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A Day in the Field

Z is for Zed

Y is for Young at Heart

V is for Very Very Weird

4 days ago
3 min read

May 21, 2026

On May 21, 2025, exactly one year ago, I launched what I called my "abecedarian" journal. I wrote an essay for each letter of the alphabet, ending, as you will soon see, on March 9, 2026 with "Z is for Zed."

In the last few days I have been archiving these essays and discovered, weirdly, that I had apparently not written anything for the letter V?!? What? I have known my "letters" since I was a preschooler and have no idea how this happened, other than I was RUSHING to the end, wanting to complete the project before we set out on our annual road trip on March 10.

Oh well.

So I am cheating and writing my V essay today, exactly one year after I began the project.

So many V words and concepts come to mind - valor, victory, victim, vacation, verity, venerable... I could go on and on.

But I will stick with VERY.

Times are so VERY right now, for me and for the world around me.

Starting with VERY concerns, extreme situations and conditions that are so very worrisome - the wars and genocide, many not even visible on our mainstream or even alternative news; corruption and grift with no accountability; misogyny and racism and classism and ableism and all the -isms, in which we are perpetually bathed and so many of us are harmed; the climate crisis and related fires, pollution, water shortages, flora and fauna extinctions, disease, and hunger.... so many very very bad VERYs.

But I remind myself everyday of the good VERYs. I am thinking right now of the VERYs in my life - the very good things for which I am grateful. My loving Larry who lifts me up every day, makes me laugh and think, and more than tolerates my quirks. My 98 year old father who insists on ordering his groceries from the Krogers app on his own, in spite of our offers to assist, who rides his recumbent bicycle around the cul-de-sac, sometimes up to 10 times, who still plays his sax in the Young at Heart Band, and who every day is an example of living a rich and meaningful life, a beacon for all of us to follow. My brothers and sisters who are always there for our dad and for each other. My children and grandchildren who delight and amaze me with their energy and talents and generous spirits. Extended family throughout the US and Canada - a big wedding just happened in Texas and another is coming in June in Ontario. Wonderful funny and smart friends.

And the great outdoors with all of its beauty, gifts, and secrets.

I have been going to the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden more often, thoroughly enjoying each section and noticing something new and amazing each time I go. I recently sold a camera and lenses and upgraded to another setup that is weather-proof. Good timing! Yesterday started out sunny at the Botanic Garden. Midway through my time there, clouds burst and sheets of rain poured down. Even though I got soaked, I persisted and was able to capture some VERY delightful life and scenery in the midst of the downpour.

It does often feel like a time of extremes. V is for VERY!!! What VERYs are you experiencing?

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A Day in the Field

May 23, 2026 Back in 2016, several of us Ely family members took a trip to the Smoky Mountains. We stayed in a big cabin with lots of room for cooking, sleeping, and jigsaw-puzzling. Out back was a big deck with comfy chairs. We sat out there one afternoon, just chatting and commenting about the beautiful birdsongs that we were hearing. One of us had an app that played the songs of different birds, and, before we knew better, we started playing different songs. Our intent was

Mary Beth Ely

2 days ago4 min read

Z is for Zed

March 9, 2026 Zed - the final letter of the alphabet in most countries who use the Latin/German based alphabet. But not in the US! Some sources say that Noah Webster, in his 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, was the first prominent supporter of using the letter Zee. Some suggest that he did this as a marker of the relatively recent independence of the US from England - let’s be different! - and also because Zee rhymed with so many other letters of the alphabet

Mary Beth Ely

4 days ago3 min read

Y is for Young at Heart

March 7, 2026 “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis Larry and I have a long driving trip this time every year - more about our adventure plans later. Our first stop this year is Lexington, KY to spend some time with my Dad, George Ely. I have mentioned before that he is 98 years old. Yesterday, I got to drive him around to his various activities. I picked him up from band practice (I remember how he used to drop me off for early mor

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4 days ago3 min read

X is for Exultation

February 8, 2026 “We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back.” ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer In these troubled times, we can’t help but be aware of and respond to the pain and injustice around us. But. Today I am breathing deeply and allowing myself to

Mary Beth Ely

4 days ago2 min read

W is for Weeping and Wailing

January 26, 2026 “We are capable of suffering with our world, and that is the true meaning of compassion. It enables us to recognize our profound interconnectedness with all beings. Don't ever apologize for crying for the trees burning in the Amazon or over the waters polluted from mines in the Rockies. Don't apologize for the sorrow, grief, and rage you feel. It is a measure of your humanity and your maturity. It is a measure of your open heart, and as your heart breaks open

Mary Beth Ely

4 days ago2 min read

V is for Very Very Weird

May 21, 2026 On May 21, 2025, exactly one year ago, I launched what I called my "abecedarian" journal. I wrote an essay for each letter of the alphabet, ending, as you will soon see, on March 9, 2026 with "Z is for Zed." In the last few days I have been archiving these essays and discovered, weirdly, that I had apparently not written anything for the letter V?!? What? I have known my "letters" since I was a preschooler and have no idea how this happened, other than I was RUSH

Mary Beth Ely

4 days ago3 min read

U is for Unraveling

January 3, 2026 Happy new year! I hope... I have begun a fiber-art project - from the Tempestry Project - that visually shows changes in average temperatures over the last couple of centuries. It is a wall-hanging made of multiple horizontal crocheted stripes. The colors of the stripes depict "deviation-from-normal" temperatures, with the bottom stripe of the wall-hanging representing where we were globally in 1800, and the top stripe representing where we are now. Colors ran

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May 164 min read

T is for Tragedies and Transformations

December 14, 2025 “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” ~ Anne Frank Happy Hanukkah! And tears and rage for the anti-semitism and other “othering” cruelties that are persisting across our globe. On the eve of the Festival of Lights, here in the US at Brown University, a gunman fired upon a classroom that was reviewing material for an exam. While we know few details, the class was taught by a Jewish professor who teaches Jewish studies. Two peopl

Mary Beth Ely

May 163 min read

S is for Staying the Course

December 8, 2025 “Things take the time they take. Don't worry.” ~Mary Oliver A former student reminded me tonight that I used to tell her, “It takes as long as it takes.” I think I was unintentionally semi-plagiarizing Mary Oliver. Nevertheless, the sentiment has been helpful to me in the past and is increasingly coming to mind in the present. Back up a few years. December 8, 2012. Larry and I had our first “date” (that sounds so weird at our age!). We had met through an onli

Mary Beth Ely

May 165 min read

R is for Random Reflections

November 16, 2025 "Please let me merge before I start crying!" A few days ago, I was stalled in traffic at the Point's "spaghetti junction" in Pittsburgh. If you know, you know. I noticed this bumper sticker on the car in front of me (other stickers included ones supporting the Humane Society and Shih Tzu puppies). Man, I felt the driver's pain! That discomfort you feel when you know you are supposed to know how to do something, IN PUBLIC, and your lack of practice with the s

Mary Beth Ely

May 165 min read