Autumn Reflection

Autumn Splendor #4

November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

"Autumn Reflection"
(click on photo for larger view)

Bright orange foliage is reflected in a quiet pool of water.

Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown, NH 

With night coming early,

And dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket

And frost by the gate.

The fires burn

And the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest

Until next spring.

~ Clyde Watson

For me, despite what the calendar shows, autumn is over when November is over:  "Earth sinks to rest," as the above poem, says. And as I relish these last few quiet days of fall before the hectic holiday seasons begins, I reflect on autumns past and remember a place I loved to hike in my youth. One glorious fall day in New Hampshire, as I walked along one of my favorite trails, I came across this beautiful tree in full foliage reflected in a pool in the stream that follows the trail. My camera always at the ready, I was able to capture the moment.

The light patch about a third of the way down on the left is a rock just under the water. The shot I took was of the tree upside down from the opposite bank but I thought the tree looked better upright.

View more photos at www.ecoprints.net

We Give Thanks

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. " ~ Melody Beattie

May you be blessed with many reasons
to be thankful, this Thanksgiving and always. 

 

Buy Nothing Day

"Think Green Thursday"

Bobbie from Almost There participates in "Think Green Thursday" from Are You Think(ing) Green? each week. I always enjoy all the thought-provoking posts on the environment so I thought I would try my hand at one this week. Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, and next Friday is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, I thought the following topic would be appropriate.

"There are two roads to affluence.
One is to have many things.
The other is to have few wants."

Loving the natural world as I do, I've always tried to be active in the "environmental" movement. In addition to trying to do my own part by "reducing, reusing and recycling," I was part of the Clamshell Alliance against nuclear energy, protested the manufacture of triggers for nuclear bombs, volunteered for the Nature Conservancy, and have regularly lobbied my representatives for improved environmental legislation on a number of topics over the years. One of the most serious threats to our global environment is rampant consumerism and, to bring attention to that issue, I like to promote "Buy Nothing Day" each year.

What began 20 years ago as a call not to contribute to the wasteful, mindless spending machine that drives our consumer-oriented economy on what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year has now been ramped up for 2009 to a call for a "Wildcat Strike."

"This November 27th, we’re calling for a Wildcat General Strike. We’re asking tens of millions of people around the world to bring the capitalist consumption machine to a grinding – if only momentary – halt.

"We want you to not only stop buying for 24 hours, but to shut off your lights, televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off of your computer for the day.

"From sunrise to sunset we’ll abstain en masse, not only from holiday shopping, but from all the temptations of our five-planet lifestyles."

Doing all of the above might be a bit radical for most but perhaps you can choose to do three of the above for the day. Most of all, though, don't buy a thing all day. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not even online. :)

For more information visit the Buy Nothing Day campaign at Adbusters online.

Added 11/22/09 -- One more reason not to shop on Black Friday:

Dirty secrets of Black Friday 'doorbusters

And visit Are You Think(ing) Green? for some great ideas on living the Green Life. :)

Curious Fox

A Walk on the Wild Side #2

"The field has eyes,

the wood has ears;

I will look, be silent,

and listen."

- Hieronymus Bosch


"Curious Fox"

(click on photo for larger view)

We have shared this mountain with the foxes for close to 20 years now and I never cease to be enthralled by their beauty, grace, curiosity and friendliness.  They will often sit or lay by us as we work around the house or property. Whether they are looking for companionship--or a handout--I can't say. Today this lady or fellow was highly interested in what my husband was doing on the deck.

Autumn Foliage

Autumn Splendor #3

"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."  
~ George Eliot

"Autumn Foliage"

(click on photo for a larger view)

Shorter days signal the remarkable
transformation of fall in the Rockies.
Reynolds Park. Conifer, Colorado

October Snow

Mountain Living #3

We had a big snow storm last week that dumped nearly four feet of snow (45 inches) on our mountain--and a lot of other places along Colorado's front range. This is not extremely unusual for Colorado (6' in March of 1990; 4' in October 1997; 8' in March 2003) but it's not exactly welcome this early.

(Click on photos for larger view.)

 

Cars are buried.

  

 Camper is buried.

Daughter is buried. Well, almost. 

 

Deck is buried.

Roof is buried.

 

House is nearly buried.

Thank goodness for husbands!

We've had beautiful weather this week though--it's been sunny and warm and the snow is actually melting quite a bit. You've got to love Colorado!