Go to the empty places

January is empty for reservoirs. They hold the void. There is no water, wake, or waves. Hardly anyone is there. You’d see them if they were; there’s nowhere to hide. I tromped around wondering about the emptiness. Which reminded me of the importance of being empty. My friend recommends going into a room empty. Especially… Continue reading Go to the empty places

What is mental health?

© Mary Ann Petersen. Howth, Ireland.

We went from headaches to mental health fairly quickly. I asked him what he did for his own mental health? His answer: “I don’t know what it is.” Fair enough. An honest answer! A few beats passed and he asked, what do YOU do for your mental health? Touché! I told him that for my… Continue reading What is mental health?

Time-traveling tortoise

  We can time travel, but nobody writes about it. It’s not what you think. When you put me down on the floor back in the winter, you said I didn’t move for days. It seemed like 5 minutes to me. Summer is my favorite time of year. I like to eat the Grandpa Ott… Continue reading Time-traveling tortoise

Flowers wave at the traffic going by

I practiced 20 different introductions as I walked toward the Flower Garden of Mystery. This is a large plot of sunflowers and nasturtiums on the corner of Hilyard and E. 25th. “Hi, my name is Mary Ann and I love your garden and I wondered if I could interview you for my blog, which has… Continue reading Flowers wave at the traffic going by

Stand-up paddle the urban Willamette

I pushed off at Sellwood Riverfront park. The plan? Paddle the board toward the city. I wouldn’t make it all the way, but the journey looked good. I parked on a street nearly under Sellwood bridge and headed toward what I thought was a boat launch. It seemed that it had been one a long… Continue reading Stand-up paddle the urban Willamette