I just went outside to empty the ash bucket from the wood stove. It’s early evening and a light mist clings to the air as a storm approaches from the east. Without knowing why, I found myself transfixed for several minutes staring at nothing in particular. My eyes looked blankly at swaths of rust and honey covering the hills. The wind growled through the trees and golden leaves trickled down like snow. They didn’t come straight down, but lingered weightless…
Cape Cod in autumn is a magical place. Perfect weather, gorgeous beaches, glimpses of wild nature, and best of all, no crowds! I spent the weekend camping in Nickerson State Park with my three aunts, and needless to say, we had a wonderful time. I decided to stay an extra night on my own, and the park is nearly deserted. My company this evening was a precious cottontail rabbit who chose to forage near me as I ate my dinner. …
This past weekend, I travelled to my home state of New York to attend the DEC sponsored Becoming an Outdoors Woman program in the Adirondacks. The program offers dozens of classes in outdoor skills such as hunting and fishing, map and compass, how to preserve food, reading the landscape, and much, much more. There are four sessions (so you pick four classes) throughout the weekend. I took classes in Adirondack ecology, field dressing, taxidermy, and tree identification. It was incredible…
I had two flocks of turkeys pass through my yard today. I stopped to watch them, and in those moments, there was nothing else happening in the world. The sky rumbled, grey and pouty, as it began to spit like a child having a temper tantrum. I stood at my window, watching the golden maple leaves sway carelessly to the ground, feeling aware of the comfort of my home. Memories of my lifetime of autumns passed in an instant, as…
Nearly every afternoon, a flock of turkeys comes through my yard. Today, they arrived around 3:40, emerging from the woods in a tidy single file line, like a group of school children. There are 9 of them now, down from the original 14 that I counted over the summer. But they are a healthy and robust crew, and it’s always a pleasure to watch them scrape and scramble eastward through the yard. Turkeys travel one to two miles a day,…
It’s peak foliage season here in Western Mass. The weather has been spectacular, with striking blue skies and streams of sunlight pouring through the fiery foliage. Leaves appear to glow, They rattle and rustle as if in a shamanic trance. And then they rain down, like gold coins, spreading a wealth of riches on the forest floor. I’ve always thought that fall foliage is nature’s fireworks display. It starts slowly – a burst of orange and red here and there,…
It’s been a challenging week. I’ve been struggling to go at a pace that my body doesn’t like. Meanwhile, life around me is slowing down. The leaves are starting to fall, the garden is winding down, and even the weeds seem to have stopped growing. The days are getting shorter, animals are preparing for winter, and there is less energy all around. Mother Nature is getting ready for the long winter’s rest ahead. So why shouldn’t I? Autumn is perhaps…
The work day is over, and I just looked up from my computer and found myself strangely startled by how beautiful it is out. It’s amazing how detached I can feel from nature while I’m “plugged in”, clicking away at my computer keyboard. But all it takes is two minutes of observation to bring me back to feeling more centered and connected with reality. Here’s what I just noticed: The magical, golden evening sunlight streaming through the trees A Daddy…
Tonight is the full Sap Moon. As I look at my window, I can see the opal light glowing on the maples, brushing the buds with a soft celestial kiss. It is rising steadily over the mountains of Wendell, up and up, arching over my humble home, and it will soon shine through my window, keeping me awake with its taunting lunar gaze. I imagine it saying, “Come dance with me.” I think there is a little bit of Doug…
As far as days go, they don’t get any better than today. The foliage is at the peak of its kaleidoscopic grandeur, and the weather has been perfectly sublime. When I stepped out the door this morning, I gasped in awe at the golden umbrella arching over my driveway, glowing warmly in the early sun. And I asked myself, “How could this beautiful place possibly be my home? How did I get so lucky?” But I must confess, I gripe constantly about the…