Category: Nature
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Lancelot, The Spotless Starling And The Blogger
[Spotless Starling. Source: Google search.] I’m perched on a chimney near the Ashfield House B&B with my friend, Tristram. We’re Spotless Starlings. You can find us on page 303 of Collins Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe. You might not find us in Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of America, but we’re in…
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Life Between The Slabs
If you don’t find stone walls particularly interesting, then Yorkshire isn’t for you. If miles of intricate stone work that curves, rises up and over hills and down dales isn’t your thing, then book a holiday in Montana. I don’t recall seeing any stone walls there. But here in Yorkshire, the art of stonewalling is…
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Her Husband Is Poorly: A First Walk In Yorkshire
[Grassington, Yorkshire.] We’re staying in Grassington, Yorkshire. I saw somewhere it was called the “Swiss Alps of England”. I can get the sense of that. No snow-capped peaks and Matterhorns, but the Dales are pure and English and brimming with grand vistas. There are enough walking paths to satisfy the Swiss Alpine Club, the Sierra…
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A Hint Of Green: Southbound On Train #238
[Everything is ON TIME] Aboard the 12:10 train for Penn Station I check my watch as the train jolts into motion. It’s 12:09. There was a time when Mariam and I would make the trip from Manhattan to Rainbow Lake in one day. It was 305 miles from our apartment door on W. 93rd Street…
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Late Night Thoughts On Milkweed Pods
[Milkweed seed pod. Photo source: Me] I’m not a collector, really. I do have quite a few paperclips but I wouldn’t call it a collection. My fondness for fountain pens and Moleskin notebooks is legendary, but I practice self-control…most of the time. My grandmother’s barn was filled with a mountain of old tires, but they…
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Cabin Fever 101
[A view from the front door. Photo is unfortunately mine.] Mais ou sont les neiges d’antan! [Oh, where are the snows of yesteryear!] –Francois Villon I can tell you where the snows of yesteryear are. I can also tell you where the snows of today are…and I can tell you where the snows…
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Adirondack Angst
[After the shovel and before the car door incident. Photo is mine.] Once upon a time not so very long ago, there was a man who lived in a house, with his faithful and patient wife, in the Great Wilderness known as the Adirondack Mountains. These mountains are located in the far reaches of upstate…
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Joshua Tree Diary: Baby Steps and First Things
[On the way to Hidden Valley] I’ve been coloring. We’ve been coloring. You know those adult coloring books that are so popular now? Well, I’m not a bit ashamed to say that Mariam and I have been working separate pages in a book that I bought at a 7-Eleven for $5.99+ tax. [Occupying time in…
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Joshua Tree Diary: The First Days
I looked in the mirror late this morning and decided I would need a haircut sometime in the next few weeks. Trouble is, we’re a few miles from the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base (the largest U.S. military base in the world, I’m told) and nearly all the haircut places offer a “military cut”. Well,…
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