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.