Monthly Archives: October 2012

New York City: A Study in Green

New York City. Where the buildings scrape the sky. Solid Cement. All brick and blacktop. Nothing green in the Big Apple, that’s for sure.             Except, of course, there is. There’s a wealth of  plants … Continue reading

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Wind Coming. Hold On.

All prepared for the storm. It’s not hard, really, when you live on top of a hill, miles from rivers and angry ocean waves. A few flashlights, batteries, candles, canned chili, lots of good books. Everything safely brought inside–the lawn chairs, … Continue reading

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Good Mowing

Here’s a meadow at the Landis Arboretum in Esperance NY. Mowed flat. The brush-hog has done its work thoroughly. Everything cut down, all those gorgeous wildflowers. Nothing left but stubble. Yes! I’m not kidding. Mowing is sometimes a great thing. … Continue reading

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Common Milkweed: Early Snow

A bright and windy October day. Leaves flying, flags flapping. And a sudden drift of snowflakes across the busy highway. Snowflakes? No, no, it’s 65 degrees, the sun is shining… The “snow” appears to be coming from this abandoned (but … Continue reading

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Basal Rosettes: Life in the Flat Lane

Amsterdam High School. I spend quite a lot of time in this parking lot, waiting waiting waiting for soccer practice to be over. So today I looked around to see who else is hanging around the blacktop.     This little … Continue reading

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Art in the Weeds

The parking lot of Dunkin Donuts, and fifteen minutes to kill. This is bad. Try to resist going inside. Try to resist eating three glazed doughnuts with a large coffee. Take a brisk stroll around the parking lot instead. In … Continue reading

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Lichens: Fresh-Air Fiends

Another graveyard, if you don’t mind. After all, ’tis the season–the Halloween season. This one is the Old Burying Ground in Rockport, Massachusetts. I feel like I’m on a first-name basis with some of the folk resting here, because I made them … Continue reading

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Dinnertime: Guest Photographer Zach Baldwin

Thanks to Zach Baldwin for this photograph! My resident birder tells me it’s most likely a ruby crowned kinglet, and I can tell from the bright pink stems and the clusters of berries that the bird is sitting on a … Continue reading

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Mouse-Eared Chickweed: Furry Ears

An unlikely habitat for plants, this metal guardrail stuck into concrete embedded in blacktop. But where there’s a crack, there’s a leaf.         Hm. Small, dainty leaves, arranged opposite each other in pairs. Looks like Chickweed. But … Continue reading

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Starry Night: Guest Photographer Wells Horton

Thanks to Wells Horton for this amazing shot. It summarizes why I love the season of Halloween so much: the beauty of the dying year, the darkness that flows out from under the trees. Too often, Halloween is a time … Continue reading

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