impermanence

Cooler temperatures although  bit steamy when mowing yesterday afternoon. I remember reading some years ago that the day was coming when the climate in Vermont would one day be like the climate in Virginia. It has felt more like Virginia than Vermont this summer. I remember an amazing fact that Kim presented at a lecture some months ago that when Washington crossed the Delaware during the revolution, the climate in New Jersey was what the climate now is in Quebec. Field corn is growing like crazy.

season of sunflowers

Across the road
from a field of sunflowers:
a sunflower
Bsssho

season of crickets

Was out mowing, and crickets were everywhere! They remind me of blackbirds, sleek and black, ordinary and beautiful. They are considered to be a sign of good luck in some Asian and Native American cultures. Some of them venture inside this time of year. Their chirping in the darkness is uplifting. Went outside last evening, and the sound of the crickets  and grasshoppers was almost deafening.

On a branch
floating downriver
a cricket, singing.
Issa 

stellafane

Went to Stellafane on Friday night. It is a longstanding event in Springfield,; Vermont that features homemade telescopes. During the evening, viewing is possible. Saw many of my old favorites along with some new things. I went with Allyn, my step-brother, and his wife. I feel that anyone who has any interest in the natural world should try star gazing at least once in their lives.

Season of hummingbirds

They love this garden by the patio.

elm

Elm trees have always been a beautiful part of the American landscape. In the last century, Dutch Elm Disease has wiped out most of them. Actually you still see a fair number of them around, but they are almost always young ones. Sooner or later the disease catches up with them. You see the bones of these trees all over Vermont. We have one in our back field.

There is an elm tree just off of Route 7 that I have observed for 30 years. It is an anomaly in that it is mature and still in good health. Is it resistant to the disease? Does its relative isolation protect it from the beetles which carry the disease? Certainly it is a miracle, and a beautiful one at that.

grace

common nightshade

When you're swinging on a swing, you go hard in one direction, and then there is a slight pause at the top before you start to head the other way. Climatically, we seem to be in that "pause" position right now. While the days are starting to get shorter, the natural world is basically still in summer mode. Birds have fledged so the nesting season is over, but the migration season is a ways away. I saw the mother bluebird teaching the babies how to forage for themselves the other day. Dragonflies are starting to gather in the back, but not yet in earnest. Teachers and children are still on summer break, but the teachers are starting to think about it. Things are kind of in a state of grace.

School has started in Brazil. All of the Kahle Jones family is heading off to school today. I wonder if Clarkie's school will ever be the same.