Sutton QC to Morrisville: Hot, hot, hot
It’s a beautiful clear day with not a cloud in the sky. I approach today with both excitement and trepidation as 61 miles will be our longest pedal so far with temps in the upper 80s. But I am leaving such thoughts in the background as the waitress at our hotel, Auberge Sutton Brouerie, brings […]
Morrisville to St. Albans: A wet and long day
Rain, rain take a hike. Erik wants to ride his bike. This was the refrain going through my head this morning as we woke up to varying intensities of precipitation that continued until 10 am, delaying our start. The sky spits at us as we mount our bikes, coasting down to the LVRT. We take […]
Forgotten pleasures
Though I spend much of my time with my head in the weeds and hands in the soil, there are many other passive outdoor pleasures that have been forgotten. The last two days have been bright with a warm wind coming from the West. This weather called me to hang out our laundry, which we […]
Icy days
Ice storms are lovely to look at. The shimmering casement they provide to everything they touch transforms the ground into a glistening landscape. A crunch accompanies each step across the snow. Frozen remnants move effortlessly over the skim, making crinkly sounds along their paths. Everything now seems black-and-white. The birds are having a tough time […]
Morning snow
Shoveling snow before dawn is a meditative exercise. There are no sounds as the snow muffles random noises. A fresh 2-inch blanket covers the surroundings, which were losing their wintry white coating, transitioning to gray. My large shovel rolls the powder downhill toward the sides of the driveway, scraping against the blacktop, the lone sound. […]
December salad
While December has been colder than normal and we have had a couple of snows, the last being nearly 4 inches, there are still harvests to be had from the garden. I have two large cold frames holding a half dozen different cold-tolerant greens. Carrots, Swiss chard, and sorrel are on their own as are […]
Fall flowers
This time in November, the only flowers that are typically still in bloom sit on the branches of the witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Unlike most understory trees, witch hazel blooms in the late fall with delicate, little buttery yellow bundles of soft, slightly sweet smelling flowers. At the end of the season, all the leaves […]
Spring has arrived
In many ways, Spring is appropriately named. Its pent-up anticipation prior to the arrival of the equinox is akin to that of a child, Christmas morning, held back, unable to run to the tree to open his or her gifts. There are a few signs: snowdrop and muscari bulbs emerging, the slight greening of willows, […]
Golden ornaments
For the last few days, our feeders have been bombarded by countless goldfinches. They perch on a small dogwood in the back like so many Christmas ornaments waiting their turn at one of the feeders we have scattered around the property. This morning their numbers seemed to increase with a dusting of snow that added […]
Confusing times
There are some plants that are easily fooled by brief changes in the weather. In my yard, the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) is that plant. When the first hint of warm weather arrives, as it did this past week, the leaves explode with abandon. Every warm day above 50 degrees, these appendages appear to double […]