And the days grow notably shorter. It had to happen eventually, I suppose. But the poison parsnip is dead, and good riddance to it. “I don’t suppose your leaves have started turning yet,” mused my dad at the other end of a cell phone connection about a week ago. “No,” I said, “but just last … Continue reading Journal Entry: The Earth Grows Restless and Begins to Shift
Fall
One Picture, A Few Words: B & W Photo Challenge Day 6
We are tired. All of us. Yesterday Scout and I ran five miles, the longest run we've undertaken together. We reached a familiar milestone on the Battenkill I once met with Clarence-the-Canine, and then turned and headed back to the car. We did not run as fast as Clarence and I ran, but we stopped … Continue reading One Picture, A Few Words: B & W Photo Challenge Day 6
October in Vermont: Season of ‘Lasts’
It’s unfair to name October a season, which more properly belongs to fall. But it does mark a big transition in these parts, a time beyond which the air feels more authentically like winter to a person with Southern roots. Not once in the five Vermont winters I’ve seen have we missed a respectable snowfall—a … Continue reading October in Vermont: Season of ‘Lasts’
Tail of the Dog, in Which Warden Prepares to Play the Wrong Piano Concerto
In 1999 the Portuguese virtuosa Maria Joao Pires famously sat at the piano with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conductor Riccardo Chailly at the podium, awaiting the first bar of the piano concerto she expected to play for this lunchtime concert. Imagine her surprise when the orchestra began playing a different piece of music—the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor—instead … Continue reading Tail of the Dog, in Which Warden Prepares to Play the Wrong Piano Concerto
Photo Essay: Grey Day on the Battenkill
Ain’t no sunshine in Vermont (cue the Bill Withers). And thus far today seems a carbon copy of yesterday—solid grey as far as the eye can see, the distinct chill in the air nudging you to put something warm on your back. Makes me whiney. Autumn in New England is spectacular at the height of leaf … Continue reading Photo Essay: Grey Day on the Battenkill
Traditions: Peering Through the Lens of Nostalgia
There are a couple of late November moments that fill me with so much nostalgia and sentimentality I get chills. One is hearing the strains of Tchaikovsky's Miniature Overture to The Nutcracker for the first time in the long Nut season. Don't get me wrong: I am not a fan of the ballet, nor the score, with the … Continue reading Traditions: Peering Through the Lens of Nostalgia
Postscript Bedlam Farm: Sunday Photo Essay
Still experimenting with my new-old Nikon, still fooling around with free photo editing. I have a long way to go and the reality is I'll need to pay someone to teach me. The October Bedlam Farm open house happened on a weekend that could not have been more picturesque and photo-worthy. Revisiting these images, playing … Continue reading Postscript Bedlam Farm: Sunday Photo Essay
The Day The Sheep Shearers Came
You need not go far in my home state of Vermont to find a farm. Lots of people live and work on them, the rest of us drive past them going to and from. Same thing applies to upstate New York, a stone's throw away. Writer Jon Katz and his wife, fiber artist Maria Wulf live on … Continue reading The Day The Sheep Shearers Came
Creative Workshop Takeaways: Publish or Perish
Today I attended a creative workshop led by New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz at this really groovy yurt in Cambridge, NY. (By the way, yurt is the word of the day.) I attended sessions on writing, photography, and blogging. One thing Jon underscored in his writing and blogging sessions was the importance of producing … Continue reading Creative Workshop Takeaways: Publish or Perish
Sycamore Stories 