Since she is birding along the ocean (her favorite activity at her favorite place), the photo captures the most wonderful expression on her face: joy and pride mixed with a bit of shyness at being photographed.
I love having that moment forever frozen in time, her eyes shining behind her binoculars with a piece of hair caught in the wind. And my grandmother must have loved that photo, too, because after my mother died, she ordered a print from the newspaper so we could bring that shy smile home again to see whenever we wanted.
That was cool.
But even cooler might be what I discovered when I finally decided to get that picture properly framed earlier this year: It was a note tucked behind the picture, a typed thank-you letter written by my grandmother 40 years ago, shortly after the gathering that was held after my mother's memorial, which was attended by many members of the Santa Cruz Bird Club:
11-6-85 Note to Bird Club:
The family of C.F. would like to express their appreciation for the affection evident by the work needed at the Aptos get-together.
The girls will remember the outpouring of love and sympathy and hopefully it will help the healing.
To everyone who made the trek to Wilder Ranch and/or contributed to the afternoon potluck - thank you a million times.
And she was right. I still remember the love and sympathy I felt from their hugs that day. And yes, it did help me heal.
Also, her binoculars still help me heal:
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