Posts Tagged ‘Nature’
Morning Run Under the Blossoms
April 4, 2012Standing there long enough …
March 11, 2012At dawn on this daylight savings Sunday morning, it was so quiet outside. I came around the corner of the garage and headed down the driveway. Both papers were already there, of course, since I got up at least an hour later than usual following an evening of bridge.
As I approached the street, something drew my eyes upward away from my objective, my only objective, of retrieving the New York Times and the Post-Dispatch. The sky was incredible: a gold orange-ish pink accented with brilliant, sharp horizontal slashes of light, the sun wanting to emerge from the bright yellow spot stuck behind a tree across the street. I found myself just standing there.
Standing there long enough, mentally released from my task, the calls of early morning birds spoke softly yet failed to disturb the stillness.
Standing there long enough, my eye caught movement in a rosy-grey layer of clouds, a fog too high to interfere with the sunrise event.
Standing there long enough, my skin announced a slight, cool breeze. Announced because I had been ignoring the gentle caress until I allowed myself a moment of solitude.
What drew my eyes upward? Why did I decide to stand at the end of the drive? Seeing, hearing, feeling. Is there something which all too infrequently says, “Hey, stop and be still.” Or is it not infrequent? Is that call always there?
An asymmetrical arrangement of colors
October 13, 2011We first saw it sitting on the deck railing. The pattern on its back was as though made of hand-set coarse grains of sand … simply beautiful. Being an asymmetrical arrangement of colors … more tones than colors … was what caught my eye immediately. It is a grey tree frog.
The frog posed for several pictures before I moved it to a safer place on the rail and away from the steps. By the next morning, the frog was gone. It was mid-August.
When we returned to the lake in late September, the frog was sitting on the wood plank approach to the deck steps. Half of its body was obscured by a fern frond. Not a good idea from a survival standpoint. I guess it figured being the same color as the wood and under a leaf provided a margin of safety. But it also rendered it nearly invisible and easily stepped on.
So, I put it on the same rail of the deck which it seemed to enjoy in August. That night it hadn’t moved, and its eyes were wide open and very watchful. I gently placed it under the deck where it would be out of the way.
A couple of days later it was on a stepping stone in the yard, blending in perfectly. Its presence slipped my mind. Later in the day, blood was observed all over the side of its face, but it didn’t appear it had been stepped on. I picked it up, and it was very lively. It sprang from my hand when I got him to the edge of the woods.
The weather was getting pretty cold by the time we left, and will reach into the minus 20s during the winter. Non-aquatic frogs, according to Bernd Heinrich in Winter World, often burrow down several feet to stay below the frost line. Some can also withstand being frozen to as low as -8 C and will merely get under leaves or snow to survive the winter. In any event, this particular frog was making it through the winter long before I ever saw it. Maybe it will return next year and resume its perilous visits to our yard.
Dock Pulled From the Lake
October 12, 2011Dock Pulled From the Lake
It’s fall – work done awaiting the wind, snow, cold All that leveling last spring – slow, ponderous, perfect Rakish on the hillside now leaning against the chocks Tires old, bald, often flat, held it for the slow ride out of the water Dark green becoming pale and gray Scaly scum drying in the sun Ice can’t reach the spindly legs bent one year Leaves will gather beneath blown into sheltered hiding Summer’s sights and sounds brought life to the dock Children laughing, planks clattering, boats bumping, lifts clicking Worms, bobbers, hooks, lines – casting, watching, waiting Late afternoons – chairs, glasses of wine, binoculars Thousands of acres of lake with no movement except the waves The loon a favorite regular – used to be shy – magnificent beauty Eagles must know when we’re not watching – a shadow, a glimpse, a whoosh Large bass love the dock’s dark seclusion – they just sit An occasional boat glides by, silver lines flicking into the shallows Huge motor tipped, silent, pulled by tiny electric motor At night one feels suspended over the dark stillness Moon, stars, planets, the Milky Way – a hum from the town’s distant glow© 2011 Thomas W. Cummins
A small fire down by the lake
September 19, 2011Packing up a composition book for some writing, I found this from June of last year:
I set a fire this morning
A small fire down by the lake
Such stillness
Slight swells from an unseen boat
Grays and silvers too numerous to count
The fire spits sending sparks to ride the column of smoke
Straight up
No breeze
“A hawk!,” I thought.
January 3, 2011It was the second day of the new year. Watching a football game at dusk, I noticed a large bird fly into a tree at the back edge of our yard. “A hawk!,” I thought.
Running upstairs, I got a much better look. What I saw didn’t resemble a hawk’s profile. The top of our china cabinet always holds a pair of 12 power binoculars. Taking a closer look, an owl!
We grabbed the new camera, a Christmas present from me to her, and attempted to catch a picture. The flash fired. Glare off the glass. How could I turn that off? A moment’s fiddling got it turned off.
On our lower level is a door to the patio. A good shot from that vantage point looked like a real possibility.
Walking out the door … luckily the motion detector didn’t kick on the flood lights … I was able to keep a tree trunk between me and that lovely bird.
I peered around the tree and squeezed off a picture. Zoomed in at 10x should give a nice look. The camera gives off a soft beep, just enough to attract the full and undivided attention of the owl.
In a dim light... 
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