We Remember

A quiet, relective Sunday in Ashton at The Rankin.  Our flag at half-mast to remember and honor those who were killed by the violence of the 9/11/01 attacks.  The war on terror continues.  Our son has completed 2 tours to Iraq.  We are proud he is serving his country.  He was a junior in high school when the attack occured.  That moment defined his future.

A memoir my family members published is titled “We Remember”  The stories are those of homesteading, the depression, WWI and WWII.  Cousins Beth and Lois each owned a single dress.  They planned dates carefully so as to have a different dress available for a date.  And woe to the person who spilled anything on the garment!  Cousin Winn flew over what remained of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped.  He was overwhelmed with the destruction and evil that thing had unleashed.  His life would never be the same.

I worked steadily all afternoon in my pansy garden bed.  It is a small area around an old cottonwood stump, shady and protected.  A huge bumble bee was suddenly crawling on the stump in front of me.  As it flew off, I saw a bird taking a bath in the water fountain 4 feet away from me.  The bird splashed furiously and sent beads of water into the air and sunshine.

I worked several more hours into the afternoon and another bee!  Could it be the same one?  I had my camera this time.  He circled in the air several times again before leaving.  The beauty of everything surrounding me was overwhelming.  He had come back to make sure I was appreciating it all.

We welcomed guests later in the evening.  Travelers from Germany were eager to see Yellowstone and wanted to know all of the good places to see.  They especially appreciated the mileage / estimated travel time map we had.  It’s an easy guide to help you navigate the park.  Of course if you come across a buffalo standing in the road, you aren’t going anywhere!  And we always point out the Mesa Falls scenic drive- Robert shows them the road on the map to take, and I show them the picture of the falls we keep on the end table.   All of our other reservations made it safely.

We dedicate this post to our dog Rocky.  We remember.