Tom wasn’t done with rehab today until nearly 5 p.m. I wanted to beat the rush hour traffic, so I drove into town early and went to explore the vast park just across the street from the rehab hospital. Lullwater Park is part of the Emory University campus, and technically is only available to students and … read more A path to Lullwater
Tag: 2012
Type Tom
Tom’s blood sugar has had the doctors scratching their heads. For him, this is a typical medical experience. He’s always outside the norm, and they don’t know quite what to do with him. Since his stroke Thursday, Tom’s glucose levels have been high – 200s, even high 200s, where normal is 80 to 100 and … read more Type Tom
Treehouse
We are staying in treehouses on this trip. Our AirBnB lodging was on the second floor, and around the windows were huge old trees. I laid in bed watching birds and squirrels eat and frolic. They were at my eye level and we all looked down on the world. Now at our vacation rental near … read more Treehouse
Milking it
Today’s hike took me through a meadow that I haven’t been to in years. The community has reseeded it so that it’s now all native plants, specially picked to attract birds and butterflies. Milkweed is a favorite of monarch butterflies, and there are now several huge patches of it in the meadows. Milkweed is a … read more Milking it
Passion for a flower
I’ll never forget the first time I saw one. I had just moved to North Georgia and was taking a walk when this wild-ass flower caught my eye. I thought it was plastic at first. It had frilly fringes, purple petals with pink and white stripes, and a big yellow cruciform jumping out of the middle like … read more Passion for a flower
The old sourwood
I heard the BOOM and went upstairs, but I didn’t hurry. I knew what it was. A tree that falls on a road or hard ground makes a particular kind of BOOM. Once you hear it, your memory hangs onto it. There was a sourwood at my house that was leaning over the road. It had a … read more The old sourwood
Sounds like a dragonfly
Clouds of small insects floated above our heads. They didn’t try to bite us. Tom and I were kayaking on the lake. We stopped, floated, and watched them. They were too small and fast to identify – they were smaller than mosquitoes, a little bigger than gnats: As we talked to each other about how beautiful … read more Sounds like a dragonfly
What hurts about beauty
I slept too late and moved too slowly. When I gathered my seven pieces of colored paper, the shapes would not play. They sat stiffly in their rectangles and triangles, and waited for the time to pass until the daily call from Pakistan came and I had to answer it. After a lot of commotion, I … read more What hurts about beauty
Tick, tick, tick
No matter how hot it gets, I wear long pants and a hat when I hike through the woods. Along with bug spray, this is my protection from ticks and chiggers. It’s not enough, though. Chiggers are the larvae of mites, and they hang out near the ground where it’s moist. They jump onto your clothes … read more Tick, tick, tick
The urban naturalist
Chi-i-i-i-rp! About a month ago, I was walking through Dunwoody at the perimeter of Atlanta, and over the din of cars and the MARTA train I heard a lone cricket. Chi-i-i-i-rp! In the middle of an April day, I really didn’t expect to hear a cricket within view of the gigantic King and Queen office buildings. I was passing a field, … read more The urban naturalist