drought

Went to pick up Allyn at the Rensselaer train station last evening and drove home through a good, soaking rain. This is a time when one usually sees a lot of frogs on the roads. There were some, but not as many as usual. The current drought has been difficult for many animals, frogs included. There was an article in the Rutland Herald yesterday about this. It said that "bears, snakes and ants are among the species having to venture further afield in search of food and water." It said that "herons and other birds have been feasting on frogs that have become more visible in ponds."
This is a photo of a small stream near our home. Believe it or not, it has more water in it after yesterday's rain than it did a couple of days ago when there was basically no flow at all. What is an inconvenience at best for us is a matter of life or death for species in the natural world.

thick

The lawn and fields are thick with crickets and grasshoppers. Late summer is upon us.

Lightning flashes!
So bright in the eyes of those
clutching at the thought of death.
Issa

curlier

Hot and very sticky over the past few days. Curly hair is curlier than usual. Salt clumps up in the salt shaker. One of my all time favorite "signs of the times" observations.

basil

tansies

Parking in the shade on hot days. Smell of basil coming in through the front door.

bees

As I said in an earlier post, we've seen honeybees around this year for the first time in a long time. I noticed the other day that we have a new neighbor who is keeping bees. His house is about 500 yards away. I wondered if that was close enough that we might be seeing his bees. Wikipedia says that honeybees forage up to two miles from the hive so it's likely this is where they're coming from.

star gazing

Another beautiful day. Even though the nights have been great for star gazing, I haven't done any for a long time. I got a call about a week ago from a former co-worker who was looking for operating instructions for a new telescope. I volunteered my neighbor Pete. Last night we went out. The scope wasn't the best, but we got some good looks at the moon, Saturn, the wild duck cluster, and the Hercules star cluster. It was great to get out there again.

But it is the stars as not know to science that I would know-the stars which the lonely traveller knows.
Henry David Thoreau
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Blackberries

Another beautiful day. Blackberries ripening. Harvesting in the fields. Cacky playing with her dogs in the Ira brook.

Such stillness
the cries of the cicadas
sink into the rocks.

Basho
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