First Day of School
A beautiful day–not a cloud in the sky, sun pouring down. Seems like the universe is needlessly rubbing it in, as kids line up for the bus and head off to school. When I was in high school, I remember reading the ending lines of Romeo and Juliet and thinking that they applied perfectly to the first day of school. A glooming peace this morning with it brings, the sun for sorrow will not show his head… A rainy first day of school made the return to penal servitude easier somehow. What do we tell the reluctant scholars clambering onto the bus, depressed at the end of summer freedom?...
Read MoreLily Pad Lifestyle
Floating along without a care in the world. Such effortless beauty. No wonder Monet couldn’t stop painting them. At the New York Botanical Garden, my favorite place is the the water lily pool. Its giant surface is covered with lily pads and fringed by tall lotus blossoms with leaves the size of bicycle tires. Reflections of the sky and the white conservatory buildings mingle with the lilies and the lotuses–it’s sort of a cross between between Paris and the Nile. The thing about a shallow, still pool like this is that you can’t see all the way to the bottom. Water lilies,...
Read MoreLast Day of Summer
A beautiful sunset for the last day of summer. Yes, I know, technically the equinox isn’t for weeks yet, but August is summer. On September 1, the year turns to autumn. No doubt about it, on my calendar. September is cool breezes, a little too cool to go swimming. September is apples. September is asters, and the first chance of frost. September is school. So say goodbye to summer, this long weird summer of rain, heat, and cold. Welcome fall. Thanks to Diane Hale Smith for the photo!
Read MoreDon’t Bite Off More…
…than you can ingest. Thanks to Diane Hale Smith for another great bird shot!
Read MoreGood Mowing, Part 2
Last November I wrote a blog post about a meadow at the George Landis Arboretum in Esperance, NY. The meadow had just been mowed, and while you might assume from the title of my blog that I would be violently opposed to all mowing, that’s actually not the case. I can be a good sport about mowing. In fact, mowing in the right places, at the right time of year, can be an enormous help for wildlife, and for wildflowers. A mowed meadow looks sad and stubbly, but as with all good things, patience is required. Here’s what the meadow looks like today. A kaleidoscope of purple, gold and white:...
Read MoreChocolate in Bloom
Yes! The chocolate is in bloom! Now on view at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY. What I can’t figure out is how anyone ever discovered the insanely fabulous taste of this plant. It’s a very easy plant to ignore. It blends in with the other trees in the tropical section of the Botanical Garden’s enormous conservatory. The little cacao tree is dwarfed by palm trees and giant ferns, totally upstaged by orchids and bird-of-paradise flowers. The leaves are nondescript, the flowers pretty but half an inch long. But come and worship at the foot of this homely little...
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