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Donna VanBuecken

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Remembering

September 11, 2019

During our last walk around the hunting property, my brother Dave and I found the Purple Fringed Orchids (Platanthera psycodes) he had discovered the previous year. It was the perfect memory for our last adventure.

This week is the fifteenth anniversary of my oldest brother Dave’s passing. Dave was my turkey hunting partner. We shared the joy of being at our hunting property — hiking and exploring, learning about all the different plants, watching how the hydrology changed what we saw from one year to the next, watching the birds and listening to their different calls, catching sight of the various animals as they stealthily picked their way through the underbrush…

And learning how to hunt turkey together. Oh the stories I could tell about our fun times — about the ones that scared us “half to death,” about the ones that got away, and about the ones that didn’t!

He died much too young at 54 years of age and our family has felt his loss immensely. The brain tumor that took him from us has taken many other heroes also. Senator John McCain for one. I pray the researchers will find a cure for this horrible disease soon.

My oldest brother — my turkey hunting partner — passed away at 11:30PM fifteen years ago yesterday. This bench sits near the Red Oak tree we planted in his memory. He enjoyed visiting this habitat so very much. Now he’s there forever.
I love the way the moss clings to the angel. It comforts me to know the woods clings to him just as I do his memory.
Many different mosses, clubmosses and woodland flowers grow at the base of my brother Dave’s memorial Red Oak (Quercus rubra) and throughout our woods. It’s my goal to continue learning about all these plants.

Note: Coincidentally, 9/11 happened just three years earlier — another day to remember!

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Comments

  1. Lucy Valitchka says

    September 13, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    What a wonderful tribute to your brother, Donna. He must have been very special to you.

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      September 14, 2019 at 12:05 pm

      Hi! Lucy — all my brothers are very special to me, but because we hunted together, David and I got to know each other better. Yes, I miss him terribly.

      Reply

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