nature
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Outside Our Door Again
Shortly after we moved here, I wrote a post about the nature preserve behind our apartment building. As the Sherlock Holmesian of my readers may have discerned from the title of this post, that is what I am going to do once again. I have been accumulating a ridiculous number of photos so I am going to dump some of them here. The first and most exciting of our recent nature sightings is the mother deer and her two fawns who have been regularly ambling past our balcony. One of the downstairs neighbors puts out bread for the animals and the deer love it. I don’t know if it is…
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Outside Our Door
I have always been pulled between the country and the city. I love the peace, quiet, and beauty of the country but I also love the hustle, convenience, and opportunity of a city. Surprisingly, by moving into an apartment in Ohio I have managed to find a bit of both. I had reservations about moving into an apartment. I liked my house in Connecticut, though not the specific location, and didn’t particularly want to go back to not having a yard and being able to hear my neighbors through the walls. Fortunately, we can’t hear our neighbors through the walls and we have a nature preserve outside our building. The…
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Spring Fever
It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Mud. Rain. Sunshine. Blue skies. Puffy clouds. Robins hopping around the yard. Warm breezes. Cool winds. The smell of the earth. Longer days. Green things starting to push their way above the ground and unfurl. The first sight of a crocus. And then a daffodil. Being able to go outside with just a jacket. Regretting that decision when the breeze picks up. Frosty mornings that turn into warm afternoons. The green haze of leaves starting to emerge on the trees. Possibilities. A bit of joy. Spring.
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Autumn Days
Crisp mornings. Blue skies. Leaves of red, orange, and yellow. Apples, pulled off the tree with a twist of the wrist, piled into a bag, and taken home to be turned into applesauce and apple pie. Pumpkin pie. Hikes through the state forest with the leaves drifting down around us and our feet scuffling through them, inches deep, on the ground. The strong, earthy smell of chrysanthemums. Sitting around the fire pit outside with the fire crackling, the sparks flying upward, and constant discussions about whether or not it is the right time and place to add another log. Acorns and horse chestnuts and milkweed pods and pinecones and leaves…
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Local Discoveries–Old Furnace State Park
Celia had a half-day of school last Friday and it is common knowledge that half-days are wasted unless they are spent in the company of your best friend. The original plan involved an entire afternoon and evening spent at our house complete with secret plans, pizza for dinner, and ending with pleadings for a sleepover. However, one ill father later and we had to come up with an alternative. They settled for a hike at the nearby state park and a trip for frozen yoghurt. Thank goodness they are still at the age to be easily pleased. This is a walk we have done regularly over the years we have…
