March 21, 2007
AM thermometer went past zero, maybe for the last time this year. Snow mushy during the day, freezes at night. Little crystalline nuggets in the morning. John home from D.C. today. New moon with Venus above.

This is how this blog started five years ago today. For a number of reasons it seems like an appropriate moment to bring this chapter of my life to a close. This will be the final posting. It has been an amazing exercise in awareness. Thanks to Carol for her regular and unstinting support. I have learned a lot over the years. Zen Master Dogen was right. Such mountains and waters of themselves become wise persons and sages.

The capacity of mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness... Emptiness includes the sun, moon, stars and planets, the great earth, mountains and rivers, all trees and grasses, bad men and good men, bad things and good things, heaven and hell; they are all in the midst of emptiness. The emptiness of human nature is also like this.
Hui-Neng
Zen page a day calendar

mountains

An ancient wise one once said: "Mountains are mountains, waters are waters." These words do not mean mountains are mountains: they mean mountains are mountains.
Therefore, investigate mountains thoroughly. When you investigate mountains thoroughly, this is the work of mountains.
Such mountains and waters of themselves become wise persons and sages.
Zen Master Dogen
Zen page a day calendar

south facing slope

71 degrees yesterday. Trees greening up. Boy riding a bicycle in Pittsford. Opening windows at home. Sound of a motorcycle. Came across some crocuses on a south facing slope when raking leaves in the front yard.

birth

Foggy morning. The world is dark, cold & wet. Feels like it's giving birth to itself. Frost heaves in the road in Chippenhook. The lane at home has turned from ice to soup. Spring issue of Rutland Magazine in the stores. Little league registration taking place in Morrisville. Piles of manure in fields in Pittsford waiting to be spread.

sun glasses

Temps in the 50's & 60's. Snow melt on the sidewalks, and in the roads in West Rutland. Joggers out running, and families out walking in the evening warmth; dogs on leashes, women pushing baby carriages. Taking off my jacket, and putting on sun glasses when walking at noon

sycamore

Temperatures in the 60's yesterday. There are a number of themes that have arisen as I have made my way through this journal over the years. One has to do with the process of revelation in the natural world. Phenomena in nature can seemingly hide in plain sight for years. It seems that once something is noticed, however, it appears to be everywhere.
Redently I posted a photo of a magnificent tree in Shelburne, Vermont. I had recognized its beauty years ago, but didn't know its name. My brother Bill suggested that it appeared to be a sycamore. He even showed where the sycamore is mentioned in the lyrics of "Moonlight in Vermont." It was only a few days later that I noticed a couple of sycamores on my drive to work. They are not far from the Clarendon river, not much more than a mile from my house. I have driven by these trees almost every day for thirty years, and never really noticed them. There are actually quite a number of sycamore trees in that area. How is it possible that I never really noticed them before?
There is something about this process of seeing something, describing it, naming it, that allows you to take ownership of it in a way. It becomes part of one's cognitive neighborhood. I have very much noticed this phenomenon in the world of astronomy. When you know the name of a star, or a constellation, you own it. It is forevermore a part of your world view.
Writing this daily journal has opened up the world of nature to me in ways that I never expected when I started out on this journey almost five years ago. It has been a very enlightening and gratifying process.

growing station

Temps in the 50's. Didn't have a fire in the wood stove for the first time in a long time. Working on my brackets for March Madness. St. Patricks Day decorations at work, and Easter candy in the stores. People walking around in tee shirts. Allyn's Burpee seeds have arrived, and she's set up her growing station in front of a south facing window at home. Crocuses appearing on Woodstock Ave.

squeaky door hinge

Daylight savings time started yesterday. It was light last night until after 7:00. Flock of geese spotted heading north. Pickup pulling a boat on a trailer on the bypass. Otter Creek high & brown from recent rain. Red winged blackbird observed on Stratton Road. Their "song" sounds like a squeaky door hinge, but, as a sign of spring, is a welcome one.

sense of loss

Yesterday the temperature was 48 degrees when we woke up, and made it into the 60's during the day. The temperatures are supposed to be in the 30's over the weekend, but then moving into the 50's for days and days. It feels like we are coming to the end of the winter that never really came in the first place. When you do a blog like this you really learn to appreciate the small moments associated with all of the seasons. There is a sense of loss when they never appear as they have in years past. I am thankful for the few wintry moments we've had in the last few days. Scraping ice off the windshield of my pickup truck with a comb. Snow blowing and drifting across Stratton road. Randy spreading salt on the walkway at work. Sound of ice pellets glancing off the windows at home. Huge snow flakes when driving through Chippenhook, sugar snow.
I had to bring some wood in last night during the rain. I don't think I'll miss that one bit.

Cheshire Cat Moon

For the last couple of weeks, the night sky has been thick with planets. Jupiter & Venus high in the evening sky in the west while Mars rises bright and pink over the Green Mountains in the east. Saturn can be found on the morning walk next to Spica. Even the elusive planet Mercury has made an appearance, and I stopped on my way home to view it a couple of weeks ago. The crescent moon, Jupiter, and Venus were lined up, and pointing to the area where Mercury was supposed to appear above the horizon. It was still light out, and I kept looking back to the moon and the planets to make sure I was scanning the correct area in the sky.
The moon had an unusual appearance. It was almost like it was lying on its back with the points of the crescent heading straight up. I read in the paper that this is the usual appearance at this time of year. As I kept looking, the moon seemed to take on a life of its own. It started to smile at me, much like the eerie cat that ate the canary smile of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. Then it seemed like the whole universe was part of the act with the Cheshire Cat Moon playing the lead role. All of the universal secrets were there to behold if only I could find the right key. The moon seemed to be very confident that I would fumble the opportunity away. It was unnerving actually. I'm out here minding my own business, trying to locate a faint planet, and the universe is spying on me, laughing at me. Fortunately Mercury did finally show itself, and I made my way home.
The full moon, the "Worm" moon is tonight.

active

Sunny & in the 50's today. Reddish tinge to the maples as sap makes its way to the branches. Sound of mourning doves in the afternoon. I've seen them, but haven't heard them so far this year. Sound of a woodpecker on the morning walk. They become active this time of year. Don't know if they're establishing their territory or looking for food. Kayaks for sale at Dick's Sporting goods.

sugaring season

Town meeting last night. Supposed to be the start of the sugaring season.

3/27/09.
30's and foggy. Took a walk up the cross roads last night. As I started out, I saw steam rising out of the May's sugarhouse. I was happy to notice the first signs of sugaring I'd seen all year. As I got near the top, there was a pickup parked with its lights on. It was Justin Turco out collecting sap with his daughter. I met him as I was walking by, and he invited me to his sugarhouse. He said to go on in, and he would be along in a minute. Walking across the bridge over the creek in front of his house, bright lights from the sugarhouse ahead of me in the rainy gloom. His wife Tammy was inside sugaring. That smell! She gave me some hot syrup to sample, a taste of Vermont heaven. We had a great visit. Lights were on in the Johnson's sugarhouse at the bottom of the hill when heading home. Sparks shooting out of the chimney like stars in the sky. I realized there are four working sugarhouses within walking distance of our house. I think I am going to have pancakes with maple syrup tomorrow morning.

town meeting day

Town report arrives ahead of Town Meeting Day which is today. The announcement about the annual meeting of the Vermont botanical and bird club has arrived. Announcement about a guided tour of the Tinmouth Channel to be led by the old woodchuck himself, Doug Blodgett. I think we'll probably go. Christmas wreath has been removed from the front door, and thrown on the compost pile. The poinsettia still looks great.

snow day

Yesterday was stormy. Allyn had a snow day. Good for her.

To sit without emotion, hope, or aim,
In the loved presence of my cottage fire,
And listen to the flapping of the flame,
Or kettle whispering its faint undersong.
William Wordsworth
Zen page a day calendar

miracles

Snow today. Hearing the sounds of birds in the morning.

3/25/08
A couple of revealing moments about life in a cold climate. This morning on our morning walk we ran into Barb, and we all remarked about how it was getting light out. About two minutes later we were walking by the Dufner's house. I heard a high pitched repetitive sound. I couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded like maybe a squeaky fan that might be running in their basement. It finally dawned on me what it was. It was a solitary bird singing to the rising sun. In a few weeks there will be hundreds of them doing the same thing. It has been so long since I'd heard that sound. It seemed like a miracle!
To a lesser degree I experienced the same feeling yesterday walking to production. The snow on the lawn has been receding, and it disappeared completely over the weekend. That which had been covered with snow and invisible for so long was revealed. Again it seemed like a miracle.
On the one hand, there's something a little pathetic about living in a place where a singing bird is considered a miracle. On the other hand it's a gift. Complacency is one of the greatest killers of the joy of living. Living in a cold climate continues to offer opportunities to appreciate and savor the small miracles of life. In many ways that is the heart of this daily journal. Opossum seen along the road in West Rutland last night.

kites

from brainsik on flickr

Cloudy. Tubing being strung up in Tinmouth for sugaring. Heard the term "cabin fever" mentioned for the first time this year. Doing more walking now to lose weight I gained over Christmas. Out walking at noon on a sunny, windy day. Thinking about kites

forgotten & forlorn

32 degrees and windy. Sound of Cacky's wind chimes on the morning walk. The mountains got more than a foot of snow over the weekend. We got about an inch which has been the pattern this winter. New fallen snow in the road has a slithering, snake like quality when blown by the wind. Icy sheets of snow coming off cars on the bypass, and shattering like panes of glass on the road. Snow blowers & pallets of road salt forgotten & forlorn in front of the Home Depot.

night sky

14 degrees and clear. A week ago it was clear as well. Connie & Mark came over for some star gazing.  Pete was the master of ceremonies. I don't know anyone more fascinated in the natural world than Connie, so I was interested in what she would make of some of the phenomena in the night sky. She had a very sharp eye. She was able to pick out some of the objects in the sky before we looked at them in the telescope. I broke astronomical rule number one when I took this picture. You're never supposed to compromise the collective night vision. Afterwards we went inside, and had some hot chocolate. This is what passes for entertainment among the gentle people of Vermont.

daffodils

Cloudy. Daffodil Days signup for the American Cancer Society in the cafeteria at work. Another sign of spring. Daffodils coming up in the front yard. Skunk cabbage appearing in the usual place in Salisbury. Some consider it a wildflower which is kind of a stretch. Interesting that the early springtime risers have pointed shoots, like a knife. Must be to cut through the usual ice and snow.

heads up

Cloudy. The foundation of this blog is leading a boring life. Doing the same things week after week. Going on a walk in the morning. Going to work. Walking from one building at work to the other. Driving to the Zen Center. Doing these same things week after week, and noticing the changes. Magnolia buds appearing at the Zen Center recently. Also a photo of the most beautiful tree in Vermont which I pass in Shelburne on the way to the Center. Should know what kind of tree it is, but I don't. Also a heads up (literally), Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter will be aligned with the Sun (and the crescent moon I think) after sundown for the next few days.

shining

Rainy. Moonlight shining on the small creek along the crossroads the other day. On the way home, I saw the constellation Scorpius setting in the southwest. Scorpius is a summer constellation so it was nice to see it shining in the morning sky. I looked for its next door neighbor, Sagitarius, but it was lost in the light from the rising sun. Things change fast this time of year. I was taking the same walk just a few days later. The sky was clear, and I looked for Scorpius again, but the sky was now too light to view that constellation as well.
The Mississippi delta was shining
like a National guitar.
Graceland
Paul Simon

the garden way

17 degrees and clear. I stopped by the Garden Way store in town the other day. I wasn't even sure it was open when I pulled in to the parking lot. It was hard to imagine that in just a few weeks really, this place will be filled with plants, bushes, and trees for planting. I bought some bluebird houses here last year. The bluebirds had two successful broods over the summer. There are now about 7-8 bluebirds contesting the three bird houses we have in the back. I stopped in to buy some more.

important day

from Baseball Backs on flickr

Sunny. Today is an important day in our household. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training! Oh, and it's Allyn's birthday.

ducks

 from Matt Peoples on flickr

 Rainy. A flock of 15-20 ducks flying high in the sky over Rutland. That is a lot to see. Usually when I see them flying around, it is in smaller numbers, 2-4. Ducks are one of those animals that seem to be full of life, like finches, chickadees & chipmunks. They are the definition of buoyancy both literally and figuratively. I love the way they barrel through the sky when in flight. They look like a torpedo with their hell bent for leather style of flying. I start to see ducks in the air this time of year. I've never known if it's because they have just returned from the south, or because it's light enough to see them now when I'm heading home from work.

driving

Cloudy. Temps in the 40's yesterday, today & tomorrow. Driving south on Rte. 7 on a sunny day, the sun through the windshield has almost a narcotic effect. Driving on snowy roads between home and work sometimes make me feel like I'm driving a Russian troika through the woods somewhere between Moscow & St. Petersburg, wolves nipping at my heels. Active fantasy life.

Milky Way

from jpstanley on flickr

Cloudy. During the summer the Milky Way runs almost directly north and south across the sky. In the fall the direction turns to east west. Looking at the sky this time of year, it is running from northwest to southeast. I am kind of proud of the fact that when I look at the planets in the evening sky, I can envision their orbits around the sun, and get the tiniest sense of the vast scope of it all. I am totally unable to understand the changes in the path of the Milky Way occurring during the course of the year. I actually kind of prefer it that way.

sparks

20 degrees and Valentines day. A card & chocolate dessert for Allyn. It was cold over the weekend with snow on Monday. The pattern this year has been a little snow followed by warming. Temps expected in the 40's later in the week. Slow line of cars heading into Rutland on a snowy day. Wind flowing snow off trees like little cotton balls. Pickups plowing parking lots and driveways. Sparks on the road from the snowplow.

not this year

Cold and clear. I saw a couple of squirrels heading to the crabapple tree out front at work the other day. In years past the dried fruit has been a source of sustenance for them at this time of year, but not this year. There isn't any dried fruit because the tree basically produced nothing this year. I remember back in May, there were plenty of beautiful blossoms on the tree, but no honeybees. I asked the old woodchuck, Doug Blodgett, if honeybees are in trouble, and he said that all bees are badly stressed. They don't know exactly why. I remember seeing the tracks of deer in the snow under the crabapple tree in previous years when dried crapples were also a part of their diet. This year none of that exists. The squirrels looked puzzled as well. They were just sitting in the tree, looking off into space, just scratching themselves

hot stove league

from mustbone 3030 on flickr

17 degrees and clear. The natural world has its transitions, and so does the world of sports. The Superbowl is finished. Basketball and hockey are in midseason form. Duke & North Carolina had a classic game on Wednesday night, and there's a big Division III hockey game on Saturday night between #1 Norwich and Castleton State College. Yesterday in the cafeteria at work, however, the talk turned to baseball. The hot stove league was heating up in good form. I ended up talking with a co-worker about some of the bad Giants teams from the 70's. He was very polite. His eyes didn't glaze over even once. Picture of baseball players practicing in the gym at CSC in the Rutland Herald. The golf tournament at Pebble Beach is in full swing.

paw

Mt. Mansfield

Heading to the Zen Center on Rte. 7, Sun rising over the Green Mountains. Snow cascading off an east facing roof in Leicester. Dog lifting up its paw when walking through snow with its master. This is a time of year when native Vermonters are getting wood ready for next winter. I could never make myself do that.

smell of a skunk

vernal pool in winter

10 degrees. Full moon, Mars, dogs and flashlights on the morning walk. It is getting lighter now, silhouettes of Rutland Sangha members heading in for meditation. Ad for the Masters on TV. Smell of a skunk, a sure sign of spring.

Mars in Leo II

the planet Mars by Haseeb M on flickr

Driving home from the movie on Saturday night, I looked to the east, and saw something bright rising over the Green Mountains. I knew what it was right away. It was big and had a reddish tinge. It was the planet Mars. It was still in the constellation Leo as it had been when observed in the morning darkness back in November. Back then it just looked like another star, but now you can tell it's a planet.  The best description of Mars I ever read came from a young Vermont poet some years ago. Full moon, the "Snow" moon, is tonight.

ASTROLOGY

by John Kahle

I was not born a believer

in higher beings or mysticism

but tonight I am able to write

because five planets are aligned,

tunnels in the black bone

of the Earth's skull. Emerging

out of blue, Jupiter burns

with dignity. I see Mars

first hand, quivering with scarlet

in the spring air like a tulip.

I can point to Saturn as the Moon

passes, though it is hardly distinctive

from the wash of stars and galaxies,

reduced by distance and detail.

But the borrowed light of Venus

relaxes the light years. It beckons

me and asks steadily if I will be back.

I say I haven't seen Mercury yet,

nor the others vacationing in the south.

winter's farmers market

Temps in the 40's today. Saturday is shopping day. Superbowl platters at the market. I went to the winter's farmer's market to buy some bread. It is located within the local natural foods co-op. It is a wonderful source of energy & life during the winter months. Lots of Subarus outside, and plenty of progressive bumper stickers on cars, and on the freezer door inside.

one long November

We have had a few days of snow and cold, but so far the winter has been very mild. On Wednesday the temperature was 54 degrees. I washed the car for the first time in a long time. A friend said he took his dog for a walk, and when they got back, the dog was infested with ticks. This is winter?
When you're writing a blog about the changing of the seasons, it makes it difficult when the changes are minimal. It feels like it has been one long November. This year they put up some plywood out front at work to keep the ice from accumulating there except there's been no ice. Sticks have been positioned to keep the snowplow off the medians except there's no snow. All in all, it's very unsettling

Candlemas Day

 jackhynes on flickr

Happy Groundhog Day. It is also Candlemas Day. As the old woodchuck, Doug Blodgett, says, "half your wood, and half your hay should still be left by Candlemas Day." He's doing OK on the wood, but he's totally out of hay.

so high

Warm. Crows observed flying so high in the sky when driving over the bypass at sunrise. Headlights shining on ice glistening on tree branches. Cardinals and other birds foraging along the edge of the parking lot at work. Robin spotted crossing Rte. 7 the other day. Don't usually see one of those until April.

a snowy day

Woke up to a couple of inches of snow covering Vermont like powdered sugar. Salt trucks on the road. Season of windshield washer fluid. The salt and sand is spread from the trucks in a circular fashion. When it melts through, there are semicircles of darkness left in the snow, like a parade of parentheses.

call

from Larry Meade on flickr

I was watching the 49er game last Sunday, and my friend Chris said that he had heard a bird on Thursday that one hears in the summer. I heard the same bird on Thursday as well. I have heard the same call during the winter the last three years. I thought it was a bird that had returned from the south. I understand from a woman at work that it's actually a black capped chickadee which is a bird that stays over the winter. What changes is the kind of call that's used. The usual call is a warning call while the newer call is a territorial or mating call in anticipation of spring. I heard another spring like call at work the other day. My co-worker said it sounded like a tufted titmouse.

"dead" of winter

Rainy. The other day I was driving to Proctor along the Otter Creek. I came upon this scene. There were hundreds of Canada Geese. I'd never seen anything like this before. I stopped to take a photo. The place was so vibrant and alive with the sights and sounds of wildness. Three ducks went flying over in their hell bent for leather manner. There was even some kind of raptor skulking around along the fringes. It is thrilling to experience these concentrations of life during the "dead" of winter.
I asked about it at work, and was told that during winters when there are patches of open water, ducks and geese will stay around. It was wonderful to see.

steam

 from quinn.anya on flickr

We've had some cold days. Ice forming on the Ira creek. Steam coming off the water. The other day I found my wool hat stuck to the frost forming at the bottom of the door jamb.

January thaw

We seem to be going through a January thaw. Squirrels out and about. Raining on top of ice which makes for slippery walking. Not burning wood during the day to save on the wood pile. Caterpillar ambling across the walkway at work, very slowly

the twins

from Utah Skies on Google Images

Windy. Saturday night was cold and clear. I went outside to do some star gazing. Wood smoke pouring out of the chimney. I was looking for some Caldwell objects, and one of them, NGC 2237, is located at the foot of the constellation Gemini; Castor & Pollux, the "Twins." Finding these Caldwell objects is a struggle for me, and I looked at Gemini for a long time. As I was looking, putting the celestial pieces together, I finally got it. I could really see the twins. They were holding hands, skipping their way across the night sky. I had that feeling that I often get from astronomy of the expanding of my heavenly universe, that I was welcoming the "Twins" into my personal neighborhood.

???

What color is snow anyway?