Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Weeds and Other Unexpected Blessings--1

Queen Anne's Lace flickr image by j godsey

I've just spent some time on Washington Island on Lake Michigan in Door County Wisconsin. 
No TV.  No Internet.  Days spent wandering, wading in the water, reading, playing cards, talking. 
Wild flowers--known as weeds elsewhere says my sister--particularly Queen Anne's Lace, are inter-
spersed with wooded areas, fields of planted crops, homesteads, and shops. 
The place I stayed  was a microcosm of the lifestyles that populate the island.  The property
includes a  meadow of wild flowers, cultivated flower beds that display thistles and goldenrod,
a neglected orchard that's feeding ground for morning deer, a fledging vineyard, and an abandoned
studio that I'm told once housed a loom.  Leaning against another building, a beautifully crafted
sign announces that here original textiles and art works were sold.
These mimic the activities and scenes that proliferate at island center.  At its periphery, of course,
the focus changes to all things big water--boating, fishing, ferrying to the mainland and to a
smaller nearby island that boasts sandy beaches.


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