from Laura at Natural Notes 3:
two names you go by: Laura and Sweetie
two parts of your heritage: Pennsylvania Dutch and German
two things that scare you: fire and going to the dentist
two everyday essentials: Carmex lip balm and coffee
two things you are wearing right now: jeans and ridiculous slipper socks with pom-poms on the toe
two of your favorite current bands/artists: Little Big Town and Luka Bloom
two things you want in a relationship (other than love): laughter and shared values
two favorite hobbies: being outdoors and reading
two things you have to do this week: get ready for the start of Spring semester and clean up Xmas clutter
two stores you shop at: Barnes and Noble and Whole Foods
two favorite sports: people-watching and surfing (the net)
two shows you like to watch: Without a Trace and Real Time with Bill Maher
two things you’d buy if money were no object: nothing comes to mind right away!
two wishes for 2007: happiness and less stress
All posts by laurahinnj
1/11/07 Mid-week bunny fix
Guess who! Borrowed
My head still being elsewhere tonight, I offer you a borrowed painting from a wonderful artist named Alastair Proud and a borrowed poem by Mary Oliver.
Lonely, White Fields
“Every night
the owl
with his wild monkey-face
calls through the black branches,
and the mice freeze
and the rabbits shiver
in the snowy fields-
and then there is the long, deep trough of silence
when he stops singing, and steps
into the air.
I don’t know
what death’s ultimate
purpose is, but I think
this: whoever dreams of holding his
life in his fist
year after year into the hundreds of years
has never considered the owl-
how he comes, exhausted,
through the snow,
through the icy trees,
past snags and vines, wheeling
out of barns and church steeples,
turning this way and that way
through the mesh of every obstacle-
undeterred by anything-
filling himself time and time again
with a red and digestible joy
sickled up from the lonely, white fields-
and how at daybreak,
as though everything had been done
that must be done, the fields
swell with a rosy light,
the owl fades
back into the branches,
the snow goes on falling
flake after perfect flake.”
I’ve just recently started reading Mary Oliver’s poetry after seeing it referred to on various nature blogs. I like the way she so often relates to something in nature and surprises me with the images she creates from words. I like the feel of this poem, but I’m not sure that I understand what she is telling me here.
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In other news, we had our first snow of the season today – a few snowflakes for about 30 seconds! I think they said on the news that this is the latest date on record for snow in NJ.
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If you haven’t already, please consider submitting a photo for this Saturday’s Good Planets to me at lc-hardy AT comcast DOT net. Thanks!
“Just Brant”
“If you can awaken inside the familiar and discover it new, you need never leave home.” – Ted Kooser
I don’t know where my mind is at lately, but it’s certainly not on the familiar. I suppose many people enjoy this season of rest from the outdoors and are happy to curl up on the sofa day after day, but I don’t. I have cabin-fever and it’s only early January. The routine of everday, the normality and sameness of it is making me cranky. I think it must partly be because there’s been no real change in the weather since late October; I’d like for it to either be cold and snowy or to get on with Spring already! I’m in no hurry for the Spring, really I love winter, but this is not winter as I love it.
The boredom and crankiness I feel is the fault of my own lack of imagination, I know. Sometimes it’s hard to find anything to be inspired about. Getting out on the weekends is the best thing I can do for myself, but the effect doesn’t last long enough to see me through the week. Maybe I just need to eat more ice-cream or something. Who knows.
So. The birds in this pic are Brant. Familiar geese that winter on the coast. They breed in the high Arctic, and while they look an awful lot like Canada Geese, they don’t have the white cheek patch or pale breast. Plus they’re much smaller and don’t spend their days on corporate office lawns. Are they familiar to any of you? Would you drive past them on the bay and say, “Just Brant”? I’m guilty… I do.
Wired
This Canada Hemlock, like all the tallest trees in Peirce’s Park at Longwood Gardens, had a narrow green wire extending from somewhere in the crown of the tree beyond our sight down the full length of the trunk and into the ground. The wires were inconspicuous unless you were really looking at the trees, like my husband and I were. We wandered around enjoying the towering lindens and tulip-trees and especially the hemlocks. Some of the oldest trees here are thought to be more than 200 years old and were thoughtfully labeled for those of us who are still learning to identify them. 😉
We assume the trees are wired to protect them from lightning, as a strike would be life-threatening for the tree. Trees are often the tallest objects in a landscape and their deep roots and water/sap content make them a great lightning rod. From what I’ve read, properly protecting a tree from lightning can cost as much as $1,000 per tree and involves running copper cables down opposite sides of the trunk as well as along the main branches. These cables are then grounded well outside of the dropline of the tree to prevent root damage.
Lightning is nature’s way of eliminating old or sick trees, but it would be a shame to lose such beauties as those at Longwood. This was the first time either my husband or I had seen such a thing and I wonder how common it may be. Any fellow tree-huggers know more about this?
Dropping in
I did my volunteer gig today at the bird observatory and spent an hour or two afterwards stalking the less-than-abundant waterfowl with my camera. Sandy Hook should be really good now, but the huge rafts of ducks I expect to see in the winter aren’t here.
My favorites, the long-tailed ducks, were too far out in the bay for even my 200-400mm lens to reach nicely. They are such beautiful ducks; black and white with short, pointed dark wings. They were very vocal today – the males almost yodeling – have you ever heard them sing? Listen for them; you won’t soon forget the sound of their courting.
Despite this lens that’s near as long as my arm and which seems to weigh about as much as I do, the few small groups of waterfowl were little more than specks in a sea of blue. But the Canada Geese and Brant at Plum Island were close enough and cooperative and the light was good, so I found a dry spot in the marsh to sit and spent an hour or so in the company of these common birds. This pic was my favorite, a Canada dropping into the marsh and caught in the middle of putting on the brakes to land.
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The Good Planets show will be here again next Saturday, in case you’ve been newly inspired to submit a photo. Send one or two pics to me at lc-hardy AT comcast DOT net sometime before Friday. Wasn’t this week’s show grand? Thanks to all who submitted photos and stopped by to comment.
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Every so often I get brave enough to tackle HTML code and add the links of some blog friends to the sidebar. In the last week or two I’ve added quite a few from my bookmarks that I hope you’ll visit sometime. One of those friends, Vicki of Outside In, calls the community of people she links to her neighborhood. That’s a nice way of looking at it, don’t you think? What I find really neat is that often once I add a link here, I see that some of you are visiting that blog and making friendships of your own; maybe initially because of that link. I know that I’ve made some friends because of the links you include on your blogs. Anyway, that’s just my long-winded way of saying thank you for being such kind and supportive people. It’s nice to see people being nice to one another, you know? Oh, and go drop in at Vicki’s; she’s got a great blog and is very funny. Here’s a link to her most recent post which had me in stitches.
First Good Planets of 2007
Welcome to this first 2007 edition of Good Planets celebrating the majesty of our natural world. We’ll start with the sunrise over SW Ontario submitted by Ruth of Body, Soul, and Spirit. A beautiful new day is dawning.
Susan’s cousin Cathy at Left Curve sent in some tulips photographed last spring at the Boston Public Garden. 
Robin from Dharma Bums caught this Red-Tailed Hawk soaring over the Larry Scott Memorial Trail along Port Townsend Bay on the winter solstice.
Susannah of Wanderin’ Weeta sent this view (reflected in a plate-glass window) of stern-wheelers and the “Sky Train” on the Fraser River, New Westminster, BC. Old and new, both in operation.
Evan aka *whisker* sent along this beauty. He writes, “I just got back from Saba in the Netherlands Antilles.” He sent many beautiful photos; I chose this one to post simply because it looks the least like any view I’ve ever seen!
Bunny blog that this is, there’s the requisite beautiful bunny pic shared by Sharon. This is their story, written by Sharon: “Not sure if this is too domestic a small wonder, but this nest of bunlings was (and remains) quite a breathtaking wonder for me upon their arrival 07/25/03, 2.5 days (yes, 2 point 5, not 25) days after I adopted their dear mamabun from our local SPCA. A complicated gestation of a remarkable 43 days (30 the mean norm) led to complications that resulted in two dark lops failing to thrive, but here are the five plucky survivors, a week later. As initial shock resolved, Dick and I determined to set the babes on their course, have them neutered, socialized, and foster them for placement in loving homes. Two weeks later we were hopelessly smitten, unable to part with any of the wee terrors who continue to dominate our home today. “
The Fat Lady Sings sent this image of migratory birds and writes, “There were literally thousands of them, filling tree after tree. The sound of their chattering was deafening.”
Maggie from Banter, Bones and Breath sent this from her favorite park: Sawgrass Lake in St. Pete Florida.
Pam at Tortoise Trail writes, “… one of my goals for this year is to learn how to take closeups. I’m always fascinated by the detail the camera can show me that I had no inkling of before. … I photographed [this] in the Tucson Botanical Gardens last February. I had no idea what the flower was until I noticed today that the centre pattern looked similar to that of the red poppies I photographed in my friend’s garden in Canada. I took a wild guess and googled “white poppy” and came up with Icelandic Poppy.”
Sarala sent this from Bryce National Park in Utah. She considers it one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Recently relocated to Florida, Vicki writes, “Up until a couple years ago I couldn’t envision myself spending any time in Florida. Now that we have a little aging bungalow right by the bay I am enjoying the respite from Northern winters. One of the very best parts is the birding. This place is rife with stunning water birds. I hadn’t seen a yellow crowned night heron before yesterday. This handsome fellow was making the most of a very low tide.”
Jimmy from Details of Nature sent this photo of a Showy Lady’s Slipper growing in the woods nearby to his home.
Naturewoman sent this view from Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona.
Yankee Transplant writes, “Here is a picture I took at the playground just up from my house, where I would take my now-grown kids when they were little, in Boston. We had a beautiful ice storm in February of 1990. This close up of a bush, its branches laden with ice, brings back great memories of the wonder on my daughter’s face when she saw the playground transformed into a winter extravaganza. “
My own submission of a captive Barred Owl, cared for by the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge and used for educational purposes, photographed at the Tuckerton Seaport in NJ.
Carolyn from Roundtop Ruminations took this photo of the sunset near her cabin at Ski Roundtop near Lewisberry PA.
Gary sent this gorgeous view of the last sunset of 2006 over the island of Niihau from Polihale beach on the west side of Kauai.
And finally, the first pic I received for this week’s submissions from SB Gypsy of the moonrise on 12/3/06 in central Connecticut.
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Can you believe that this is just over half of the photos that were submitted to Good Planets this week? I’m delighted with the examples of beauty and wonder found by those sending photos. Kudos and thanks to you all for taking the effort to submit them. Please note that many photographers submitted more than one photo, but I’ve only posted one by each. Getting these photos up tonight has been something of a comedy of errors. The first 8 photos were uploaded quickly by Blogger, but then it went downhill when Blogger refused any more pics. The rest were uploaded via my Photobucket page, so if you click on them you will be directed there. I apologize for that. For the first time in more than a year, I then lost my internet connection – three times! – causing me to have to redo this post multiple times. If there are any errors, please understand that it’s late and I’ve been at this for over 6 hours now. Let me know of the problem and I’ll fix it first thing.
A rare recipe
Hold onto your chairs. I’m going to share a recipe with you.
I made these on Christmas morning and they were really wonderful. I’ve never made homemade muffins before and was very pleased with how easy and delicious they turned out to be. I recommend them warm from the oven spread with butter. Don’t forget a nice cup of coffee or tea.
The recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Optional: dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 large muffin tins with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into mixer bowl. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t overmix.
Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from pan, and serve.
1/4/07 Mid-week bunny fix
I love photos like this one of Boomer sleeping in a patch of sunlight! The sunporch where they live is south-facing and the winter sun is low enough in the western sky in the afternoon to send the sunbeams down to floor level where Boomer naps. Many bunnies somehow manage to sleep with their eyes open – I like to call it *contemplating the universe* when I catch them at it – but Boomer just zonks out in the afternoon with his eyes closed and belly up. He’ll allow me to ruffle the soft white fur on his belly, but if I dare to kiss it he wakes up and regards me with a pfuftf ! I’ve not ever found him sleeping on his back like some bunnies are known to do, but he does a not-so-graceful jump-twist-flop to get into this position, often beside Cricket. Sometimes I find them spooning together, but Cricket doesn’t sleep soundly enough to allow a photo.
Bonsai!
I really enjoyed the bonsai at Longwood Gardens. The simplicity in this display was quite refreshing after all the dazzling Christmas colors in the other areas of the conservatory. My eyes were glad for a rest.
Each of the 15 or so specimens is displayed on a simple wooden bench that runs the length of the space. The collection is kept behind glass which made photography difficult, but I’ve tried to crop out as much of the reflections as possible. I was puzzled by the glass and my husband and I both assumed it was meant to protect the trees from too much fondling by passerby or to perhaps keep them from being stolen. The outdoor bonsai display at my local horticultural park is kept chained for this very reason. After reading a bit of the history of Longwood Gardens I found out that the collection is kept behind glass so that it’s visible during the winter months while allowing the plants to be kept cool and dormant. The glass panes are removed during the more temperate months, I assume.
The grouping of trees in the pic above was my favorite, but of course I didn’t include the botanical label in my photo so their name is a mystery to me now. I want to guess that they’re some variety of Sycamore because of that bark, but the collection, of course, is heavily biased with Japenese trees so who knows.
Another interesting plant is this Japense Zelkova pictured at right. I’d never heard of them before, but my husband has been saying lately that he likes them. He’s seeing that a lot of towns are using them as street trees to replace the ornamental pears that are such popular but weak trees. Zelkovas are in the Elm family (according to the label) and this particular specimen has been *in training* since 1909.
I think it’s easy to forget the amount of work and foresight that must go into training a tree for nearly a hundred years so that it will look this way. The gardener has to prune the roots and branches to prevent it from outgrowing its container while also maintaining the tree’s natural shape by wiring and bending the branches. Very cool, but not something I’m prepared to try anytime soon!
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A gentle reminder to anyone who means to submit photos for this week’s Good Planets on Saturday. Please email them to me at lc-hardy AT comcast DOT net by sometime on Friday. Please don’t be shy about sharing the beauty around you with others via this carnival.