The Berry Pickers

 

Yesterday I finished The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. I read it on Libby. This is a debut novel for this author. I read a rather lengthy review in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette which is why I searched it out on Libby. 

After a prologue, the story starts out in 1962 with a Mi'kmaq Indian family of seven from Nova Scotia picking berries in Maine. They have been doing this regularly during the summers. Ruthie, the 4-year-old, disappears one day. The other pickers help to search the nearby woods and near the lakeshore. The property owner makes it clear that they need to return to work. The local police have no interest in the case since these are just transients in the area and not even U.S. citizens. The girl's family continues the search when they can, but she is not found, not even a body is found. They return to Nova Scotia with one less child and haunting guilt that they did not protect her. 

The narrative is done in alternating chapters by Joe, Ruthie's brother who was 6 years old when she disappeared and the last person to have seen her, and by Norma. It is pretty obvious that Norma must be the abducted Ruthie. I had a little trouble buying into the premise that a 4-year-old would not be insistent on being taken to her mother and family. However, Ruthie is presented as a quiet passive child. Her "new" mother isolates her. Norma is not allowed to play outside with the neighborhood children. She persists in telling her mother and father and her aunt that she has memories of another life and family, but they over time try to convince her that these are dreams. The pieces of her life, especially her early years, don't seem to fit, and she struggles with her identity. 

Joe's story is one of heavy drinking, uncontrolled anger, and poor choices that eventually cause him to abandon his family (which now includes a wife) and strike out on his own to make a living far away. 

A few times Norma hears or sees things that make her believe she might be adopted. When she asks questions, her mother has debilitating headaches and no answers are given. It is not until after her father and mother die that her aunt comes forward with the true story. Norma is in her fifties by then. She ended her marriage after losing a still-born daughter. Her mother had talked about her miscarriages often, and Norma did not want to have any more children who had to compare to the ghost babies like she was made to do as a child. Her husband wanted more children. 

Her Indian mother never gave up hope that Ruthie was alive somewhere. She also never gave up on Joe, praying that he would return to his family. 

It is a tale of family bonds that will never dissolve and hopes that won't die. There are some other tragic events the family must adjust around. Ruthie's disappearance changed the dynamics within the family as does what happens later to the son Charlie. 

 The author's father was indigenous, and she shares some of the culture of the Indians. There was blatant prejudice against Indians, insults, attempts by the Canadian government to take children from their parents and have them live in boarding schools (an unsuccessful attempt in this family). 

Joe finally finds some emotional healing and returns to Nova Scotia. He is dying from cancer. He is being cared for by his brother Ben and sister Mae in his mother's home. His father died while he was away. It has been 50 years since Ruthie disappeared. 

The book has a bittersweet ending. There are some reunions, but lost decades cannot be restored. 

Still a Little Color

 I know it has been quiet here. I have been busy with choir, Bible study, and Winona Literary Club.

 Yesterday I co-hosted at club; that means I and another lady provided the decorations and refreshments. Fortunately, she had lots of Thanksgiving things. Mostly we used Pilgrim pairs. I bought pumpkin rolls at Aldi's which were quite tasty. I had a medical appointment Tuesday in Fort Wayne. I stopped at Costco to buy some nuts for the club meeting. I ended up with Savanna Honey Roasted Nut Mix, but the item that the ladies liked best was the cranberry bark that I bought on a whim. 

Many of our trees are bare, but the pear trees on my street are always the last to change color and lose their leaves.

We have decided to join my husband's sister and her husband for Thanksgiving at Palette Restaurant. 

It is going to be a bit tricky for me to select my food items. I am on a lactose-free diet for 4 weeks to see if that is causing/contributing to my bowel discomfort and problems. But there are plenty of selections on this menu.

I am toying with the idea of getting a Bob Evan's holiday feast for Christmas. Some friends bought that for us when I had cervical spine surgery December 22nd, 2020. My husband was able to manage following the instructions provided. They do have one choice that includes turkey and ham (my brother-in-law is not a fan of turkey). It might be nice to eat Christmas dinner in my own home.

 It is around 70 degrees today. I am going to head out to my front porch and work on my Bible study there. Tomorrow the temps plummet; I will probably bring in the rocker cushions as it looks like this is our last chance of an Indian summer day.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I may not get back to post anything until after the holiday.  

Juxtaposition

 

It is that time of year when autumn colors and plants sit next to summer hangovers. I will have to take my geraniums into the garage next week overnight Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday if the forecast for frost is right. The fothergilla has peaked in color this week.

Autumn colors have been somewhat muted or missing this fall. My backyard maple mostly turned brown with leaves dropping. The maple next to my neighbor's condo is fairly bright though.

Down below the sumac is a single daisy.

In the newsfeed on my Galaxy tablet there is rarely current events. I guess because I searched and touched on stories about decluttering and best buys at stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, Aldi's, I get that sort of thing in the feed. I read a story about Aldi's fall chicken salad which is an upgrade from the regular chicken salad. It has nuts and cranberries. I bought some yesterday which we ate on a croissant. It is very good. Supposedly it will disappear from the store shelf after the holiday season. 

As the weather heads for cold temperatures, critters are starting to look for warmth. I don't know what this bug is, but I was careful not to let it in my house. I saw one like it in the garage a few weeks ago where I had the geraniums sheltering one night. Then a few days ago when I took something next door to my neighbors, I saw one sitting on their porch chair.

I bought a puzzle at the Friends of the Library book sale at North Webster Thursday morning. I am going to start working on it this weekend. It is a 1000-piecer though when I prefer doing smaller puzzles.

I washed my duster/robe today, and I hung my winter bathrobe in my closet. I wore a short-sleeved top today so I could get my flu shot at Walgreen's, but this afternoon I have on a sweater. I need to think about bringing in the cushions from the porch rocking chairs. I cling to the hope that we might have a sneak Indian summer day yet in our autumn, but most likely my porch sitting days are over.

Potawatomi Wildlife Park

 We have been wanting to get out in the autumn beauty. Yesterday morning in lovely weather we walked some trails at Potawatomi Wildlife Park. This was more of a symphony in yellow than red or orange, but it was pleasant being in the fresh air.

There are several trails about 1-5 miles long and all loops so you don't have to backtrack; you can print a map from its website or there are some at the start of the trails. Guideposts and maps to look at are throughout the park, also. 

The park property is along the edge of part of the Tippecanoe River.

 There is also a small pond which most of the trails skirt. It appears that students come to see the Nature Center and eat lunch at the Eagle's Nest Gazebo.

We did not meet any other people on the trails. As we were leaving, a couple came to start their own walk. Part of the park is a dark sky observation area, and the Warsaw Astronomy Club sometimes has sighting events for the public.

There were some hints of red.

A lot of leaves were already on the ground along with various nuts: walnuts, hickory nuts, acorns.

Some of the walnuts had fallen off the trees and sunk into the shallow part of the pond.

Despite the term wildlife in the park name, we saw no animals. I could hear birds, especially blue jays. We saw an egret in the pond.

My husband said he saw a different kind of bird swoop down and fly away with a fish. He wondered if it might be an osprey. There was a platform for a nest but no nest.

We noticed lots of duck nesting boxes. No ducks though.

There are a few small islands in the pond. At one place there is a bridge to cross over to one of the islands.

The park is privately owned, accepting donations, but not charging a fee. It is open dawn to dusk. It has restrooms. 

Near the entrance was a cabin, but the road was roped off. We did not attempt to park and look inside.

According to the nature center, there are some nice wildflowers in the spring. It was a little muddy in some places; I would recommend good shoes or boots. Definitely not sandals, though it was warm enough yesterday to wear sandals.