Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
The other day we had a typical August thunderstorm that came out of nowhere, dumped a half inch of rain in a hurry, then as quickly as it arrived left leaving broken branches, wet vegetation and a cool breeze. I thought little of its aftermath until Juana called me to her art room window telling […]
(This was written yesterday, power was finally restored today.) Without electricity for the sixth day, I am starting to truly appreciate how much work it takes to live without modern conveniences. Upon waking, I become a Sherpa or well-fed Gunga Din as I gather water from the cisterns to flush toilets, fill wash bowls and […]
It is the first day this year that we can have an al fresco breakfast. Such lunches and dinners have been commonplace in the last few weeks. The mornings, however, have been too cold, too wet, too cloudy or have exhibited other characteristics that discouraged Juana and I from taking our morning coffee outside. But […]
(For some reason I did not post this last year when I wrote it. It was one of the last times I saw my mother alive.) An ice storm arrived the other day and it’s been unusual in its persistence. Typically, when such weather events occur, we receive a slight coating of ice and it […]
One of the unexpected aspects about our stay in the Florida Keys is the wind: It has been fierce. With the exception of a few days, the wind has whipped around our little sand spit of a peninsula constantly. It has averaged around 20 mph with some days the wind clocking in the low 30s. […]
When visiting the Florida Keys one feels as if one has entered a foreign realm. Neither the plants nor animals have any direct northeasterly comparisons. There are no palm or mangrove trees on the beaches of Connecticut. Prehistoric looking pelicans do not swoop down catching fish with their pterodactyl-like beaks in Stamford harbor. And a […]
As our home in Connecticut is threatened with a potentially nasty winter storm later this week, Juana and I are relaxing in the relative warmth of Gainesville, Florida. Late in life snowbirds, we have taken to spending much of the winter months in the tropical Florida Keys. We visit the homes of family members on […]
As Christmas approaches so does the colder weather that heralds the arrival of the winter solstice. While the light from the sun is at its nadir for the year, it is only beginning to become cold. Moving forward the temperatures continue to retreat to the teens and even lower. It is the beginning of the […]
By early December all the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. The surrounding lawns have been blown clear of detritus and the only sign of the former foliage is in the woods. The leaves have long since lost their color and are an uneven gray separated by small mounds of green moss that cling to […]
Flowers that emerge from the snow usually arrive in the Spring. The aptly named snowdrop is often the first followed by crocuses. The Fall is different as this rarely happens. Fall crocuses, such as saffron, have come and gone by the time the first snow has arrived. So too have the flowers of late blooming […]