Hasn’t our January weather been interesting?? Do crunchy snows underfoot, brisk breezes and wood fires make your heart sing? Snow-lovers can’t complain here; we’ve had snow since Christmas. TV weather people are much more animated when the weather is “bad”; life probably is a bit boring if no blizzards are in view and their radar shows that little is happening. I just personally wish that those fronts were less befuddled about their paths. Do we draw pails of water in case of power outage
by Carol Bossard
June, the month of weddings, Father’s Day, Flag Day, making hay and weeding gardens. Days are generally warm and nights are still fairly cool. Grass grows overnight. But of course, one never knows what will happen with our yoyo weather patterns. The news that both poles have moved thirteen feet is a bit disconcerting; that’s the width of my kitchen. I suppose, considering the size of the earth and the vastness of space that 13 feet isn’t all that much. But it is well
There was no dancing around May poles this May Day. With COVID restrictions as they are, intertwined children and ribbons are not a good thing. But spring flowers are dancing in the breezes. Lilies of the valley look as though they could ring those little bells as they shake in the wind. Tulips are a bit stiffer, but they too move, in a stately way --- rather more like a minuet than the free-form bobbing of the little lilies. Lilacs will soon be scenting the atmosphere everywhere around alo
“The sun was warm but the wind was chill; you know how it is with an April day when the sun is out and the wind is still, you’re one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, a cloud comes over the sunlit arch, a wind comes off a frozen peak, and you’re two months back in the middle of March..”*
Spring is here with its yoyo weather; in and out sunshine, torrential downpours and the occasional snow flurry. And with it comes mud season where feet can pop out of bo
I cut enough broccoli heads in the garden last Saturday for dinner. December 12th !!! It was so good! An odd blessing in December! The remnants of our ash trees are slowly becoming firewood. The weather in the past two weeks has allowed outdoor work, and Kerm is splitting the big chunks that remain into useful pieces for our wood stove. As the old adage says, wood warms twice --- once while getting it ready to burn and then again when it sends its heat throughout the living room. My doct
“I stood beside a hill, smooth with new-laid snow, A single star looked out from the cold evening glow. There was no other creature that saw what I could see --- I stood and watched the evening star as long as it watched me.”* Stars somehow look larger and clearer against a black sky, when the night is cold and still. This week’s melt has left us with much less snow though tomorrow will likely remedy that ---- but the stars are still shining, waiting for us to connect whenever we gaze up.
Snow, snow and more snow! Winter snows and winds have impacted several of our trees, especially our lilacs. The oldest one, probably at least 60+ years old, had three large broken branches that we removed from its center. Now it looks like two champagne flutes with space in the middle. Kerm taped another newer lilac back together, hoping it will reattach. Butternut and tulip trees have shed limbs all over the lawn, and one crab apple tree is split right down the middle. The deer have been
“Outside the open window the morning air is all awash with angels. Love calls us to things of this world.”* This totally describes a morning in June with its singing birds, dewy grasses and long hours of light. Besides the beauty of the world around us there are all the people who give love and those who need love. June —— when graduating seniors get a bad case of “senioritis” and grade-schoolers gaze longingly out the windows of their classrooms ——when birds who flew north in March have fledg
Easter is just past though one of my favorite lilting, happy songs says: “Every morning is Easter morning from now on….”. It was a most unusual Easter morning which I will, perhaps speak of in a later essay. It included the death of a long-time friend and member of our congregation and I am still processing that.
To celebrate Earth Day, I’m thinking of planting peas in a pot. It is a bit too early for our clay soil to be warm and welcoming; seeds planted in the ground would likely rot in
Easter is past and a lovely time it was. Now Spring lies before us with so many things to do it makes the head spin. Because of the mild weather and all the melting snow, things have greened-up nicely. Our daylilies are up several inches, daffodils on a south-facing bank are blooming and the deer have stopped coming down Apparently, their food sources on the hill are sufficient for their needs. Turkeys have separated into flocks and are less frequent visitors. I expect the hens may be sit
We are currently living amid the most ebullient, lush time of the year. Greenery grows inches every night. The cinnamon ferns in my shade garden are unrolling like so many bright green scrolls. Soon they will be high enough that I must peer through them to see the bird feeders. And baby raccoons and skunks will be out and about. We have an interesting variety of creatures in this region; opossums, raccoons, foxes, bobcats, black bears, skunks, fishers, coyotes, turkey vultures (four of whi
“The wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round….” ,
“School days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days….”
“A B C D E F G……”
Those well-known tunes remind us that it’s nearly time for classes to begin again in NYS. In some places, public school kids are already slamming locker doors, treading the long halls, and taking in the aroma o
The Equinox has come and we are now truly in autumn. Seasons are flashing past in double-time. Sooner than seems possible, we’ll be contemplating Thanksgiving dinner and then Christmas cards. But even now, there is this strange pull to prepare for winter ---- though most winter days here are navigable and fairly easy to manage. We are seldom snowed/iced in for more than two days. But, still, something inside ---- maybe all those years of helping put in hay bales or canning tomatoes, or perh
August is a time of star-watching. The Perseid meteors create a star-showered sky tonight. Lying on one’s back and seeing the wide canopy of stars is awesome; something I remember well from camp. I do not, however, chart my life events by those stars. Also, I’ve never liked the traditional flower and gem for this, my birth month. Some years ago, a friend from Colorado gave me a Native American horoscope for the same time, and I liked it much better. Instead of gladiolus, the flower for A
Ahhhh….. It’s March! Daylight savings time (this coming Sunday) and the Vernal Equinox (March 20) all in the same month. And yes, we will lose an hour, but it will be delightfully light longer in the day. We can feel the new life of Easter approaching, for the season of Lent began last Wednesday with a community service and luncheon. It is a time of introspection as well as awakening activity.
My process of cleaning out is continuing; it might continue on into infinity! “Yet occasiona
The Autumn Equinox has just passed and we are officially in the delightful fall season. The leaves are beginning to turn and the garden is shutting down. I’m making small stabs at fall cleaning as the crisper air gives me more energy. Note the “small” and “stabs”. Today the rains are pelting down and there is no crispness to the air --- but that is typical for the turning of the season.
Happy Anniversary to Shawn and Kristen! Their wedding, a few years ago, was a fine day in the park w
“Itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout….down came the rains and washed the spider out. Up came the sun and dried up all the rain and the itsy, bitsy spider went up the spout again!” A kid’s song apparently appropriate to August; I found three spiders escaping up the wall, in my shower this AM --- after having nary a one all summer. Steps will be taken!!
August ---the month with no holidays. There are actually about 3 ½ weeks of summer remaining before the Equinox, but we are progra
The birds aren’t singing as enthusiastically as they had two months ago, but they are still happily visiting the feeders and chirping away contentedly. A very small hummingbird – probably this year’s baby —- zips in for the sweet fluid and hesitates when he sees me sitting on the porch. The fireflies have begun lighting up the grassy parts of the back yard, especially on warm humid nights. The second cutting of hay is nearly done for local farmers. The garden is growing but not ready to harve
‘Tis the season of the Strawberry Moon, according to the Algonquin, Ojibwe and Lakota peoples. And from ancient Rome, we’d be one day past the Ides of June! Few people realize (unless they sat through Latin classes with Mrs. Dunn) that the Ides come every month. The 15th of March is the famous Ides because it was the chosen date of Julius Caesar’s demise via assassins. “Et Tu Brute?”!! But we are now just past the middle of this lovely month, in our time, and Mid-Summer Night’s Eve is soon to
“I like the fall --- the mist and all. I like the night owl’s lonely call --- and wailing sound of wind around….”*
Especially do I like those things if we have a cozy fire in the wood stove and a c up of hot chocolate in hand. We are well into October and Halloween is approaching. If you don’t like Halloween, how about “All-Soul’s Night” and “All- Saint’s Day” instead? Festivals marking the end of the growing season seemed also to have evoked the memory of those who’ve gone on. Our Hal
It’s warm outside, which is a nice change from our long winter, but I’m grateful for AC. There’s over-the-top hot and humid! We are in the doldrums time for flowers. Peonies and other spring flowers have bloomed, and late summer blossoms haven’t yet matured. I keep thinking I’ll add more biennials to the garden for this in-between time (canterbury bells, foxgloves, hollyhocks) --- but somehow, I have fragmented follow-through. The grasses along the roadsides are ripening; ranging in color fro
Do you have a time of the year when you feel more alive than other times? My favorite season is about to begin; mid-September through mid-November. As summer is winding down, my spirits are generally rising. I’m not sure why; perhaps the scent of falling leaves, the lessening of the humidity, or the return of the chickadees to our bird feeders. Whatever the reason I’m usually happier in the fall. As I think back, most of my depressive times have been in late winter (who wouldn’t be) or earl
April showers --- and the slow increase of temperatures --- have brought May flowers and growing weeds as well as discovering which plants have made it through another winter. There are the burgundy sprouts of peonies --- old-faithful plants that laugh at winter weather. Day lilies are inches high, the ferns are tightly curled fronds, the trout lilies’ yellow bells are sunshine in the garden, and trilliums are going to bloom very soon. Hands in the dirt bring good vibes to the psyche!
M
It’s mid-August and the stores are blatantly advertising school supplies and autumn clothing, not to mention Halloween decorations ---- this, in spite of the humidity and 80-90 degree temperatures. August is still summer!!--- and days continue to be good for picnics, sun tans, and nights fine for star-gazing. Hal Borland* describes August well……….”Dog Days ….Dragon flies and Damsel flies follow the boat when I go out on the river……little spotted turtles sun themselves on old logs and slip into
My favorite time of the year is drifting in with these late summer days leading into fall. Perhaps it is due to so many years of school beginnings, but now has always seemed to me, a more appropriate onset for a new year than January. Many cultures back in history have agreed; as harvests ended, a new year began. Instead of snow and ice, we could look forward to weeks of blue skies and pleasant weather with, hopefully, a few more rainy days than this summer provided. It’s time for being outs
