Chaotic harmony

Today is my daughter Michelle's birthday. She is now seriously & officially older & smarter than me and doing it beautifully! And I can't find the photo!!! Grrrrrrrrr. Happy Birthday, Michelle!!!

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Look who got interviewed! I'm a little late out of the gate with the news, but hey, it had to travel all the way up here. Way to go, Chris!

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Yesterday we went to Acadia, which feels like an area rather than a place, with a few towns and the Acadia National Park, an amazingly beautiful space with an unusual history of its establishment, much of which was done by private citizens donating land and easements to prevent development destroying the pristine beauty. Oh, that we'd see more of that on Culebra!

There was no goal but to see some of Maine's beauty. Along the way, we stopped at this place that looked really interesting...indeed. Phil wanted us to see the yurt-ish style building and it just sort of went from there. All around, outside, were carved images and things...which led us inside because it promised more things. The man in the yard that had greeted us, coming out from under the deco-era travel trailer's awning, started telling us about...I'm not sure what, specifically, but his words gathered like a slow moving wave and we were lucky enough to jump on for the ride.

We later found out that the couple had built this, with it first starting out 300' farther back in the woods until they realized if they didn't bring it forward it would be 'out of sight, out of mind.' I started to say...'You're...' and she finished with '...crazy, I know, we are crazy.' But in the best of ways!

Inside was a few large rooms, full of odds and ends from all over the world, travel treasures brought back to Maine, finding their place in a world far away, Peruvian cheek and jowl with Sumatran, goddesses next to Buddha, a medicine man's coat, a clam shell wrapped in an antler's embrace, dancing sticks lazily leaning against a back wall next to...I'm not sure what. But oh, the wonder!

Tom would  watch us looking, following our eyes and telling story, with only the occasional 'what's this?' prompting more detail. Almost everything  was touchable, pick-up-able, some things that should have been in museums locked away behind glass, we could fondle. A young boy had come in recently, with his mother. Her admirable admonitions to not touch were overruled and he and Tom ended up having a great conversation about stones. This stone in particular was one the boy was shown...an ordinary stone Tom found at his feet, but it was split open to reveal itself. I'm so glad he looked down that day.

We left reluctantly and we will be back again, hopefully to purchase something...I have my eye on a little, oh, it's a sort of button thing that goes on a bag thing...uh huh, I have the short term memory of a chicken. But it is wooden, barrel shaped and there is, I swear this is true, a coqui on the side and a sea turtle emerging from the top. It was too perfectly Culebra.

Thomas Aquarius and Gloria

We surfed out the door and into the yard, with a few more words and then we were on our way to more solid rock and earth and water. But the effect of Tom and Gloria's world will sway a long time in my breeze. Thanks, you two! Namaste!

Onward into Acadia.

A cool suspension bridge next to the old suspension bridge

Wild rose

Down at Thunder Hole

Thunder Hole

Unpaid park welcoming committee

Long view

Lobster place - outside steamers

And then toward home, with a stop off at a great Thai place along the way for dinner. After that, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.