This past week our little slice of the world was coated in almost a half inch of ice. Everything, from the smallest blade of grass to the largest tree was encased in a crystalline state of suspended animation. After the storm, a strong wind ushered in below average temperatures which has enabled the ice to continue to hold its grip for several days. As I venture out and about, heading across the lawn rather than on my carefully laid stepping stones, I fear that I am adding t

This past week seemed to be characterized by all of life's stages with butterflies laying eggs, caterpillars being born and the death of a great blue heron in the lake right by our dock. The heron appeared to have simply died on the spot, while standing in water up to its knees. The body was almost completely intact except for its internal organs and a bit of flesh missing from one leg. My best guess is that a snapping turtle attacked it, but who knows. I pulled it up onto o

I recently began reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Published in 2013, it would be easy to wonder why it has taken me so long to pick up this wonderful book, but I know that it has come into my life now because it is the perfect time for it. I have been engaged in my "Walden Experiment" since the beginning of this year (see my February 1 blog for more information), and in the ensuin

This week's musings are in celebration of Arbor Day, which is today! This spring, as in years past, I have been on a mission to witness the emergence of baby tree leaves. It should be an easy task, but somehow it never is. Once I notice buds swelling and the blossoms bursting forth, I know that I need to start checking the branch tips several times a day. Even with this heightened awareness and frequent scanning of the tree tops, somehow I still miss the arrival of the leav

The books on my bookshelves get shuffled around periodically, especially after I have gone to a book sale and returned home with a few treasures. Placing the new acquisitions on my shelves generally requires a bit of reorganizing and sometimes even the removal and donation of one or two of my existing books. All of my books are organized by shelf with each one dedicated to a different category such as poetry, trees or nature study. Once the new books are tucked into their ne

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I participate in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (see my posting from February 1, 2019). Unfortunately, this past week I discovered that the wood post that my rain gauge is mounted on was rotted at the base. A quick survey of my pile of scrap wood revealed that I did not have an adequate replacement on hand. I knew that I could just jump in my car, drive over to our local lumber yard and buy a new 2x4, b

ges-tate v.t. 1. to carry in the womb during the period from the initiation of the pregnancy to delivery. 2. think of and develop (an idea, opinion, or plan) slowly in the mind. v.i. 3. to experience the process of gestating offspring. 4. to develop slowly. (Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, 1996). Many years ago I had the privilege of studying under the guidance of the poet Jan Lee Ande. She offered me some very sage advice with regard to the creative process that

flow v.i. Glide along as stream; circulate; (of talk, style, etc.) move easily; (of dress etc.) hang easily; gush out; be in flood. n. flowing; rise of tide; copious supply. (The Little Oxford Dictionary, 1969). I have been reflecting on “flow” a lot lately. This most recent revere has been prompted by the swelling tree buds and sap buckets that are dotting the sky and the trunks of trees of my local landscape. The buckets signify one of my favorite times of year, sap seas

This past Wednesday at 5:58 p.m. EST marked the vernal(spring) equinox in the northern hemisphere. The equinox occurs only twice a year, when the northern and southern hemispheres are both receiving the same amounts of daylight and the night and day are very near equal in length. (For more more information on the equinox, click the image to the left.) This year’s spring equinox was rather unique due to the fact that shortly after the actual time of the equinox a super worm mo

After every meditation session at The Redding Meditation Center there is a Dhamma talk. At the session I attended this past week, the talk centered on the idea of wishing happiness, peace and wellness to all beings whether or not you have a positive relationship with them. This led to a discussion of the meaning of being kind and showing kindness. At one point, another practitioner paraphrased two definitions of the word “kindness” and “kind”, which proved to be very thought

li·brar·y /ˈlīˌbrerē,ˈlīb(ə)rē/ noun: library; plural noun: libraries • a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to. It seems that I have been thinking about libraries a lot lately. I had the good fortune recently to hear Louise Penny speak at library fundraiser. In addition to being a wonderful mystery writer, she is also a very engaging and funny speaker. During one of her mo

“Jean-O-Types” & Genotypes Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The other day I was on a walk with a friend and we stopped to look at a tree that was obviously getting a lot of attention from some sort of woodpecker. She asked a simple question, “do you know what kind of tree this is?”. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t too long of a pause, but for me there were thoughts firing off left and right inside of my head before I gave her my answer. My first instinct was to say, “oooo

I realized the other day that I have a bit of “beaver brain”. Just as the beavers that we share our lake with, I like to identify a need or desire and set right about to tackling it. Need a tree for lodge renovations? Swim over, cut it down, pull it back to the lodge, pack it in with some mud and voilà, job done. Float around a bit and then on to the next task. Yep, that is pretty much how I work, although luckily my tasks generally don’t involve chewing down trees. This appr

By utilizing the I10 Framework, I was able to identify that my microcosm or f/64 window into the world would be the .33 acre piece of land that we own in Connecticut. So what exactly are my plans? Well, I have decided to commit to my “Walden” experiment for at least the next year. For the artistic part of my experiment, I will see if I can create a body work that is inspired by the narrow focus of just our little parcel of land. These new works may include poems, sculptures