Winter is different this year. The ground, frozen for weeks leading up to the New Year, thawed in a warming trend that hit New England in the first few weeks of the year. We sometimes say we’re grateful when it rains instead of snows here, knowing the general equation of one inch of rain equalling…
In the deep falldon’t you imagine the leaves think howcomfortable it will be to touchthe earth instead of thenothingness of air and the endlessfreshets of wind? And don’t you thinkthe trees themselves, especially those with mossy,warm caves, begin to thinkof the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleepinside their bodies? And…
Well, the leaves have come to turningAnd the goose has gone to flyAnd bridges are for burningSo don’t you let that yearningPass you by— James Taylor, Walking Man If life is a collection of experiences, surely autumn is one of the grandest of them all. I favor off-season for the stillness it offers, and generally…
It is the season of migrantsflying at night feeling the turning earthbeneath them— W. S. Merwin, Echoing Light You feel it all happening quickly in October. The relentless, accelerating momentum of autumn. Change is quite literally in the air: Harvests and migrations, foliage and crispy air, all point to the shrinking daylight and collectively announcing…
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald Who says beginnings should be saved for New Year’s or spring? Every day offers the same opportunity for transformation. Aside from seasonal planting and certain outdoor sports, a crisp autumn day seems just as appropriate a time to change…
What do you do with consistent excellence? How do you process it? How do the average masses view the brilliant contribution of the few? Many dismiss it as trickery, cheating, luck, or chance. This minimizes the painful gap of comparison. For others, recognizing that brilliance leads to hate for what it brings: defeat and frustration….
“Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station.” – Paulo Coelho Traveling by regional train is such a treat when you’ve been subjected to the indignities of air travel and commuting in…
“Is life too short to be taking this shit, or is life too short to be minding it?” – Violet Weingarten I spent part of the morning walking in the woods, seeking out the quiet reflections on an inky black pond nearby. October makes those reflections particularly brilliant and I wondered at my solitude with…
Everybody needs a changeA chance to check out the newBut you’re the only one to seeThe changes you take yourself through– Stevie Wonder, Don’t You Worry About A Thing In New England, October is the time of tangible, visible change. The world transforms around you in such strikingly obvious ways that even the most inward-facing…
In the dark time of the year. Between melting and freezing The soul’s sap quivers.– T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding There are more famous lines from this poem, but this is the time of sap buckets and lines run between maple trees in New England, so forgive me for straying from the popular. For these are…