall not complain because I have many things to feel thankful for. I never forget to feel grateful for my home & the comfort and peace there is here even if I do miss the once dear faces & today I have thought of you for the last few days & wishing I knew what I could send that baby boy for a birthday present. My money hasn’t come yet & I have nothing to buy with this time – take the wish for the deed & the knowledge that your mother loves you tonight as never before & and shall always love you dearly just as you love your children – somehow I have been thinking of you folks for the last few days wondering if you are sick. I hope not. It is nearly 10 & I am unusually tired & sleepy tonight, so I will wait and finish in the AM.

After dinner, Wed. 2 PM & just before dinner I went up town & got a letter from Edie. It was such a good one, he has been promoted to mess chief, the same as sergeant for 150 men, pretty good, don’t you think? I feel quite proud of my navy boy. He will hold that position for 3 weeks & one half of that time is gone now & then they are going to send him to school for 3 months & he is very anxious to commence. I made a nice hickory nut cake today which I will send tomorrow for him & AJ. AJ is better & and out to work again. I got a letter from Anna this week, she isn’t feeling very good. Tom & Carrie I expect are in Cleveland – will stay until after Tom’s birthday which is the 9th of November. The children always make a big spread that day for their father. Everything in Clinton is about the same, they closed the school this AM on account of so many bad cols. Frank Parker and his older boy are sick in bed with Spanish influenza. Edie says they don’t put no sugar in any of their food so for 3 weeks I have sent him something - tomorrow a hickory nut cake for him & AJ – last week Mr. Quigley sent him a box of candy & some marshmallow cookies. I haven’t heard from Irving since the 3rd of Oct. Mrs. Clark got a letter – out of 20 men, Irv. head 10 are gone – so Gladys is helping him out in the office – isn’t it nice she is able to help out in that way. Schools and churches are all closed in Boston on account of the influenza. It is a beautiful day here today. Word came from Adrian about 1 o’clock Sat. nite that Germany had surrendered, I was woke out of a sound sleep by the fire whistle at the light plant, the woolen mill whistle & the church bells & men over at the depot pounding the building with a flat board & somebody shooting off guns & before I could get dressed thought the town was burning up – rushed to the corner I said to a woman standing there – “Where is the fire?” – “over in Germany” she said – “The Germans have surrendered” then I went back to the house & to bed – when someone fired a gun 3 or 4 times just a little ways from the house – I got to sleep about 4 in the AM – but they will have to do that job over some other time. Hope to hear this week that you are all well. Love to you all.

Mother Martin

Notes from Julie Falk, grand daughter of Merritt Martin. Nov. 5, 2011

I typed this from a typed copy of the original and am assuming that the sentence structure choices, spelling errors, and use of an ampersand instead of and are all preserved from the original handwritten letter. The location of the original letter or if it still exists is unknown to me.

“Mother Martin” is Lydia Briggs Martin, born 160 years ago in 1851. She died 1936. She would have been about 57 at the writing of this letter. She was married to Edward A. Martin who died in 1906. I don’t have his year of birth. My Aunt Eileen (Martin) Austin showed me where Lydia lived – it’s a house on Railroad Street that still stands. They had three boys, James, Irving, and Merritt. I don’t know what in what order they were born, but I never met my great uncles, although there are photos of James as an old man. Lydia and James are buried in unmarked graves in the Clinton cemetery. Their names are recorded in the cemetery records, so I know approximately where they are buried, but in those days no one had enough money for things like headstones. Merritt was born in 1880 and died in, I think, 1970, but I should double-check that year. He married Genevieve Barr of Saline, and they lived in Saline where they raised six children: George, Eileen, Ruth, Charlotte, Warren, and David. (Ruth was my mother) Merritt and Genevieve are buried in the Saline Oakwood Cemetery.
The references to influenza and WWI make this especially interesting. We know that Germany didn’t surrender officially until Nov. 11th, so I’m not sure what the people of Clinton were reacting to when they celebrated Germany’s surrender, assuming the second part of the letter was written on Oct. 15th. It might have been expectation of Germany’s surrender. Germany suspended submarine warfare on Oct. 20th. Or it’s possible that she didn’t get back to finishing the letter until almost a month later, although that seems unlikely to me. Perhaps she was responding to the knowledge that it was only a rumor when she said, "They'll have to do that job over some other time." - Looking forward to the day when Germany made their surrender official.
My grandmother Genevieve’s only brother, Hollis, died in 1918 at age 18 of the influenza. He was serving in the military at the time.
I don’t know who Edie is, although he might well be a grandson named after her late husband.
The phrase “out of 20 men, Irv. head 10 are gone” – A little confusing, but I’m guessing Irving was head of 20 men and 10 have joined the military.

The Blue Sky Is Never More Beautiful Than in the Fall

2011-11-03T15:05:00.001-05:00

The Blue Sky Is Never More Beautiful Than in the Fall, a photo by CaptPiper on Flickr.

This is what a northern Michigan color tour looks like from a convertible.

The Fat-Burning Soup Diet

2011-07-10T17:23:00.001-05:00

Miniature Pink Roses, a photo by CaptPiper on Flickr.

Several people have asked me to share this, so here it is as Tim's aunt shared it with me - with my personal notes.

Many doctors are prescribing this diet to their overweight patients and encouraging them to also exercise. However, before staring any diet or exercise program, you should consult with your own doctor.

Basic Fat Burning Soup

6 large green onions, 2 green peppers,
1 or 2 cans (28oz.) whole tomatoes, 1 bunch of celery, 1 large cabbage, 2 pks. of Lipton Soup Secrets
(Don't worry if you can only find the Lipton Chicken Soup Secrets with noodles. I used that and it was okay. The soup worked anyway. You can also just use boullion)

Season with salt, pepper, curry, parsley: if desired, bouillon or hot sauce.
Cut vegetables into small pieces and cover with water. Boil for ten minutes: turn down to simmer until vegetables are tender.
This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose. If eaten for indefinite periods, you will suffer malnutrition.

Day 1: All fruits, except bananas. Eat only fruits and soup. For drinks, use unsweetened teas, cranberry juice, and water.

Day 2: All vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with all the fresh raw or canned vegetables. Try to eat green leafy vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat along with the soup. At dinner time on this day, reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter substitute. (I cook the potato in the microwave along with carrots and onions, which are permissible. I flavor the meal with chicken bullion. It is delicious. Especially since, by this time, one is ravenous.)

Day 3: Eat all the soup, fruits, and vegetables you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten for three days as above, and have not cheated, you will find you have lost 5-7 pounds.

Day 4: Bananas and skim milk. Eat as many as three bananas and drink as many glasses of water as you can on this day along with the soup. (This was the hardest day for me, but I was feeling fine, physically)

Day 5: (Hallelujah!) Beef and tomatoes. You may have 10-20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes or as many as six fresh tomatoes on this day. Try to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water this day to wash away the uric acid in your body. Eat the soup at least once on this day. (That will be hard, because you are really sick of the soup by this time. )

Day 6: Beef and veggies. Eat to your heart’s content of the beef and vegetables on this day. You can even have two or three steaks if you like with the green leafy vegetables, but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today. (They have to tell you to do this, because otherwise, you wouldn’t touch the stuff.)

Day 7: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and vegetables. Again, stuff yourself. Be sure to have the soup at least once today. (Blah)

Smiling Sailor

2011-05-30T07:13:00.001-05:00

Smiling Sailor, a photo by CaptPiper on Flickr.

Memorial Day:
My father Wes Nielsen served in Corpus Christi, Texas, during WWII. He was working on a special top secret project that kept him stateside for most of the war. (He never told us what it was, even years later) As the project came to an end, he was scheduled to be sent to fight overseas. A week before he shipped out, my sister was born. Because he was the only son of a widowed mother, married, and now a father, this gave him enough "points" to keep him stateside.
This is one of the few photos I have of him smiling with his teeth showing.

The Terrible Twos Pout

2011-01-18T19:28:00.001-05:00

The Terrible Twos Pout
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I remember one time when my kids were little - I had just come home from shopping. I was trying to unload the groceries, Sam was hanging onto my leg and crying, and Emily, who was barely 3, was sitting quietly in the corner singing a little song to herself. When I finally got the milk and frozen stuff put away, the words of her song penetrated my brain: "Squish the bread... Squish the bread."

The loaf was unsalvagable.

Rain on Needles

2010-12-21T08:34:00.001-05:00

Rain on Needles
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

When I was a youth, my nose was the bain of my existence. I loved my blue eyes and my mouth with full lips and straight teeth, my hair, and my little flat ears, but my nose wrecked it all by being too big and right in the middle of my face. I was a little jealous of my sister's nose, perfectly formed and small. I used to go to sleep at night pinching the end of my nose so it would grow more pointy - would not be so stubby-looking.
I married - a man with an excellent nose - hoping our children would get his feature, not mine. That didn't work.
As time passed it became less of an issue. I accepted myself for who I am. Also, I gained weight, and as my face grew broader, my nose appeared smaller; s'not the best solution.
Now I delight in taking pictures of myself with my nose magnified by the lens. I haven't thought about plastic surgery in years. My husband loves me as I am and all is well with my face. Now I detest these little wrinkles under my eyes.
There is no rest for the vain.

At Last!

2010-10-30T21:42:00.001-05:00

At Last!
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I caught this tree in full color about five or six years ago. I got a few shots and then the sun went in, it rained for three days, and when I went back down to the river, there was not a leaf left on it. Since then I have been trying to catch it in color, but this time of year is always very busy and it seemed I was always too early or too late. It only seems to have good color for a few days, and then it's over.
Beauty is fleeting.
Orten Version

Pearly Crescentspot

2010-08-29T07:20:00.001-05:00

Pearly Crescentspot
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

There are multitudes of these butterflies, along with the sulphurs and whites, in the meadows and alphalpha fields this year. It seems that every year there is some insect species that experiences a population explosion. A few years back we had those ladybug impersonators, the Asian beetle swarms, that were so unpleasant. There are not nearly as many now. Other years it's been crickets, box elder bugs, Japanese beetles - probably some others I didn't notice. I wondered if there would ever be something I liked. This year, I haven't seen nearly as many of the big showy butterflies like the monarch and the swallowtail, but these guys look like flying flowers blooming in the clover.

Paradox Flower

2010-08-06T09:12:00.001-05:00

Paradox Flower
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

The color of the coneflower center is gloriously attractive, but all the spikes on the coneflower would seem to be designed to make things difficult for the pollinator; kind of like a beautiful woman who gives would-be suitors dark looks and the cold shoulder. But the bees and other insects are in love with these blooms and will not be deterred. The reward must be worth the effort.
As in life, the highest goals are attained only be the most dilligent and determined pursuers.

Taking a Break

2010-08-05T18:28:00.001-05:00

Taking a Break
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I'm back on my bike this summer. Can't believe the pounds aren't just melting off from the heat and the strain.
I like the back roads, even though they are gravel, because there is not much traffic. You have to be careful of dogs, though. Most of them are scary barkers, but won't hurt you. ONe little spainel near Sheridan Road came streaking towards me, barking like he wanted to tear my leg off. About 20 feet away, he made a wide U-turn and went barking back to the house.
There are a few, though... On Wilbur Road, you can travel from east to west, because you are rolling down hill when you go past the dogs and by the time they realize youu are there, you're almost gone and it's too much trouble to chase you. But if you are traveling the other way - east to west - then you are going up hill and moving slowly - easy prey.

The Precious Cottage

2010-07-31T07:48:00.001-05:00

The Precious Cottage
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I love this cottage, although I would paint it differently. When you see something like this, you wonder how someone found themselves in the position of making their dreams come true. Did they design it themselves, or have a professional do it? There is no other house that I have seen on that lake that is anywheres near as fairytale perfect.

Watching the Movie on Delta

2010-07-22T19:43:00.001-05:00

Watching the Movie on Delta
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Returning from Jamaica

Crabapple Blossom Sequence

2010-04-26T19:32:00.001-05:00

Crabapple Blossom Sequence
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

The slow advance of spring - makes me happy.

Snowflake Beauty

2010-02-20T17:15:00.001-05:00

Snowflake Beauty
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Whatever made these water molecules floating free
decide to touch and hold and then to grow a little tree?
And not just one but six holding tightly in the middle -
Whose idea was it to propose this fragile riddle?

Kiren Going Up

2010-02-04T21:10:00.001-05:00

Kiren Going Up
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

The Wildcats didn't win, but they didn't make it easy for the other team.

Candy Clouds

2010-01-24T18:46:00.001-05:00

Candy Clouds
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Kevin and Brendon came into my classroom last week when I was working late and let me know there was a sunset happening that I might want to see. I'm so glad they did.

The English Teacher's Lament

2010-01-17T17:59:00.001-05:00

The English Teacher's Lament
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

My Experience with the H1N1 Flu So Far

2009-11-05T17:15:00.001-05:00

Oak Tree on the Left
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

So Monday and Tuesday, October 26th and 27th, I had a sinus headache most of the day.
Wednesday afternoon, I started feeling a sore throat.
The next morning, I called in sick and had to miss the Mann Teachers’ Conference in Detroit.
I was not coughing, but I had a very sore throat and felt tired.
We canceled my birthday party Saturday night.
Sunday I didn't go to church.
Monday I called in sick again.
By this time the thing had moved into my chest and I was coughing relentlessly. My chest ached.
Wednesday I finally coughed up a lot of dark phlegm out of my lungs and figured I had finally turned the corner. I looked up the H1N1 virus on the internet. Every source said it was just like the regular flu, practically indistinguishable without the swab test. But they all mentioned fever, and I had no fever. None mentioned it lasting an unusually long time. This virus had now been accosting my system for over a week, longer than any other bout with illness I had ever had.
This morning, back to coughing and coughing.
I tried to force it. I got up and got dressed and went to school, but just couldn't deal with it. I got materials and plans together for the sub, and returned home.
My friends suggested I go to the doctor, just in case I had strep throat, but I figured she would tell me to drink fluids, get plenty of rest, and so forth... why bother?
But today I went to the doctor. She diagnosed it as probable H1N1. So at least I have a doctor's note. So now I can just relax and be sick. And I can stop worrying about whether or not I should get the vaccine. Unlikely.

A psychosis I have had since I was a child, no doubt developed at that time, is that I feel I have to prove I am sick; otherwise people will think I’m faking it, or exaggerating the symptoms, or that I’m a hypochondriac of some degree. A doctor’s note. Proof positive I am for real.

Through the Trees

2009-10-29T08:18:00.001-05:00

Through the Trees
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Fall only lasts for one month - October, the month of turning. On October first, it's still like summer. By October 31st, the leaves are for the most part gone and winter is at the doorstep. Darkness prevails and the sun, when it manages to shine, is weak and easily discouraged.
I wish I could hibernate.

Gray Skies

2009-10-19T20:11:00.001-05:00

Gray Skies
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

On Saturday I went to Hidden Lake Gardens to shot senior photos of a friend. It is such a beautiful place, especially this time of year. Go there in the next couple of weeks if you can.

The West Side of the River

2009-09-06T14:48:00.001-05:00

The West Side of the River
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I am tired of being make to feel guilty.

My doctor makes me feel guilty about my weight. So does my health insurance premium. I went of a diet in June and hated it, and it didn't do me a bit of good. I'm tired of listening to people say - diets don't work, you have to make a lifestyle change. I don't want to never eat ice cream or popcorn, or yeasty rolls, or have butter on a baked potato.
My husband makes me feel guilty about the fact that the house isn't perfectly clean, or the fact that I asked my daughter to clean up after herself after she got done making macaroni salad to take with her to a party. "She does a lot around here - more than either of us." I highly dispute that. It makes me realize that he is completely ignorant of what I do.
I feel guilty when I want to buy a new sweater or even what I spend when I go grocery shopping!

I am tired of playing a game that I cannot win, and don't even care to.

Deer Crossing

2009-09-05T15:49:00.001-05:00

Deer Crossing
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Morning mist with sunlight kissed
gravel roads meandering
grass and weeds with cyrstal beads
Time and me philandering

Thoughts on Healthcare

2009-08-24T15:55:00.001-05:00

Sunset at Seney
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

My Thoughts on Health Care
Julie Falk, August 2009

To say that Americans disagree over the proposed change over to government-run health insurance is like saying NBC likes Obama. If I show up at a town meeting and voice my concerns, I may be called a “tool of the Republican right” or accused of being a Nazi puppet of the insurance companies, all because I’m not sure I want the government in control of my health care.

So I’m writing this out to show that I am thinking, I am educated, I am weighing carefully the sides in this debate.

The questions seem to me to be these:
1. Do we want to trade this imperfect system for a different imperfect system?
2. How dependent do we want to be on the government? Because, if this socialized government-controlled system is brought into existence, we will all be at the mercy of the government – whoever happens to be in power at the time, whatever set of beliefs and POVS the current administration may happen to have, this will direct how health care is doled out.

OH, and the declaration of the Obama that no one will be forced into this system, that people who now have private insurance they like may keep it, is no assurance whatsoever. If private insurance companies have to compete with tax-supported government systems, you know what will ultimately win out. If companies have the choice of paying high private insurance premiums for their employees and paying additional “penalty” taxes (Example: Pg 149 or HR3200, lines 16-24 ANY Employer w/ payroll 400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll) , OR getting on board the Washington insurance plan, eventually, even if they don’t want to, they will be forced by economics into the government system. With freefalling membership, private insurers will sputter and die. Note: if you read page 16 of the current healthcare proposal, HR 3200, it states, “Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law. Interpretation: No new private policies can be written after the government health care option is available. If you leave your company, if you go to work for yourself, you will have nowhere to turn but the public option.

Conclusion: Sooner or later, we will ALL be in the government system.

So, let us analyze.

Question 1: Do we want the current system in which a few people get everything medically they want and need, the vast majority of people get what they need and a few things they want, and a few don’t even get what they need. OR do we want a system in which the government approves or disapproves treatments, determines how much tax we will pay to support this, and for which there is no alternative?

There are some very serious problems with the current system.

Private insurers are in control of what people can have and can’t have. They have to approve surgeries and rehab, prescriptions and treatments, doctors, when, where, and how often. They can easily deny treatment to their patients just by denying that anything is wrong with them, or they can be selective about who and what they will insure. I will even go so far as to say private insurance companies have been responsible for illness and death by denying their members treatment. If you don’t believe it, just check the court cases.
Personal experiences:
In 1976 my father was diagnosed with Cruz felt-Jacob disease. We tried to take care of him, but after two years we were forced to find an institution were he could get twenty-four hour care. No hospital, no nursing home would take him, so we ended up putting him in the state hospital. Because the state hospital is a place where the mentally ill are hospitalized, BCBS denied payment, claiming my father was mentally ill and mental illness wasn’t covered. By the time he died in 1979, my stepmother was faced with bills totaling $30 thousand dollars. She ended up taking BCBS to court, where it was proved that my father had a disease, not a mental illness, and BC finally paid.
In January of 1992 my hands began to swell and hurt. The diagnosis was carpal tunnel. The doctor tried anti-inflammatory drugs, cortisone shots, splints; nothing helped. My hands became so weak I couldn’t even cut my meat or stir dough. Nerve damage began to occur, and in April and May I finally ended up having surgery for carpal tunnel release in both hands. Afterwards my doctor said I had the condition because I had “rheumatoid of the tendons” whatever that is. He prescribed rehab therapy for my hands. Blue Cross Blue Shield denied payment for the therapy because my condition was “chronic” and they don’t cover chronic conditions. About five years later, after I went back to teaching, my shoulder tendon swelled, due, I suppose, to writing and erasing the chalkboard. I was having a hard time raising my arm. My family physician prescribed physical therapy, but BCBS refused to pay for it, claiming that my shoulder condition was caused by the chronic condition. My doctor disagreed with this and wrote a letter saying this was not a result of the tendon condition but from my profession, but unless I took them to court over it, BC was continuing to deny payment. Meanwhile, the therapy was successful and I regained use of my arm. The condition did not reoccur. We ended up having to pay for the 12 therapy sessions out of pocket, about $1200.

If private insurance companies get forced out of business, they have done it to themselves. I have no sympathy for them.

So, as you can see, we are at the mercy of private insurance every bit as much as we would be at the mercy of the government, so what’s the difference? The difference they say is with private insurance companies you can switch if you don’t like the way your private insurance company is treating you.
Really? What if you have a chronic condition? What if no insurance company will take you on because of a pre-existing condition? Then where is your choice?
Blue Cross Blue Shield claims they will not turn down anyone because of a pre-existing condition, but their premiums are based on your health. If you look like you will cost them some money down the road, they will charge you accordingly and beyond what anyone who is not a millionaire can afford, so the result is, in essence, the same as turning you down. Example: our friends, retired dairy farmers, have had to sell off their farm piece by piece just to be able to pay their $24K a year BCBS insurance premiums. Why so much? Donna needs joint replacement and therapy. She has had numerous surgeries. She has become expensive to insure, so the BCBS has raised their premiums to the level that, if this couple didn’t have that property to sell, they would not be able to afford insurance at all. They can’t switch to another insurance company because no one will accept them because of Donna’s history.

The private insurance system we have now used to work a lot better when there wasn’t so much that could be done for people who were seriously ill. Example: In the past you got cancer and doctors could try a couple of things to save you, but you would probably die. Now there are almost endless possible treatments, many of them with a good chance of success, but also very expensive, so as our healthcare costs go up, our health insurance premiums go up and up and still more UP to the point where fewer people can afford it.

Several studies estimate the number of uninsured Americans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007, their latest data available. (DeNavas-Walt, C.B. Proctor, and J. Smith. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007. U.S. Census Bureau., August 2008.) (Keep in mind, this includes people who were without insurance for just a short time. But also keep in mind that this has gone up since 2007)

Companies that insure their employees are struggling to maintain the quality of coverage they have provided in the past. NONE of them want to pay for shoddy, cheap coverage; but as the economy maintains its downward clockwise swirl, these businesses are in a battle to survive. It is understandable that they seek less expensive coverage, especially if it’s that or go belly up, because telling your employees that they have no job is considerably worse than telling them they have less health insurance. Will employee coverage from the government be less expensive for them? Most likely yes, at first.

It is true that people with Medicare and Medicaid wait until they have an emergency situation before they seek medical treatment, because the ER is covered and their doctor isn’t. The government says we need to institute this new system so people who now go to the ER for treatment will not have to wait to go to the doctor for check ups. Then if something is seriously wrong, it can be caught early on, and ultimately this illness will cost much less to treat, therefore saving the system money. If they really believe that, then just start paying for doctor appointments for your people on Medicare and Medicaid. But overhauling the entire system just to change that is like buying a car when all you need is new tires.

Okay, so that’s just scratching the surface about what is wrong with our present system of healthcare insurance.

What will be the drawbacks to a government run system? We don’t know yet, for sure.

We don’t have to go far to see what a government-run healthcare system looks like.

Michiganders cross the border to go into Canada and buy their prescriptions, because government cost controls keep drugs cheaper over there. However, as a result of this, the reward for developing new, safe drugs is practically non-existent, and Canada’s pharmaceutical companies don’t bother. Canadians who need top quality care and cutting edge technology and drugs come to the states. When they are told that they have to wait two months for an MRI scan to determine why they are getting severe headaches, Canadians with money come to the states and pay out of pocket to get their MRI in a week. Can our government guarantee that this won’t happen to us here, if we go with government run healthcare? NO.
BTW, some people may say that I have been told lies and exaggerations about the Canadian health care system by people against public healthcare, but what I’m saying comes from people I know who used to live in Canada, including a Canadian doctor, and I’ve been hearing this for many years – pre-Hillary Clinton years. Canadians may or may not get specialist care in a timely fashion.
Canada also has a doctor shortage. But so do we.
What does Canada say?
“The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it. Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made. ‘We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize,’ Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press. ‘We know that there must be change,’ she said. ‘We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands.’ ” By Jennifer Graham (CP) Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors The Canadian Press online – Aug 15, 2009
So Canada’s system does have problems. Imagine that.
Israel provides another example of national health care. Israel, which has had a hybrid public/private system since 1994, covers its entire population through four private companies, which are heavily regulated by the government and subsidized by taxpayer funds. Israel’s system is sometimes held up as a shining example of an effective socialized program. But upon doing a little research, I find they have – problems. No kidding?
Their biggest problem is their health fund keeps going broke.

“There were inadequate provisions for three areas of inflation: an aging population, an increase in technology and a total increase in population. The Minister of Finance basically kept the lid on and did not provide adequate funding to do this, so every year there’s a crisis. Two of the sick funds are almost bankrupt because of this.” Shimon Glick, M.D., is Professor of Internal Medicine and Chairman of the Division of Medicine at Ben Gurion University Faculty of Health Sciences in Beer Sheva, Israel. He is National Ombudsman for Israel’s Ministry of Health. (date unknown)
“Still, the health insurance system suffered from a series of severe problems - mostly budgetary - that heavily influenced and weakened its ability to function as a national health care system, leading to protracted conflicts and frequent crises in the past decade and a half. The continual improvement of medical procedures, which are consequently more expensive, has accelerated these budgetary problems.” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, website, 2002
The government in Israel needed more money but politicians had promised constituents not to raise taxes, so they resolved the problem by allowing the fund groups to charge a small fee for doctor visits and so forth. So the cost goes up when you actually are sick.
They have plenty of doctors. Too many, in fact. This is because in the late 80s, early 90s, many Russian Jews immigrated to Israel who happened to be doctors, so there is nothing in the system that has caused them to have lots of doctors, it’s just a one-time thing. As a matter of fact, Israeli doctors earn very little money: about $70-80 thousand a year. Compare that to American doctors who earn an average of $190 thousand a year according to NBC news. I’m surprised some of those Russian Israeli doctors don’t high-tail it to America. I don’t think our doctors would tolerate that.

For some, the answer is to demand that the government fix it. Let’s give the responsibility of providing healthcare to Washington, because they will be fair. They will provide for everyone, not just people who have jobs, not just productive members of society, but the poor and the disabled. They tax everyone, and when everyone is paying into the system, we will have the money to pay for all this.

England’s health care system isn’t being held up as a shining example by anyone, despite the fact that Obama’s stepmother says it saved her life.

Question 2: Do we want to give over control of healthcare to the government?

Where do we get the money to pay for all the people who don’t have insurance? How can we control costs of expensive treatments? We will have fund crises, just like Israel. The government will take the easy way and repeatedly raise taxes to keep it afloat, just like they do for everything else, and we will have no choice but to pay for it. Is there anyone who doesn’t think this will happen? I’m absolutely certain of it.
Many doctors won’t take Medicaid patients now because the government doesn’t pay them what they get for other patients. This shows that the government is already making costs lower by simply refusing to give doctors and hospitals what they need to cover services at the present level. Hospitals will respond by giving less time to patients, rushing them through the system, not being careful, because they will no longer have the leisure to be careful. They will need to treat more patients to make up the difference.

As the government struggles to control costs, will they become selective about who gets what? Death panels, no, but what if they determine that “We have enough money to pay for this many heart transplants this year. Sorry, but the list for this year is full. You need a transplant ASAP, so we will put your name at the top of the list - for next year.” “ Your grandmother needs a hip replacement, however she is eighty-two years old, and it’s just not financially prudent to spend that much money on someone who could die next year. But we will make her comfortable.” Would they do this?

Do I trust the US government to run the health system?

When attempting to determine how someone will act in the future, I have a tendency to look at past behavior. I scrutinize the last time the government did something similar, and by similar I mean took over something that people used to do for themselves. It was in 1935 when Social Security was instituted by Roosevelt. The idea was that there would always be more people paying into the system than those actually receiving payments because A) the population continues to grow, and B) Some people will die before reaching retirement, not collecting what they contributed – my father for instance, who died at age 62.
(If all the money Dad put into the social security system had been placed into a retirement account instead, his widow and children -aka me- would have received a lot more inheritance. As it was, we got nothing, except for the small payments of $188 a month I received to help me go to college when he was ill and couldn’t work.)
Anyway, that was a great idea, right? Retired people had lost their savings for their old age in the crash of ’29. Payroll taxes for Social Security were 2%. Within a few years, benefits were expanded to cover dependants. In 1950 payroll taxes were increased to 3%. Benefits were expanded to cover disability. In 1956, taxes increased to 4%, in 1961 to 6%, and early retirement for men was permitted. In 1972 payroll taxes were increased to 9.2%, The self-employed, who could previously opt out, were now required to pay, and so on and so forth, growing like the Blob, until 1993 when someone went, “Uh, oh….”
“In 1996 The Social Security Trustees' Report stated that the Social Security system would start to run deficits in 2012, and the trust funds would be exhausted by 2029. All members of the Advisory Panel agreed that some or all of Social Security's funds should be invested in the private sector. To keep the unchanged system actuarially sound, payroll taxes would have to be increased 50%, to 18% of payroll, or benefits would have to be slashed by 30%.” http://socialsecurityreform.org/history/index.cfm
And now that whole system stands on the brink of collapse because the government got people depending on it for their retirement, so many people didn’t save for their old age; they figured the government would take care of them. Now my generation is approaching that time when we should be able to collect what we have paid into the system for many years. Apparently it will not be there. Or at least not the amount we were anticipating. People are living longer and reproducing less. And as the economy shrinks, there is less money going into the box. Who could have foreseen this?

Apparently not the politicians who instituted it.

Let me give you a smaller, less dramatic example of how the government runs things.
Last year the government announced that all broadcasting would be changing over from analog to high definition (HD) in February. Everyone who applied would receive a $40 coupon for up to two converter boxes, so they wouldn’t have to buy an HD television to receive the new digital signals.
Tim and I believed this. We applied for and received the coupons for the converter boxes. We hooked up our converter boxes to our analog televisions. Results? Only two stations came in, 7 and 11, with 50 sometimes, sorta. The HD signal wasn’t strong enough for us to get other channels out here in the country, where, by the way, we don’t get a wireless internet signal, either. We were advised to get a newer stronger antennae. More money for dubious results. Anyway, we ended up having to pay for Dish network to get TV, something we really can’t afford. We are considering just going without TV.
This is not the best example, because I can understand why the government did this; it just didn’t work out for us very well. BUT I also feel we were mislead into how simple and painless this transition would be. Were we mislead? Maybe, but I think it more likely that no one in the sprawling government bureaucracy had any idea that there would be loose ends to their neat little transition package. Or, if they did, it was unimportant. To them.

How long will it be before government health care begins to show the same lack of vision?

So, with this history, why would I want the government to be in control of my health care? Why would I want to depend upon some committee to decide if I need something or not? Okay, to that I can answer myself: right now the insurance companies are making the decision as to what treatment I can receive and here we are full circle back to the first half of this essay. Here we are screwed either way.

Another concern… this may seem like a long shot, but not really. What if the government collapses? Becoming more and more dependant on the government is a dangerous thing for a free people to do.
Okay. I can answer that one, I think. The people will revert to co-op insurance, and private companies will spring up like weeds in July, and we’re back to where we started, except the government will still find a way to collect the taxes.

Other thoughts:

How is the government going to handle all the people who will scam the national healthcare system? And at what cost? How many more bureaus and boards and court costs?

Administrative organization – I can’t assume this will be done correctly or streamlined because the US government hasn’t a clue how to do that in other government run systems. I expect it will be a mess of unbelievable proportions. UNLESS they put someone in charge who has no political agenda and doesn’t worry about pleasing everyone.

So do we really need to completely change the system, or are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater? What if we tried smaller changes first, such as replacing HMOs with MSAs (Medical Savings Accounts) and shifting to a preventative mode of health care.

And another thing: Why hasn’t the government taken a look at torte reform? Persons opposed to a national health care plan say that costs could be brought down significantly by making it harder to sue a doctor –Obama is accused of protecting trial lawyers’ biggest source of money because he gets big juicy contributions from trial lawyers, so the Democrats won’t move against them and their biggest source of big money. I believe it.
Doctor’s are human. They will make mistakes, but the legal system is just out of control. Others (particularly trial lawyers) say that people who are victims of malpractice need a voice – a way to pay for the results of a doctor’s mistake. That may be so. But that doctor isn’t going to give up his home on the lake. He’s going to raise what he charges so he can pay for malpractice insurance. So we all pay when a doctor makes a mistake and the “unlucky” patient rakes in the windfall.

So after taking a look at the issue, this is how I see it. Do we want state-of-the-art great hospitals at a cost that is prohibitive to some, or care that’s more mediocre, but everyone gets it, eventually? Apparently no nation has figured out a way to do both.
Having done some research and thought this through a little more objectively, I find I am still nervous about the idea of going to national health care, but not as worried as I was before. There’s plenty of stuff to complain about, no matter which way we swing. Costs are going to be high, service is going to be less than perfect, people are going to fall through the cracks, there will be abuses of the system. But as far as a putting a government-run health system into place, we are at the end of the line of nations that have chosen to go this direction. Most people in other nations seem to be mostly satisfied. Life goes on - the world does not crack. We will trade high insurance premiums for high taxes.

But think carefully and think hard. Because once we cross that line into government health care, it’s unlikely there will be any way to go back. After the government gets control, it doesn’t like to give it up.

Kayaking Pictured Rocks Nat Lakeshore

2009-08-06T13:57:00.001-05:00

Kayaking Pictured Rocks Nat Lakeshore
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Something I always wanted to do was take the kayaking tour of the rocks, so I could get really close. I finally got to do it and discovered - it was too late. I'm too old and weak. I made it, but it about killed me.

Attack Cat

2009-07-13T08:39:00.001-05:00

Attack Cat
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

After protecting my peacock feathers from all children and animals for years, I find myself allowing Toby kitten to decimate them, one by one, because it's just so darn much fun to watch him.
Lucy stands amazed. She can hardly believe it. When the kitten first started playing with the feathers, reaching out from the bannisters and pulling them out of the floor vase with his claws, she would come and get me to let me know the kitten was being naughty. Then when she saw me actually picking a feather out and giving it to Toby, she couldn't believe her eyes. She's like the older child watching the baby of the family get away with stuff she was never allowed to do.

Horseshoe Dispute

2009-07-08T14:34:00.001-05:00

Horseshoe Dispute
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Our Fourth of July/ Tim's birthday picnic featured a game of horseshoes.
Here my horseshoe is the red one and my daughter's is the brown. There was a hot dispute on which shoe was the closest and a third party had to be brought in to officiate. It was determined that Emily's horseshoe was, in fact, slightly closer to the pole, so her team got the point. However, in the end, it was sheer talent and pluck that won the game and Tim and I prevailed by scoring several ringers.
We take our horseshoe games seriously in Bridgewater.

Dinner's Ready

2009-06-30T00:49:00.001-05:00

Dinner's Ready
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

A robin pair had the intelligance to build their nest in the forsythia bush just below our deck. I built myself a blind out of table cloths and deck chairs and have been chronicling the babies from eggs to leaving the nest.
I freakin' LOVE my new Nikon D5000.

Cow Art

2009-06-24T19:21:00.001-05:00

Cow Art 3
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I just got a call from a person with a very heavy accent telling me he represented Walmart Superstores and that I had won 2 gas cards worth a $100 (at least I think that was what he said), and all I had to do was pay the $2.50 P&H when it arrived at my house. The reason is because it was customer appreciation month. After getting my address so he could send it to me, I was handed over to another person with a slightly less heavy accent who started in talking about credit cards. At this point I told them to forget it and I hung up.

It all sounded very fishy. How would Walmart even have my cell phone number?
Sounds like someone is using Walmart's name to try to scam people.

I checked it out on the internet, and sure enough, although there is very little information about it out there, someone else said had it happened to them. The caller tried to "verify their identity" by getting their credit card information.

Beware!

Lucy and the Puppy Kitten

2009-06-02T18:55:00.001-05:00

Lucy and Kitten
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

At church on Sunday a friend of mine asked if school was out yet for me. I said yes, as of last Friday.
She said, ‘Great! How would you like to nurse a 3-month-old kitten for me?”
A friend of hers had given her an abandoned male kitten to care for, since normally she does that kind of stuff, but this week she is busy getting ready for her son’s graduation party, so she was just too busy to attend to the two-hour feedings.
I said I would do it, knowing that my daughter Emily, home from college, would be in love and I wouldn’t have to do much.

Emily and I discussed it and I informed her that we would only have the kitten for about three weeks and then we would have to find it a home, because our cat, Cally, would not tolerate another cat around the house, although she might accept a kitten for a while.
Emily argued, knowing she would want to keep it, but I stood firm. We’ll see how that works out.

We feed the kitten milk replacement formula from an eyedropper. Afterwards we clean him with a warm wet paper towel to imitate the licking of the mother cat. This also induces the kitten to eliminate, since they can’t do this on their own yet.

I was thinking that our cat might even adopt the motherless kitten, but when we showed the meowing babe to Cally, she stiffened and hissed at it, then took herself outside.

But all was not lost.

At first, we were careful to keep our Weimaraner, Lucy, away from the kitten. Gradually we introduced the new member of the household to Lucy, so she would know this was our cat. Her interest was fanatic. Eventually we let her sniff the cat. She was in love. After we felt it was safe, we put the kitten on the floor. Lucy laid down next to the little thing and assumed the nursing position, getting in occasional gentle licks.
That was it. Lucy finally attained motherhood. Kitty is her puppy.

It was a little hard on the tiny kitten, getting washed with a tongue that was bigger than her entire body, but Lucy’s care worked better than the paper towel in helping him to eliminate waste. And Lucy cleaned up the mess afterwards!
I won’t tell you how. It would make you gag.

Robin in the Redbud

2009-05-28T04:41:00.001-05:00

Robin in the Redbud
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

It's 4:30 in the morning - well, 5:15 now - and I can't sleep.
Instead of thinking about everything I have to do, I'm going to think of twenty-five things that make me happy.

1. waking up on the first day of summer vacation
2. a perfectly grilled rib eye
3. the song of a Robin, Wren, Oriole, or cardinal
4. a really good novel
5. seeing the light go on in a student
6. an unsolicited hug from my son or daughter
7. scuba diving and snorkeling
8. freshly picked corn on the cob in August
9. a root beer float, stirred, not shaken
10. old friends
11. a new camera
12. swimming on a hot day
13. my cat, purring in my lap
14. things that sparkle, as in fresh snow, jewelry, early morning light on dew
15. amazing answers to prayer
16. black sweet cherries
17. bacon, lettuce, and fresh-from-the-garden-tomato sandwiches with Miracle Whip
18. Beethoven
19. double rainbows
20. a package in the mail
21. finding the perfect shirt, jeans, or dress on sale.
22. getting my hair colored and cut
23. family reunions
24. lying in the sun on a catamaran in the Caribbean (See? Not all my tastes are simple)
25. standing in the middle of my lilacs and inhaling

Evening Palette

2009-04-15T20:52:00.001-05:00

Evening Palette
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

This evening I went walking down by the river. The ground was wet and mushy from three days of rain, and my feet got soaked in cold water right through my shoes, but who cares?
The grass is turning green and there is no ice or snow. I can't see my breathe and my nose doesn't turn red.

And my star magnolia is starting to bloom.

Ice Fairy

2009-02-21T12:06:00.001-05:00

Ice Fairy
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Thisis a snowflake hanging from a spider thread that somehow endured the winter.
It's amazing how two things so delicate and transicent can come together.

What are you Waiting For?

2009-01-14T16:45:00.001-05:00

What are you Waiting For?
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

It is certainly winter - the depths of it - here in Michigan. the dog doesn't mind. She enjoys a romp in the snow as much as anything.

IN IN IN IN IN

2009-01-01T10:02:00.001-05:00

IN IN IN IN IN
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Our fourteen-year-old cat is not a fan of snow.
Happy New Year to Everyone who reads this blog!
That's a joke, btw.

Brilliant Reflector

2008-12-11T15:53:00.001-05:00

Brilliant Reflector
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Well, there are some good things about winter...

Golden Eve

2008-10-24T15:39:00.001-05:00

Golden Eve
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Saturday was a lovely day. Tim and I went out and picked apples at our favorite little orchard, then on the way home we went to "Hidden Lake Gardens", even though there wasn't much day left.
There is something about the slanted light in autumn that does amazing things to the world.

Blessings for the Picking

2008-10-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

Blessings for the Picking
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

It's been a long time since I blogged.
It was a great weekend.
Saturday was a beautiful fall day. Emily and I went driving around to enjoy and photograph the early autumn color. Then we went out to eat at an excellent restaurant. Then we picked apples.
Sunday we made apple pies.
This was a great weekend.

Winter Reflections

2007-12-15T00:17:00.001-05:00

Winter Reflections
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

It's getting really cold out now. Uncomfortably cold. Painfully cold. Get-the-heck-inside cold.
My body wants to hibernate.

Fire in the Sky

2007-11-06T17:15:00.001-05:00

Fire in the Sky
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Stuff like this is why I always keep one eye on the western sky as the sun descends. You'll get ten-fifteen duds in a row, and then suddenly - THIS!
This sunset covered the entire bowl of the sky. I wish I had a fisheye lens, if only to use it once a year for this kind of beauty.

Country Sunset

2007-10-24T15:40:00.001-05:00

Country Sunset
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Oh, it's been so long since I have written anything. I spend all my time editing what others have written. Is this anyway to run my life? I need to find someone to pay me to write. But not the local paper. Been there, done that.

Patch of Yellow

2007-08-09T22:33:00.001-05:00

Patch of Yellow
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

It's been raining most of the week. Yesterday evening I asked
Tim to drive me over to the sunflower field so I could take some more shots with my DSLR. I could only use my point and shoot on Sunday. I couldn't get as high up as I wanted to be, and the sun went behind some clouds, but I did get some nicer shots. This not being able to walk or drive thing isgetting old. Good thing I have family around me.

Sunflowers in the Rain

2007-08-06T00:29:00.001-05:00

SunFlowers in the Rain
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

A much-needed rain today.
My B.I.L. Charlie at church this morning told me about this field of sunflowers down the road from him. I got my son to drive me over there to take a look at it. I can't drive with the cast on, and won't be able to for asome time yet. I'm thinking about taking the four-wheeler over to this field tomorrow, if it's sunny. Of course, there is the small matter of it being illegal to drive the four-wheeler on public roads. I think I can make it most of the way off-road. Charlie says wear a helmet and have a flag on the back of the four-wheeler, and as long as you're on the back roads and it's not a DNR guy, the local police won't bother you.
Hmmm. Do I want to find out? I can't afford a ticket. Hmmm.

My creation

2007-07-29T08:01:00.001-05:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Sickbed Companion

2007-07-24T18:59:00.001-05:00

Sickbed Companion
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Imagine lying in your bed all day, feeling too nauseated to eat, foot too painful to endure, but pain meds making you feel so sick... this is not fun.
There's nothing like suffering to make you appreciate basic body functions, such as walking and pooping.

Michigan Landscape in July

2007-07-12T20:31:00.001-05:00

Michigan Landscape in July
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Today I was in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. I wended my way through heavy traffic, dozens of stoplights, and road construction to visit my sister in the hospital.
On the way home, I again took the back roads just to breathe. I came to the top of a high hill and pulling over, I got out of the car. I looked all around at the most idyllic, tranquil, beautiful landscape - I didn't know that I could feel so grateful for just plain, old country.

Chickory by the Road - Orten

2007-07-12T08:53:00.001-05:00

Chickory by the Road - Orten
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

My sister is in the hospital after emergency open-heart surgery due to blood clots. She is doing fine so far. I go to sit with her everyday, so I can make sure she's taken care of.
On the way to the hospital, I take the backroads, weaving my way across country, looking for landscapes, whatever. I know that as of Tuesday the seventeenth, I'll be incapacitated, and have to spend my days lying on the couch watching TV. Sigh.

My Sister's Garden

2007-07-09T21:09:00.001-05:00

Hey, Bud
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Well, after Jan’s Meningioma operation seemingly going okay, we had a major setback yesterday.
Jan had been having some fainting spells and finally decided to go to emergency on Sunday evening. The doctors determined that she had a large number of blood clots in her lungs and one in her heart. At 4:00 A.M. Jan had emergency open-heart surgery to remove the clots from her lungs and heart. Turns out she had about a dozen in her heart. And one of them was about six inches long and as thick as my little finger. She came out of surgery doing as well as could be expected. They ventilated her and kept her asleep. Jim, Tim and I went home for some sleep ourselves. Anita stayed at the hospital.
About 3:00 I got a call from Anita saying that Jan’s blood pressure had dropped way down and they needed to do an emergency procedure, but couldn’t get a hold of Jim for consent, so they were asking her to give consent. Anita said that the doctor told her Jan could die without this procedure, but in her unstable condition, it was risky to move her to the angio room. I drove to Saline and woke Jim up (he had been awake the entire previous night) and took him to the hospital. On the way there, Anita kept calling from outside the hospital, asking when we were going to get there. At one point she called and said, “Julie, they said she is unresponsive!” and that really frightened me. A minute later she called back and said, “They didn’t say Mom was unresponsive, they were talking about me. The nurse said I wasn’t responding to my phone.” Whew!
We got to the hospital and the nurse explained that they needed to put a “green screen” in Jan’s vena cava, to artery going through the trunk of the body, leading from the legs to the heart and lungs. The screen would filter any large clots and keep them form reaching a place where they would do damage. They proceeded with the angio, in which they inserted a catheter in Jan’s leg artery and sent the screen to unfold in her artery.
Back n the hospital room, Jan was doing okay. They needed to keep her asleep, but the anesthetic was keeping her so asleep, her blood pressure would have been almost non-existent, so they also had to give her medicine to keep her pressure up. Now they are slowly backing off of the blood pressure medicine, and she is doing okay. So she is not “stable”, being dependant on the meds to stay alive, but going in the right direction.

Jan

2007-07-09T21:07:00.001-05:00

Bathtime!
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Diligent Farmer on His Tractor

2007-07-03T08:36:00.001-05:00

Diligent Farmer on His Tractor
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

Farmers feel this need to keep their fallow fields mowed. I prefer to leave them natural in their resting state. Think of all the finches feasting on those thistle seeds; all the monarchs larvae feeding on the milkweed,;all the spiders going about their business, lacing the flowers with circular webs that catch the dew; buzzing bees milking every blossom to make honey. Why must they mow? I understand that if they never mow, trees will grow and they must preserve the field for crops, but they could wait a long time between mowings and still do that.

Friendly Lady

2007-06-27T21:53:00.001-05:00

Friendly Lady
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

This morning I walked out on my front porch and saw about a dozen Painted Lady butterflies fluttering all around. They landed on the cement, the house, the furntiure - about every place but the flowers. I think they were looking for moisture.
This one allowed me to gently slip my finger underneath it and then it got a taste of the salty sweat on my skin. That was good enough to make it stay while I walked around, took pictures of it, and just enjoyed the moment-in-general of feeling like Snow White in the forest.
I completely forgot about physical therapy.

Doused!

2007-06-25T16:57:00.001-05:00

Doused!
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I took this shot two years ago on vacation at Lake Superior, Twelve Mile Beach. I entered it along with another shot in the 2006 National Parks "Share the Experience" Family Fun Photo Contest.
Today I got a UPS package informing me that I won second place!
A Casio Exilim Zoom Camera. Wow!
Now I'm going to find out exactly what that is....

Ex-ray - June 14, 2007

2007-06-14T20:34:00.001-05:00

Exray - June 14, 2007
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

The broken foot ordeal continues: June 14, 2007

Today I went to a different foot surgeon to get a second opinion on my foot.
There's this bump on the inside of my foot. I got the ex-rays from the hospital and could see that there were some bones out of place - the metatarsals didn't line up correctly with the tarsals.
And the bump was from that tarsal bone that wasn't lined up with the metatarsal that leads to the big toe. I was puzzled as to why the doctor didn't mention this and more over, why he apparently didn't fix it when I had surgery to put the broken ankle bones back together.
The next appointment I had with him, I asked about the bump. He spent several minutes trying to make me believe that bump had always been there and I didn't know my own feet. Then I pulled out a print of the ex-ray and showed it to him. His mouth snapped shut and he admitted there was a problem. He suggested that we wait six months and see if it didn't fix itself. I tried to imagine this bone working it's way back into place and decided that that was a long shot, if not completely impossible. My insurance advisor suggested I get a second opinion.
Today the second doctor took a new ex-ray to determine if this was a serious problem. Take a look. See anything wrong?

He recommended surgery to repair the foot. He said that this type of fracture was "often overlooked" but I think he was just trying to be helpful to Travis (the original surgeon). A six-year-old could see the displacement.
Travis either didn't see it, or forgot about it. I would guess it was the second. He tends to be forgetful - always in a hurry - And because if he didn't see it, he must be practicing medicine without a brain.

So there goes my summer. If I can wait until he gets back from vacation, I can have a month of summer before being laid up on the couch in a cast for six more weeks.

Two Hungry Mouths - June 9th

2007-06-09T22:39:00.001-05:00

Two Hungry Mouths - June 9th
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

So there is no change. My life is to continue along on this same path for another year at least. I'm glad. I wasn't ready for a change yet.
This is a nest in my MIL's wisteria vine. I can't tell what kind of bird the mother is. I think she is either a sparrow or, more likely, a purple finch. But as soon a I approach she flys away swiftly and I can't get a good look.
There were six eggs in the nest - four from the mother bird and two cowbird eggs. The big mouth is actually a biological child, but one that hatched two days before the other two. The second mouth- I'm not sure which kind of bird, biological or cowbird. There is a third baby just hatched and still feather-wet form the egg. He/she is so tiny and weak - I hope it makes it. I should know by tomorrow.

Crossing the Log

2007-06-04T21:40:00.001-05:00

Crossing the Log
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper

I’m slowly regaining use of my foot. On Memorial Day we were invited to a picnic at Wahl’s farm, and I enjoyed being outdoors so much, I hobbled through the paths in the woods and meadows with my moon boot on, no crutches. Of course, I paid dearly. My foot punished me for my reckless ways.
This picture suggests something else to me. I think a change is coming in my life. I’m crossing a bridge. More on that later.

Lying in the Cannola

2007-05-21T15:52:00.001-05:00

Lying in the Cannola
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

On the way home from my doctor's appt, I saw in the distance an enormous field of yellow. We took a side road and I found a way to get to it. The two ears of a deer poked out of the gold, but she got up and leaped away when I got out of the car.
I had just gotten permission from my doctor to walk, so I limped to the field with my camera. I walked into the flowers and smelled the hot, sweet pollen, and listened to the bees buzzing all around me. The intensely blue sky against the yellow was intoxicating. I stood there for anout ten minutes while my husband waited patiently in the car.

Heart of Spring

2007-05-09T18:18:00.001-05:00

Heart of Spring
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Yesterday I was going crazy ; stir crazy, cabin fever, spring fever, broken-foot-and-the-wheelchair-doesn't-roll-on-grass freaking insane.

I got my crutches and hobbled outside into the sun. After last year's May frosts decimating my redbud and lilacs, this year they are glorious. It was so beautiful, it cheered me right up.
I noticed my broken foot wasn't hurting. I held my crutches to one side and cautiously took a step. It hurt a little, but not badly. I took another step. I called Tim. Look at this! I said, and took two more steps. That was enough, but I felt like I was at last seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Later that day at my doctor appointment, I was gently rebuked. He said that, even if it doesn't hurt, I can still really mess up my foot if it's not completely healed. I repented. There's no way I want to go through this again.

Unfortunately, the doctor also said that the realignment of my bones in the foot was definitely not good. But that's for the surgeon to see on the eighteenth.

Finch Kisses

2007-04-23T16:40:00.001-05:00

Finch kisses
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

While recovering from a broken ankle, I spent three weeks at my dear sister's house being tenderly fed and waited on while I healed to the point I could deal with going home, where I would be alone more often and have to deal with stairs.
In the mornings we would sit in her sunroom and drink tea while watching the birds and squirrels come to the feeders. We would talk. I would try to capture photos of the action. It was a pleasant time.
When I was eight, my mother died from cancer. My sister, who was 20 years old and pregnant with her first child, took care of me for a while. Ever after, even when my father remarried, my sister was my mother. She took care of me when I was sick, she had me to her house for Christmas and holidays, she and her husband invited me to move in to their basement the last year of college when I was almost out of money, so I could graduate. We were as close as two people could be. She was my mother. At least psychologically.
This morning my sister went to the hopital to have a meningioma (benign tumor) removed from behind her eye. There were concerns about damaging the arteries and the optic nerves. People all over the world, Catholic and Protestant, were praying for her.
After seven hours of surgery, the doctor informed her family that every thing went well.
I am so grateful!
Thank you, Lord!

After the Drugs

2007-04-13T14:58:00.001-05:00

After the Drugs
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I'm home for a visit, but back to my sister's house tonight. I think I'll come home sometime next week to stay.

This broken foot thing has been more of an ordeal than I thought.

It started March 1st when I was showing some kids in drama class how to vault “safely” over a couch. You step up on the couch, put your right hand on the back, then just hop over, using your hand on the back to steady yourself. The problem occurred in that I wasn’t actually using a couch. I was demonstrating the technique on a chair. As I hopped over the back, my foot caught the armrest, flipping the chair up and throwing me into the wall. I landed on my stomach on the floor. Looking back at my legs laying against the wall, I noticed the right one was at an unusual angle. Something that should be physically impossible. Unless it was broken. Then the tidal wave of pain hit.
To make a long story short, the ambulance came and took me to the hospital. The x-ray showed a broken fibula just above the ankle, and a broken bone in the ankle. The foot was also dislocated. They put me under to set the bones, then waited for the swelling to go down before they did the surgery needed to insert metal plates, screws, paper clips, staples, duct tape and rubber bands. I spent a week on the fifth floor, then another week in rehab. I would have gone home much sooner if the other foot hadn’t been sprained, making it impossible to get around.

When I finally went home on the 15th, I went to stay at my sister’s house. She has everything – bed, bath, and commode – on one floor, whereas my house is not wheelchair friendly. Also, she took care of me, waiting on me hand and foot. What an angel!

Meanwhile my husband came to visit almost every night.
I have learned a new appreciation for walking. Also bowel movements.

Last Monday my surgeon (his nurse actually) took off the temporary cast and put on a permanent cast. It was hot and heavy and tight, and when the nurse put it on, I felt a knot of panic rising from my stomach, but I fought it down and told myself I would be okay.
That night I woke up in the middle of the night in an absolute panic, breathing hard, shaking, crying, and desperately wanting the cast off. It was like an attack of claustrophobia. The next morning we tried to contact the doctors (surgeon or rehab), but neither called back. I had two more black hole attacks. Tim came and helped me though this by wheeling me out on Jan’s back porch, putting my camera in my hands and getting me to take pictures of the birds. Finally we called my regular doctor and she told me to go to the ER. At Saline’s ER I was triaged by an unsympathetic nurse who told me, “Stop breathing so fast, you’re only making in worse!” She explained that the air-conditioning was broken, so that’s why it was ninety degrees in this little room I was trying hard not to breath in. Eventually they split the cast to make it looser and gave me a drug to calm me. On Friday I saw the surgeon and he told me to see my rehab doctor who had prescribed all the pain-killers I had been on since I left the hospital. (btw, they don't kill it; they only wound it slightly). He switched my drugs around, thinking that the panic might have been caused by all the narcotics. I felt pretty good this morning, but not so hot now.
So apparently it’s not unusual for people with casts to have panic attacks, but they don’t tell you about the possibility ahead of time, probably so you don’t bring one on just thinking about it.

Milkyway Coming Down

2007-02-19T19:52:00.001-05:00

Milkyway Coming Down
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Born in the wind with a thousand rare brothers who
Stretch out their arms and then slip from the womb,
Dashing and swirling, this effortless journey a
Feathery fantasy, crystal in bloom.

What a wild glide this invisible slide for a mile
Then two all they do is surrender and fly -
Hysterical, holy Carmagnole, to music my ears
Cannot hear. Dance – dance, silent black ice.

Drift at Sunrise

2007-02-17T21:31:00.001-05:00

Drift at Sunrise
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I saw this drift on Thursday on my way to school. On Friday I stopped and took this just as the sun came up. You wouldn't know it from this view, but winter can be so devoid of color - just black and white and all the grays in between, maybe some brown thrown in.

We are in the depths of winter - cold, snow, all plants in a form of death or hibernation. I can enjoy it most of the time, but some days you just turn the page without reading it, and wait for this chapter to be finished.

Sun Halo

2007-02-06T15:06:00.001-05:00

Sun Halo
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

On my way to Tecumseh I noticed this halo forming around the sun as clouds moved in. I desperately tried to find a place to pull over and shoot where there were no houses, trees, or telephone lines between me and the sky. Finally I found a spot.
I shot for about a minute, and then had to get back in the car quick.
My hands were beginning to get frostbite.

School has been cancelled for two days now due to 20-25 below zero wind chills. I'm enjoying the time off. I needed to get rested after "Spirit Week" at school. Those kids have too much spirit.

Daybreak Through the Trees

2007-02-04T09:03:00.001-05:00

Daybreak Through the Trees
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Every morning on my way to work, I get to watch the sun rise. As the year progresses and the days get longer, the sun rises earlier, so eventually it's in my eyes as I drive to school. Finally it's up high enough to where my sun visor functions adequately.
Then we go to "daylight savings time".
Again I go through the process of watching the sun rise until it blinds me.
I hear we are thinking seriously about dropping daylight savings. That means little kids will be walking to school in the dark. Or in the summer that the sun will be rising at 4:30 A.M.
We live in the north.

Sunrise on January 29th

2007-01-29T22:31:00.001-05:00

Sunrise on January 29th
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Today was Sam's 17th birthday. I want to write more, but it's late and I'm out of energy. Need to go to bed. Later... Goodnight.

Linda's Story

2007-01-25T18:17:00.001-05:00

Linda's Story
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Whenever I see these graves with lambs and little angels, I always wonder who this child was - what happened.
This is the grave of my cousin.
She would be my cousin once-removed, or my first cousin's daughter. Linda was the first-born of my grandparent's great-grandchildren, her father the first born of the grandchildren. I was one of the last. So Linda lived and died before I even came along.
I won't dwell on her life much except to say that she was a much-loved child with white blonde hair and she was smiling in her pictures. Linda was three years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. There wasn't much they could do in those days. She contracted pneumonia and the combination of the two illnesses put her in the hospital. Her parents sat by her bedside and waited and prayed, but Linda went into a coma.
As the end drew near, suddenly Linda sat up in bed. She looked past her anxious parents toward the door of her room. She held out her arms and said, clear as a bell, "Jesus!"
Then she fell back in bed. Two hours later she died.

So You Think I'm Making Cupcakes at 9:00 P.M.?

2007-01-20T21:31:00.001-05:00

So You Think I'm Making Cupcakes at 9:00 P.M.?
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Why is it that your kids want help with their homework, buttons sewn, food cooked, and jeans washed right about the time you're ready for bed?

Rosehips on Ice

2007-01-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

Red Berries in Ice
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Oh JOY!!
Flickr responded to my request for help and were able to show me what the problem was. I needed to follow a specific link "Head over to Google now" and I was just going straight to my blog site.

All is well and
I'm BACK!!!

Our ice storm on Sunday night provided some great camera fodder - Many glittering gorgeous sights.
Very enjoyable as long as one did not lose electricity.

Flickr

2007-01-18T19:30:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

January 6, 2007

2007-01-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am, still working on getting Flickr and blogger to work together like friends.

Meanwhile, I need to be cleaning house, so I'm not in the mood to write much.

When you ask for actual "help" as facetiously suggested by the help button in the upper right-hand corner, you are required to go through several pages of FAQs before they admit they will not actually answer your e-mail, but will glance at it, and if they get a lot of the same question, they will add it to their FAQs listings. I'm so disenchanted.

I've been working on this watercolor, on and off, since Thanksgiving. Almost done. Needs depth, but I'm afraid of overworking it.

The Hard Way

2006-12-30T07:29:00.000-05:00

I can still do photos by uploading them from my computer. But it's not as easy and convenient. I have to make a file for blog, copy the photos I want to that file, and resize them down so they upload at a reasonable rate. Sigh.

Stopping in to Cry

2006-12-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hello. Now that I can no longer post my photos from Flickr, having a blog is boring. So if you've been coming here and finding nothing, it's because I can't find a place to "Authorize" Flickr to post my photos to my blog. I know it can be done, because others have done it. But since this blog went beta, I'm lost.
Good bye.

Continued Frustration...

2006-12-08T20:56:00.001-05:00

There is supposed to be a "Change authorized websites" link from the My Account page.
BUT THERE ISN'T!!!!!!! I can't find a way to authorize the Flickr website.

I've been working on this for well over an hour. Can anyone help me?

2006-12-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

Still confused.

2006-12-08T20:10:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying to re-establish my Flickr link. Flickr instructions say this:

Authorize posting to your Blogger (beta) blog
If you're using the new betablogger.com, we'll need to authenticate against the new Google system. We'll send you to Google.com, if you aren't already logged in, you'll be asked to login.
Once there "Grant Access" to flickr.com, and you'll be sent back here, and we'll finish setting things up.

But I can't figure out how to "grant access" to flickr.com. In help, it doesn't tell me.
Anyone out there with a suggestion?

Argh!!

2006-11-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Still unable to post a photo from Flickr. I have no idea what the problem is. I'll keep trying.

Frustration

2006-11-24T16:54:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to post an entry from Flickr, and can't seem to get it to work. So I went to eblog home and found I need to have an account with Google now. I created one, and still couldn't post from Flickr. Then, checking my e-mail, I saw I hadn't activated the new account.
This is driving me crazy!!! Maybe it will work now. I'm going to go try.

Hey, It Actually Happened!!

2006-11-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hey, It Actually Happened!!
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Yes!! My Popular Photogaphy Magazine arrived in the mail today and there is the article!! Sometimes dreams come true!

Seasons

2006-11-01T21:52:00.000-05:00

Primary Colors
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Today was my fiftieth birthday.
Somehow that artificial number seems more significant than others. Yes, it's halfway to 100, but I don't expect to live to be 100, so wouldn't 40, which is half of 80, be the real landmark? Ten years ago, I didn't have time to reflect on the number. I was too busy raising children and returning to teaching and mourning my beloved Aunt Eileen, who had just died from cancer. I barely noticed turning 40. I still wear the Black Hills gold band on my finger that my husband bought me as a 40th birthday gift.

Ten years ago I read in a magazine somewhere that this hunky actor guy was turning forty, and the media asked him how he dealt with that. He said, "I just close my eyes and spend 10 minutes imagining that I'm fifty. Then I open them and realize that I'm only forty, and it seems young." I tried that method, and it seemed to work pretty well.
I suppose I could try imagining I'm sixty for a while and see if the notion of fifty becomes more palatable.

I'll let you know.

Meanwhile: I have been saving up for a new purse camera for about six months now. Today, with birthday money, I had just enough to buy it. I wanted the Sony Cybershot T30, but it was just too expensive, so I went with the Cybershot W70, which was the same in everyway except the LCD window was larger and it didn't have image stabilization, which I think I can get along without, and it was $220 less. So I went for the lesser camera. Ritz camera will let you return your purchase with no re-stocking fee if you change your mind within 10 days. They also offer a no-fault insurance policy at a reasonable rate. I purchased that so I can enjoy the camera.
So that was my big present.

Emily called to sing Happy Birthday to me. I miss her so much. Sam is a sweetie, though. He was actually affectionate tonight and gave me a home-made card with $20 in it. I thought that was pretty affectionate.

Glorious Mailbox on a Rainy Day

2006-10-25T17:47:00.000-05:00

Glorious Mailbox on a Rainy Day
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

You can wait and wait for the October sun to shine so you can enjoy a picture-taking expedition. But eventually you have to go take your photos anyway, because if you wait for conditions to be perfect, the autumn will pass and the color will disappear and the leaves will all lie rotting on the ground.
So Sunday I spent a little time in my car in the country in the rain. With my camera.

Two years ago I was on my way to school on a foggy morning, driving down this road when I saw this same mailbox glorified. There were beams of sunlight coming through the fog and lighting it up as if it was visited by an angelic mailman.
Here is that photo:

The Raisin

2006-10-22T14:03:00.000-05:00

The Raisin
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

A chain of dark, cold and rainy days was broken, however briefly, yesterday as the sun peeked through gray clouds just long enough for me to go down to the river with my camera. I came back covered with mud and little seed burrs, but it was worth it.
Fall is so beautiful, but so transcient.
And when this goes, I might as well just shoot black and white.

Autumn Days for Me

2006-10-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

Autumn Days
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Diane and I went for a hike on Saturday. It was a beautiful day - a little chilly, but really nothing to complain about. Somewhere along the path I lost my glasses. I think they fell out of my camera bag when I was taking the camera out to take a shot. We went back to look for them, but no luck. I left my name and a description of the lost glasses at the main desk of Hidden Lake Gardens: brown plastic frames, really old eye glasses.
Two days earlier, on Thursday, I had renewed my driver's license. I flunked the without-glasses eye test, so the lady at the secretary of State's office ruthlessly, unhesitatingly, and without an ounce of pity, remorse or guilt about her actions, changed my license from "no restrictions" to "corrective lenses".

So now I can't drive. My sixteen-year-old son is chaffeuring me around like a blind grandmother until my new glasses arrive.

Getting old is hell.

The Power of Light

2006-09-28T18:53:00.000-05:00

Power of Light
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Pause.
Breathe air, pump blood.
Wrap yourself up in now.
Stop the thoughts from running in circles.
Call back the dogs from their useless sniffing out the future.
Muzzle the memories, barking for the moon past.
This hour, this minute, will never come again.
Be here, look at it.
Peace.

Barn Heaven

2006-09-28T05:08:00.000-05:00

Barn Heaven
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

This is my world - on some mornings; especially in September.
Warm wet earth meets crisp air. Rural, tranquil, filled with light.
On my way to school, I drive into the sun.
On my way home, I drive into the sun.
Sometime this makes things difficult,
but sometimes the beauty is
almost unbearable
and brings tears
to my eyes.

September Light

2006-09-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

Morning Light 3
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Whereas September can be the dreaded month, signaling the end of summer freedom and a return to the paper chains of schoolwork, there is an up side.
Warm wet earth and cool morning air creates clouds of fog that sit tight to the earth, or layer themselves along the branches of trees, dividing the morning sun into slanted golden fingers that play where the sky comes down to the earth so that you can touch it and breath it and walk through it.
Or you could, if you didn' t have to go to school.

Field Hunter

2006-09-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Field Hunter
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Today was a very good picture day. It started with a beautifully misty/sunny morning in which I meandered to school, seeking out light and forms in the fog, and no I wasn't late.
After school, I took my camera and went hunting butterflies in the shorn field next to the orchard. Cally saw me lying on my stomach and assumed I was after prey. She came out to join in the hunt.
I have enough photos to upload for a week.

Break-Through

2006-09-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

Break-Through
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

As I begin to fall back into the rhythm of rising early and going to school, I can at least appreciate the approach of fall. The misty mornings, the slanting light, the trees beginning to turn, the glorious goldenrod in the fields - all this color bleeding out of my world with the dead-white approach of winter.
Winter seems so dominate in Michigan, with summer only a pleasant but short interlude. From November 1 to May 1 the trees are stark skeletons against a mostly gray sky.

Enjoy the moment, live in the now, don't think about something that is six weeks away, and about which you can do nothing.

Mother and Child

2006-09-12T19:20:00.000-05:00

Mother and Child
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

For the few of you who read my blog, this photo may give you pause. After all, most of my photos are appropriately seasonal. No. It is not snowing in Michigan.

Yesterday I received a Flickr email from a woman who said she worked for Popular Photography and Imaging magazine and was interested in featuring my snowflake photos on the “My Project” page. She asked would I be interested in working with her on this?
[visualize my jaw hitting the floor]
Popular Photography is probably the foremost photography magazine for serious hobbyists in the nation.
I answered that that sounded like fun.
As soon as I got home from work, I ran upstairs and dug up my August issue of Popular Photography. Sure Enough. This woman is listed as the copy editor and there is a feature called “My Project” that she writes.
The next morning she had already responded to my email, asking if we could schedule an interview soon. I emailed her back giving her the school’s number and telling her that my prep period was about 11:15 to noon, assuming that she would call in the next couple of weeks.
At quarter to noon, she called. I gave up a little of my lunch time to finish the interview, because being interviewed is more fun than eating a salad. I have done probably over a hundred interviews in my brief newspaper career, but this was the first time anyone had ever interviewed me. To say it was a heady experience would be and overstatement, but it was fun.

So anyway, the result is that the December issue of Popular Photography will immortalize my humble, amateurish snowflake captures.

If you would like to see them, go to my flickr site (www.flickr.com/piper) and scroll down the main page. On the right you will see my sets. Click on the “Snowflake Project” set.

Now I have to go calm myself down before God sends me something embarrassing to keep me from getting a big head.

You say, oh come now… God wouldn’t bother with that. Oh, yes, He would.
I’m his kid.

Camera Shy

2006-09-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

Camera Shy
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I don't often get the opportunity to shoot hummers. Today I sat quietly by the woodpile and waited for the goldfinches. When they came back, Lucy immediately scared them away. After putting the dog in the house, I went back to my seat. Presently I noticed a hummingbird visiting the sunflowers, then coming closer and going after the zinnias.

A Wake

2006-08-30T17:41:00.000-05:00

Wake 2
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

How I long for the simple life of summer again.

Have you ever woken up at 1:35 in the morning, suddenly wide awake, realizing that earlier that evening you said something unbelievable stupid? And now there's not a thing you can do about it?
Tonight was parent’s night at the school. Parents and students came around, doing a fast version of the student's daily school schedule. Teachers can talk about what to expect in that class, and how the parents can best help their children.
Two parents, new to the school, came early while everyone else was still in the auditorium. The mother had come to talk to me last spring, considering our school, and asking how I challenged the bright students in my classes. She mentioned that she taught writing at the U of M. Over the summer, I considered her question. I don't really do anything to challenge the brighter students, and I realized it's because I'm already teaching at a high level. My problem is making allowances, modifying tests, and creating extra credit assignments for the students who can't handle the level of challenge already in place.
Anyway, I now had my chance to say this. And I did.
They tried to get their son to say something in response to this, but he wasn't being communicative - typical of a freshman guy. I said my son was like that -- kind of a... [I tried to think of the right word]... lugubrious guy. The father wanted to know what that word meant and I said it meant responding with as few words as possible - a word from our Tale of Two Cities vocabulary.
"Oh," he said. Laconically.

Soooo at 1:35 AM I wake up, and suddenly I think, "I wanted LACONIC, not lugubrious, which actually means the opposite."
I'm sure the father realized that and now is chuckling all the way home and thinking what an idiot his son's English teacher is.

Why couldn't he just correct me?

I also realized that I was talking too fast. I think it might have had something to do with that big glass of ice tea I had before all this, and my nervousness as I met the parents, who, ultimately, are your judge and jury.

I wish it was still summer. Or maybe I need a different job. One where all I have to remember to say is “Would you like paper or plastic, Sir?”

My Best Agate

2006-08-27T23:03:00.000-05:00

My Best Agate
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

We are back from vacation in the Upper Penninsula - one of my favorite places to play.
This stone I found on the beach of Lake Superior. More later.

Em at Three

2006-08-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

Em at Three
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Tomorrow we are taking Emily, our first-born, to college. She will live in a dorm, and only come home for visits. It feels like the beginning of the end. Sam is still home. Well, not much, actually, now that he’s sixteen and has his license, but officially he still lives here and comes home to take showers. And sometimes he sleeps here. But I digress. The future seems so empty. I feel so sad, and yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But it’s hard.
Last night I woke up and began thinking about Emily not being here and I couldn’t sleep. I don’t drink, but last night, I think I would have had several glasses of wine. If I could have tolerated the taste. And if we had any in the house.

When I was eight years old, my mother died from cancer. Ever after that, I was haunted by a sense of loss of a family, especially after my older sister, living with us temporarily to take care of me, moved away from home and into an apartment with her husband and baby. Even when my father remarried and my step mother moved in, that connection was never really the same. Then my step mother died when I was twelve, and it was just my dad and me for a long time. I knew that I could not change the past – I could never get my mother back. But I could become the mother.
I waited patiently as the years passed, believing that God would restore what had been lost. I went to college, graduated, and began teaching school. I waited. Around me, my girlfriends were marrying; couples hooked up and began families. I waited. I dated guys, but none of them seemed to fit that picture in my head of my husband and the father of my children. I began to worry that it might not happen for me.
Then Tim came into the picture. He was right in every way. We married. He was 31 and I was 27, almost 28, so we didn’t want to wait too long before starting a family. Months passed and still I did not become pregnant. After a year had gone by, I started seeing a fertility doctor. Eventually I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I began a series of treatments: drugs, fertility pills, hormone treatments, tests, laser surgery… I read books on the subject of fertility. I was ready to do whatever it took.
Each month, when I discovered that I still wasn’t pregnant, became a teary session of longing and prayer. Eventually, I came to a place of faith in which I believed that God wanted me to be happy. Whether I had a child or not, He was building and developing my faith and trust in Him, and that should be my goal, not endless longing for what I envisioned my future should be. I relaxed, calmed down, and sought His will. Then I got pregnant. Finally, after two years and four months of various treatments and intense hoping, I became pregnant. Then came a kind of joyous, edge-of-your-seat type waiting, again praying that I would not lose the child, but at the same time trying to be submissive to God’s will.
Nine months later, right on schedule, Emily was born: A beautiful healthy child and the joy of my life. Then two years later came Samuel, no hassle whatsoever. There was my dream - right before my eyes. I felt so blessed, even though being a stay-at-home mom was possibly the hardest thing I had ever done – especially when taking care of an infant and a toddler. Wow.
So for the past eighteen and a half years, I have been living that life I envisioned. Tim is a great husband and father, and both my kids are pretty good, too. Not perfect, but no serious concerns like drugs or drinking. And I know I have not been the perfect mother; that goes without saying. But we have been happy.

Now I need to begin to create a new vision for my future, so I don’t get this black hole vision when I think about the empty nest. Back to the prone before God position.

After the Storm

2006-08-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

After the Storm
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I've been scanning old photos, mostly for my daughter's graduation slide show, and I came across this photo that I took when I was visiting my aunt and uncle on the farm in Iowa in 1975. There had been a fierce storm, and afterwards the sky turned gold, so I went outside with my dad's camera and took several shots. This is not photoshopped! This is the actual color of the sky after the storm. My cousin, who was married and living in Nebraska, had a large wall photo made from the slide and had it on her wall in her livingroom for years.

Some Road Some Where

2006-08-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

Some Road Some Where
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Monday morning, I forced myself out of bed and hit the road, searching for misty spots and pretty pictures again.
I saw seven or eight deer - more bucks than does, which is unusual. Tons of rabbits. It was an enjoyable morning. I'll have to do it again after the heatwave has passed.

But It's a Loss to Me

2006-07-30T06:20:00.000-05:00

Redwing Pair
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

All summer I have been enjoying this field owned by our neighbors. I have watched it grow, going through stages, different wildflowers, coming and going, rabbits, birds, spiders, hoverflies, and bumblebees, sweet smells - I fell in love with it. I began a photo journal of it.
Yesterday, the owner mowed it down. He got himself a new John Deer tractor and wiped all that life out. It's just a field of ugly barren stubble.

I am feeling SO sad - almost grieving for the loss of that place. I know the guy has to mow it eventually, or it will stop being a field and become a young forest - already little ash trees were beginning to root and grow - but I will miss it.
Walking hip deep in wildflowers, even through Queen Anne's lace that was over my head, chickory, clover of the pink, purple, yellow, and white variety, hawkweed, St. John's wort, milkweed, wild aster, goldenrod, and a dozen other wildflowers I don't know the names of; butterflies flying all around me; birds swooping and singing; finding little hidden treasures - no more.

Howl

2006-07-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Howl
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Lucy greets me as I return from next door. You would think I had been gone for days instead of minutes.

Safety Net

2006-07-21T15:45:00.000-05:00

Safety Net
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

I've become fascinated with tthe webs in the morning dew. These latest were taken in the field next to my house. I was out there in the morning in my pajamas, soaking wet with chilly dew, taking shots.

Inspired by Lynn's quotes

2006-07-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

Actually, there are more than two ways, but this makes a good quote.
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Field of Dreams

2006-07-16T18:57:00.000-05:00

Field of Dreams
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

July 16, 2006
Summertime… and the livin’ is easy.

But once in a while, it pays to drag myself out of bed and drive country roads as the sun is rising. Last Friday morning I looked out the window at 5:50 a.m. and saw a slightly thicker fog than usual lying over the fields like a cloud. I decided not to go back to bed, but take my camera hunting.

At first I didn’t find anything much. I took a few of the sunrise through the fog. I got one misty blue field with a double track meandering through it that I liked.
The sun was well above the horizon and I was actually on my way home when the road lead me though a valley filled with a light fog. Sunbeams were shafting through tree branches into a weedy golden meadow. Well, this was worth stopping for. After I was out of the car and searching for the best angle and crop, I noticed that the weeds in the field were draped with spider webs – beautiful round webs sparkling with beaded mist. And there were hundreds of them. This was the treasure I had been searching for. What a rush!!

If you want to see more digital captures from that morning, click on the photo to go to my Flickr site and look at the "Morning in July" set.

Summer Song

2006-07-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

Summer Song
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Almost done with the yearbook. A new computer makes all the difference in the world!!

This is the most mosquito infested summer I can remember. Even in the middle of the day in the sun, the mosquitos will find you - and go our on a cloudy day? You don't dare! You will be swarmed and the mosquitos will attempt to take you down. Looking out the window, I even see them hovering around our cat, trying to find a way through her fur, but other than an occasional flick of her ear, she doesn't seem bothered by them. If it would just hold off raining for a while, the swampy areas in the bottom land would dry up, and within two weeks the mosquito population would dwindle.
In the meantime - buy lots of Northwoods Off.

June RiverSwim

2006-07-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

June RiverSwim 31
Originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

This is summer!