Buying a Chair
I ordered a leather chair today, as a gift to myself for my 58th birthday later this month. A chair for reading. And when I say a chair, I mean a chair — it’s not terrifically large & its lines are simple, but it’s the sort of chair you you have to special order & [...]
Summer
I’m used to feeling a major relaxation at the end of Spring Semester each year, but this year the relaxation has only been partial. Partly, this is because I’m going to be teaching a summer course online, which begins next week, but the course won’t really take that much time since almost everything is already [...]
Leafing Out
There ought to be a name for the day, in temperate climates, that the trees leaf out. (It would not be the same date each year & it would come earlier the further south one went.) Here in St. Lawrence County, that day was yesterday. The world went from shades of gray & brown to [...]
Grackles
Huge mixed flock of common grackles, redwing blackbirds, and starlings in the still-bare maples today. Rain & sleet this morning, giving way to steady rain out of a black sky.
Spring Birds
The robins arrived today. Heard one singing this evening at the top of a maple in the yard. Also saw the first flock of goldfinches. And walking the dogs up on the Morgan Road this afternoon, we heard & then saw a small hawk, possibly a sharp shinned hawk, though the light was behind him [...]
A Little Poem During a Cold Spring
Poetics
Here is the world.
It’s a cold place &
There’s not much
you can do with it–
a little shaping or
arranging around
the edges. Pattern
emerges through
accretion of detail.
Denote. Until light
clobbers you hard
in the face, a salt
wave stirred full
of sand & knocks
you off your feet
& nearly drowns
you in the actual.
The world is heavy
it turns out. Hard
with denotations.
You come up sput-
tering. At [...]
Spring Notes
The Canada Geese are back on the river. We heard a pair go honking by a couple of mornings ago on the dog walk, then yesterday & today they have been landing on the river in increasing numbers. As I sit looking out the south window over the water, I can see four crows lumbering [...]
Winter Birds, A Lame Deer
As I stagger toward the end of a head cold, I wanted, on the theory that winter is ending, note that I saw a couple of mourning doves out in the road yesterday. I’d seen them — or another pair — two or three weeks ago, but then they disappeared. Because I’ve been spreading sunflower [...]
More Winter Birds
Snowing this morning, but yesterday was sunny. The pine grosbeaks — looks like four pairs — were joined by a flock of evening grosbeaks. I saw a pair of mourning doves that have been around all winter scuttling around under the feeder; big flock of goldfinches with some red polls mixed in at the thistle [...]
Cold
About 10° below last night. The river is frozen over except for the channel along the far bank where it runs the fastest. Low pearl-colored sky. Only a few chickadees at the bird feeder. Lucky for me, I don’t have to go farther than the post office today & not until afternoon. Friday is my [...]
keep looking »
