Discovery Drafts

September's a funny month for being long yet flying by.  The school year starts, Adella gets to know her new teachers and their quirks and expectations, and my students get to know my quirks and expectations.  And I get to know them.  It's as magical as it is monumental.   Sometimes when the weekend comes, I congratulate myself for not having much to do, yet all I do is think about what to do next. Still, we manage to get out and take in the scenery.  A few weeks back, we took a walk to an old fire tire to have a look around.  There is was: everything and silence and nothing. On Saturday, we took a ride down to Pennsylvania and took in a bit more color on our way to seeing mom and dad.   Maeve guarded Adella from who knows what in the back seat.  You can't be too sure in this world.  We do what we can. Back at the ranch, I spent some time in the garden getting it ready for cooler weather.  The roses aren't ready to check out, though.  We had a

These ferns stretched out in the dappled light of early autumn back in Bethelehem a week or so ago.  I have always loved ferns.  They are so cool and fresh, and they smell peppery and lovely.  Maeve was pretty impressed by these specimens.  They offered her a whole encyclopedia's worth of information about her new neighbors in these words. Today's Flowers

Skywatch Friday

 Della and I took the dogs to Bethlehem again.  The light was soft, and the dogs were happy for an adventure.  I saw things a little differently this time around.  The wall leaning at the same angle as the tree down a ways.  How'd that happen? These big, old pines made me dizzy when I took a look up.  Three muses, graces, sisters? September's a crazy month with the start of school.  It's a good busy, though.  Just makes me a baaad blogger! Our World Tuesday

My neighbor told me today that we are losing three minutes of daylight every day now.  Depressing, he said.  Possibly, I think.  Another neighbor said she is glad for the end of summer.  The coolness and the soft light agree with her.  Still, the raccoons are plumping up, the (newly discovered) beaver is busy in the pond doing something, the egrets make a show of avoiding us, and the Canada geese are still here.  The neighbor who welcomes the cool also promises a very cold winter.  That will come soon enough, and we will snuggle up inside with the puppies and the blankets.  Life passes quickly by.  It seems an art to flow with it, to accept what it is, rather than to fight the tide.  There is no time for the madness. Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

The time it takes for a green melon To become dessert on a summer evening My great uncle had to give. He’d bring home one melon at a time, And he’d mark the end of it with An X and a Y axis And he’d put that fruit in the window Rotating it one quadrant at a time And he’d feel it, pressing his fingers into the flesh To measure ripeness And after as many days as necessary He’d take a knife to that melon, and he would have dessert. The same way with acorn squash. He taught me to scoop out the seeds from a halved squash To add brown sugar and butter and to let it be For as long as it took to savor a martini And then to sit down to this marvel of autumn With a spoon and to ladle for myself So much summer sunshine, so many breezes, so much rain, The taste of the earth, the feel of the thick hands that pulled the weeds, That made this squash happen. You stop and you rest.  You drink the martini and you think about a summer day, And you taste it.

 We took a walk in the Old Bethlehem Cemetery on Sunday.  We stopped there last fall but never got back.  Until now.  It's a well-maintained, peaceful little patch at the far end of the Bellamy-Ferriday House property.  At the far corner of the cemetery is a path that wanders around the property.  These damaged stones made me think of how stories go on and on despite time and the Connecticut weather.  This stone near the path onto the property is the base of a cairn now.  The trees do what they do to get to the sun.  The effect is lyrical.  Little Maeve enjoyed a change in scenery, so she wasn't up for posing for the camera.  The cool areas in the woods were still rich with summer flora.  The stone walls are perfect yet.  Here are two sisters basking in the sunshine.  Back at the cemetery, we stoped for a moment to honor the Revolutionary dead.  There were many.  We figured this engraver was paid by the letter.  There's a geography lesson in

The roses out front are holding their own even as the temperatures dip.  I love the way they endure. Today's Flowers

 I love Sundays for the quiet and the absence of timepieces that set them apart from the rest of the week.  We took the pups to a park in town so they could stretch their legs before the work week begins anew.  There are benches along the paths that are dedicated to the memory of deceased members of the Lion's Club.  Maeve and Clyde appreciate them for the shade they offer under the seat.  Adella was our pace car, though.  When she marched, we marched.  The phlox were in bloom along the rivers.  They were vibrant and lush in the late summer sun.  Maeve and Clyde sometimes deviated from the path because a dog's got to do what a dog's got to do.  I can never remember the names of these tall yellow flowers.  They were everywhere.  There's Adella waiting for the dogs to cool off.  And there's Maeve, below, chilling on one of those Lion's benches.  And here are the mums that tell us summer is just about done and the soft, warm lights of home wi

Here's a retro treatment of a photo of one of the hibiscus flowers blooming in my garden.  Though the app I used washed out the color, it did not wash out the details or the depth.  Summer is a long way from over around here. Today's Flowers

These images are more of the same from last week.  I love pelicans.  I could spend the day watching them fly alone, in groups, alone again, and then in new groups as they ride the thermals coast along the waves, and dive for their food.  I especially love when they are so close to the water that they cast their shadows on the blue.  Nothing like it.  They are a reminder of what is important. Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

 Before school started, I took my family to Quassy, a century-old, family-owned amusement in Middlebury, Connecticut, where there is a fantastic, old carousel that makes its rounds and its music even as most patrons prefer to splash around the water park or get their guts churned on more daring rides.  Those gutsy rides aren't for me.  I spent a good part of the day doing laps on the carousel and enjoying the details of the different horses, sea horses, lions, and other forms of exotic wildlife making the rounds with me.  Adella said the emptiness of this shot made it kind of eerie and sad.  I agree, but I also think the two young 'uns in pink seem happy in their own world--same way I was in mine.  My nephew Adam joined me for a few laps and let me take his picture for posterity.  I love that kid.  I love the giraffe's ears.  Both my nephews struck this pose for me.  Adella and the boys climbed inside the shark for the finale. I recommend Quassy for a