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Consistently outstanding autumn color in almost any year is delivered by maples of several species. Virginia creeper is as pretty and widespread, but in its entanglements, not usually so well displayed: Parthenocissus quinquefolia And the reds of poison ivy, Toxicodendron/Rhus radicans, are even more intensely saturated, due to shiny waterproofing—but tend not to […] Same beaver dam as above, four years plus a very dry summer later. –More than one, in fact: as mentioned in this post, the current drought has accumulated for well (?) over a year, taxing the reserve capacity of even well-developed root systems. Old trees and shrubs are dying, and will be missed; likewise […] Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is a wonderful moment. –Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace All that lives, on this planet, depends on oxygen to keep its metabolic fires alight. –All, that is, but the primordial and still vitally important […] Speaking of ourselves
Two planets meeting face to face, One to the other cried “How sweet If endlessly we might embrace, And here for ever stay! how sweet If Heaven a little might relent, And leave our light in one light blent!” But through […] . . . From the supernal to the surreal,
the mystical to the concrete; drenched dunked or desiccated fruitful
Long, lazy days, just right for paddling about in a quiet pool (lower left), dining in relaxed comfort with loved ones “… afloat ‘twixt earth and firmament …” and reflecting on transitions both vast and local: (Aerial images courtesy of Dante and Daddy. Quote from William Tennant.) […] What’s missing from this picture? This (before winter), this (during) and this (just after; all at about the same spot): Delicate forbs frozen out, nibbled away and not yet re-emerged, ferocious nor’easters passed (we hope), and sintered drifts slowly yielding to higher sun and milder breeze. With a forgettable anniversary safely (?) […] Where once were green leaves and flowers will someday be again… Nearly four weeks past the calendric end of a winter that won’t, a few warm days have induced certain unwary shrubs into premature display. Now comes an ice storm—a mild one, that breaks few branches and imperils few travelers, yet enough to freeze fully opened buds into limp pink shreds when eventually they thaw. While […] Day and night, this area abounds with sounds of all sizes, shapes and axiological attributes, from burgeoning private-jet traffic and manic leaf-blowing to cheerful spring peepers and intimate mourning dove plaints, and from unsubtle thunder to the liminal whisper of careful footsteps in soft snow. The howl of coyote packs—terrifying to our forebears and still […] Just before the ice finally (?) leaves Farrar Pond for eight or nine months (maybe), a pleasingly late sunset illuminates reeds and weeds on a half-awash island
where, once fox and coyote can no longer approach, one or another species of water-bird may soon be nesting. […] |
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