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Category Archives: The house

Into the woods, and more each year

Click here for high resolution version Fifteen years ago, after I cleared an acre of elderly pine trees for the house, the landscape looked like a huge red gash in the earth. I moved as fast as I could to restore ground cover and to start planting. Growth takes time, but nature moves fast. Though […]

My cat’s death-defying leap

Click here for high resolution version. I was upstairs at the computer. Lily was in the stairwell yelling. I yelled back at her to shut up until I realized that something was wrong and went to check. She had trapped herself up in the dormer window that lights the stairs, a place where in the […]

Spring sunset

Click here for high-resolution version. The weather was strange today. During the night, two inches of rain had fallen. Today the sky was heavy, and the wind was still. All day, there was the sound of rushing water from the stream below the house. At sunset, a break in the clouds near the horizon meant […]

It’s not winter

A tiny peach I don’t often think of so-called scripture. I identify as a creature of the Enlightenment, not as a “person of faith.” Nevertheless, I know an embarrassing amount of scripture, because it was beaten into me as a child and because Old and New Testament were required courses when I was a student. […]

Mrs. Squirrel

Mrs. Squirrel looks down at me from her lofty perch high up the back of the house. The four little ones have not yet left the nest in my attic, as far as I know. As soon as the little ones are up and away, I’ll nail in enough metal fabric to make sure that […]

Spring so far

Lettuce, started from a plant bought at the local mill Though the early spring is exciting, there is a big risk that a cold snap will cause a lot of damage. The apple trees have held back, almost as though there is something wise about them. The peach trees, on the other hand, as well […]

Hide-on-the-Steps-and-Git-You

Lily tries out a new game she just made up, which is a variant of Hide-Around-the-Corner-and-Git-You.

Another snowfall photo

Every snowfall is an excuse to shoot photos of the house. This photo is from the 10 or more inches of snow that fell on January 7. The landscaping of the abbey is still a work in progress. There are 13 of the arbor vitae trees, most of which are about a third to half […]

Woods

[Click on image for higher resolution] As much as I’d like at times to live in a real wilderness, I can’t. The abbey is in driving distance of a Whole Foods, after all. But I do love the woods. It’s strange, but when you want to look through the woods, winter is the time to […]

Christmas wish: Deeper woods and a real drawbridge

Woodpiles are a symbol of security, aren’t they? [Click on photos for higher resolution] I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t seem to get past the gloom of the election. The feeling of being surrounded by madness, by mass delusion, and by white hatred keeps intruding. The virtual drawbridge isn’t working […]