sunrise

Every morning when I drive to work I take the bypass almost directly east into the morning sun coming up over the Green Mountains. It is really amazing how much the position of the sunrise varies from north to south over the course of the year. In the summer, the sun seems to be coming up over Mendon to the north. In the depths of winter, the sun rises over Cuttingsville in the south. The sunrise on my morning drive works as well as any calendar.

driving Route 7

Driving Route 7 on Sunday, amur maples are turning in Charlotte. Green Mountains becoming a wall of color except at the top where gray/brown predominates. Signs for a ski swap at South Burlington High School. Boats on trailers, I think they're heading home for the winter.

sustenance

Seed pods on the thistle plants have been open for some time. The gold finches love them. As a couple of readers on this blog mentioned, the sumac plant has another important characteristic besides intense red leaves in the fall. The seeds from their conical pods provide important sustenance for birds well into the fall and winter. Corn being harvested in a field in West Rutland.

Asters in bloom

Fog along the creek and river valleys in the morning. Otherwise we're experiencing a nice stretch of warm and sunny weather. A mother deer and two young offspring feeding in the back yard in the morning. Star gazing at Spring Lake Ranch at night. Asters in bloom.

ordinary/beautiful

The sumac is probably the most ordinary tree/bush to be found in the area. It is thoroughly unremarkable in virtually every way, except for one. When their leaves turn in the fall, they take on an intense shade of red. They are beautiful. They are another vivid example of beauty shining out of the ordinary in the natural world.

Life in the woodpile

Woolly caterpillars uncovered when cutting up logs in the woodpile. Bees also observed in the woodpile along with crickets and toads. I've seen the bees hover around the cherry birch in the past after cutting, but not the maple. It does make sense, however, that they would be attracted to the sugar maple. Burning Bush turning its usual autumnal red.

Kahles on the Allagash

John and I canoed over 80 miles on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in northern Maine.

We saw a moose, bald eagles, loons, mergansers, beavers, and other wildlife.

Sun on the water shone in white, blue, & shades of gray. Sunshine dappled the river bottom in amber and gold.

And the immense silence.

Many thanks to John for planning & leading this adventure.

It was a trip I'll never forget.

wild country

This is a photo from a recent canoe trip John & I took on the Battenkill river a couple of weeks ago. It was in anticipation of a week-long trip we are taking on the Allagash river in Maine. It is very wild country. Wish us luck!

full again

Milkweed yellowing on the hillsides. Crabapples & leaves falling on the walkway at work. There's a place that sells firewood in Center Rutland. The woodpile is under a huge canopy near the road. Back in July it was empty. Now it is full again.

Happy Birthday Eliza!

This is a blog about moments. I remember my happiest moment of the year. It was in April, and some of us were visiting the California Kahles. We went to fairly fancy restaurant for dinner one night. Poppy was relegated to a high chair in the corner, but I pulled her out of there, and sat her on my lap. She couldn't walk yet, but her hands were very active. She made a grab for everything in sight, and most of it ended up in her mouth. I had to move very quickly to pull things away from her, and put them safely away just as she would reach for something new. The whole process filled me with joy. In short order, the table took on a new look. Everyone else sat before an elegant setting of china, silver and linen. In front of Poppy and me there was nothing to be found within the reach of her arms, and the area immediately out of harms way was a complete mess. Boy, we had a lot of fun.
So Happy Birthday today to the world's cutest baby. We love you so very much!

cooler

The Vermont State Fair has come and gone. Cooler at night, closing the windows at home, and turning on the heater in the car in the morning. Spent the weekend splitting wood. It is hard work, but there is a real sense of accomplishment. Now all I have to do is stack it. The full moon, the Harvest Moon was last night

pine cones

There are a number of pine trees along the walkway at work, and recently there have been a lot of pine cones dropping there. It took a few days, but, sure enough, they ended up becoming meals for squirrels and other animals in the area. It is amazing really, how all the pieces seem to fit together in the natural world. Summer turns to fall, and animals need to store up for the upcoming winter. Food falls from the sky just at the time it is needed. The squirrels return the favor by planting a few of the seeds in the process of getting ready for the cold season.

flower

The world...is generally inclined towards two (views): existence and non-existence. To them who perceive with right wisdom the uprising of the world as it has come to be, the notion of non-existence in the world does not occur...To them who perceive with right wisdom the ceasing of the world as it has come to be, the notion of existence in the world does not occur.
The Buddha
Zen page-a-day calendar

going away

Many of the changes that take place in the Fall are different than changes in the Spring. Things are going away rather than appearing. There are fewer bird calls in the morning now compared to a couple of months ago. Heal All scattered in the lawn. Ordinary, ubiquitous, but beautiful nonetheless.

cooling

Yesterday was hot. It was like the middle of July. During the summer, the ride from West Rutland to Ira after work is interesting. Because of the slight change in elevation, and moving toward the Ira creek, the temperature cools appreciably, at least five degrees. It's a great feeling in the summer, in the winter, not so much.

wood

Bringing chains for the chainsaw into Agway to be sharpened earlier in the week. Cutting up wood in the lower field for the winter's firewood supply. Deliveries of wood waiting to be stacked at Pete's & at the Higgs house. High school and college football has started. Students running in West Rutland, getting ready for the fall athletic season.