Amie and I had just read a book about snails when lo and behold! One showed up on our doorstep, literally. That’s our doorstep. Amie was enthralled. We talked about how it carries its house on its back, leaves a trail of mucus, can crawl up vertical surfaces and upside down (try explaining “suction” to …
Category Archives: natural world
More Birds
The 4 robins have pretty much outgrown their nest, but I haven’t seen them fly out yet. There are two little woodpeckers like these. Neither has a red spot on the head, so I think they’re both adult females. They’re so small they are probably Downy (not Hairy) Woodpeckers. But the Hairy Woodpecker is probably …
Nature Happenin’
Our work-weekend at the new house was cut short by the inclement weather. The humidity reached 91%, which made painting impossible. We decided not to spent another night there and to come “home” (“to our old home,” is how Amie appropriately puts it) to start packing. While we were there we took stock of our …
The Beginning of Our Woodpile
To many of you it might seem like not much, but to DH and me it looks like the foundation of paradise! Some trees (in the background: 1 large white oak, 1 smaller birch and 1 smaller maple) had to be felled to make way for the new septic system. Their remains have been lying …
Animals seen at our new House to date
Birds: Chickadee Northern Cardinal (male and female) Blue Jay American Robin (male and female – one sitting on her nest in our carport) Hummingbird (probably the Ruby-throated hummingbird, not because I identified it as such, but because my books tells me it’s the only one that visits Mass. in summer, and it was green) Yellow-throated …
A path, a wall, a gate – space into place into home
We’re closing on Monday. We’re going to do this! And even before it begins, I feel the urgent need to document it all. Hopefully I’ll have the time to write here more often again. Last week a new septic system was put in, which tore up the entire front and back yard. We knew about …
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Making Tracks on the Ice
Over the weekend we visited Walden Pond. As I had hoped, it was frozen over. The Ranger told me the ice measured only 4 inches, and that it wasn’t safe to walk on – it being a very deep pond (102 feet). Nonetheless, there were quite a few people on the ice. We just braved …
The Story of Stuff
I can’t remember or find out via which blog I discovered this (my apologies), but it is fantastic and I want to spread the word. It is “The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard,” an informative, entertaining and especially rousing little movie (20 minutes long) about, you know, stuff. Go have a look-see! I’ll just reproduce …
Amie’s Little Bird and the Cuckoo Clock
While in Kolkata, I got hooked on birds again. It happens at times, especially in Spring. It stands to reason that I should be a birdwatcher: I love quietly observing, recording in notebooks, classifying. I love birds – of all the animals, I think they are the most wonderful. I have several bird guidebooks to show for my …
Wendell Berry is my hero
Thanks to Moonmeadow Farm, this is Wendell Berry’s poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front” from his book The Country of Marriage (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973). I hope it’s ok to reproduce it here… Oh but be fearless!  So: Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry (my hero) Love the quick profit, the annual …