Running

Sunday I run my fourth marathon in Montreal. I'll be glad when it's over. I'm not nearly as psyched as I was for the other marathons. I guess I've learned that two marathons in a span of 5 months is a recipe for burn out. But I'm starting to look forward to the day. Montreal was my first marathon, 2 years ago. That year, Wayne drove me to a direct-line subway station and I made my way, alone, to the starting line. This year Neil's going to come with me to the start because it's a real exciting time, on the Jacques-Cartier bridge, and I want a friend to share it with. Now that I'm done with the big training, I've been running out on the trails a little bit, and that has made me inordinately happy. Once I recover from Sunday's race, I plan to do a lot more trail running, at least until hunting season. While I was running the trails yesterday, I wrote a poem in my head about it.


Finding it Here
Running these trails is the sweetest of selfish solitudes;
there is no benefit to the world in my pulse
no selfless fruit of this labor in my breath
now there is only indulgence
come-as-you-are joy
leaping, climbing, hopping and falling forward
adjusting pace and stride
the delightful ups and downs and twists and turns
of a controlled amusement park ride
muscles and heart and sweat
pounding on dirt, on earth
raspberry bushes, pine trees, poplars and maples, rivers and small streams
moose, bear and owl watch in the silence in the shadows
the silence is the prayer
the precious oneness with the world and everything in it
the quiet companionship of my dog who asks for nothing.

The House in Cabot

We went to check out the progress of Dahe and Brook's house today. Holy crap, that boy has been working hard! Sorry, I forgot to take any pictures of the inside. But they're living in it and Dahe has basically built the entire thing all by himself. Jake came and helped him frame for three days, but other than that, Netdahe's done it all. The interior walls are framed so there is now a bedroom, a bathroom, some storage space for his solar batteries and an open area with the woodstove that will eventually also include another bedroom. Next year he'll build the second floor which will be a big open space with a low-ceilinged loft bedroom with a very small half-bathroom. It's impressive and what kills me is not only has he worked his ass off, but he's clearly happy and really enjoying himself with the work. Anything he didn't know how to do he researched in books written before 1975 or by calling friends and acquaintances to ask questions and advice. No internet research for this kid. They're off the grid and will soon be in need of a gas refrigerator and snow blower if anyone has any leads.

Here's a picture of the house as you come up the driveway.













I'm looking forward to being a guest in the shack Netdahe's been living in for the last year or two (even in the winter), which will soon serve as a guest room. It's an awfully sweet little shack. I just love it. It's warm and cozy and there are lots of things to look at. I imagine that if you didn't know Dahe at all and walked into the place, you would quickly have a pretty accurate and oddly thorough sense of who he is. We were sitting in there today talking and I just had to take this picture of my redneck, hickster, dear cousin who I so admire.

















On an unrelated note, last night the kids and I were entertained as Neil caught moths and fed them to the spiders on our front porch. They were beautiful to watch, but didn't photograph as well as I hoped. Here's one:

Champ's Birthday and Keeping it Really, Really, Real.

My mom wrote a beautiful comment on Tuesday's posting about her dad and his birthday and remembering him.  I love my mom.  "Love" is a pretty insufficient word to describe how I feel about my mom, but it'll have to suffice, at least for now.  I love her SO much. Ah, that feels more like it.

As you can see, I have two beautiful, wonderful and smart children who I love desperately, of course.  But sometimes they're little shits.  Villains.  I came home from a hard, busy, exhausting day, and all they've done is treat me with disrespect and rudeness.  I've had it with them. Thank god they've gone outside and left me alone for a few minutes.  I could go on, but eventually they'll probably read this and I'll feel horrible for having said things based on frustration, exhaustion and a bad mood.  But I think every parent feels this way sometimes.  I bet Champ did.  Wow, Gram probably even felt this way. There's comfort in knowing that.  

Anyway, I can't really complain.  Neil's always nice to me, even when the kids are jerks and I'm grumpy.  Plus, he cleans the house.  And he says things like this to our kids: "pull your head out of your ass."   I really like that.

Love

This is from Old Home Weekend. What I love is not just Kali performing his originals, but all of his extended family enjoying and admiring him. And when Faith looks at me with the camera and says her line, well that tickles me about as much as anything I can dream of. Sorry it's so dark.

The last bit, "Pretend", is one is one of my favorite Kali songs, but I chose this clip to post because I love when, towards the end, we see Kayla's face in rapt joy. She's so beautiful and so proud of our cousin! Benjie, your smile's not too shabby, either.

Keeping it Real in the Kingdom

This has been THE most beautiful weekend in the history of the world. I'm not exaggerating. 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, breezy, green with hints of oranges and reds on the trees...it's incredible. Because it's also a holiday weekend, there are about forty million mountain bikers here in East Burke. We live on the Kingdom Trails, a veritable Mecca for mt. bikers, and this weekend is their Sturgis. I think a majority of the bikers who come here from "away" are French Canadian and an even larger majority (that is, nearly everyone) are decked out in serious gear and they do some intense single track, technical riding. Nichole and I like to ride on the trails, too, though for various reasons, we haven't done it much this summer. But this morning Nichole and Harper and I had a terrific ride. We're not like those other folks who swarm here by the thousands in their matching jerseys with their too-cool-for-school attitudes. We stick to the easiest trails we can find (the single tracks are for running), we put our feet down a whole lot and even walk our bikes when it gets too hairy. We're real proud of ourselves when we make it through the tiniest of mud puddles or over a particularly gnarly group of roots and rocks without dismounting. And we just like being together and in the woods and riding bikes.

So that was the morning and then after lunch Patrick and Rosie and I went for a long, long walk on some other trails, down to part of the river, which we waded in for some time (and might be the most beautiful spot in the world--Peter and Maria, this is where the three of us walked to on that longer-than-planned walk in July; remember?) and then proceeded to get lost which was a great opportunity for teaching Patrick about the joys of taking your time, rambling aimlessly, etc.  It was a stroke of luck that I happened to bring my cell phone with me so when we found the road, several miles from home, I was able to call Neil for a ride!

Finally, because it's such a great day, we've been listening to G. Love, which reminds me that ever since Neil and I saw G.Love and Special Sauce in concert last month, we've been really digging their groovy vibes.  Here's an example.  

Now the kids and I are going to head out to see Kayla and Jordan's new dorm rooms and then come home to cook tuna on the grill.

P.S. Carolyn and Henekis, your photo documentation of your bike ride earlier this summer inspired me to have Neil take the above picture!

Happy Birthday to Harper

Today is my baby girl's 12th birthday.  Isn't that incredible?  So far, she's turned out pretty great and I really like her.  She's fun.  Here's a little story about Harper:  When she was 4 years old we were visiting Jen and Benjie and Baxter (I don't think Samantha was born yet) and Harper woke up super early and was loud in a house full of sleeping people and made me really angry.  So Neil and I yelled at her for a bit and then our family went out to breakfast at the Putney Diner so the Cragins could sleep in a quiet house.  Patrick was a little baby and while we were waiting for our breakfast, he did something cute and funny (I can't remember what).  Harper, with puffy eyes from crying due to our traumatic morning, got a big, huge grin and said, "He's kind of fun to have around."  Anyway, now I have to wake her up on school days, so times have changed, but she and her brother are mostly pretty fun to have around.  

Speaking of birthdays, I can't get over how many people I love were born in August. Here's a list:

August 2--Gram and Riley

August 9--Tommy

August 12--Jen Cragin

August 20--Jeremy, Jocelyn and Shea

August 22--Jonah

August 25--Danielle

August 30--Harper

August 31--Fritz

And Misty and Myles (Pat's best friend) on September 1st, so that's almost August, too. Actually, September is a pretty good runner up to August because after Misty and Myles we have Raetha, Maria and Peter.  Wow!

Single Track

This morning I ran my favorite route on the trails. My friend Nichole plotted this particular route many years ago now, and it's the perfect run. Today, as always, it made me really, really happy. It made Rosie really, really happy, too. Now that I'm almost done marathon training, I plan to do a lot more trail running. Trail running is really different from road running and takes a lot more concentration, balance and agility, especially on the single track trails, which I prefer. Here's a poem I wrote some time last year about the very route I ran today.

Single Track
for Rosie and Sasha

We head out on a weekend morning
you more eager than I, but not for long.

Our favorite route
six or seven miles

linking up the trails
we take Loop
to Coronary
to Fence Line
Pastore's Point
Coronary again--
the hill the bikers say
makes mice out of men.

Out on the trails
we hear only
birds
my heavy breath
the babbling brook
the occasional scolding chipmunk
and whooping mountain biker.

Mind perfectly engaged
with the up
and down and
switching back
of the single track
knees lifted high
over slippery mud
and tripping roots.

The scents change
depending on elevation
sun and heat
moisture
ferns
pine
earth
sweetness like hemp
but you smell even more
on the scent of something
mole? rabbit? moose?

You wait for me in each mud puddle
cooling
resting until I pass
then you catch up
wait until you are by my side
to shake
water and mud.

More than halfway
that glorious spot
the cliff
overlooking
the east branch of the Passumpsic
we pause here and
look down
hoping to see bear or moose
come to drink
not this time.

Our last leg
we run through the field
behind big red barns
you chase butterflies
clean yourself in the tall wet grass
then back on the road
and down the hill
to home.

My final prayer
gratefully covered in sweat and mud:
to always have legs that work
and a good dog to run with.