the kids

these two are not the kids,

they are friends

(this irresistible photo appeared on facebook)

jeff and isis.

(last year when she was 89)

these folks are my neighborhood,

sadly neglected by me of late.

so is this my neighborhood,

time to make hay

if the weather holds.

(it's not) 

 and this mysterious new addition,

plunked neatly into a field.

i can only imagine...

 the newest neighborhood

down the road 15 miles or so,

my new place 
on an old farmstead

 had one foundation now buried

and bits of stone wall.

 (lots of deer flies)

 jean has written about love of tools--
 i find deep pleasure in making tools--

this is the big stump loom

with a whitetail deer

bone folder

doing double duty as a weaving stick

 weaver's sword
holding the shed
a placekeeper.

 just for fun

and utility.

weaving shifu pages

continues

as i wind down my final teaching year.

/one more class day/

/three days of exams for one student/

/a few more days after that/

/to put my room to rest/

this class is all done.
my class will disappear and not be replaced.
i find this to be surprisingly sad
for my students
who must find other placements.
i have had two retirement celebrations,
one with a pretty cake,
one with a cheesy certificate. 
i'm ready
and i will miss you know who you are,
i won't miss
what is happening now in public education.

nunny bag and addendum

nunny bag, n.

[‘ A knapsack of sealskin, burlap, or canvas, used to carry supplies when hunting, sealing, etc.’]

my nunny bag 

contents:

attention

milkweed

knife

felcos

red osier dogwood

ochre dirt

leather gloves

quiet

dogbane

bandana

little bags

stories

alder cones

deer leg bone

sumac

always sumac.

sometimes less stuff

always attention.

~~~

addendum:

 sporting one of her own hats

my children are always amazing me.
hannah the archivist is teaching two knitting classes,
one at her library,
running and training for races
and going to ireland soon.
on her agenda:
the book of kells, and sheep.
ian has embarked on a new job
as a farmhand at an alpaca and blueberry operation.

there's a little girl named bernadette that fascinates him

back to barn boots!
~~~
addendum 2

nunny-bag n also ninny bag, nonny ~ [phonetics unavailable]. DC ~ Nfld (1842-1961); O Sup2 Nfld; cp NUNCH. A sealskin, burlap or canvas knapsack used to carry food and personal equipment esp when hunting, sealing or travelling long distances on foot; a hunting bag.     [1822] 1866 WILSON 341 Each man had a nunny-bag, which is a kind of knapsack, made of seal-skin, with the two fore-fippers passing over the shoulders, and tied across the breast with a piece of cod-line. In our nunny-bag, we carried dry stockings, a change of linen, with any papers we might require ... also ... two days' provisions; and, as lucifer matches were not then known, we carried the old-fashioned tinder-box, with flint and steel, also an extinguished firebrand, so as to facilitate the kindling of a fire if necessary. 1842 JUKES ii, 146 We hung up in the tilt a 'nunny bag' full of bread... This is a bag made of seal-skin converted into a knapsack: what the origin of the word 'nunny' is I cannot tell, but it is in universal use in the country. 1886 Colonist Christmas No 8 Our guides profiting by the delay, open their 'nunny-bags,' (to use a local term) large seal-skin pouches, from which they draw forth a very good lunch. 1896 J A Folklore ix, 24 ~ originally meaning a lunch-bag, but now used in the general sense of a bag to carry all the articles deemed necessary in travelling. 1919 GRENFELL1 204 Our sealers carry dry oatmeal and sugar in their 'normy bags,' which, mixed with snow, assuage their thirst and hunger as well. 1925 Dial Notes v, 337 Nonny bag. A small knapsack to carry out on the ice; ditty bag. 1937 DEVINE 35 ~ A small skin or canvas bag for holding provisions on a journey. T 84-64 Five mile from land now, an' still no breakfast. An' no nunny bag. never had no grub aboard o' boat. C 71-103 A nunny bag could be like a knapsack or it could be a drawstring bag. It had only one strap which went over the two shoulders and behind the neck. 1975 LEYTON 21 I got in the copse, in the thick woods right around the road, and I hauled the nonny bag off me back. 1976 CASHIN 86 We carried certain emergency food with us. This generally consisted of oatmeal, sugar and raisins all mixed together and carried in what is called a 'ninny bag' attached to your belt.