A Confluence in Time

Dear Isaac and Maia,

It is the 57th of Decembuary and we finally had a warm day! So, the pups and I started spring training for our 2020 hikes with a hike around Confluence Park in Delta. It is one of my favorite Decembuary hikes because it is flater, drier and warmer than a lot of other spots.

Maizzy, now 15, sports her hoodie on our hike at Confluence Lake.

The water foul are awesome this time of year, too. I love all their formations.

Birds in formation on the ice with Grand Mesa in the background.

The pups had a good time. Maizzy needs to ride in her pack most the time, but she still likes being outside in the sunshine. She will be sweet 16 in a couple of months.

Despite being partially paralyzed, Sazi runs through the grass to play in the dog park.

Sazi is doing well. She needs to get out and rebuild her strength since her last IVDD episode with being hit by a car in September. Spring will be good for her.

And, Kachina bounds with energy and keeps the rest of us going.

The confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison: The rivers start to thaw.

My mind drifts to my ancestors as I walk with my pups. My January adventure has been to figure out our paths to the ancients who happen to share our DNA. It is a trip in time, space and culture to find them. I found out my mom and dad are distant cousins! Both of their families were in Salem during the witch hunts. So, they are cousins to the same people from that era. Dad’s side were the accusers, and mom’s were the accusees. That is a story for another day.

One of those shared cousins is a midwife named Martha Ballard. She lived in Maine after the Revolutionary War and delivered babies for her town. PBS did a documentary movie on her actual diary called A Midwife’s Tale. Your mom was with me the first time I saw that at a nurse-midwifery conference. I always wondered how Martha was related. Now, I know. Her daughter, Lucy, is even closer because she married another of mom/dad’s cousins.

I think I told you last time that we had ancestors on the Mayflower. Three grandfathers and 6 cousins (including Miles Standish) were on that ship – maybe more. I can’t imagine what their lives must be like. I love the Native Americans with my whole soul and I don’t think everything the pilgrams did was perfect. But, they did their best to settle a brand new land. I wish I could go back and spend a day with them, to learn their fears and strengths.

Birds of a Feather with Grand Mesa in the background.

I am going to do a family history for you guys – most of our roots go to the Colonies. One of our first ancestors in America was Isaac Hart! One branch goes to Germany/Austria. And, we are members of an Irish clan!! In some ways our history is a story of white privilege – and I am perplexed by that piece. Everyone’s history is important and it isn’s fair to have ours be more important than anyone else’s. Still, it is cool to have been part of America’s birth.