mid june reporting

 there are two doors now

 and this is the mudroom/entryway

 a large garden shed

built with trusses salvaged

from the house re-build

and roofing from his old milk house

 we've found turtle alley

a place where the road

skirts a large marsh

and turtles use this spot

 to lay eggs

all patterning thanks to turtles 

 some of these turtles are quite large

and there is some record of agitation

 and annihilation

i saw one huge raccoon

happily feeding at the end of the strip.

not too bothered by me, but it did

eventually

slip off. 

 the juneberry is shedding 

a few leaves

and is producing the first bird food 

at the new place;

also strawberries, 

the amish have them coming on.

out the window by the beaver dam

a whitetail nibbles

new water plants

 a fertile crescent

 these drifts of pale yellow

 are pollen

so many trees are flowering

and the northern forest

is rich. 

this was my desk thursday

royalty visited,

or was it lori

the best teacher assistant in the world

who brought me a little bit of spring

for joy and then for printing.

monday after school

i leave for a workshop 

with dorothy caldwell.

i am so happy!

winter continues

to be itself. 

after huge cold 

and more cold

and ice 

and more

 came thaw.

finally the deer came out of their 

hidey holes,

yarded up

till it's walkable.

 fissures are filling up again

 and starlings gather 

to whistle and sing

and remind me that january's half done.

 and this small snow comes down

with a chill wind

 begins again to build up 

little drifts

here,

 off in the woods,

 close by in the fencelines,

and these, happily wait

food for those silly starlings

or other hungry winged ones.

and that porcupine

the one with the limp,

waddles into the front yard to eat 

an arbor vitae snack.

august begins

 two white tails

 young and funny, 

but smart enough to avoid cars

 two moons in the hollyhock dye

 a moon is a veil for jude

 so many

birds and beasts

roadkilled

 nature is abundant here

some of the big swallow family 

the bluebirds are done nesting

 i made a moon in yogurt protein

on my linen rag paper

from old sheets from mardee

 that linen paper has aged very well

it's several years old now

 and i worked them a bit after dip dyeing

 i dyed fibers in skeins, too

paper, silk, cotton/silk, paper/silk

 all are soft purple

the arches are a sad gray

 the dye was black hollyhock blossoms

frozen two summers ago

steeped, 

cooked, 

dyed, 

and later a little vinegar added.

young redtail hawk

i would NOT like to encounter

those feet up close.

the end of a week of good work, 

(when i'm not cleaning out closets)

july wanes

 at the new place

 so first i saw this one

 then this one

but i thought it was the same one

 before it vanished

not before i saw two white banners

leaping away into the meadow edge

 yes, sleepy babes

one tiny touch, 

my finger tingled with blessing.

 on this morning

 crazy funny hummingbirds

 a feast from valerie's tree

 yum

 see the moth shape 

on the bluebird house?

wings brush the rough wood as mom and dad

come home

 a little later

 this morning

the babies were hungry

waiting for more food

  rain clouds

moved through

and the day is fair, clear, a day

a day to love life,

to take care of

obligations and promises.

just a day.

looking into the recent past

 an adirondack foothill walk on sunday

 cold but beautiful

 lovers or a book

maybe both

 my sister and i remember this walk

which we've done many, many times

though not often together

water is high, but i've seen it higher

framing spring

over the fall line

big sound

crows and ravens talk high above

a little friend

out back

succulent new grass brings

out two

no, four yearlings.