A Little Down Time and Upcoming Conversations with Poets

Posted byKathleen Cassen MickelsonPosted inpoetry, travelTags:, , , ,

Happy belated Valentine’s Day to everyone, whether you have a partner or not. Everyone deserves a little love.

The week before last included a little down time for Mick and me while we visited my brother and sister-in-law in Florida. We saw amazing wildlife at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island and in Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, watched for manatees at Manatee Park, found horrifying left-over hurricane destruction in Fort Myers Beach, meandered through ArtFest Fort Myers, and toured the Edison Ford Winter Estates. We crammed a lot into four days, and I’m grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for carting us around, suggesting where to go, and letting us stay with them. It’s lovely to be cared for as a guest in someone else’s house, a very different experience than staying in a hotel. After spending several weeks recovering from post-holiday pneumonia, this was just the ticket.

Here are a few highlights:

Can you find the screech owl? We almost missed him, but a photographer who found him clued us in. This was at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the banyan trees at the Edison Ford Winter Estates.
This Sanibel Island heron was as mesmerized by the waves as I was.
Sleepy gulls and one sandpiper scurrying between them all.
An osprey soared overhead at Ding Darling.
Can you find the alligator? These animals really know how to blend in – at Six Mile Cypress.

And now I’m back in too-warm-for-real-winter Minnesota, planning ahead for the next conversation with a poet here at One Minnesota Crone. On March 1, I’ll feature Rose Mary Boehm. And I have a conversation with Luanne Castle planned for May 1. I’m also planning to travel to Italy with Mick and some friends, so there will be much to share with you in the months ahead.

Be well, everyone.

All photos by kcmickelson 2024.

Published by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson

Kathleen Cassen Mickelson is a Minnesota-based writer who has published work in journals in the US, UK, and Canada. She is the author of the poetry chapbook How We Learned to Shut Our Own Mouths (Gyroscope Press, 2021) and co-author of the poetry collection Prayer Gardening (Kelsay Books, 2023).

10 thoughts on “A Little Down Time and Upcoming Conversations with Poets”

  1. Lucky you! I’ve been to that area a few times – the Ding Darling refuge, the beaches nearby, the manatees, etc. What a treat for you in winter, I’m envious. Listening right now to Orion & Yale School of Forestry’s webinar with Ellen Bass. Have a good week!

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  2. Love the heron pic. And glad you are on the road to recovery. Next week is supposed to be warm with no snow. Things aren’t looking good for our snowpack. Of course, I can always go visit my brother, NY has plenty of snow to go around. 🙂

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  4. I stepped right out of snowy Minnesota into the beach scene. Beautiful image, Kathleen. It sounds like you had a wonderful time in Florida. I’m so sorry you had pneumonia. That sounds awful. Glad you’re back to better health so you can travel, write and enjoy life.

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  5. Interesting and engaging travelogue. Glad you enjoyed Florida. Looking forward to the conversations with the upcoming poets, both whom I admire.

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