New England

Ringing in the New Year, 2016

January 2, 2016 by Melodye Shore

Another turn of the calendar page, and here we are, standing at the threshold of 2016. We had a quiet celebration, here at Chez Shore. No fireworks, no champagne flutes at midnight…we just reveled in each other’s company, and that of longtime friends. After dinner, we hiked to a beautiful vantage point, not far from our home. We watched in awe as the sun extinguished its fire in the Pacific Ocean, but not before putting its final punctuation mark on the year.

I’ve been reflecting today on the highlights of 2015, while also imagining the possibilities for 2016. No, I’m not planning to write a formal list of New Year’s resolutions–an illustrated journal page is more my style. In 2015, for instance, I created a collage of sorts for the word SUSTAIN, a multi-faceted theme that I oftentimes referenced.

I haven’t yet settled on a word for this year, but from my 2015 catalog of pictures and blogs, I pulled together a brief retrospective. Here, some of the myriad people and events that sustained me last year. I invite you to revisit those special moments with me, and to consider how we might respond this year to Mary Oliver’s question:

Tell me…

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Oh Happy Day! Harlem Gospel Choir workshop & onstage performance (February)

What is it you plan to do…

His Holiness, XIV Dalai Lama talks about compassion, on the occasion of his 80th Birthday Celebration (July)

With your one…

Leaf-peeping in history-steeped New England, and the singularly successful book launch of Jeannine Atkins’ LITTLE WOMAN IN BLUE, a novel about May Alcott (October)

Wild…

A well-nourished leopard guards his “prey,” at the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound and Conservation Center (April)

And precious…

This ray of sunshine, also known as my grandson (August)

Life?

A backyard metamorphosis, from caterpillar to chrysalis to winged beauty (June)

Wishing you a joyful 2016, in which your relationships nurture and inspire you, and every day’s a grand adventure.

(Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? was excerpted from Mary Oliver’s hugely popular poem, A Summer Day. )

Throwback Thursday: Rusty Trucks at the End of the Road

October 23, 2015 by Melodye Shore

Two ice cream trucks, at rakish angles.

“Turkey in the Straw,” long since silenced.

Once upon a more simple time, they rumbled through quiet neighborhoods in rural Massachusetts, flanked on all sides by kids of all ages.

Legs churned, arms waved. Dimes glinted in the afternoon sunshine.

“Snow Cones, Push-up Pops, Creamsicles…come and get yours!”

A single row of barbed wire runs along the outside edges of the pasture where these utilitarian vehicles came to rest. They are nested, now, in tangles of ivy.

Hard to believe that the rust-covered metal was once a glossy white. The wiper blades are arthritic; the headlights, bleary.

Shredded tires are stashed on the floor, and the windows are smeared with nature’s residue.

Tired sentries, standing guard over the happy moments they once delivered:

Sweet frozen treats on hot summer days, tucked behind decorated metal awnings.

Their time has clearly come and gone.

And yet…

At the end of an old gravel road, within the loose confines of a pasture, someone’s mowed the grass around these time machines.

Their engines are long gone, and their beauty has long since faded. But maybe, just maybe– if we squint our eyes, just a little, and tilt our heads just so–nostalgia will carry us back to those blue-sky moments of our childhood.

11 Lovely Memories of Autumn in New England

October 19, 2015 by Melodye Shore

A restful view from a friend’s front porch in Western Massachusetts. Prime view, premiere seating.

Toadstool among fallen leaves, spotted in the lush green lawn of a rural Massachusetts library. Do you suppose fairies read books under that speckled umbrella?

White steepled churches in the center of town, and autumn festivals that feature handcrafted quilts and clocks, hot apple cider and fresh-made donuts (York, Maine).

A magnificent sunrise in coastal Maine…

…and a family of deer, watching me watch the sunrise.

Cemeteries that provide sanctuary for the living and those who came before us (Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord, Massachusetts).

Impossibly brilliant foliage, on Walden Pond.

Homes that bear silent witness to history, former residents and guests (Olde Manse in Concord, MA).

Impressionistic views along the waterfront in Turners Falls, Massachusetts.

Bookstores that support readers and writers, and the stories that bring them together.

The joy that comes of seeing the first snowflakes of winter, and then heading home to sunshine.