Ode to Autumn in Michigan

Autumn finally hit Michigan. I love it. On Saturday, we went to a family halloween party and then came home early enough to catch a dose of sperm. I rode over to the BD's house for a generous portion of the live little swimmers(he is no longer new, so now we can refer to him as Bio-dad or baby's donor, but BD does him fine). If I have not mentioned it yet, I will now, the BD consistently ejaculates between 3 and 3.2 CCs. I am amazed at the quantity every time I pull it up in my sweet, orange syringe.

Now back to the love of Autumn...We arrived home from the family party. My kk and the BD exchanged texts regarding drop into jar, ready, set, send the injector on over via bicycle. Except this particular night marked the first super chilly ride over to the BD's, so I had to dress a bit warmer and wear gloves. It was edging down to high 30s.

I was speedy on the way over. I got there and realized that the little swimmers needed to be kept warm due to the glorious arrival of the real fall (chilly nights, cold mornings, warmer afternoons, chilly nights, and on it goes). So, in front of the BD I reached down and up my shirt simultaneously to try and maneuver the former tomato paste jar, transformed into sperm vessel, between my bosoms and up against my chest wall and sports bra. Injector, "Sorry but it is getting colder out." BD, "Yeah, you gotta keep em' warm, now."

Then we chatted about pumpkin guts scattered by terror squirrels, social gathering woes, and a particular horror movie.

I pedaled home with a burst of energy trying to keep my little critters warm in the crevice of motherly love.

KK was waiting, but I made her take pictures of me pulling the potential sugar patch elixir out of my shirt. I sucked them up in my trusty syringe and once again (i've lost count now) let the suckers fly.

I kept you warm when you were cold

To look in great befuddlement upon the liquid gold; warm and sticky

Upon injection the sugary, bleach scented liquid found a constant warmth to combat the chill of Autumn in the cavern of kk's female parts. So is my ode to fall in Michigan.

Bike Ypsi--Cycling and Community

Cyclists gather at Recreation Park Pavilion in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Over the last couple of months a small group of Ypsilanti residents have been meeting regarding bicycle awareness in our sweet city. We came together because the police had announced that they would start enforcing the "NO BICYCLING ON SIDEWALKS RULE" in our two downtown areas. Well, in this town a lot of motorists don't know what a bicycle is, so shout outs like, "get on the sidewalk" are normal.

Since the police announced their enforcement intentions, it seemed like a perfect time to come together to raise awareness about where bicycles are meant to be--the road! By the way, the toughen up on enforcement came about cause drug dealing folks have been engaging in "criminal" behaviors via bicycles.

Our first step in making Ypsi a more bicycle friendly place was to plan a fall ride in order to have a fantastic time in this fair city of ours and to get a solid list of people who are interested in cycling in and around Ypsi. The culmination of this planning took place on Sunday, October 21 at 2:10 in the afternoon.

And the people they listen hard and contemplate it all

10/21 @ 2:10--Bike Ypsi(the ypsilanti bicycling coalition) Bike Ypsi's website--this constitutes people who are interested in all things bicycle related in Ypsilanti--put on our first ride. About 62 people turned out which was more than double what we expected. I cannot begin to tell you how amazed and happy I was as more and more people, of all ages, pulled up to the pavilion on bicycles of all shapes, sizes, designs, and kinds.

We broke into 3 very large groups (probably too large--but next time--there is always a next time) and we rode 17 miles entirely in the City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.

Riding along a path by Ford Lake--yes there is a "Lake" in Ypsilanti

This was such a good example of community coming together. A small group of citizens pitching in their time, energy, creativity, and a bit of cash--no sponsors (not this time); simple, old fashion posting of fliers; word of mouth; use of email/myspace/and excellent local bloggers; and one brief article in the ann arbor news and we doubled our expected turn out. Of course, the weather was fucking amazing (super windy, but warm, sunny, blue skies at the end of October in MI). A little group came together and now we have fifty emails and more snail mail/phone contacts...

And we rode. And then we drank beer at the Corner Brewery, and socialized and thought about the next ride, and the next event, and the next time we could all come together as people enjoying one another's company.

At the Corner...

Okay, now I am teary eyed...this is the kind of place where i want to raise a wee sugarpatch into a kindhearted human.

Thanks, people of ypsi; you always come through...

For more reflections see:
Mark Maynard's Blog
Fine Bike Ypsi Organizer Georgina's Blog

Oh, the people...

Update on our attempts at making a sugarpatch

me with a jar of jiz--wet and sweaty from my ride to pick it up...








I've been a slacker in describing our most recent experiences in the world of procreation. Mostly, I think I've been lacking in words because the last injection phase was so excellent and I was not sure if I could do our experience justice here.

I will be brief, but give a simple play by play.

1. We got a new donor.
2. He is super great.
3. His lady is super great.
4. We like their family a super lot.
5. We signed some papers.
6. I performed the first pick up by bicycle. Riding through the mist to their house to claim the prize was invigorating and fun. I sucked up the first gift of jiz and shot it up into my baby. His smells different--but still bleachy and unusual with a hint of candy, sweetness.
7. The following evening we picked up another gift and shot it up into kk real quick on the couch. We covered her with blankets and crossed our fingers that our roommate would not arrive while I was under the covers injecting the swimmers up into her body.
8. We tried again the next morning. The NBD (new baby donor) arrived on our front porch with a gift of jiz early. How sweet. Again, I shot kk up on the couch so I could talk to her while I made coffee and toast.
9. We went up north for the fall get away and hoped that the swimmers might take.
10. On Sunday morning, while still up north kk had her SURGE of HORMONES. We trucked on home. NBD gave us a hand off that evening. I shot kk up again.
11. Monday morning our very kind NBD dropped another wad of jiz to us. And once again we did a couch injection.
12. Kk's temperature went up on Tuesday morning which means her egg fell right into some swimmers.
13. We had our fingers crossed for days.
14. I started my period before kk; this does not usually happen, so we thought hmm....(I also got this really cool tampon pouch. It is called Vinnie's Tamp Case--it is cute and makes me laugh.)
15. Alas, while in Nashville, before we came home to find our treasured pumpkins ripped off, kk started her period.
16. Swimmers failed to take this time around.
17. Looking forward to this next round of tries.
18. NBD thank-you for your steady stream of fluids:)

Pumpkin Thieves Beware

pumpkin thieves beware of the clown killer (this photo was taken the day of our pumpkin hauling adventure)

Monday night kk and I arrived home from nashville (I had to go for work). When we pulled up in the driveway, the porch seemed strange. And then I realized that our pumpkins were missing. They had been snatched right off our porch. I reacted badly--well I over reacted to their missingness. I yelled out loud to all of our neighbors, "if any of you stole my pumpkins you are a fucker."

The thief/thieves stole 3 large pumpkins and a very special banana squash that I brought back from up north. I planned on eating off that banana squash for days.

So, some people, and it had to be at least two folks cause our pumpkins were big, took it upon themselves to steal our pumpkins. I cannot express how peeved this made me (and continues to make me as I re-hash the story). K, T, R and I all went to the farm together on a hot october sunday. We hiked into the fields and stacked a little cart full up of pumpkins. Then we hauled that load back out. R did a lot of work pushing the load along and then I took over. I was dripping with sweat when we got back to the main entrance.


Choosing the best ones

All of this picking and hauling and sweating while spending time with good friends in a field makes me very connected to these pumpkins. I would have preferred for the culprits to take my television set.

Alas, we cannot choose what gets taken from us.

But Pumpkin Thieves Beware...

this godlike mystery

a view from the top of all seasons resort

I realize I’ve been kind of missing in action. Life is too busy, but all in all it is marvelous. Even though I bitch and moan almost every single day about the shit of injustice, inequality, and destruction that I see falling all around, I cannot dismiss the fact that I am able to see the billowing, steel gray clouds of a Michigan Autumn and breathe in the chill air as I sail over the roads on my bicycle.

I am blessed. Amidst the pain and suffering I see all around me, I can still catch ever-cascading glimmers of joy and mystery. Two weekends ago we traveled up north in Michigan to kk’s cabins. Her family owns a “resort” on Paradise Lake in Carp Lake, MI. Her dad and mom bought the place over twenty years ago, and now we are fortunate enough to travel up there every fall for a getaway with many of our dear friends. We also go up for a one-week vacation every summer.

My heart moves to a steady stillness when I am able to sit in the cleaner air of northern Michigan. We are surrounded by such beauty and quiet in the ever-changing landscape of the north. By ever-changing, I mean that we move from thick, forested areas to sandy coasts within minutes. I can hike through forested dunes and end up on the edge of Lake Michigan; I can cycle over paved hills and look out on apple orchards, corn fields, sheep farms, bee hives, wooded plots and still beyond the horizon see the Straits (the place where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet).


a far-away view of the straits--at the top of a hill on bicycle ride

During this year’s Fall Getaway hike, we took a 3-mile trek over a Harbor Springs’ Chapter portion of the enormous North Country trail. We entails a group of 6 friends, k and me, and Pookah—the whippet—and Turner—the standard poodle.



a walk in the woods

The hike was full of fungi. Mushrooms of all varieties busted up out of the loamy earth. Some seemed as if they had just erupted, right before the humans and dogs bounced by; gray sand-dirt was practically trickling of the smooth, strangely colored surfaces—the mushrooms in motion.


mushroom on the rise

It is this privilege of seeing the mysterious unfurling before me that makes me yearn to create life more than ever. What a joy I anticipate in the sharing of all things mysterious with a wee mystery—a child. To be up north in the company of michigan’s lakes and dunes and forests and animals, is to be in the company of that which is bigger than human understanding.

The pieces of something godlike re-surfacing in my heart are deeply connected to the joy I find when sitting, walking, biking, hiking, or swimming through the bounteous land and water that I am fortunate to call home. If there is a god, it roams somewhere within all of this beauty.

www.free-burma.org