The natural world, life, and dogs.
No, I'm not angry. Rather, I'm gobsmacked by the beautiful array of reds nature puts on display in Vermont this time of year. And to think the autumn colors show is just getting started! Let me show you what I mean. I started noticing red started in the leaves carpeting a rail trail where Conall… Continue reading Seeing Red
For months now, my life has been in a state of upheaval. Leaving Idaho. Moving to Vermont. Settling in and adjusting. It has been a bumpy, scary, exciting and ultimately life-altering-in-a-good-way twelve months. This morning, walking through rain-soaked field grass with Finn and Conall, a light mist thickening the air and hushing the world around… Continue reading It’s Time to Write About Wolves
One recent morning, as the boys and I were finishing our two-mile perambulation through the fields and woods across the road, I noticed a Monarch butterfly leave the maple trees alongside our path and begin its effortless dance through the air, in search of nectar. Then another Monarch departed from the maples just ahead of… Continue reading Poetic Fliers: Monarch Butterflies
No, Woolly Bears aren't large, furry mammals like black, brown, panda, or polar bears. The Woolly Bears I'm referring to are insects. They're the adorably fuzzy black-with-rust-band caterpillars that appear throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico every autumn, usually in September. I remember being delighted spotting them as a child growing up… Continue reading Woolly Bears: A Sign of Autumn
Anyone reading my blog knows I enjoy seeing, photographing, and learning about wildflowers. Moving to Vermont in July, I was eager to see and learn about the “new” wildflowers I would find here. Almost immediately my eye was caught by Queen Anne’s Lace. Big, showy, white flowers – actually clusters of tiny individual flowers –… Continue reading Queen Anne’s Lace
Yesterday evening, while walking Conall and Finn along our road, a car approached, slowed, and the passenger side window went down. A woman of about 80 leaned her head out, smiled and looking at Conall, said, "What a beautiful dog!" as her husband slowly drove by. They were driving a Subaru, the Vermont state car.… Continue reading Compliments and Perceptions
Dizziness. Loss of balance. An inability to walk; falling to the floor, or crashing into walls or objects. A sensation of spinning despite being still, or that the world is spinning around you. In inability to maintain a sense of up or down, no matter how hard you concentrate. Changes in hearing, including tinnitus, even… Continue reading Out of Kilter
Maybe, like me, you endured school essay assignments where you had to compare and contrast something. Who knew that skill could end up being a useful blogging tool? Each day as I explore my new environment in Vermont, I can’t help but compare what I experience here to what I knew for the first 48… Continue reading Reinvention, Part Three: Comparing and Contrasting
Once, long ago, a male acquaintance said to me, “You’re constantly reinventing yourself.” He was being critical. I took it as a compliment. I’ve never been one to stay on the traditional or expected path. I prefer to stretch, explore, learn, and grow. Change can be scary, but overcoming hesitation and fear is a great… Continue reading Reinvention: Getting There (Part I)
The past month has brought lots of bird activity to my little patch of earth. Most of the through-migrating birds (geese, cranes, many songbirds) have flown by on their way north. Those birds calling this area home - some year round, some just during their breeding season - are engaging in the annual spring rites… Continue reading Birds of a Feather…
Wild Sensibility 