In the morning I find Pip’s russet coat flecked with apple blossoms that have fallen from the pasture trees. The blossoms remind me of the leaf boats my sons used to float in the stream behind our former home. They spent hours there, following the boats downstream, until one calamity or another claimed the fragile crafts: A protruding stick or stone, a change in the stream’s topography and the small roil of water waiting at its bottom, the snags from a deadfall.
I think, too, of the ones that survived past the inherent deficit of a toddler’s attention. He retreats back upstream on those stumpy toddler legs, his mind already fixated on the launch of another leaf, while the one before floats toward an unknowable fate.
Ben Hewitt 
I used to love floating leaf boats. Heck, I probably still would. 🙂
It’s how that Rivers and Tides guy started out and when he grew up he made it into a crazy art form.
Good one. Ben. One for the attentive reader.
Thanks, Will.
In my mind, those are the best kind of readers to have.
🙂
Leaf boat launching and Pooh Sticks are some of our favorite games. It was during one episode of such play that I saw my busy, overly-productive father slow down and remember he was once a boy fascinated by such things, too.
I had greatly enjoyed all the latest pieces of your writing, Ben. We watched here yesterday in a small town children having their last day of school, little ones released a bunch of balloons to the skies, and 18 year olds released white doves, before they move on to the next stage. This post reminded me of those kids, and of myself, who attended this very same school decades ago, and now I walk passed the peeled off walls and wonder of all those feet and hearts that passed through here and moved on toward unknowable fates, to various lives, countries, perhaps to other worlds.
With heavy sadness, I found out today that Gene Logsdon passed away this beautiful end of May. I feel, that in your own beautifully unique way, your life, values and love, your writing, and a great sense of humor, you are taking the baton and running with it. (no pressure 🙂 ).
So sad to hear about Gene’s passing. What a great loss; the world is a dimmer place because of it.
I am even more grateful now to have finished his last book, Gene Everlasting, just last week (I commented about it here recently.) Have had many of his insights from that collection of essays playing around in my head since then and even more so now. Agree with Bee that Ben is his own unique version of a Contrary Farmer. Just one other way such inspirational people are truly everlasting.
I am very sorry to hear about Gene’s passing. A gem of a man.
Perhaps he had his baton, and I have mine. That’s the way I think of it, anyway.
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Bless the contrarians.. Those that bravely chose to swim against the current.
Well, i’ve not heard of Gene before but checked out his recent book and look forward to a read of it. Love all the things that you can find out here!