When I moved to Oregon, a good part of the first half of my life in California came along in boxes. I’m sorting those as well as some of my mother’s things. Some decisions are easy and others quite difficult. What to save, what to toss,  and what to put in a smaller box and think about later.

Yesterday I came across a diary that I kept for about six months in 1952.  I was 13, going on 14. We lived at Castle Crags State Park (house in above photo) for 10 years, half a mile from the nearest little village of Castella, where we went to elementary school, and six miles from Dunsmuir, where we went to high school. During the school year we had friends at school but most of the time during the summer we had only each other. Living with three brothers I played trucks, cowboys and Indians, rode bikes, climbed trees, played baseball and football,  fished and hiked. Money was scarce and it was particularly hard for me to find any kind of work going into my teens. Somehow I got started selling fishing worms to park visitors (probably not a legal activity within a park). I took one quart milk cartons, cut them into a box with a lid, covered the box with green shelf paper (stapled on), and put a stamp on that said “Susy’s SpiritedWorms” — my dad’s idea I think.

Back to the diary, because it does relate to this: June 5th, 1952. We had an 8th grade dinner last night at Flume Creek Inn- roast turkey,  gravey, salad, milk and ice ceam were provided. I wore my suit and graduation shoes. It is the first time I have worn stockings and I felt funny (of course in those days one wore a garter belt–if you don’t know what one is look it up.).  I had lots of fun. Mary  (we called our parents by their first names) sold a box of worms for me today.

I’ll keep the diary.

Yesterday I took two of my grandchildren to the Cascades Raptor Center here in south Eugene hills. This nonprofit rehabilitates injured birds and houses some that are too severely injured to be able to survive in the wild. The large, screened cages are nestled beneath the branches of native forest–it’s as close to being out in the woods as any confined birds can experience elsewhere I think. We saw Steller’s Jays, juncoes and chickadees in the nearby trees. I hadn’t been there for a while and was surprised to see several new, large cages, most built by volunteers. They have four bald eagles this time and even an osprey. Other birds include several species of hawks and owls. A magpie shares a cage with a raven. I was pleased to see that the turkey vulture with the shoe fetish is still there. He bonded too closely to people when young and used to fly down and pull on shoelaces, particularly of shoes worn by women. Of course he has a shoe to play with in his cage! The Raptor Center relies on a few paid employees and many hours of volunteer help as well as donations and grants. They also go out into the community with a few of the birds for events  and participate with schools.

Thanks to Budman’s Bookmine and the Highland Arts Center in Weaverville, California and to Tsunami Books and Black Sun Books in Eugene, Oregon for carrying Being!

More Wetlands

Eugene has done a good job of providing wetlands within or next to the urban areas. Last week two grandsons and I were exploring a pond area. It was the middle of the day so I didn’t expect we would see anything unusual. Best sightings of birds and other “critters” are in early morning or early evening. We were on our way back to the car when we noticed a small brown animal with sleek, wet fur paddling toward shore. We tried to guess what it was–muskrat?, nutria?, baby beaver? when suddenly a larger version, an adult, appeared and came to shore a few feet beyond the young one. It immediately charged into the grasses and shrubs and we were astonished to hear a loud squawking and see a Great Blue Heron, wings flapping, backing up rapidly to get away from the protective mother nutria! Just never know what you might see when you get out of a car and walk about.

In a recent visit to the West Eugene Wetlands my eldest grandson discovered a very strange looking bug and borrowed my camera to take a photo of it. No one locally that I spoke to knew what it was so I emailed an entomologist at Oregon State. He replied promptly and told me it was called a Toad Bug, family Gelastocoridae, and that they “live along margins of aquatic habitats”. I like the way Nick took the photo so that it shows the bulging toad or frog-like eyes.

Thanks to Jane Belden and the Trinity Journal for reviewing “Being”!

“Susanne Twight Alexander has written a poetry chap book called “Being.” Alexander, a former resident and a former Trinity County supervisor, now lives in Eugene, Ore., with her husband. Over the years she has spent many hours hiking in the Trinity Alps by herself. She was never afraid to take off hiking and camping alone. Many of the poems in the book come straight from inspiration gleaned from those moments communing with nature. This compact 40-page book is full of wonderful glimpses into the life of a woman who obviously loves and sees the wonder in the smallest actions.”

Read entire review

Northwestern author, Susanne Twight-Alexander, has just released her new book of poetry, Being.

The poems are born from her experience of growing up in California state parks and her deep relationship with her natural surroundings is apparent in her writings.

In what the Tribune News calls “heartfelt poetry”, Being encapsulates visions of the Northwest and specifically Trinity County, CA where Susanne spent 25 years traversing the rugged natural landscapes of the rural Northern California county and its pristine Trinity Alps Wilderness Area.

Being is illustrated by artist Bella Peralta and published by Groundwaters Publishing, LLC.