Do Not Disturb

Suzi's sleeping now. Do not disturb her please

or you may trigger a response from those two boney knees.

She's rather like a spiny oyster or starfish if you get too close.

She's snoring ever so lightly and she's as warm as toast

but don't attempt to snuggle or borrow a little heat.

Her response will be robotic and may land you in the street.

She's on a heavenly vacation if her face is any indication.

for her wrinkles disappear at night. 

She seems to glow with soft angelic light.

So, I try to keep my certain distance

and be content within the lower realms

besides, I can't afford the bruising which disturbing her entails.

Emily's Cabin

Emily's cabin is out on Broadford

at the place where water flows beneath the road.

It's a charming little cabin made of giant logs.

Her house is magical

because her parents built it log by log just like a beavers lodge.

You might see her playing in the woods as you drive by

but remember she is living in a different world

than you and I, 

Way out on Broadford

like a cloud

Floating in the sky!

Flicker

When I hear tap, tap - tap, tap, tap, 

I know that pesky flickers back to make another hole.

I wouldn't mind if he'd stick to trees, 

but he's perforating my cabin eaves!

He'd like to live inside the hollows of my walls.

Who knew a woodpecker had such balls!

Going Into Ketchum

Going into Ketchum takes the best part of a day.

You've got to stop at Atkinson's and the old Stock Pot Cafe.

The lumber yard is calling and what about Chateau?

It's just another run for Coca Cola and supplies

and sometimes if we're lucky a celebrity is spied.

We politely ignore them to protect their privacy

but what we'd really like to do is invite them home for tea.

Oh well, They will never know just what they've missed

by not knowing you and me.

The van is loaded to the brim and we're headed

up the canyon once again.

We hope to see a bear or better yet a moose, 

but one thing's for sure

and that's the fact that some surprise 

is always seen along the way

any time we go into Ketchum for the day.

Grandchildren

Grandchildren are the most fun

Grandparents can ever have.

Their smiling faces are like the rising sun.

Their hugs and kisses are blessings direct from heaven

and even their most naughty acts

just add a bit of leaven.

That's because a grandparent knows they've seen this child before

and they are extremely glad to have the chance

to be with them once more.

Grandpa's Snoring

The walls are bulging out then sucking in

cause gramps is is doing it again.

Grandpa's snoring like a bear,

snorting out each breath of air.

He's sawing logs again! When will it end?

Granny has her earplugs in and doesn't hear a thing.

The world could end, she'd just sleep in,

with Gramps still seesawing.

For when he breaths it's like the tide of an eternal ocean.

How can he sleep? What can we do?

He's making a commotion!

It sounds like ripping canvas.

It's a neighborhood earthquake. 

Oh Grandpa, What's it going to take?

Stop snoring for heavens sake!

Snoopy

We had a wonderful dog when our children were growing up.

He was a super mutt. We met him as a pup.

He came in with a visitor and stayed for eighteen years.

He was tan with a splash of white and softly folding ears.

He was fearless, loyal and loving.

And when it came to bathroom chores 

we never knew where Snoop had been

as he went outside and hid his business like a sin.

He trained us very quickly to let him out and in

and on July the fourth at exactly 12 a.m. 1987,
the excitement of our family fireworks

brought him to an end.

SUZI

Susan is no ordinary Susan, nor is she a sue.

Suzi is a special sunny sort of name that only really fits a few.

If you're the kid of person that is filled with inner light,

the kind that never forgets a thing,

because you know what's right,

maybe you're a Suzi too!

If you can hike a mountain trail for days

and never loose your smile

or change a hundred thousand diapers

or watch your child's face being stitched

or lead a thousand tourss

or nurse a dozen pets.

Then you too are a Suzi, I would bet!

The Leader

"The leader doesn't have a leader, Grandma!"

That's what Rosie said

when she had asked to lead while we were hiking

and Grandma said "O.K."

but but arriving at the corner,

granny suddenly stepped ahead, anyway.

"Walk your talk Grandma", 

that's what Rosie really meant to say!

Vapor Rub

Great Gramps is in the Vapor Rub again

applying it like mustard plaster to his dying skin.

What's in that stuff

can singe the eyes at ninety feet away.

And has the stench of ammonium

and the half-life of plutonium.

It's curling up the carpets.

It's driving us outside.

It a smell that even skunks and stink bus can't abide.

What it does for grandpa,

we wouldn't speculate

but one thing's for sure

while wearing it he won't get through the pearly gate!

Magic

Magic is the core of my existence

for I recognize its presence in everything I do.

Surrounded by miracles every day

I feel that I have realized a few.

Believing is True Magic

That's the deepest secret that I know.

If you can believe a thing,

it definitely will be so.