Author Archive
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
Catalpa Tree
   The catalpa tree (”catawba,” “Indian bean”) is in bloom. Two large ones are on the Ghosh family property, and a huge one is just across the street from the front entrance to the Palace. I don’t know if they are Southern or Northern species. Here is a photo of the lovely blossoms.
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Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Reading the Landscape, after Barry Lopez
horizon
pasture
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Friday, June 1st, 2007
Tulip Tree
The yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), commonly known as tulip tree, is in bloom.
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Friday, June 1st, 2007
Bird Sightings
a pair of cedar waxwings
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Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
John Tallmadge on Writing as a Window into Nature
   “Thoreau was a self-taught naturalist and writer . . . and he had learned how to use both his learning and his imagination to uncover the hidden life of places. For him writing was a form of discovery . . . and like him we can learn to use writing as a window into […]
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
Reading the Landscape, after Barry Lopez
pond
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Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
Local Wildlife
chipmunk
deer
“It is remarkable how many creatures live wild and free
though secret in the woods . . .”
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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Monday, May 28th, 2007
Memories of Nature
   As you pause to reflect on the meaning of the day today, you might be drawn to family memories. What childhood memories do you have of nature? What interactions with the natural world did you have while growing up?
I remember digging on the beaches of New England, playing with (harmless) jellyfish, looking for sand […]
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Sunday, May 27th, 2007
A Thing of Beauty
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the […]
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Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Reading the Landscape (after Barry Lopez)
field
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Saturday, May 26th, 2007
White Pine (Pinus strobus)
white pine seedling:
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Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Sightings
broken, brown-speckled, tiny blue eggshell
first grasshopper of the season
first raccoon of the season
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Friday, May 25th, 2007
In Blossom
   Multiflora rose and blackberry bushes are blooming. The fragrance of the multiflora combines with the locust blossoms to perfume the air.
“I am the original fragrance of the earth.”
—-Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, Ch. 7: Text 10
(trans. by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Wetlands, Water, Oil
May is National Wetlands Month, and wetlands arise from the presence of water. This month has seen an unending upward surge in the price of gasoline. Therefore, the following quotes from David W. Orr are appropriate:
“Oil and water have had contrary affect on our minds. . . […]
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Peony
“This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises, . . .”
—-Mary Oliver, from Peonies