Foss Farm and Beyond

Foss Farm, Great Meadows et al., Carlisle, Massachusetts   

Foss Farm is flowering.
 Hereabouts, the parcels of land give those who tend to plants a chance to meet nature.
   With the human touch.
  Built into the colors and sounds, and the spirit of the place.

 Just steps away, a path to the woods.  
  Along the Concord,
    the river that brings persona to this exuberant theater of light and shade.

 Over the meadow, colorfully buzzing.
   The hawk is making rounds, higher and higher, into the clouds;

  and
   the Turtles Crossing warning makes me smile... 

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... 

High Water

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Carlisle, Massachusetts
   
Concord is in high water.
 During such times, the trail along the river is impassable.
   Except today... all frozen...
   
 Reminds me on J.H.Mitchell's observations
   on how differently humans and nature perceive a floodplain.
 For what humans see as flood to be stopped,
   the plants see as high water. Perfectly adapted, this is just one of their natural states.

   How superb in their calm...

The Story of Monarch

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, Massachusetts

It is October on Great Meadows...
... Milkweed seeds are ready to leave... with their silky hairs, waiting for the wind...
   ... and Monarch butterfly comes to mind...

Monarch's life is inspiring storytelling of the nature's basis of being where all of IT matters...

The story begins (and ends) in central Mexico where Monarchs spend winters on just a few mountains in the microclimate of Oyamel (Abies Religiosa) trees. As the spring starts warming northern territories, the butterflies journey up north to Canada in four or five stops. On each stop, Monarch mother lays eggs on the leaves of Milkweeds and ends her life. Milkweeds provide food for her young and give them toxins for protection. In a matter of days, they transform to butterflies and take to the skies until the next patch of Milkweeds...
... and then the next... and the next...
... with the fourth (or fifth) generation of butterflies reaching the final destination.
In the fall, these "super" Monarchs head back to central Mexico by direct flight...
... where their life cycle begins again...

Milkweeds... Milkweeds... the name given to the toxic plants by humans...
... I wonder what is their name given by Monarchs ?...

Something SO Familiar

Moore's Swamp, Concord, Massachusetts

Jorgen Randers writes in his 2052 book, a global forecast for the next 40 years:

My third initial reaction to the summary of my forecast... is despair. Fear of losing it all... this is not fear for loss of my own well-being. I am comfortable now, and will be long dead when crisis strikes. It is more intense anxiety about the fact that humanity will voluntarily destroy the wonderful world as we know it... In short, I am scared on behalf of what it has taken nature hundreds of millions of years to create...

... Piping Plovers...

... Chipmunks are not threatened... not yet...
   ... she looks at me... I look at her... something SO familiar in her eyes...

They Are Back

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, Massachusetts

Still cold and windy on Great Meadows...
   ... leafless trees bring this wintry feeling... except for the sounds of frogs and sun-bathing turtles...
   ... and in the air,
       Tree Swallows in their acrobatic fly-overs...
   ... this may be their first day here, and their first meal after long trip...
   ... I can't take my eyes off of them... mesmerized... they are back...

Somebody is watching

Moore's Swamp, Concord, Massachusetts

Chipmunks are shy. Quick to run away and hide... This One jumps up the trunk. And halts. I stop. Looking at each other...

In the Marshland

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, Massachusetts

Swampy area along Concord River. With two human-made pools. Last owner built these pools. To attract geese and ducks. And then shoot them... Today, the Area is protected. Bringing peace and quiet. And human visitors without rifles... Birds love to congregate here. And especially so in high season. In late July and August. Preparing for the Long Flight to the South...The River is flowing. Undisturbed.