Oct 31 2008
This one’s for Beth. About 10 days ago, when riding my bike on a hilly route, I was paced by this monarch butterfly. He had no trouble outdistancing me, since I was climbing a steep grade at about eight miles per hour. But he tired of the race and stopped for nourishment at roadside flowers on his migration south. I wished him the best of luck on his journey, and extend the same to Beth on her birthday, too.
Oct 30 2008
Only a week ago the snow outside my window was far away, somewhere up in northern Canada. Wet and warm conditions alternated with nice sunny days. But it’s the damp days which bring out the autumn colors more than the dry. There’s more. Any walk along a riverside trail in a misty drizzle is a feast for all the senses. In the diffused light and humid air, familiar colors are suddenly, strikingly vivid. Commonplace scents become richer and more evocative. And the small sounds of foraging wildlife carry further. So on one of the warm wet days, I grabbed my camera and took a hike along The River. I wasn
Oct 28 2008
What a difference a day can make. Yesterday the wind was gusty, lusty, and warm, ripping the orange and brown leaves from maples outside the window next to my desk. The downdrafts over the maple’s canopy created arcs clear of leaves around the trunk’s base. Here’s the view:
But today, almost exactly 24 hours after the photo above was taken, General Winter is marching through here in the northern Adirondack foothills. No biking for me today on the heavy wet snow. With luck, though, this early season snow will melt in a day or so and the monochrome landscape will be much brighter. Meanwhile, this is what I’ll see when I look up from the computer display:
