31 July 2022

On the Meadow

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Carlisle, Massachusetts

Meadows are in bloom
    and I expect those colorful flutters amidst the flowers,
         hoping that some may come closer to feel their ripples...

 A single Monarch is over there, suffusing the whole meadow with motion...

  ONLY ONE...
 
 Cannot but think of the recent decision from the International Union for Conservation of Nature
     to place
  Beloved Monarch Butterfly on the Red List of species at risk to become extinct.

  ONLY ONE... 

Great Meadows: ... a single Monarch is over there...

Great Meadows: ... suffusing the whole meadow with motion...

Great Meadows: ... only one...

Great Meadows: ... at risk to become extinct...

Great Meadows: ... only one...


23 July 2022

All Lush and Alive

Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts

 From the bridge where the marsh meets the pond,
  I look around...
 
  Exotic Lythrum grabs the eyes though being regarded as an outsider and a major threat to wetlands.
 
  Water Lilies are smiling...
 
  Heron on descent over there.
    Muskrat swims with a purpose while turtles bask in pure calm.

  Swallows have borrowed a house from Wood Ducks to raise their family,
    a little one has just taken the first flight... must be the MOMENT, one step closer to the freedom...
 
  And they all enjoy to be here...  

Stony Brook: ... all lush and alive...

Stony Brook: ... grabs the eyes...

Stony Brook: ... from the bridge, I look around...

Stony Brook: ... just now...

Stony Brook: ... smiling...

Stony Brook: ... with these precious speckles...

Stony Brook: ... muskrat swims with the purpose...

Stony Brook: ... chelydra paddles with strength...

Stony Brook: ... basking...

Stony Brook: ... looks like a prime spot...

Stony Brook: ... there is action over there...

Stony Brook: ... swallows are raising a family in this house...

Stony Brook: ... and a little one has just taken the first flight...

Stony Brook: ... one step closer to the freedom...


15 July 2022

A Meeting with the Glaciers

Monadnock State Park, New Hampshire

After many years, we've decided to visit Mount Monadnock again
  and choose the trails to make our time with the nature of this iconic mountain...

It all began about 415 million years ago as sand and mud on the bottom of the ocean,
 between the ancient continents of Laurentia and Avalonia.
  Some time later, these two continents collided,
 pushing early Monadnock rocks deeper into the world of intense pressure, making them hard to break.
  When the higher, softer layers of land eroded away,
 these rocks reached the surface,
  standing proudly above all that surrounds them, by their given name Mount Monadnock.

And then, the last Ice Age came, about 115,000 years back.
  The glaciers were advancing from the North,
 scratching all they could from the northern slopes of the mountain and
  pushing rocks and boulders down the southern slopes.

 When finally retreated, about 100,000 years after,
     they left the mountain with the character and energy I can sense today...

          They are still here... 

Mount Monadnock: ... no water here... the time of year...

Mount Monadnock: ... comes in handy...

Mount Monadnock: ... with both hands...

Mount Monadnock: ... looks like plants know these rocks well...

Mount Monadnock: ... aha...

Mount Monadnock: ... and more...

Mount Monadnock: ... up...

Mount Monadnock: ... with the views...

Mount Monadnock: ... scratching all they could from the northern slopes...

Mount Monadnock: ... in sliding motion...

Mount Monadnock: ... where the trees have found their ways...

Mount Monadnock: ... and I find mine...

Mount Monadnock: ... Red Spot trail awaits brave...

Mount Monadnock: ... I do not know whether it is us...

Mount Monadnock: ... but it is good that I can sit down...

Mount Monadnock: ... one of those southern slopes...

Mount Monadnock: ... pushing rocks and boulders down...

Mount Monadnock: ... and I almost feel like being one of them...

Mount Monadnock: ... there is more...

Mount Monadnock: ... the leaves are smiling...

Mount Monadnock: ... looks the end is close...

Mount Monadnock: ... the time for late supper...


07 July 2022

Theatrics of Light and Shade

Great Brook Farm State Park, Massachusetts

  Today, the forest is a theater...  
    where each tree, the leaves, the rocks and all minutiae of the woodland
   become the actors
    in the light and shade dynamics that the Sun brings about...

   And I am in the paradise...

Great Brook Farm: ... today, the forest is a theater...

Great Brook Farm: ... with a great many actors...

Great Brook Farm: ... reach for the skies...

Great Brook Farm: ... or close to the soil...

Great Brook Farm: ... amidst the leaves...

Great Brook Farm: ... a marvel of silk lines...

Great Brook Farm: ... and the minutes...

Great Brook Farm: ... while she watches...

Great Brook Farm: ... the story...

Great Brook Farm: ... of the light and shade...

Great Brook Farm: ... on the pathways...

Great Brook Farm: ... with the flutter...

Great Brook Farm: ... I am in the paradise...