Index

Only the most recent 100 posts, a limit imposed by WordPress:

A Taste of Ukraine in History, Art and Music (5/22/2023) - This is a remake of my August 2022 post, “Bella Ciao – Obiymy – Embrace Me – Despacito – Do Something.” I made one giant improvement. I removed almost everything I wrote, and left it to the Ukrainians. The old … Continue reading →
Song for a deadly peacemaker and kitten (5/5/2023) - It is Day 436 of the Russian Criminal War of Genocide against the People of Ukraine.Volodymyr, with the call sign ‘Malysh,’ [“Baby,” according to Google Translate] is a sergeant in the 128th separate mountain assault Transcarpathian brigade. He signed his … Continue reading →
Shchedryk Returns to Carnegie Hall for Centennial Performance; Revised Feb 26, 2023 (12/7/2022) - I sing, therefore I am. “A 1919 review of the Ukrainian Republic Choir in the Genevan journal La Patrie Suisse mused that the Ukrainian National Republic established its independence through the motto, ‘I sing, therefore I am.’ Ukraine continues to … Continue reading →
NHGS and Being One With Everything (7/6/2022) - If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected to everything. –Alan watts This is true. However, it need not be a far, far forest. It can be near. … Continue reading →
Creekwalking and Beaverstick, 1st Look (7/5/2022) - Updated 20220705 20:12 – added pictures. What’s a great way to enjoy a sweltering summer day with 90 degrees, drinkable humidity, magnified sunlight, and a chance of fast-moving wild thunderstorms? Do a creekwalk! It is a style of bushwhacking. Instead … Continue reading →
Uncanny Pool in Klondike Brook (6/30/2022) - This is about my all-time favorite “creek walk,” way back in August 2009. It was in tourist country, the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness Area that is not a wilderness anymore because it is severely overrun by tourists. As beautiful as … Continue reading →
Willa (6/22/2022) - Are her musical gifts enriched by color synesthesia? Join me for an introduction to a new star born in our midst. (Note: Willa Blog Post Review is a YouTube playlist of all 24 videos shown or linked in this … Continue reading →
On my relationships with trees and forests (6/1/2022) - The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. ~ Chinese Proverb The Balsamean; Scribblements from Balsamea contains 34 posts about relationships with trees or forests, out of 128 total posts in … Continue reading →
Hermann Hesse on Tree Reverence (5/31/2022) - Some of my beliefs, thoughts, and feelings I am unable to express as well as others can do for me. Hermann Hesse is one example, particularly on the topic of relationship with trees. Right: Book cover illustration by Peter le … Continue reading →
Щедрик – Shchedryk, On the Generosity of Spring, with Music (5/22/2022) - Updated May 30, 2022 Rarely do I wake from a dream realizing that in the dream I knew I was dreaming. I recently dreamed that I was lost in the woods, exhausted, when I found a cave just before dark. … Continue reading →
Oh, Red Viburnum in the Meadow – Ukraine’s Second Anthem (5/14/2022) - For the love of Ukraine. Слава Україні. Героям слава. Slava Ukraini. Heroyam slava. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes. Слава в калині. Slava v kalyni. Glory to the kalyna. This is an “epic length” post, loaded with inspiring pictures … Continue reading →
“Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes” (4/29/2022) - In a comment on my previous post (introducing the new video “Ukraine is a World of Love” by Alicia Kishe), a friend wrote, “It was painful watching the video of Alicia. The beauty and sweetness I saw … and Putin … Continue reading →
The Putin Circus and a child’s love of her homeland in song (4/27/2022) - Please share this funny Putin video if you like it. That’s why I post them. So you can share them. This is the YouTube link to share: https://youtu.be/t-wFKNy0MZQ if you are not foolish enough to share the link to the … Continue reading →
Girls just want to have fun (and boys want them to) (4/12/2022) - While researching the story of a famous Ukrainian song that has inspired endless versions around the world, from the ancient folk chant to epic orchestral and chorale concert works, to the latest rock, hip-hop, metal and electronic synthesis and LED … Continue reading →
Long Live the Dead (4/10/2022) - Watch this 97-minute Netflix documentary now released for free viewing in YouTube (or catch it on Netflix if you have it), “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.” It is about the 2014 Maidan (or The Maidan Revolution) by fearless, … Continue reading →
Anna Vorosheva wants help getting back to hell (3/24/2022) - Whether or not it is optimistic that we continue, we must continue. –Hong Kong rebel. In this recording from the BBC World Service Newshour podcast of 20220324, you can hear Anna Vorosheva, a 45-year-old resident businesswoman of Mariupol, Ukraine, talk … Continue reading →
Sing “We will lay down our souls and bodies for our freedom …” (2/28/2022) - This title is a line from the Ukraine national anthem. Today, “our freedom” is not only the freedom of Ukraine. Today, Ukraine lays down her souls and bodies for freedom everywhere. She is on the front line of the fight … Continue reading →
We don’t know — Arctic methane says so (2/3/2022) - We don’t know how long we have. The more we heat up the planet, the more we reach “tipping points,” where “positive feedback loops” that we set in motion become Earth’s way of consuming itself. Our models for predicting effects … Continue reading →
Telling the Times; Carl Sagan and many others warned us of the shining city in a ditch. (9/2/2021) - Call this scribblement pessimistic if you must, but calling it so does not change anything. Optimism begins with noticing, not with self-delusion. It may begin with noticing self-delusion, too. I want to point out some things we’ve been told about … Continue reading →
Did Lockdown Spring Bring a Lasting Connection to Nature? (7/15/2021) - Originally posted on Finding Nature:
A blog with Dr Carly Butler. Many of us found a friend in nature during the first lockdown in Spring 2020 but new data suggests this was just a short-term relationship for some. The latest…
Surprise Peace of Life in Morning Light and by Fox (7/5/2021) - I can contemplate peace endlessly and never know it as much as when it takes me by surprise. It’s a beech tree in a wild blueberry patch at the east side of the front yard. The tree and I have … Continue reading →
George the Prophet (7/2/2021) - There were no official political parties when they wrote the Constitution. It was not a negotiation undertaken by political parties. It was an agreement undertaken by the people. Below are crucially important and prescient excerpts from President George Washington’s Farewell … Continue reading →
Been Chickadeed (6/21/2021) - After the season’s last snow event in April, while pushing snow out of the path from the house to the shed, my attention was taken by several black-capped chickadees frolicking among the branches of the beech and maple trees straddling … Continue reading →
Sixteen Years This Winter (11/24/2020) - For Nuala with gratitude That’s Nuala’s Maple in the header image above. (For those who missed it in an earlier post, Nuala is pronounced NOO-lah.) Tuesday Afternoon (4:56) Link to video Tuesday Afternoon by The Moody Blues Tuesday afternoon I’m … Continue reading →
Nuala’s Painting (5/8/2020) - In my essay, Angel Wing; An Illustrated Meditation on Nature Immersion, I mentioned Morris Mountain, with a picture of part of it. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve heard of Nuala, the non-resident Balsamean. She has been learning watercolor … Continue reading →
It’s one world NOW, huh? (3/28/2020) - I never paid much attention to this Matisse painting until recently when I added it to my screen saver collection. I now see that Matisse’s dancers are all women. Good. That’s the stuff of a one-world mind, because men are … Continue reading →
Australia Black Summer Untold? And Slicing Songs. (2/24/2020) - I promise that if you stay with this post to the end, you won’t be sorry. If you start feeling sorry, feel free to just jump to the end! I want to follow-up on my post of January 3, 2020, … Continue reading →
A little Gibran for a Sunday (2/23/2020) - Some things from Kahlil Gibran that fell into my lap recently, clipped from Sand and Foam; with smart-ass remarks added by some fat-headed clown.
Blog sharing and Like buttons no more (2/20/2020) - Because the Internet Age has developed in a way that makes everything about you into products used for abuses by unregulated hyper-capitalism (the National Religion of America, the other NRA) and all manner of spies, hackers, boneheads and creeps, I … Continue reading →
I am Australian today (1/3/2020) - I thought of a hundred things to write here, and still have not come up with something to say that does not feel like feeble gibberish, but I’ll try to pass along some reflection and information. My thoughts are almost … Continue reading →
Halloween Wind Storm (11/3/2019) - It scattered seventy trees across or into Balsamea’s 2.5 miles of trails. It’s seventy-give-or-take; I lost count a couple of times while stopping to think about how to deal with some of the fallen trees. Thinking never has been a … Continue reading →
Concordia’s Arbor Lane (9/24/2019) - Arbor Lane is the west boundary of Concordia. This is the approach to the Y, where Balsamea Way goes right and Arbor Lane goes left: Notice the little beech tree near bottom right center. In June 2009 the trunk was … Continue reading →
Starring Nuala’s Maple Tree (9/22/2019) - (continued from Nuala’s Tree and Concordia post) Nuala’s Tree is a red maple (Acer rubrum) with four partly intertwining trunks rooted at the edge of a big old pine stump. I dedicated the tree to Nuala in 2009 or earlier. … Continue reading →
Nuala’s Tree and Concordia (9/17/2019) - There are about 45 pictures on this page, including a few maps. It may load slowly. You can optionally open/download a PDF copy (6.24Mb) to read offline. This is the only long post in this series on Concordia. The rest … Continue reading →
Nature Writers I Follow #4: Mary Holland of Vermont (7/6/2019) - Books by Mary Holland: I marvel at how little I accomplish in my life, relative to the amazing output of others. Nature writer Mary Holland seems to be a whole team of creative and scientific experts, not just one person. … Continue reading →
The VanWestervelt Declaration and Sacred Texts (7/5/2019) - Sometimes just saying something does make it so. Sorta. For example: The Declaration of Independence. I have another declaration to suggest we use, as individuals. It throws the user into an immersive encounter with principles of being an American. Rus … Continue reading →
This Land, Independence Day, 2019 (7/3/2019) - Revised & Expanded July 4, 2019 I want a new national anthem for the United States. I want it to be Woody Guthrie’s 1944 song, This Land, and give him the Congressional Gold Medal for it. If they won’t replace … Continue reading →
The Trouble With Fire (7/1/2019) - Revised July 3, 2019. The trouble with fire is that it never stands still long enough to be seen. It’s like water falling, or snowflakes drifting down, or dry leaves blown by a gale. But the camera loves to make … Continue reading →
Angel Wing Revisited (5/27/2019) - Back by popular demand, this is the “fixed” version of Angel Wing in the Stream posted earlier. The PDF file here is MUCH smaller than before (80% smaller), so it should load much faster. It is downloadable, so you can … Continue reading →
David Brooks on tap (5/2/2019) - You might enjoy this hour of David Brooks talking at the Commonwealth Club. His new book (among several) is The Second Mountain; The Joy of Giving Yourself Away. Recording (an hour):https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2019-05-01/david-brooks-quest-moral-lifealso available in a Commonwealth Club podcast Brooks is a … Continue reading →
You get 61 trees for life (4/9/2019) - In her 2008 book, Between Earth and Sky; Our Intimate Connections to Trees, Nalini M. Nadkarni wrote on page 43, I calculated that the world supports sixty-one trees for each person on Earth [in 2005]. … When I … Continue reading →
Getting Life in the Fresh Air (Nature Writers I Follow #3) (3/26/2019) - I suggest that you fellow admirers of nature writing explore the blog, Life in the Fresh Air; An exploration of life, nature, creativity and tai chi, authored by Sarah on the edge of the Lake District National Park in northwest … Continue reading →
Disarming Disbelief – Playing for Change (3/20/2019) - . They push the heart toward believing more about the world than it seems to want believed, something more believable — more real — when they sing about it, something we need them to sing about, to keep the spirit … Continue reading →
Top Five Ways Nature Strengthens Your Mind and Body (3/20/2019) - By Mark A. Ellison, Ed.D, Hiking Research® “Abundant research is happening now on how nature improves health. Here are the top five reasons …” Source: Top Five Ways Nature Strengthens Your Mind and Body
How I Spent International Women’s Day 2019 (3/16/2019) - It was Friday, March 8, 2019 Like many special days, the essence of this one is for every day. That’s my excuse for being a week late posting this. Did you know that President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act … Continue reading →
Endangered Animals Dreaming and Singing for OUR Future (3/13/2019) - If you liked Les Mis, you’ll love this. Or absolutely hate it. I suppose this post is about my faith in art to shape the future. It is also about my often daunted faith in humanity to gradually see itself more … Continue reading →
Historic Public Lands Legislation (3/2/2019) - This is a follow-up to my earlier post, Renew the EXPIRED Land and Water Conservation Fund #SaveLWCF of October 11, 2018. Congress passed a Public Lands Package (S.47) in nearly unanimous bipartisan fashion. Source: Historic Public Lands Legislation About to Become Law – … Continue reading →
The Amazing 15-year-old Greta Thunberg (2/8/2019) - 11 minutes you’ll waste if you do anything but watch/listen to this:
Put a Woman in Charge (revised) (2/8/2019) - WordPress clobbered the previous post when I tried to add this note to the reblog of Put a Woman in Charge written, illustrated and originally posted by Lisa Brunetti at Zeebra Designs & Destinations~ An Artist’s Eyes Never Rest, online home of … Continue reading →
Aranyaka – Part 4 (The End) (2/2/2019) - Continued from Aranyaka Part 3 Aranyani is a member of a family of forest goddesses and legends around the world. Among many ways that Aranyani-like attributes appear, there is the goddess Abnoba, worshiped in and around the Black Forest … I respect the … Continue reading →
Thoreau’s Love for the Living Spirit of the Pine Tree (1/1/2019) - Harvesting (the pine timber on the 50-acre lot next to Balsamea) is one thing. It’s another thing to kill thousands — maybe millions — of other trees and myriad other things living above and below ground to get that harvest, … Continue reading →
Aranyaka – Part 3 – Thoreau, Shakespeare, Maharshi, Jung and Aranyaniism (12/30/2018) - Continued from Aranyaka Part 2. If I were to invent a religion, it would be centered on forest immersion. It need not be a highly social alliance of souls, because silence and solitude are like vestments of immersion. Other critical … Continue reading →
“Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte (12/30/2018) - David Whyte: I went back into poetry because I felt like scientific language wasn’t precise enough to describe the experiences that I had in Galapagos. Science, rightly, is always trying to remove the “I.” But I was really interested in … Continue reading →
Wise and Chatty Trees (12/26/2018) - “As you’re walking through the forest, under a single footprint there’s 300 miles of fungal mycellium stacked end on end. … Can you imagine the activity that’s going on there? … Can you imagine that every time you walk, you’re … Continue reading →
Global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2018. It’s not Kansas anywhere anymore, Toto. (12/11/2018) - Sing along: Somewhere over the rainbow oceans rise … “The figures suggested there is no clear end in sight to the growth of humanity’s contribution to climate change.”Between 2014 and 2016, emissions remained largely flat, leading to hopes that the … Continue reading →
Die as I should (11/24/2018) - Often when I walk these woods I get awe-struck by the enormity of all these trees cradling me, nursing me in mind and body, opening themselves to me, entreating me to surrender ever more fully to their care. I have … Continue reading →
Drop the tech and take a hike (11/15/2018) - Hi Folks. National Take a Hike Day is Saturday, November 17, 2018. I invite you to join me in taking this challenge farther than asked by my friends at the American Hiking Society in their article Why Technology Should Take A … Continue reading →
I live not in myself … (11/14/2018) - “I live not in myself, but I become a portion of all around me … Are not the mountains, waves and skies a part of me and of my soul, as I of them?” -Lord Byron. See the full poem at … Continue reading →
Mushrooms of Balsamea (11/14/2018) - I shot most of these pix in 2009, a banner year for mushrooms. The two with the blue coffee cup (does it have to be coffee?) are chaga mushroom harvested from one of our birch trees this summer. Click the … Continue reading →
Tap Into the Therapeutic Power of the Forest (11/4/2018) - Originally posted on Hiking Research®:
By Mark Ellison, Ed.D. What do you do that gives you energy, that fuels your ability to work and play? Do you have anything? Do you escape from the stress of life to allow your…
Aranyaka – Part 2 (11/3/2018) - Aranyaka Part 1 ended with a description of the Hindu goddess Aranyani in Rigveda Book 10 Hymn 146 and my personal look at it. Here is another interpretation, by a qualified authority: David Kinsley, author of Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine … Continue reading →
Renew the EXPIRED Land and Water Conservation Fund #SaveLWCF (10/11/2018) - I feel so stupid about this. I’ve got to pay more careful attention to what goes on in environmental policy and legislation, so I can act on them BEFORE they get ripped up and the funding given to buying more … Continue reading →
Longfellow Deeds’ Beautiful Hiking Companion Girl (9/25/2018) - “I used to hike a lot through the woods, and I’d always take this girl with me,” said Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1936, opposite Jean Arthur’s sneaky, conniving two-faced Mary. Enjoy the rest of … Continue reading →
Reflections (9/24/2018) - Going through some old folders, I found the original set of 2005 Moose Pond Moon photos in a surprise location. It included a scenery shot that I guess I had written off when the set was put where it belongs … Continue reading →
Aranyaka – Part 1 (9/20/2018) - ~ “The end of all scribblement is to amuse, and he certainly succeeds there.” –Lord Byron, Referring to Sir Walter Scott in a letter to Francis Hodgson, 1810 … even if I’m the only one amused As I say, I blog for my … Continue reading →
Moonsuch Imagery (9/7/2018) - I knew someone in the business of making and selling “fine art nature photography.” I never saw anything fine in this artist’s work, but didn’t have the heart to say so. I mentioned that I use my computer to “tweak” … Continue reading →
Cadivus (9/7/2018) - God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, “Ah!” —Joseph Campbell … for me, even a fallen tree. If looking at a tree can be a divine experience, or something transcendent, then what may be revealed or … Continue reading →
Discover the Unsearchable (9/5/2018) - Sharing this brilliant piece of work, with gratitude to the USDA Forest Service. Alternate YouTube link for this video: Discover the Unsearchable More videos at the discovertheforest YouTube channel. See much more at: Discover The Forest Campaign
Moon (8/21/2018) - ~ ~ ~ “Enchantment is the oldest form of medicine.” – C. G. Jung, as quoted by Meredith Sabini, Ed., The Earth Has a Soul; The Nature Writings of C.G. Jung, p. 4 ~ ~ ~ If you have trouble loading … Continue reading →
I live in a world of turkeys (6/20/2018) - This morning while washing hiking water bottles, one of our many wild turkeys enjoyed browsing the abundant wild food near the edge of the yard viewed from my kitchen window. This is not an unusual sight here. Common, really. But … Continue reading →
There’s Only One Nature – Joan D. Chittister, OSB (6/11/2018) - From Sister Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B.: It’s what we have when we have nothing that defines our relation to nature and the effect of nature on the soul. Then we begin to realize that we do not exist outside of … Continue reading →
Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2017 (11/11/2017) - Since they named this holiday for me, though people will be inclined to say to me, “Thank you for your service,” I want to say to them, “Thank you for my service.”
Nature Writers I Follow #2: New Hampshire Garden Solutions (NHGS) (6/4/2017) - “You don’t have to fly or drive anywhere to see the beauty of nature-it’s all right there in your own yard!” -NHGS NHGS started out as a gardening blog — by a garden and landscape professional, self-described now as, “Once … Continue reading →
Nature Writers I Follow #1: Lisa Brunetti, a Multi-Disciplinary Artist in Ecuador (5/27/2017) - There are times when I enjoy an eye-to-eye inspection of those exotic plants, and by capturing their likeness with pencil or water media, I discover minute details that otherwise might be missed. I always walk away with deeper respect for … Continue reading →
Poison Ivy Quiz | The Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac Site (5/14/2017) - Learn to identify poison ivy in a fun way at: Poison Ivy Quiz Click yellow buttons under each photo to see the answers. It’s not really a quiz … it doesn’t keep score. But it’s a great educational exercise, even for people … Continue reading →
Snow Falling from Trees Awakens (4/1/2017) - 560 words, 18-sec. video, 2 photos After half a foot of sticky, soggy snowfall overnight, today the temperature at Balsamea rose well above freezing. Along our trails, rapidly thawing snow showered from the trees everywhere in these dense woods, especially … Continue reading →
Oak Tree Trilogy Part 3 – Buddy’s Oak and Dad’s Question (8/13/2016) - Trees get so much attention in this drifting journal, The Balsamean, because they are easier to write about than people are, and trees often make better friends than most people do, and the tree fairies would sprout leaves green with envy in the middle of winter if I gave as much time to humanity as to them. Continue reading →
Fall Favorite Fifty at Five Hundred (9/25/2015) - Here are 50 of my favorite autumn color photos taken at Balsamea, at 500 pixels wide (or tall). If you’ve followed this blog a long time, you’ve seen these before. However, most of them managed to disappear from the blog, … Continue reading →
Oak Tree Trilogy Part 2 – Defiant Oak (8/31/2015) - Oaks against the sky, Ramparts of leaves high-hurled, Staunch to stand and defy All the winds of the world; Stalwart and proud and free, Firing the man in me To try and again to try – Oaks against the sky. … Continue reading →
Oak Tree Trilogy Part 1 – Sentinel Oak (8/24/2015) - In 2005, the birth year of Balsamea, my father asked if there were any oak trees on the property. I had not seen them. Over time, I learned that there were many red oaks. They are one of our minority … Continue reading →
Thank you, Buddy (8/5/2015) - While close-up face to face with him and looking at each other’s eyes, Buddy slipped instantly from fully conscious into unconscious perfect peace, and then within a couple of minutes (tough guy – he needed a second dose) into irreversible, … Continue reading →
Buddy, Prince of Balsamea to Die 8/5/2015 (8/1/2015) - On Wednesday, August 5, 2015, The Balsamean will euthanize Buddy, Prince of Balsamea. He chose Wednesday because there is a cord binding our hearts as three, and the third person will say goodbye to Buddy on Tuesday. The cord has … Continue reading →
On Loving and the Seizure of a Balsamean (3/7/2015) - Balsamea’s new veterinarian, Dr. Nick Sherman summed up the change when he said of Buddy, Prince of Balsamea, “He’s a seizure dog now.” That was the night he gave me a supply of phenobarbital, because Buddy had four general (i.e., … Continue reading →
Good Again and Again (11/14/2014) - Human minds cling to negatives more than positives. This helps us prepare for the next time a negative comes around, and lets us experience a positive anew again, unprepared for the pleasure. Every year I marvel as in childhood, uplifted … Continue reading →
The Junk Tree (Fagus grandifolia) (10/10/2014) - Six years ago a first-time visitor to Balsamea — call him Schmoe — looked at a young beech tree in the yard (then just a campsite) and asked, “What’s that doing there?” His tone seemed to imply that there was … Continue reading →
Early May Late Day in the Woods (9/18/2014) - What is it about a situation like this that seems to put something like vacuum pressure on the soul? The situation, the experience, the moment, not the picture. The picture is a good reminder of what it was like, but … Continue reading →
How to mix deer, campfire, tin foil stew, dog, photography and grace (9/15/2014) - Deep in the woods there is a great way to ensure that you get fantastic wildlife photography opportunities. Leave your camera home. I’ve said before that our deer population is too high, and this year more than ever. Among the … Continue reading →
A Meditation on the Company of Trees, Aided by Forest Nymphs (4/27/2014) - During a slow sylvan saunter, if I stand still more than move, in bodily senses and in palpable transcendent essences I find reminders that nature made me to thrive among immortal woodland spirits, in refuge from the illusory blessings of … Continue reading →
Spring Heralds – 2014 (4/10/2014) - Several species and forms of Balsamean herald the advent of Spring earlier than all others. They remind us of the unmerited gift of the life we have at Balsamea, and to live it consciously.
Celebrating Ice Storm Tree Arcs at Balsamea (1/1/2014) - ARC: a part of the circumference of a circle or other curve … and sometimes much more than that, or inspiring it The ice storm of December 21-23, 2013 bent many trees at Balsamea. Here are some examples, and thoughts … Continue reading →
Balsamea Pregnant with Icicles (12/24/2013) - Many things are iciclable. That’s eye-sick-la-bull. Able to have icicles. Here are some odd ones, and some traditional ones, from the perspective of a Balsamean.
Bunchberry v Painted Trillium (12/1/2013) - In reply to a question in a comment by Waldo Tomosky on my previous post … Question about the “bunchberries”: the leaves look like Trillium. Are bunchberries the fruit of Trillium? Nice home you have built. I love the size. … Continue reading →
Being Thankful (12/1/2013) - I went to a wedding where a little boy carried the rings up the aisle on a fancy pillow. As he walked along, he growled loudly like an animal. When asked why he growled, he said, “I’m the ring bear!” … Continue reading →
American Beech in Autumn; Balsamea Style (10/15/2013) - Cameras capture only a small fraction of the beauty in nature (especially my cheap Fuji). The autumn mix of banana yellow, toasted golden russet and pale lime green colors of American beech trees (Fagus grandifolia) often truly dazzle me.
Coming Home on a Forest Ghost Road (10/5/2013) - If you love the land, especially if you have family roots in a special place, read this heartwarming little article, Coming Home to Jadwin Forest by Gary Brown in the October 2013 issue of the New York State Conservationist, a … Continue reading →
Rivers (9/27/2013) - Like addicts, in our weakness for the allure of rivers we risk everything to live on their banks.
To Build a Fire (9/20/2013) - When in doubt, have a campfire. It has straightened my bent condition many times. My favorite passage from the 1908 short story, To Build a Fire by Jack London (1876-1916): “Working carefully from a small beginning, he soon had a … Continue reading →
Biophilia (9/20/2013) - The word biophilia is useful in communication about the biological, philosophical and psychological relationships between people and Nature. Contemplation of the word’s meanings and uses may encourage people to explore their own biophilic tendencies and those of others.
L is for Locust (9/19/2013) - I don’t recall ever seeing any of these at Balsamea during the five years before the house (2010). But they really love the house. In September these critters adorn the exterior walls of the house at the rate of about … Continue reading →
A is for Apple (9/18/2013) - God did NOT make little green apples. His mother did it. (As a Naturalist, I have to make that point.) For a place named Balsamea, you might think that A is for Abies balsamea, the scientific name for balsam fir … Continue reading →