signs of the times

Summer is the season of road construction, and even though we're approaching the Labor Day weekend, they are still in high gear. Traffic was stopped along Rte. 133 by a road crew doing some maintenance the other day. Even when waiting in traffic, it is possible to observe some signs of the times. Cat snoozing on a pillow in the shade on a front porch. Aluminum foil plates above a garden patch not too far from the other side of the creek.

first day of school

Yesterday was a very important day of the year that doesn't fall into any particular category; not a holiday, not a seasonal event like the summer solstice. It was back to school day. Teachers (read Allyn) have been back for a few days, but this was the first day for children. Cars were waiting down at the usual spot on Rte. 133 for the arrival of school buses. I stopped for a coffee in West Rutland, and a couple of mothers were commiserating about their children leaving home for the first time to start their life at school. When I got to work, two of the managers were out. One was taking his children back to school. The other was there for her grandchild's first day of school. It's a big deal.

Season of dew

Dew on the grass in the morning. Needing to walk in the lane to the car unless you want to get your shoes wet. Mists coming off ponds & streams leads to morning fog in the valleys. Often it is sunny and clear in Ira, and foggy in West Rutland.

2nd cuttings

Driving along Route 7, patterns in the fields from 2nd mowings; sunflowers in New Haven.  Basil & parsley growing profusely in Allyn's garden in the front yard. Zucchini in a basket at the Zen Center, free to a good home.

Vineyard

Spent the weekend on Martha's Vineyard with friends. Sun, sand, saltwater, ice cream, sound of the horn from the ferry, gossip on the porch. This is one of the most enjoyable weekends of the year.

magic

Green pastures on a sunny day in August. Contented cows glistening in the fields. The sounds of crickets.

The sun is shining-the sun is shining. That is the Magic. The flowers are growing-the roots are stirring. That is the Magic. Being alive is the Magic-being strong is the Magic. The Magic is in me-the Magic is in me...It's in every one of us.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Zen Page-a-day calendar

Big Sky country

About a week ago, John & I went canoeing on the Otter Creek between Brandon and Whiting. We needed to leave a car along the creek in Whiting at our pull-out spot. To get there we headed west from Route 7 in Leicester toward the Valley of Vermont. There actually is a part of Vermont so named. About a mile in after leaving Route 7, the landscape was transformed. The hills, and valleys and trees that define most of Vermont fell away. All of a sudden in felt like we are on the great plains of the west, the land of the Big Sky country. I was taken back to My Antonia by Willa Cather, probably the best book I ever read.

Season of corn

Driving through the country the other day, and saw a flash of brown through the greenery. It seemed out of place at this time of year in the Green Mountain state. I looked more closely, and saw the brown shading happened to be the tassels of corn stalks maturing in the fields. Pickup truck selling corn in the usual spot in West Rutland.

Berries ripening and reddening on a tree in West Rutland. Putting on a vest in the morning at work. Noticing a bush on the way from Steve's office to work in the morning. They look like something that should have been blooming some time last May, but here they are. They must be some kind of hydrangea. Lynn at work calls them snow-ball trees.

Regal

Cloudy. There is a vine that appears in Vermont this time of year. It covers the tops of bushes in the back yard, and seemingly everywhere else. It makes said bushes appear to be adorned with pearly white tiaras, making the Green Mountain State appear even more regal than usual.

yellowing

Rainy. How many seasons are there in Vermont? I don't know. Coming to the end of iced coffee season. Leaves yellowing on a branch of an elm tree in the back yard. Red leaves on a maple in West Rutland. Leaves falling from the crabapple tree at work.

wildflower heaven

Jewelweed, Queen Anne's Lace, Joe Pye Weed, Cardinal Flower, Black-Eyed Susan; Vermont is wildflower heaven.

Summer to fall

I never really thought I would be starting this blog up again, but I might be giving a presentation on journaling the natural world some time this fall. Seemed like it would be prudent to get some newer material on site. I started it up yesterday because I wasn't sure if I could remember how to put all the pieces together, and Erin was here in case I got stuck. She & her family have been here off and on over the past few weeks. It has been great having them here, such a blessing. She and Poppy left yesterday to start on their new adventure with Andy. We drove them to the train. It was a beautiful summer day. Somehow it seemed on the way back that summer turned ever so slightly into fall.

Bluebirds

The other day I saw a cluster of bluebirds gamboling together on the lawn. We have been fortunate to have a prime bluebird breeding environment right in our own backyard. Bluebirds like open pasture with bushes/trees some yards away from their nesting site. We have been able to attract bluebirds for the past number of years. The family of bluebirds has grown &  grown over this period of time. In February or March, I often see them hanging around these bluebird houses, waiting for spring. Ellen said she could see them out there from her bedroom window all winter long. Apparently they cluster together in the houses during the winter when the weather turns cold.
Bluebirds often have two broods over the course of the summer. The brood in the spring consisted of 3 fledgelings. The summer batch amounted to 5 more young bluebirds. I honestly think we have more bluebirds in our back yard than any other species other than robins. The color & intensity of the blue they display on their backs is beyond description. It buries itself in the eyes, the brain. One of the reasons I feel so fortunate here on the other side of the creek.