Saturday, July 27, 2013

Ups and Downs


Most mornings I am starting to doze off by the time the train goes through this section of the great swamp. But since I had a lot of work to do, a definite downer, I was still awake when we got here. 

It is one of my favorite spaces in the great swamp. The blue herons have started a 2nd colony here. It's still small. Only 4 nests even though they've been at it for about 7 years now. A few years back we had a big storm that knocked the nests down, but the herons were undaunted and put them back up. 

In the winter, the water freezes over into little ice islands. One winter a fox was trying to cross, each step he took broke through the ice so he started running faster as he crossed, skipping across the ice staying just one paw ahead of a good soaking. 

In the summer on a hot still day you can look into the water and see the fish slowly making their way up or down in the currents. 

Don't let the surface stillness fool you or the apparent shallowness of the water. It's a good strong current and beneath the 1-2 feet of water is a 7 foot deep muckish mass that will suck you down in a heartbeat. 

On this morning, my train got stopped by a signal problem so we sat here in my favorite spot for awhile. On the one hand, I knew I would be late for work. On the other, I was happy to be able to sit and enjoy. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Square-inch Gardening


My DH and I were shopping and noticed this flower border in front of the store. Having no room for planters and no soil other than the dirt between the building and the blacktopped parking lot, this store owner decided to take advantage of that tiny gap and planted marigolds. 

It makes for a pretty display, little espaliered marigolds against the foundation stonework. Such a nice pop of color. 

A cute touch of color in an otherwise drab parking lot.