Big Blue...

Today my boys entered kindergarten. When I woke them up they clapped their hands and yelled hurrah! We walk down the driveway under dark skies and light rain with thunder booming to the south and east. They held hands and sang songs together.

I waved as the bus rolled away and then jogged to the south- right into the storm. I expected to feel sad at this passing milestone- but instead I felt a sense of wonder. Maybe even a little bit of freedom (bad mom!).

There was a controlled burn of the prairie preserve last spring. This fall it is full of Big Bluestem and looks entirely different- darker- some of the grass taller than me. An egret flew overhead, the wind was gusting (up to 60 mph it said on the radio), the grass swayed in waves across the preserve-- a novelty. Oh how we humans love novelty.

So I experimented with the a short video clip.

As I walked through the prairie, down to the wetland edge and across to our farmland I found this deep muddy track through the grass. At the end of the muddy track was a large downed tree. A beaver. This is the same spot where an otter popped up and just stared at me over the grass.

All my kids in school- growing up. Burning the prairie- new grass comes up. Expecting grief- finding wonder. That's a good day.