Marla, Ryan and Blackie

 Week 2 of  "52 Ancestors"     2025

This week's subject is "Favorite Photo"

The photo I chose has been displayed on the shelf between the kitchen and dining area for a long time.  I think that when I ran across it one day when looking through old photos, I realized I really liked it and decided to put it in a small frame. 


 

Marla:  The photo must have been taken in the morning because Marla is in her pink bathrobe that was made long before by her Grandmother Ghere.  Marla loved that bathrobe so much, that Grandma Ghere added a ruffle out of the same fabric when it got way too short.  She also added on to the sleeves.  The bathrobe was such a favorite that I still have it hanging in my closet.

Ryan:  Ryan and Marla are standing close together, Marla is leaning her head on Ryan.  The photo shows their close relationship.

Blackie: For a time, Blackie was a pet.  On a Field Ecology camping field trip, a group of students went on a hike.  One of the students, Matt Tomlin, came back to camp with a young raven that he thought needed rescuing.  Dale brought the bird home with us and took care of him.  Of course he soon had a name.  At some point, Blackie was released so he could begin to find out that he was free to live like birds are meant to live.  Blackie would leave and go exploring, but he would come to get food and attention.  We know of times that he went to a construction site near us and tried to snag the workers' tools.  An even better story was when he went to someone's home and ended making friends with a young boy who was at home recuperating from a broken leg.  I need to find out from Dale how we found out about that.  I think Dale had a way of attaching our phone number on a leg tag and the boy's mother called said that Blackie had entertained her son during a time that he really needed it.

Blackie wasn't the only wild bird that lived at our house for awhile, but Blackie had the best story.







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