The real "tree huggers".

barred owl

This has been the summer of our discontent. Blame whatever you like - milder winter in Michigan (global warming in action), losing our golden (good protector) or leaving the house unattended for months, but the consequences are dire - we are held hostage by the animals! Living on the river, in the woodsy part of town, we are surrounded by nature in the raw - from the occasional black bear, to coyote, to herd of deer (helping themselves to our meager gardens as if it was a salad buffet), to beaver, to woodchuck, to rabbit and finally, to the nation of chipmunks. We long ago gave up our fight for the property, knowing well that it is a losing battle. The nature was here long before we came and will survive long after we leave...
But, this year we did get a little help with the chipmunk population control - a pair of barred owls made a nest in our front yard. Lo and behold, you can walk our driveway without Chip 'n Dale running over your feet. Thanks Hooters!

Sometimes, you can go home again...

molo in Sopot

I spoke with my mother the other day. After decades of living and working in the States, she retired to her beloved Poland and makes her home in Sopot, the resort town on the Baltic Sea and my birthplace.
Everytime we connect, I notice the vast changes in her and I can't attribute them all to her retired state or (graceful) aging. It is that European culture effect - she appreciates life to the fullest and does not feel guilty indulging herself in the least. Her days are spent visiting friends, eating out in elegant restaurants, seeing plays and operas, frequenting health spas and traveling 1st class around Europe. There is no pressure to "give back", "do good",volunteer, help out her children and grandchildren - all the staples of the American work culture whereas unless we fill our time with what is deemed as useful - we feel worthless.
Last time I telephoned her, she just got back from her evening constitutional - a leisurely walk on the molo, the famed boardwalk jetting out to the Baltic Sea. Part fashion runway, part lovers lane, molo has witnesses many events in our lives - births, first communions, engagements and anniversaries. With all the changes Poland went through in the last 3 decades (the fall of communism, embracing democracy and the free market economy, joining NATO, becoming a member of the EU) it is good to know that my mom can still walk the same planks on which she pushed my baby carriage so many moons ago...

Paris on my mind...

our balcony in Paris

I've been dreaming about Paris lately.

I guess it was la Tour de France that stirred-up all the memories of that summer of 2002. Justine was visiting us for a couple of weeks, and every afternoon, after our morning sightseeing, we would rush back to our apartment in the 7th and watch Lance perform his magic. I can vividly remember all the details - the warm July breeze from the balcony bringing along the strange, but not unpleasant, mélange of fresh baked baguette and spicy Vietnamese chicken from the establishments below, the light buzz from the drink de rigueur - un kir, and the joyful exuberance of the 3 Americans in Paris who were fully cognizant of how good life is...