Last year, hordes of monarch butterflies came through, enjoying a flyway along the shore of Lake Ontario. They were such a delight that I decided to go all in on creating a butterfly garden. I had three stray milkweeds, which the visitors ignored. But I invested in seeds for five varieties of milkweed and dutifully… Continue reading Garden Gone Wild
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that, for the past month, every time I hear a wave crash against our eroding shore, I flinch. I'm hypervigilante and my brain rushes to worst-case scenarios. Is beauty really worth the agita? Can I take another month of cursing the wicked wind of the west? Hermann Buhl,… Continue reading Courage to live on the edge
I think of days like today as "white days," when the sky is bright but overcast and the horizon disappears. Everything is calm and pale-pearly gray. The mergansers (diving ducks) dot the waters. Boy mergansers are still chasing and showing off for the girl mergansers. Soon, with the onset of boat traffic, they'll migrate to… Continue reading Mergansers on Lake Ontario
When we moved into a log cabin in June 2015, this city girl stressed out over the fact that carpenter bees loved our wooden home as much as we did. They are belligerent and territorial. They poop liquid sawdust and it dribbles yellow down our red exterior. The pest guys sprayed with little effect. Then… Continue reading The other bees
This year Easter coincides with the late lake spring. It's a moment to think about starting over, regeneration, second chances. Blooms are on their way, but today we have buds and sprouts. (Click on the images below for a slide show.) CatnipOreganoQueen Anne's LaceRoseTree Peony
I went out with an extension tube on my camera lens this morning. The flowers still scarce, I like crouching down for a close-up, letting their color fill my gray-weary eyes. Glory of the SnowHyacinthGlory of the SnowHyacinthHyacinthHyacinthLast year's Queen Anne's Lacefuture Lilaclast year's Lavender
I'm looking hard for evidence that the dozens of bulbs I planted lakeside are sprouting. I'm trying not to look at the shifting and settling and possible disappearance of stones along our rebuilt bank. Life is change. Sometimes too slow. Sometimes too fast. The wind blows. Lake Ontario
And thus begins the longest six weeks of the year -- when it should be spring, but it won't be till the lilacs bloom and the garden stores open around Mother's Day. Lake Ontario New Englanders know this as the fifth season -- mud season. Mud season is the name given to the period between… Continue reading April 1
Spring begins with a full moon, setting within minutes of sunrise. It's 6:48 a.m. and I've been rushing around in my puffy coat to get the right lens, the correct settings, and a good point of view. This is it: just the blushing moon contemplating her reflection in the water. Tech: 1/160 sec at f/8,… Continue reading As good as it gets
7 p.m. The sun will set in 19 minutes at 268.7° on the compass dial, just shy of due west. The bottom of our bank is still buried in a couple feet of ice. Frost and flurries will linger for the next few weeks. Tempests will rage. But the season has changed.
