Bambi Lives in My Backyard
I hear it's 100 degrees in the city. But I am in the Paradise Village of Orient, New York on the North Fork of Long Island. Here in this capsule community, like Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegon, the air is fragrant, birds rule the air waves and children ride their bikes one-handed down the middle of the street.
I've rented a charming cottage which is well appointed in tasteful decor. The walls are white and devoid of seaside-themed art. Lavender flowers frame the front steps. From the kitchen window I have a view of a woodland which is messy in a woodland way, in that trees have been allowed to split and fall where they may and thick vines intertwine the underbrush. There is a clearing where a fawn sometimes sleeps.
Outside my cottage I am wearing my Bon Bon bucket hat
and a bead necklace of my own design. Bon Bon is a Swedish
candy store in my Lower East Side, Manhattan neighborhood.
It is pretty and the candy is yum-yum.
On the Fourth of July a neighbor hung this flag
across the street from my cottage. My sister, Jeanne,
invited me for dinner. My niece, Sarah, and nephew, Jack,
were also there. We had two dogs in the house, Polly and Bird.
This is Sarah's dog, Polly. She gets very excited when I walk in the door, so we have to try and calm her down.
Photo by Sarah Wedge
I found this plaque on a tree by the Main Road.
The clam wreath around it was probably made by Joe from
Orient who worked for Burt's Reliable Oil in Southold
and who serviced our 50-year-old oil burner when we
owned a house in Greenport.
The name "Clamalot" was spelled out in clam shells on the side
of his mailbox at the end of his driveway on Young's Road.
Latham's Farm Stand is an Orient icon.
I peddled here on my trusty, vermillion Electra Townie with pink tire rims.
I ride on Narrow River Road every morning listening
to meditative bird song as I go.
A Bientôt!
