snow ball trees

You see a lot of these trees in bloom this time of year. This is another one that I don't know the name of. A lady at work used to call them "snow ball trees." Gearing up for the United Way campaign. This has become a part of my life particularly in the fall and winter.

watering

39 degrees yesterday morning. Believe it or not, those temperatures are not unusual for Vermont at this time of year. Turning the heat on in the car in the morning. Wearing a sweatshirt in the house. Ragweed appearing, eyes watering.

war

My wife Allyn is a very nice person, but at this time of the year she is at war. The grass that the cows have been feeding on starts to slow in its growth. At the same time, there are some luscious plants along the fence lines that are in full bloom. As happens every year, some of the cows have learned how to negotiate between the barbed wire, and have been decimating Allyn's day lilies along with some of the other plants. She tries to chase them away, but it's really a losing battle. The deer also enter the fray as they try to store up calories for the long winter ahead.
I have my own battles with the cows at this time. The wild apple trees in the pastures are bearing fruit, and the cows love them. Owen fed some apples to the cows when he was here. The cows, however, are not content to munch on the apples in the fields. They see the apple trees in our yard, and seek to find ways through the fences to get at them. We are busy patching weak spots in the fences to try to keep the cows at bay.

spectacular

Hiked up Mt. Abraham with a couple of my favorite guys on Saturday. It was a perfect day for it; sunny and cool, no bugs. The view was spectacular from the top. My legs are still sore.

crown

There's a vine that appears in Vermont in late summer that's been on my radar for many years. For someone who's interested in wildflowers, I've been lax in terms of finding out what it is. Not 100% sure, but it looks like it's called Virgin's Bower. It's appealing to me because it looks like a crown offered up by the natural world. It seems like every common and ordinary bush or bramble is adorned  for a time by a pearly white tiara; ordinary yet regal. Somehow that seems just about right.

At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough.
Toni Morrison

lawn

A friend who lives in Panama recently said to me, "Boy, there are some really large lawns in Vermont."
It's true. There are some homes throughout the state that have lawns that are truly gigantic. It seems that when they finally get finished with their mowing, they must have to start again at the beginning. They don't call this the Green Mountain State for nothing. Almost any area that has had the trees removed is a potential lawn. All you really have to do is start mowing, and eventually it will become a lawn. We did that when we first moved here. We took down some fending along a pasture, and started mowing it. Now it's just part of the lawn. 

grace

Thunderstorms of last evening signaled a change from hot and humid in the 80's to pleasant and dry in the 70's. These last few weeks of summer in Vermont are often a period of serenity and grace. Teenagers in back packs walking to school. Closing the windows in the house at night. High summer clouds make beautiful patterns of light and shade on the Green Mountains.

all that we behold
Is full of blessings.
William Wordsworth
Zen page-a-day calendar

season of pine cones

The other day I brushed up against a pine cone hanging low on a branch in the front yard. It felt like it had been coated in honey; very sticky. I wonder why that is? You would think that pine cones would be fairly unobtrusive but they're not. They make a real racket as they fall out of the trees outside the house. Sometimes the only noise here is the sound of a squirrel, high in one of the spruces outside, chewing on a pine cone.

campers

Back to summer for a few days. Tents and campers filling parks all through the New England states. People who live here often open up campers right in their driveway to escape the heat, what little of it we've actually had.

season of sunflowers

So many seasons.

impermanence

48 degrees this morning. Mist in the valleys. A few leaves starting to turn. Allyn heading back to school today.

All things in this world are impermanent.
They have the nature to rise and pass away.
To be in harmony with this truth brings true happiness.
Buddhist chant
Zen page-a-day calendar

around

In May and June, the mornings are filled with the sounds of birds singing. By August, the mornings are filled with silence. For some reason I've always thought this signaled that many of the birds had left, headed south for the winter. I was looking out into the back yard the other day, and it was thick with song birds. I think that the difference is due to the fact that the season for rearing their young has passed. Birds don't need to claim, announce, and protect their territory. It's nice to know that many of them are still around.

Season of fairs

Driving Route 7 and seeing signs for Addison Farm and Field days. Season of fairs. I remember when we stopped in there briefly on our way to Montreal a couple of years ago. Eliza loved the animals. Seeing cars on trailers painted for demolition derby; before and after.

angular

Grasshoppers joining the crickets in the fields. Red fox making his rounds in the evening. Dragonflies starting to gather in the back. They migrate for the winter, just like birds. They have an unusual way of flying, very angular. They remind me of old WWII bombers.

overload

butter and eggs

Mullein, tansies, chicory, evening primrose, wild sage, and butter & eggs are wildflowers that are currently blossoming. Butter and eggs is a great name for a wildflower. I'm mentioning so many at once because some of the readers are experiencing a bit of wildflower "overload", and this seemed a way to get them out of the way all at once. Out of common courtesy and respect, I won't mention their names. Oh all right, it's Shawn and my brother Bill.

buckle

Blackberries ripening. They are good on cereal in the morning and blackberry buckle.

trucks

Trucks can be a big part of life here on the other side of the creek. A friend of a friend once said, "Why buy a car when you can have a truck?" Hauling wood, clearing brush, going to the dump; having a truck makes many activities a lot easier.
I've had a truck for years, but it was kind of a beater. It finally got to the point where it wouldn't pass inspection any more so I had to get another. The "new" truck is almost 10 years old, but it's in pretty good shape. I call my new truck Silver, as in "high ho Silver" (Google it, Shawn).
I have seemingly become much more "popular" since I got this truck. Almost every time I go up to the Zen Center, Weezie asks me if I am bringing Silver to assist with any number of chores. Another friend asked my if I would help him get rid of some appliances. Believe it or not, some of my grandchildren know me as "Papa truck."
If you're up in the Zen Center parking lot on the night of a sitting, the parking lot is full of Priuses. Silver, however, is the only truck in the lot. I was in a fairly large parking lot in Shelburne the other day, and Silver was the only truck in the entire lot of almost 100 vehicles. I was shocked. That is one of many differences between Rutland and Shelburne/Burlington.
There's a story that after Hurricane Irene, Governor Shumlin of Vermont was talking with Governor Christie of New Jersey. Governor Shumlin asked Governor Christie how the cleanup was going. Christie replied, "It's slow going, how about for you?"
Governor Shumlin answered, "It's going very well. Seems like half the population here owns a truck and a chainsaw."

August

Battenkill River

...To view the painting, give the river three more weeks of solitude, and then visit the bar on some bright morning just after the sun has melted the daybreak fog. The artist has now laid his colors, and sprayed them with dew. The Eleocharis sod, greener than ever, is now spangled with blue mimulus, pink dragon-head, and the milk-white blooms of Sagittarius. Here and there a cardinal flower thrusts a red spear skyward and pale pink joe-pyes stand tall against the wall of willows. And if you have come quietly and humbly, as you should to any spot that can be beautiful only once, you may surprise a fox-red deer, standing knee-high in the garden of his delight...

August

A Sand County Almanac

Aldo Leopold 

Joe Pye Weed

Joe Pye Weed and Boneset appearing. The leaves and shape of the flowers are very similar. Boneset is the white one. Joe Pye Weed is one of my favorite wildflower names. Joe Pye sounds like it should be the name of a character in a Mark Twain novel. According to Wikipedia, Joe Pye used this plant to cure fevers.

transition

It's the fourth of August, and it finally feels like summer has arrived. Warm days, cool nights. The transition from summer to fall, however, will start to pick up speed now. Piles of firewood appearing in peoples' driveways. Birds gathering in the back in preparation for their southward migration.

summer vacation

One of the heartening aspects of summer here is watching the cows in the back. They are only here for the summer. They have plenty to eat and water that comes right out of the Ira brook. Often you see them lying in the sun, soaking it up. When it's too hot they hang out in the shade. There are wild apple trees in our fields, and the cows love them. It's almost like they're on summer vacation.

Isn't she lovely

First day of school

First day of life!

It goes fast. Congratulations to Kristin, Tom, Doug, Kim, and, of course, baby Grace.

Queen Annes Lace

Queen Annes Lace appearing. This is one of the few wildflowers where its name describes and befits its delicacy and beauty.