Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Well we can dream can't we? Full moon last night, the first full moon on Christmas Eve since 1977. The full moon in December is called the Cold Moon. No such luck. Allyn said the temperature gauge in the car read 71 degrees yesterday afternoon. Driving with the windows down in the car. Woman in shorts and tee shirt running at dusk.

confused

Current temperature is 64 degrees. Yesterday we were babysitting Owen per usual. He's a great kid, but naps are not his thing. About the only thing that works is to walk him around outside. At nap time we walked him around Wallingford in the stroller. South of town I saw a farmer leading some cows from the barnyard out into his pastures. I may be projecting, but it looked like this was unusual, and the cows seemed a little perplexed.  Spotted a wasp clinging to the kitchen window. Looks like he just woke up, and was stretching his wings. He also looked confused. Aren't we all. Happy Holidays everybody!

flock

Driving into town yesterday morning, I saw a huge flock of Canada geese flying over Rutland, probably about 100. I don't remember seeing that many in the skies here at this time of year before. There was an article in the Herald the other day about the warm weather, and how it's affecting animals in the natural world. It talked about the geese, and how they often will only go south as far as necessary to stay clear of the snow and ice which makes sense. Why use up energy in the fall and winter traveling from a spot that meets all of your needs? Temperatures supposed to be in the 50's today, and 60's on Christmas Eve.

thrilling

We've had a couple of days of fairly seasonable temperatures. On Saturday morning I went into the kitchen, and saw snow swirling around in the back. It was honestly thrilling. Went out to do the usual grocery shopping, and there was the unmistakable feel of snow in the air. As a California boy who grew up in the Bay Area, I was surprised at how excited I got about having a little wintry weather. Unfortunately it hasn't lasted. The snow is gone, and temperatures are supposed to be in the 50's and 60's through Christmas.

Christmas week

It's Christmas week. On Friday we went to the Northshire bookstore again. It's a great place to shop this time of year. On Saturday we attended a raucous Yankee Swap Christmas party at the Duda's. Yesterday Barb came over with the annual plate of holiday sticky buns. They're gone. Then we went to the Nutcracker last night. If that doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, nothing will.
In the natural world the wheel turns as well. Today is the winter solstice. Theoretically the days will start to get longer now. 

thaw

It is very dark this time of year. The winter solstice is on Monday, but temps in the 40's overnight. We didn't even start up the wood stove last night which is very unusual for this time of year. Wood smoke from neighboring houses shows wind from the south on most days. Last couple of winters it's been mostly from the north. The other day I split up a couple of large chunks of wood. The splitter went into the ground a couple of inches. The ground isn't even frozen. Squirrels very active which is usually the sign of a thaw, but you have to have a little cold weather in order to have a thaw, and we really haven't had any. Weather to stay unusually warm for another couple of weeks at least.

tis the season

Changes in the natural world seem to be on hold for the time being. Tis the season in the human world, however. Christmas lights brighten the mood in downtown Rutland. John, Ellen, and Owen came over to decorate the tree last night. Owen wasn't much help. Christmas music ubiquitous  in the stores. Allyn hung up the stockings yesterday.

kiss of death

This has been one of the longest stick seasons I can remember. Temperature was in the 50's yesterday with no end to higher than normal temperatures in sight. Took the opportunity yesterday to clear debris off some of the cross country trails. That should provide the kiss of death to the winter season for sure.

Christmas Tree

Home from sesshin. Even though the weather feels more like October I came home to a house full of poinsettias. Allyn and I cut down a beautiful Christmas tree along a nearby fence line yesterday and brought it back in the truck. 

rare

Rare Saturday posting. I will be away for a week.

lights

UPS trucks delivering on residential roads. Winter issue of Rutland magazine. Christmas lights appearing on front lawns. Vermonters do tacky just as well as anybody else.

season of berries

molten silver

I don't know why, but water in lakes and ponds often takes on a metallic quality this time of year, like molten silver. 

commute

So since I retired, many of the daily rhythms of my life have changed. The obvious ones are that I don't get up in the morning, and go to work, and return home in the evening. This certainly affects the observations I'm able to make in relation to this blog.
Yesterday I was in town working on a project. I got done about 4:30 in the afternoon. I looked up as I was leaving and noticed a large flock of crows heading east, at least fifty of them. I used to observe this phenomenon at this time of year when I was working. As sunrise and sunset began to coincide with my arrival and departure at work, I would see these large flocks heading out in the morning, and returning in the evening. It appeared to be their daily commute. It reminded me of the seven dwarfs, and their travels to and from the mines and their cottage in the forest.
Crows are sociable and raucous creatures. Yesterday they flew high in the sky and silently. That is how I remember it from year's past. It seems that there is a drama or scenario that is playing itself out in front of me of which I am only able to discern the tip of the iceberg. There is something very mysterious and compelling about this sort of an observation for me.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, and the other is as though everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein

seasons

And the seasons roll on. End of rifle season for deer hunters. Christmas wreaths and trees for sale in the area. Sound of the Salvation Army bell. Took the annual drive to the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester yesterday to do some shopping

red sky

There must have been Novembers in the past in Vermont that have been as sunny and warm as this one, but I can't remember any. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with John, Ellen, and Owen yesterday. Owen's energy and enthusiasm seem boundless. The down side is he doesn't sleep much. Apparently the only way you can count on him to nap is when you take him for a walk outside which is what John and I did yesterday. It was a beautiful evening, warm and without any bugs of course. It was so quiet with a beautiful pink sunset. The atmosphere was bathed in alpenglow this morning as I headed to the usual Friday sitting. What does it mean when you have a red sky at night followed by a red sky at morning?

Happy Thanksgiving

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.
Willie Nelson

have a cup

Snowflakes buzzing around in the air. Snow on the mountain tops. Clementines and chestnuts appearing in the market. Also bought a quart of the Hood's Golden Egg Nog. I'll have a cup for you, Pip.

steel blue

It wasn't that many weeks ago that tractors were hauling bales of hay and silage on the roads of Vermont out of the fields and into the barns. Now you see these same tractors hauling fertilizer out to these same fields to be spread in preparation for planting in the spring. What goes around comes around I guess. The Green Mountains have become the steel blue mountains of November. 

Thanksgiving week

November is one of the gloomiest months of the year in Vermont. March is another one. The weather yesterday when I headed to the Zen Center for the Thanksgiving celebration was typical; cold, dark, rainy. It was so dark when I drove through Brandon that it almost seemed like the sun hadn't risen yet.

The ceremony at the Center was wonderful as always, full of light, laughter, love; good food and good friends. Thanksgiving has a special impact in a place like Vermont because of the contrast between the gloom on the outside compared with the warmth on the inside. When I mentioned this to a friend, she said some of her kids and grandkids live in Hawaii, and Thanksgiving in a place like that is pretty special, too. She has a point.

pallets of pellets

Pallets of pellets for pellet stoves seen in the parking lots of hardware stores all over Vermont. Trucks parked along road sides during hunting season. Raking up leaves in the front yard.

cavorting

At this time of year, the local avian population mimics the human one. Many of those who are able head south for the winter. The birds that remain are very much appreciated. Chick-a-dees, mourning doves, ravens, cardinals, and others. Blue Jay seen cavorting in an apple tree nearby.

last

Most flowers blossom in the spring and summer. This particular vine blossoms in November. I don't know its name, but these are the last white flowers we will see until spring.

sunset in Ira

November

Cleaning out the garage so that the car can go in there at night during the winter. Bringing down the wood rack from the attic. Starting up the wood stove. The wood heat is so warm and comforting.

In the woods

I've been out in the back posting No Hunting signs. A great opportunities to get out in the woods.

nature

Another sunny day. Deer moving from west to east in the morning in the back field. Turkeys grazing from east to west in the evening. Making plans to put up the No Hunting signs.

There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is rapture in the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
Lord Byron
Zen page a day calendar

Southeast

Southeast actually. Sorry.

Monday morning

old image from flickr

Cold and clear this morning. Got up to refill the wood stove. Took a peek outside, and the waning crescent moon, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were all lined up in the southwest. It's always nice to start the week with a little wonderment.

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.

stick season

After the leaves have fallen, there is a time known as "stick season" in Vermont. It's a period filled with its own stark and subtle beauty. Instead of various shades of green, or yellow & orange, the forests and fields display many hues of gray, brown, and amber. When the leaves and cornfields are gone, the natural world opens up in ways unseen since April. Nests in the trees are revealed for the first time in a long time.

Indian Summer

We've been going through a nice stretch of Indian Summer. Temperatures in the 60's. Playing golf with Stan Duda today. Oh, sorry Shawn, the politically correct terminology is "Indigenous Peoples Summer." Did I get that right?

blackbird

Google images

Blackbirds gathered in a tree near the creek. This first appeared on this blog 11/6/09.

Cloudy. At this time of year you see large flocks of blackbirds gathering (or starlings, or grackles), hundreds of them. The size of the flocks is a little unsettling, like nature is out of balance. I have seen these flocks descend on the trees in the back woods. It is almost like a plague of locusts. I was reading about them in my Peterson's field Guide, and it said, "Their song sounds like the creak of a rusty door hinge, penetrating."
The other day I went into a convenience store in Brandon, and there was a large flock screeching from the trees across the road. When I came out, one of the blackbirds was in the parking lot picking at crumbs of bread. It's feathery coat was a lustrous jet black from its beak to its tail. it glistened in the sun as it move about. It was so sleek and aerodynamic. It was beautiful.
This is a lesson I keep having to relearn. Just because something is common doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. Ragweed, blackbirds, snowflakes can, at once, be ordinary...and miraculous. Many years ago I found a young starling which had dental floss hopelessly wrapped around and cutting into its leg. I ended up taking it to the Rutland Veterinary Clinic. My neighbor, Louella Day, a native Vermonter, was on duty. She took a look at it and said, "Well it's just a starling, but let's see if we can take care of it." And she did. She had the right idea.

You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Paul McCartney

third act

The oaks and the beech trees are still showing their leaves, but some other trees are just now starting to turn. The tamaracks are now showing their yellowish hue along with the willow trees. The tamaracks are the only pine tree as far as I know that sheds its needles in the fall.
It occurred to me recently that the black locust trees, with their beautiful white blossoms, are among the most prominent trees to be observed during the spring, but I had no recollection of their leaves turning in the fall. I've watched a few of them recently, and now I know why. Their leaves just seem to wilt and quickly fall off. They have the most unremarkable foliage change I've ever seen.
I've always thought the willows were the last trees to turn in autumn. It looks like the apple trees might be even later than the willows. Apple trees are another that I don't ever remember observing in the past. Their yellow leaves along with the remaining fruit makes for a pretty combination. The apples end up looking like shiny Christmas balls.

end of October

Signs along the roadways supporting various high school playoff contenders. Last day at the summer venue of the farmer's market. Halloween parade in Rutland. Trick or treaters scurrying through the gloom in West Rutland. Daylight Savings time comes to an end.  

silage

It occurred to be the other day that my wood pile was similar to a Buddhist sand mandala. Maple to ashes. A cornfield is much the same thing. Actually there aren't any more cornfields in Vermont these days. Corn has turned to silage.

the leaves were flying

Yesterday it was really windy. The leaves were flying. The following first appeared in this blog 11/18/11.

Clear and cold. Two weeks ago on Sunday, I got home from the Zen Center in the afternoon. Allyn was a couple of hours behind me, returning from visiting her mother in Ohio. I wanted to finish cleaning up the mess from the various wood piles I had created in the back yard before she returned. I hauled bark and chips from the back to the burn pile we have in a field nearby. As I was returning from the burn pile, I saw two oak leaves high in the sky down by the bridge. They must  have been 100 feet in the air. I couldn't feel any breeze, it must have been above the tree line. But they came toward me, slowly fluttering in the air. They would start to head down, but would catch a thermal again, and rise up to the original level. One finally headed to earth along the road, but the other kept coming, fluttering, falling, rising, dancing on the wind. I had watched as I was hauling the wheelbarrow back, but the leaf had been in the air a long time, a number of minutes at least, longer than any leaf I had ever seen before. I finally put down the wheelbarrow, and gave the leaf my full attention. It kept coming; floating above the road, over the back yard and the house, over the front yard, and finally over my head heading east. It parted ways with the zephyr along the fence line, and slowly fell to the earth, landing in Allyn's flower garden near the old apple tree. As my eyes finally parted from the oak leaf, I looked up and saw the waxing moon, almost full, like mother of pearl, rising over the Green Mountains.

Soon the child's clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not  until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After that day...we become seekers.
Peter Matthiessen

observation

Boats on trailers heading back home from Lake Champlain for the winter. Ski sale at Middlebury High School. Sound of ice pellets hitting dried leaves. Smell of wood smoke.

There is no reality in the absence of observation.
The Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Zen page a day calendar

shiny

Walking in the woods. some of the small, round leaves look like shiny golden coins.

I can feel this heart inside me and I conclude it exists. I can touch this world and I also conclude that it exists. All my knowledge ends at this point. The rest is hypothesis.
Albert Camus
Zen page a day calendar

second season

The fall foliage season is not a static event that concludes on Columbus Day, it is a continuum. Some time after the maple leafs have fallen the oak trees turn.

At about the same point in time, the beech trees reach their peak. Burnt orange seems to be their favorite color.

On the whole, the colors of this second season of the fall foliage extravaganza are usually a little more muted in color, often with a coppery hue. Even the leaves of the blackberry bushes get into the act.

other things

There are events other than turning leaves going on in the area. The corn maze in Rutland town has been available for some time, and the haunted house in Pittsford is up and running. Halloween decorations are seen in most towns, and homes in the region.

the leaves

Contrast is part of the fall foliage story. Sometimes the changing leaves seem brighter when viewed alongside neighboring pine trees.

As some of the leaves start to fall, the contrast with the darkness of branches helps to highlight the leaves remaining.

As the season moves past peak, there are trees that are bare at the top with leaves remaining at the bottom. Sometimes these remaining leaves are the brightest.