9 April 2014
morning – point au roche to chazy
35 degrees, 76% humidity, NW wind
first bicycle commute of the year. punky ice on the lake, snow in the shadows turning them bright… birds birds birds… painful and slow!
2 January 2014
morning – commute point au roche to chazy
-6 degrees, 57% humidity
monochrome – in the haze of my morning drive, snow surrounding me, cold cold cold. suddenly something moving – black dots floating up from the white field! a snowy owl so large and ethereal taking flight! flying past me, crossing the road behind me, landing on a boulder and eyeing me! so lovely, so wondrous… like it flew out of the whiteness of winter to open my heart!
6 December 2013
morning – point au roche to chazy
34 degrees, 85% humidity
snow geese fill the sky… all directions of flight, all distances – far, near, blurry, sharp, loud, lovely. writing their story in the sky they appear like the rosetta stone – if you could read the language you would know their thoughts, their plans, the rhythm of their day… what do they love, what do they think…
4 December 2013 She Will Be Loved
morning – biking point au roche to chazy
28 degrees, 92% humidity
no ice on the roads… snow geese along the shore frightened by my approach, snow geese in monty bay and dunn bay… broken wing and his compadres wading quickly into the water to escape me. a squirrel on the phone line above the road like he’s in some big city and there’s traffic to avoid. ice piling up only at the northeast edge of trombley bay… one bundled boy waiting for the bus – does not acknowledge my ‘good morning’… the jamaican stalwart tree trimming crew smoking to keep warm and ready to start another long day of work outside. new maple sugaring line coiled by the road and ready for the trees… so few creatures only crows and water fowl… looking, looking, looking for my fox spirit.
28 September 2013 Northbound 35
morning – biking point au roche to chazy
44 degrees, 92% humidity
the canada geese leading me north, talking, talking, talking as they fly and land and take off and land and eat corn… fog clinging to the corn, and still being made over the lake… sensei crow in a dead tree with small black bird pupils hanging on it’s every word… the lake steaming, just handfuls of boats left moored in the rising fog, sun screaming off the water… young fox foraging – a big dead raccoon in the road just beyond him… apple pickers ambling out with their bags over their shoulders, waiting to catch the buses up to the orchard – the smell of their breakfast lingering in the air… and the apples, the apples so red and full and heavy on the limbs!
4 September 2013 Tir Na Nog
morning – point au roche to chazy
55 degrees, 95% humidity
sunny sunshine this morning, the only clouds a fluffy beard around lyon mountain’s chin, and layers behind layers of mountain in vermont… four crows still snoozing in the dead tree two miles north of the house… constant crickets in the corn, in the woods… little birds greeting the day… a large truck laden with many huge apple crates, still empty… small trees on trestles heavy with bright red apples… ducks on shore and in the water… barb out walking the dog…
31 August 2013 40 dogs
morning – point au roche to chazy
64 degrees, 100% humidity
neighbor waving as i leave the driveway… such a nice change! dark morning, chicory still closed and waiting for the sun… crickets chirping in the corn… a greeting from Nadia as she walks… seven hooded mergansers standing on the shore with their punk hairdos… the lake is empty of boats except for those moored… another huge striped caterpillar crossing the road… another bus load of apple pickers headed up through the orchard… a squirrel using his tail as a pedestal stands stock still in the road watching me… black eyed susans everywhere!
30 August 2013 angelou
morning – point au roche to chazy
66 degrees, 100% humidity
two crows atop an apple tree – branches laden with bright fruit – surveying their kingdom… the sound of bluejays… lucia on her bike roaming chazy… the pervading and constant sound of crickets and grasshoppers and insects making hay while the summer wanes.
27 August 2013 climbing mountains
morning – point au roche run, then point au roche to chazy
foggy 67 degrees, 97% humidity
easing through the morning run i looked up from my thoughts and there, in the middle of the road about 15 feet from me… an exotic looking woman’s high heel shoe, furry, black and white, with a luxurious tail flying off the top of the heel… no! that’s a young skunk!! stop. talk him down. convince him to walk away…
on the bike i enjoyed the layers of fog and trees and more fog… then just cloudy sky beyond… absence of sun and moon… queen anne’s lace, chicory, morning glories on the corn… the apples full and deep red, or yellow or variegated, huge crates placed around awaiting their crops… an old school bus so full of jamaicans you could not see light through the windows! a crow feather by the road.
25 August 2013 seeing stars
morning – point au roche run
sunny 57 degrees, humid
sunny with a south wind… three inch long, fat caterpillar crossing the road… birds, mourning doves, crows, little brown birds… ducks on the lake. friends walking out to the lakeside, big coffee mugs and the newspaper in hand. another caterpillar – this one small and white and fuzzy… two killdeer looping through the air… sailboats on the lake and the trees showing signs of turning.
afternoon – hero islands
mostly sunny 70s
wandering on the bikes… a friendly field of sunflowers!
24 August 2013 stepping out queen
morning – point au roche to chazy
sunny 50 degrees
a glorious morning in the north country! no wind, bright sunshine, a high pressure system hovering over us apparently. on my bike ride to work shaun and i saw a great blue heron at riley brook… five deer conferring in the road – including one or two youngsters… wonderful smile on a woman biking the other direction… king fishers, crows, geese and ducks… three Jamaican orchard workers waiting for the van to pick them up for another day’s work… large flocks of swallows over the orchard… and morning glories, so many morning glories blooming along the road… all accompanied by a waning gibbous moon in the west.
starting each day with these little moments of loveliness feeds the soul.
