• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bainbridge Island
  • Books & Writing
  • Crafts & DIY
  • Food
  • Life
  • Our Wedding Cookbook
  • Printables
  • Nav Widget Area

A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

August 30, 2011

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

We’ve been watching the progress of four monarch caterpillars in our little garden. They’re enjoying the milkweed that Tim transplanted there earlier in the summer when we were planting pumpkins and squash. They’re in the very hungry caterpillar stage right now, but we’re hoping to watch them transform into pupas at any moment.

When we visited the zoo this week, we were reminded that monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles every year, fluttering all the way from the upper midwest to Mexico. I complain when I have to make the eight-mile drive into town. Maybe I would feel differently about the trek if I could fly. It’s all a state of mind, I suppose.

My family’s delight in the caterpillars reminded me of this poem by Mary Oliver. Do you know it?

The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Books, Gardening, Inspiration, Kid Activities Shannon 1 Comment

Reader Interactions

My New Favorite Salad
Made by Joel: Paper City Paris

Comments

  1. Zee says

    August 30, 2011 at 7:23 pm

    Hi Shannon, how are you? Thanks so much for visiting my blog! Last year my veggie garden was full of little caterpillars and instead of using pesticides and killing them, me and the kids picked them all from the red cabbage leaves (they eat fast as you said) and we put them in a plastic bowl with food and water. Soon they became pupa and the kdis loved to release the yellow butterflies when they were ready to go! So nice! Kids love to watch this process! Me too! 😀

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hello! My name is Shannon Taylor. I'm a long-time writer and editor from Minnesota surprised to find myself on an island in the Pacific Northwest. I'm sharing this adventure with my husband, four kids, and two dogs. I “published” my first newsletter when I was nine, and I’ve loved sharing ideas, stories, and information ever since. I hope you find something here to inspire you and help you create a comfortable, cozy life.
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Instagram

Will’s rowing coach sends daily updates that sta Will’s rowing coach sends daily updates that start with quotes like “The most dazzling human achievements are, in fact, the aggregate of countless individual elements, each of which is, in a sense, ordinary” (Angela Duckworth, author of GRIT). I’m not sure if all the rowing parents are getting these or if it’s just me because Coach Bruce despaired of Will checking his messages, but I appreciate the encouragement and inspiration! There’s something special about people who love something so much they’re compelled to share it, even when they could be resting on their (literal Olympic) laurels, and Bruce Beall is definitely one of those people. Good coaches and teachers are truly a blessing and a gift. (Yes, the reality of this being Will’s last season is hitting me.) @bainbridge.island.rowing
.
.
.
#bainbridgeislandrowing #rowing #rowinglife #bainbridgeislandlife

Featured Posts

  • Personalized Valentine Portraits
  • Short Fiction: Claire (A Valentine Story)
  • Valentine Fill-in-the-Blanks
  • 3-D Lollipop Valentines
  • Hanging Hearts-on-a-String Valentine
  • Caped Cute-saders Valentines
  • How to Host a Chinese New Year Party
  • Make: Double Happiness Symbol for Chinese New Year
  • Chinese New Year / Fortune Cookies
  • Chinese New Year Cookies

Fiction

Fiction

Comforting as a big mug of cocoa in front of a warm fire, this cozy family novel is about the connections we make and the traditions that keep us together.

Archives

© 2021 Happy Crow Enterprises, LLC
About    Privacy Policy    Copyright
Pretty Happy WordPress Theme · By: Pretty Darn Cute Design