leftover pterodactl

Zen Master Ummon said that every day is a good day, but I bet even he would say that these days in June are extra special. A lot of buzzing is going on from bees, hummingbirds, and dragonflies. Orange Hawkweed appearing in the lawn. Also known as Indian Paintbrush.

Saw a great blue heron soaring over the Ira creek the other day.

predator haven from blogspot

It looked like a leftover pterodactl from the age of dinosaurs.

For me, celebrating the wildflowers or the birds is like a kind of worship.

Michael Langley

Page-a-day calendar on gratitude

The mystery

Monarch butterflies have played a small part in my life for as long as I can remember. That changed, however, last summer when for the first time I was involved in capturing the monarch caterpillars; first with my son and his family in East Aurora, New York, and later when we came back to Vermont. While the caterpillar that I hoped would mature into a butterfly never made it out of the chrysalis stage here, the caterpillars that we found in East Aurora did become monarchs and headed off to Mexico after the metamorphosis. The whole experience affected me very deeply. I will never see butterflies in the same way again.

When I was mowing the lawn the other day, I saw some milkweed growing in the grass. That could only mean one thing to me, monarch butterflies! Here is some food for monarch butterflies. They must be on their way back to North America. I will be seeing them soon.

The tiger swallowtails have already arrived. I was able to get some photos of one the other day.

Apparently they feed on red clover, the Vermont state flower, which is ubiquitous this time of year. Funny how that happens. I was planning on writing about the butterflies and milkweed, among other things, today. Last fall I was peripherally involved in an article about monarch butterflies that appeared in the Vermont Zen Center newsletter. When I went to my computer this morning, this link had been sent to me by a member of the Center who had read that article. She thought I might be interested in seeing it.

Video of Monarchs: https://youtu.be/lWOySU_hAz0

I have found that in recent years that certain emotions take on a newfound power. It seems that the most powerful emotions that I experience are such that I can't even label them in the usual way; anger, fear, boredom. The usual emotions are related to me as a being. I am mad at her. I am envious of him. These deeper emotions are felt, but there is nothing to which they are attached. They feel like they are beyond the realm of self and other. Awe/reverence is about as close as I can come to a description. That is how I felt when I viewed this video. Thank you Meredith.

How this video came to be presented to me on exactly the day I needed to see it in order to put it on the blog is another of those mysteries that cannot be explained.

Living with bluebirds

For many years we have been so fortunate to have bluebirds nesting in a birdhouse in the back yard. There is nothing more beautiful.

Last year was the first year in a long time that we didn't have any. It looked like the house wrens scared them off. This year I moved the house to an area away from the house wren activity. When I put up a bird house, I feel a real sense of responsibility, that I have a stake in helping whatever babies come along to make it to the point where they can take care of themselves. I worry about them. I was happy to see that the new spot for the birdhouse seemed to be free of the house wrens. I thought we were home free until I notice a house sparrow sitting on the fence about 20 yards from the new house. Supposedly if you hang strips of mylar or tyvek in front of the entrance, that will discourage the sparrows so that's what I did.

A couple of weeks ago there was a lot of activity around the birdhouse which seemed to indicate that the baby bluebirds had arrived. The parents seemed busy going in and out of the house to feed the new arrivals. Then suddenly there wasn't any activity at all. That can mean that the youngsters had fledged but in the past I've always seen that happening. I opened the box and there was a nest but no birds inside. I wondered whether something like a snake, cat, or racoon had gotten them. I put up the barrier under the birdhouse to lessen the chances of that in the future. Part of me felt that I had let them down. That I should have put the barrier up earlier to prevent predators in the first place.

Yesterday I noticed the female bluebird foraging as usual on the back lawn. I noticed another bird close by and pulled out the binoculars to have a look. It was a young bluebird, recently born and fledged! Predators hadn't gotten to them after all! I was so happy and relieved. I noticed two others out there, feeding with their parents. For a short period of time anyway, all is right with the world.

Something new

Herb Robert appearing (the flower, not a person). This is one of the humble flowers of summer that appears in shaded areas in forests and along roadsides.

It doesn't have a season really. It is with us all summer. Viburnum blossoming. Looks like something you would find in a Japanese garden.

Speaking of humble, I found out from one of the blog readers that what I thought was phlox is actually called Dames Rocket. The Dame's Rocket has four petals and the Garden Phlox has five. We regret the error.

It's a beautiful day today and we're out burning the burn pile. Spending a long time in the pasture and noticing small grasshoppers. I usually don't start to notice them until much later in the season, some time in August. Grateful to notice something new.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

We've been sticking pretty close to home since we got back from Brazil on March 11th. It's really not hard to do if you're retired and live in a place like Ira, Vermont. Every two weeks one of us goes to the supermarket at 6 in the morning to take advantage of senior hour. That means I go shopping in an actual store about once a month. We complement these orders with curbside pickups from the Rutland Co-op, and Kamuda's Market as needed. Don't get around much anymore.

I try to get up to the Zen Center and work in the gardens there once a week. I was there yesterday. As I headed north I noticed that the black locust trees were in bloom in some places. I was glad to see them. They are my favorite of all the trees that actually blossom this time of year.

I also drove by Wood's Market in Brandon. It's a wonderful place that I've visited for years. They have great local produce, plants, cheeses and pastry.

They have been closed for the most part in recent weeks, offering plants only via curbside pickup. I honestly haven't thought too much about it. As I was driving by, I realized with a start that it was June which is usually the start of the local strawberry season here in Vermont. And Wood's Market, which has the best strawberries in the state in my opinion was closed. In the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world, but it's a loss of one of the most delicious moments of the year; the first bite into a fresh locally grown, Vermont strawberry.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Duke Ellington

The big #4

Happy Birthday Clarkie!

Let it shine

The trees have leafed out meaning the spring ephemeral wildflower season is over. Vermont wildflowers continue to emerge and about in fields and along roadsides.

golden alexander

chokecherry (I think)

celandine

One of my favorites that is emerging now is the phlox. So common, so ordinary. Even its name sounds ordinary. Nothing so elegant as queen anne's lace or golden alexander. But it is beautiful.

Modest, common, unassuming yet beautiful...I wish I could live like the phlox.

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine.

Harry Dixon Loes