june bog 053

june bog 053
Originally uploaded by woodsrun

I really like the effect of grass growing through a boardwalk. It reminds me of two things: our time on Cape Cod, and my mother's town beach.

When we were young we would leave our beloved, entertaining Adirondacks to drive to NJ to visit my mother's parents. They lived in a suburb, actually a very pretty place, but there was not much for us to do. Sometimes my grandfather would take my brother on field trips. My sister and I played with the coolest doll house, down in the basement. Mostly what I remember was that it was hot, humid, and boring. It was, however, the place I first heard what blue jays sound like. Maybe we didn't have blue jays in Ill., anyway I thought it was really cool.

One of the best things was watching television--they got all the NYC stations, and at home we were limited to the three networks. We'd sit in front of the set for hours, first fighting over who got to sit in the rocking chair that is now at my mother's (where there's still competition for who gets to sit in it). It's a nice, big, upholstered chair, very comfortable.

When we became teenagers we were REALLY bored in NJ and my grandmother wisely noticed this. She started renting a wonderful place on Cape Cod (Wellfleet). 9 acres of dunes, right on the water. A beautiful old house.

We loved the Cape--there were great beaches as well as beautiful freshwater ponds. We'd stop to swim in the ponds on our way home from the beach, rinsing off the salt from the ocean. I always wondered if those ponds got salty from so many people rinsing off in them. They were crystal clear, with white sand on the bottom. Although our lake is clear, there's silt on the bottom so it's brown. Seeing the white sand was way cool.

I also remember driving with my brother (I think he wanted to get away, having just gotten his driver's license) in my father's 1964 silver Buick, listening to the Doors. Even now the sound of Jim Morrison's voice transports me back to Rt. 6 on the Cape, cool air through open car windows, feeling lucky to be with my brother. Light my Fire, and Riders on the Storm. ahhh.